K8 Sports Review:
New Customers Only. 18+. Wagering requirements and T&C’s Apply
UK Licensed
Overview
Initially launching as a casino brand, K8 has already made an impact on the UK market with its sports betting platform. The site is owned and operated by Gamma Growth Inc., a Belize-based company which solely operates the K8 brand. Fully licensed and regulated in the UK, K8 is aiming to bring their reputation for quality gaming from the casino side over to sports betting.
K8 claims to treat every single one of their customers as a VIP – regardless of whether you’re a high roller or a casual punter. But does the marketing do justice to the reality?
Safety and Trustworthiness
K8 is the sole brand of Gamma Growth Inc., a company based in the offshore gambling haven of Belize. It’s part of the wider K8 Group, an international gambling operation based out of the Philippines, which the eagle eyed might recognise as official sponsors of Man City, West Brom, and FC Schalke, amongst others.
From a trust point of view, the first thing you should be looking for with any sportsbook is UK Gambling Commission licensing and regulation – K8 have already satisfactorily secured this license, which gives them legal permission to operate online gambling services for UK punters. The Gambling Commission is regarded as one of the strictest gambling regulators in the world, and knowing they keep an eye on proceedings means you can bet in confidence.
K8 is also a member of the IBAS scheme – the Independent Betting Adjudication Service. This is a trusted, independent third party that provides arbitration in the event of disputes or disagreements between bookmakers and their customers, so it’s a good sign to see this displayed at any bookmaker when you’re looking to establish trust.
On the security side, it’s clear K8 takes their responsibilities seriously. The website is secured by SSL encryption, double-locking against would-be hackers. Financial data is processed securely through third parties, with payments handled by some of the biggest names in the financial industry. It’s hard to get any more secure than K8 as an online operator, so that’s a double thumbs-up for this brand.
There are a few complaints floating around about K8, but nothing out of the ordinary or that would give us cause for concern. These are mostly from players having problems with the bonus or with verifying their ID prior to withdrawals, and there’s nothing in those reviews that would suggest structural problems or malintent on the part of the operator.
Deposits & Withdrawals
K8 offers a limited selection of e-wallets, with only Neteller support in addition to VISA, Mastercard and Maestro. No PayPal deposits is a big minus for any UK facing operator. Deposits start from £10, and there are no limits on withdrawals, subject to the usual verification processes.
Mobile
There are no betting mobile apps (iOS/Android) for K8 at the moment, which is a big let down from a brand trying to make a name for itself in the UK. But that doesn’t mean you can’t bet on mobile – the mobile website is optimised to be played directly from your browser on any device, which is a more than acceptable substitute. It’s just perhaps a little less convenient to navigate to the website and login to your account.
The site has been designed to be responsive, and the experience it offers is equally usable on mobile as it is on desktop. The mobile platform is quick to load and easy to interact with, and it feels like a seamless transition from playing on desktop to playing on your mobile device.
Bet Offers
K8 offers new players a 50% deposit betting match bonus to £50, applying to new players registering their first accounts. A minimum deposit of £10 is required to trigger the deal, and as usual, a number of terms and conditions apply.
Bonus cash can only be used for sports bets, and doesn’t transfer to their casino. Players must select the bonus while setting up their account, and any other bonuses you are eligible for will be presented alongside the welcome bonus. The credit can be used to bet on any standard or in-play market, and you can bet as a single bet or as multiple smaller bets, according to your preference. However, you can only place a single bet per event using bonus credit.
Wagering requirements are set at 1x, and you need to wager on events prices at 2.00 or greater – even money – with maximum odds of 1000. Bets must be placed separately from cash bets, and players have a total of 14 days in which to meet this wagering requirement before their bonus credit expires.
Players depositing from Neteller are not eligible to claim the bonus, which has a maximum value of £50 for a deposit of £100. Several other terms and conditions are attached to the offer, so it’s worth consulting these in full before deciding whether this bonus is right for you.
The amount of this bonus is reasonably low, and 50% deposit match is priced way below what’s available elsewhere. It’s a lot more common to find bonuses priced at a 100% match, and often up to £100, which would effectively be double the bonus available through K8.
Having said that, the terms of their bonus offer are less onerous than those you’d expect from higher offer amounts, which balances out the lower headline rate. When you weigh this up, the welcome bonus from K8 isn’t actually that bad, and many players would probably prefer a more lenient bonus in a lower amount than a higher bonus that’s impossible to meet profitably.
Betting Markets And Odds Quality
K8 has a significantly more limited selection of markets when compared against the bigger players such as Bet365 and Netbet. There are markets quoted across 24 different sports, with football betting probably being the most well developed. On the flip side their horse race betting markets could do with a bit of a boost, and it would be nice to see support for a wider range of sports, but you’ll still find a decent number of markets by clicking in on any quoted event.
The sports betting platform at K8 is provided by EveryMatrix, which also powers brands like Codeta, BoyleSports and 188Bet. As a supplier goes its not quite in the same league as SBTech and Kambi. The odds on offer are in alignment with these and other leading bookmaker brands, and while they’re not always the slimmest, there are some markets where K8 matches the best odds available in the UK.
In-Play Betting
K8 are big on in-play betting, with a dedicated section of the site quoting odds in real time for events that are already underway. From the main betting tab, click the blue ‘Live Events’ link at the top of the main window, to see a list of all the current events in play and the markets available. These glow red and green in real time, so you can tell which odds are lengthening or shortening at a glance.
The in-play options span a wide range of sports, although football tends to be the most well represented. A graphical representation of the action is also available, where you can watch the action play out – perfect for keeping an eye on your in-play bets as they come in.
There aren’t the same live streaming options you’d expect to find from bigger bookmakers, and there are fewer in-play markets in general to bet on. But what’s there is more than enough for the casual bettor, and if you’re regularly betting on football, you’ll be well catered to through the markets on offer.
In-Play/Live Betting
Cash Out Betting
ACCA
Non-Sports Markets
Live Streaming
Virtual Sports Betting
Mobile
Support
There’s no phone support available from K8, which might be a problem for some users – particularly if you encounter problems during the verification process, for example. In its place, however, is a live chat facility which responds within just a few minutes during support hours. This is the most direct way to reach out to support, although you can also send messages through their on-site form on the Contact page.
Support agents are friendly and helpful enough to handle most issues – it’s just sometimes nice to speak to someone on the phone if you’re having problems, and this is something K8 might want to think about as they continue to expand into the UK market.
Review Summary
K8 signalled their intent when they secured high profile sponsorships with some of the UK’s biggest football clubs. With an international track record in casino gambling, their move into the UK’s lucrative sports betting field has brought new competition onto the scene. For the time being, K8 remains a smaller operator compared to the bigger players in the market, and it’s clear there is some way to go to develop their new sportsbook.
The range of sports and markets available is one area that needs expanding – while everything major is there, this will be limiting for some players with specific betting interests. In-play and streaming could be built on too, and will remain a barrier to K8 becoming a market leader until they become more of a focus.
The welcome offer is competitive, even if it’s pitched a little lower than some of the competition. But with no mobile apps to speak of, and limited support options available, there’s more work to be done to let K8 realise its full potential.
This is still a good sportsbook with some decent, competitive odds. With significant room for improvement, K8 does well to manage a 7 out of 10, which feels like a fair score for a sportsbook at this stage of its development cycle.
One to watch for the future, K8 already has a lot to offer. With time, this will go on to become an even better sportsbook, and it wouldn’t be too surprising if they picked up an increasing share of the UK betting market.
