SportNation Review:

Football isn’t the only thing SportNation.bet does well, yes, former player and talk SPORT presenter Alan Brazil brings a touch of football expertise to the mix (Sportnation is a re-brand of BetonBrazil) but that’s not the be all and end all. Unlike many other sportsbooks, SportNation actually offers a better mobile website than its desktop site whilst offering as many markets as some of its more established competitors. Read on for our full Sportnation review below.

Before we get into some of the more subjective trust markers present at SportNation, let’s quickly take a look at the hard facts. Like every legal sportsbook in the UK, from Ladbrokes to Bet365, Sportnation is regulated  by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) under the banner of its parent company, Argyll Entertainment AG based in Switzerland (Bahnhofstrasse 10, Zug, 6300 )

In addition to guaranteeing a safe betting environment being UKGC regulated means that Sportnation must incorporate various security features into its site, such as SSL encryption, as well as operating responsible betting protocols. Essentially, thanks to the UKGC, SportNation has to ensure it actively works to protect you physically (i.e. your personal details and bankroll) and mentally (i.e. offer you help if you need it).

Beyond these standard safety features, what makes SportNation standout from the crowd? Well, a potential trust marker is the fact the site is fronted by ex-footballer Alan Brazil. Now, we know a celebrity posing for a few promo shots doesn’t mean a site is trustworthy, but Brazil does get more involved than that. Working alongside “TeamSportNation”, Brazil provides regular commentary on the latest football matches.

Brazil is an active figure in the football world thanks to his show on talkSPORT, so it’s possible to assume that he wouldn’t want to risk his reputation or career by backing a site that’s out to scam players. On top of this, SportNation has some of the best player protection features we’ve seen for a while. Going beyond the likes of William Hill, this betting site offers the following:

Reality Check – A popup box can bet set to remind you how long you’ve been active.

Gambling Self-Assessment – At SportNation you can take a quiz featuring nine multiple choice questions to see if you may have a gambling problem.

Self-Exclusion and Time-Out – If you feel your betting is getting out of control, you can either exclude yourself permanently or take a break for between 12 hours and one month

In terms of what the community think, our research found just one major complaint from a user who claims they couldn’t receive a casino bonus. After speaking with a live chat representative, the player claimed he was told the deal was live. However, according to the version of events, the bonus wasn’t credited to their account. Although we can’t verify the full story, the biggest issue in this instance appears to have been that the support team wasn’t communicating effectively. Moreover, two representatives were called Richard and gave conflicting information which seemed to confuse the situation further.

When it comes to moving your money around, there are some positives and some negatives at SportNation. Starting with the positives, you won’t have to pay any fees on the way in or the way out. All transactions (deposits and withdrawals) are processed instantly. This doesn’t mean you’ll receive your winnings immediately because certain payment methods (i.e. debit cards and bank transfer) can take around three days to process. It does mean though that SportNation will process the withdrawal request straight away. i.e without a pending withdrawal period after the withdrawal request.

As a first-time customer Sportnation is obliged via the money laundering requirements of the UKGC to verify a bettor’s identity (via two forms of ID i.e. passport or driver’s licence plus proof of address such as a utility bill) before your first withdrawal. This can take up to five days and will therefore slow down your first cashout. In an effort to speed up the process, SportNation does endeavour to process all subsequent transactions immediately.

Finally, when you choose one of the three available deposit/withdrawal methods (Visa, MasterCard or bank transfer), there are no limits on the amount you can put in or take out within a set period of time.  Minimum deposits and withdrawals are also nice and low at £10 (visit our low deposit page for more low deposit bookmakers).

On the minus ledger Sport Nation offers just 3 generic types of depositing methods (bank wire transfer, CC and debit card) which in 2018 is very poor. We hope this is down to the teething problems that all new betting sites have in setting up accounts with the various e-wallets and payment processors. If your preferred method of depositing is an e-wallet, such as PayPal or Skrill then stay tuned to this review for updates on their depositing methods offering.

