Sport Nation Casino Review:

Football fans might recall BetonBrazil, the football-orientated sportsbook linked to former footballer and talkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil. Back in the summer of 2017, the site was rebranded and relaunched as SportNation, presenting an improved sports betting offering, alongside an online casino that’s been winning players ever since. Owned and operated by Argyll Entertainment, a company which runs several different gaming brands, SportNation is no stranger to offering online casino gambling. While sports is still at the heart of what they do, their casino continues to attract players looking for a combination of great games, bonuses, and an established, reputable casino they know they can trust.

SportNation has the benefit of an established track record – while the rebrand is a more recent development, BetonBrazil was launched back in 2016 to in time for Euro 2016. Shortly thereafter, they added their casino offering, and they’ve been building their reputation ever since.

SportNation is owned by Argyll Entertainment AG, the Swiss company behind other brands like RedZone Sports and Brazil’s Fantasy Fever. When it comes to trusting a casino operators, there’s strength in numbers, and this is a sign that Argyll Entertainment knows what they’re doing – without offering fair, legitimate gambling across their sportsbook and casino platforms, they wouldn’t have been able to thrive and grow like they have over the last few years.

The UK Gambling Commission regulates SportNation, which holds an operator’s licence from the regulator. One of the most discerning gambling regulators in the world, with a reputation for holding their licensees to strict standards, Gambling Commission approval is not only a legal requirement in the UK – it’s a sign of a trustworthy operator, who consistently delivers within some of the strictest licensing requirements in the world.

The Alan Brazil factor is something else you might want to consider. Brazil himself is involved in the site, often lending his expertise to commentary, as well as his face for promotional campaigns. While celebrity endorsements aren’t everything, it’s fair to say that if Alan Brazil is putting his name (and reputation) on the line by backing SportNation, it’s at the very least a legitimate operator.

In terms of software security, SportNation is rock solid. They deploy industry-leading SSL encryption technologies, safeguarding your sensitive personal data to the highest possible standards. That covers your personal account data, and with payments, it goes even further. Provided by leading third-party payment processors, each with their own additional security features, it’s difficult to see how SportNation could be more any secure than they are today.

Online reviews often tell the real story about any casino, and with a couple of years of the SportNation brand under their belt, you’d expect a fair few negatives by now. That’s just par for the course, and you see it reflected across most other casinos, with disgruntled players far more likely to leave reviews at all. We usually give brands the benefit of the doubt for a handful of negatives but with SportNation, there are virtually none – almost all the reviews posted by other players are positive.

There are some comments about customer service, but nothing that would cause us any concern. On balance, this is a secure, trustworthy place to play – whether you’re playing slots, or you’re picking a goalscorer.

SportNation has a very limited range of options available for deposits and withdrawals, with only Visa and Mastercard supported. The minimum amount for deposits and withdrawals is £10, and withdrawals are processed within 3-5 days.

SportNation are on the lookout for new players, and they’ve got a generous deposit bonus to prove it. There’s up to £500 available as a deposit match bonus for new players, with code SNSLOTS500. Here’s how it works.

Players need to deposit anywhere from £10 to £500 to trigger the bonus, which is paid as a 100% match on the amount of the first deposit. That means you can earn up to £500 in bonus funds for a deposit of £500 – but if you deposit £10, the bonus will only be worth a £10, so it’s worth thinking about how much you want to deposit in that first transaction to take full advantage.

This can be used on slots and other casino games, subject to the terms and conditions. As is always the case with welcome bonuses of this kind, there are a number of these terms and conditions to fulfill before you will be eligible for a withdrawal, so make sure you’re familiar with the ins and outs before claiming the bonus.

Arguably the most significant condition here is the wagering requirements. These stand at a whopping 60x – and that’s the deposit plus the bonus amount. This means you need to bet 60 times the amount of your deposit plus your bonus funds (so 120x, up to the maximum £500), before you’ll be eligible to withdraw any funds from your account.

There’s also the requirement that 50% of wagering is achieved on slots, and players have a period of 30 days to make the grade, lest they forfeit the bonus. The bonus offer is only open to new, first time players over the age of 18, and you’ll need to use the code during the sign-up process if you want to claim the offer.

We’ve seen a lot of similar welcome bonuses over the years, and with the terms and conditions in this case so strict, this bonus lines up as one of the worst. At least the deposit match is generous, at up to £500. But as far as the wagering and other restrictions are concerned, this is appalling value.

We consider anything above 40x deposit to be a high wagering requirement, and in practice, SportNation is 3 times as bad for most depositors. And that’s before there’s the 50% slots requirement. This is something SportNation should definitely look to improve on, because their casino is otherwise pretty impressive – it’s just that with terms like this, they’re guaranteed to leave a bad taste with at least a portion of their players.

If the welcome bonus is disappointing, the number and selection of games more than makes up for it. There are 606 games in total at SportNation, covering everything you could hope for from an online casino. This is delivering in partnership with some of the biggest names in online casino games, including NetEnt, Play’n GO, iSoftBet and Microgaming.

The majority of these are slots games, with the likes of Gonzo’s Quest, Spartacus, Guns N’ Roses and Witchcraft Academy amongst the extensive lineup. This also includes jackpot slots like Cosmic Fortune and Lucky Leprechaun, with progressive jackpots on the line to make things even more interesting.

In terms of table games the selection is smaller, but you’ll still find most of what you’re looking for. Roulette, blackjack, baccarat, pontoon and others flesh out an impressive selection, with multiple different variants of each game available.

You’ll also find a live casino section, where you can choose from any of a dozen different live dealer games. Provided by the team at Evolution Gaming, the quality of the live games is as good as you can expect to find anywhere else.

Since the relaunch, SportNation benefits from a slick, attractive interface. It’s easy to navigate between games and menu options on any device, thanks to the bold layout. While the structure and design is simple throughout, it makes for a pleasing user experience. The games load quickly in browser, and the whole offering feels stable and robust. You can have no concerns about the quality of the games here, arguably the biggest strength SportNation has in its corner.

SportNation have recently released a casino app for iOS customers, available for download from the App Store. This is primarily focused on their sportsbook, but it’s possible to access the casino by clicking on ‘Casino’ under the main menu of the app. It looks like there may have been some initial teething problems with the app, but with same focus on good design and game quality carrying over onto mobile, it offers a decent experience on the go.

There is no app at present for Android users, but that shouldn’t be a barrier to taking part. The SportNation casino mobile site is fully responsive, providing a native experience on any smart device. Whether you’re playing on your phone or on your tablet, you can access an albeit slightly smaller selection of games, fully optimised for the mobile platform.

All you have to do is head over to the SportNation casino site in your device browser, login to your account, and you’ll be up and running in seconds.

Promotions are a little thin on the ground at SportNation, but it’s clear this is one area they’re looking to build on. Most of the promos on offer are related to their sportsbook, but if you visit the ‘Promotions’ page and scroll down to the bottom, you’ll find a couple of promotions you can take advantage of.

At the time of writing this review, the only casino promotion was the World Cup of Slots, where players get 20 free spins with a £10 stake on one of two selected games. The aim of the promo is to win as much as you can with your free spins in selected game hours.