SportNation doesn’t offer a dedicated betting app, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ante-up via your smartphone or tablet. The Sportnation site is optimised for mobile meaning that you can place a bet from any smartphone. As with all mobile sites of this nature, the betting lines offered and functionality mirror those on the desktop site. Essentially, what you see on SportNation.bet via your PC or Mac is what you’ll see via your iPhone or Android handset.

One feature that stood out for us during our SportNation review was the way you’re shown your betting options. Unlike many of the “traditional” online sportsbooks, SportNation uses a grid system similar to what you’d see in the casino world. For example, if you download the Paddy Power mobile app, you’ll have to open a list of betting markets that runs down the left side of the screen. This design is fairly common across the major operators and, for the most part, works fairly well. SportNation however have abandoned this design instead listing listed all the sports in a grid complete with text and icons. Much like a casino gaming grid that uses boxes to display the available games, SportNation’s betting options are laid out in a square. Its an appealing design that also eliminates the need for scrolling and also gives a quicker overview of the action.

As a new bettor you’ll be able to bank up to £100 in bonus cash when you join. Based on a 50% multiplier, this betting deposit bonus deal is open to all new customers who use the code SN100 before they deposit between £20 and £200. In comparative terms, the SportNation welcome bonus is very good  in terms of size. £100 in bonus cash is a strong amount.

Naturally, you will have to pay attention to the terms and conditions if you want to unlock this deal. Put simply, when you receive the bonus, the will be added to your account but kept in a separate balance. Before you can withdraw the bonus you’ll have to wager 7X the  bonus + deposit on wagers with odds of 2.00 or greater in a 30-day time period.

It’s fair to say that SportNation’s new bettors bonus is great if you like size, but it’s tough to unlock if you’re a casual punter.  Assuming you deposited £100, received a £50 bonus and then won £50. At this point you’ll have £200 locked under the bonus terms which means you’ll have to stake £1,400 to unlock the full value of your first deposit. For many new bettors  this isn’t a realistic sum of money to wager within the 30 day time limit.

Beyond the SportNation welcome bonus, there are daily and weekly bets boosts. For enhanced odds on specific sports, the “Today’s Best Boosts” tab is where you need to look. To receive acca boosts worth as much as 70% extra on your projected returns, you have to follow the link in the promo page and then set your football acca according to games listed that day/week.

Finding a bet inside SportNation is fairly simple. Unlike the mobile site, you’ll find the familiar left-hand list when you login via your desktop. At the last count, SportNation had 33 different betting markets which, surprisingly, is more than established operators like William Hill (31) and Ladbrokes Sport (32).

A nice touch we appreciated during our review was the color scheme. Instead of bright colors that can become garish when you’re betting for long periods of time, SportNation mainly uses a black background and white text. This design is a lot easier on the eye and, in many respects, more conducive to an efficient search process. With regards to the betting markets on offer, SportNation has done a great job of covering everything from the standard to the exotic. As you’d expect, being marketed as a football betting site, football lines top of the agenda thanks to Mr Brazil’s involvement, which means you not only thousands of weekly bets from 47 different countries, but expert insights and analysis. Particularly good are the prices on cup games on FA Cup and Champions League lines.

Beyond football betting (which is actually called “soccer” at SportNation), you’ll find a solid range of odds for less common sports such as surfing, volleyball and even eSports. On top of this, there is a casino platform with a full roster of table games and slots powered by Microgaming. Having an online casino isn’t unique, but SportNation does offer more casino games than many of its peers that tend to keep their non-sports betting options separate.

Sportnation doesn’t have a real presence yet on the odds comparison sites such as Oddschecker so its difficult to gauge where it stands against the more established players but if does offer quite a few enhanced odds, price boosts promotions. Odds are shown in decimals and fractions.

In-play betting at SportNation is OK but it’s not going to blow you away. Scrolling through the roster of options, we found all the usual suspects were there in terms of sports. From football bets and tennis to basketball, cricket, race betting and more, there were lots of betting lines available. Unfortunately, this is where the action stopped. Unlike William Hill, Ladbrokes, Sky Bet and probably the live streaming market leader – Paddy Power / Betfair there wasn’t any option to stream live events. A computer generated overview of the action was available but it wasn’t as engaging as a live stream. Fortunately, we did find cashout and partial-cashout options in line with its competitors.