BetVictor
BetVictor have been able to do what so many bookmakers have failed at over the years and that’s to be consistently at the top of their game whilst rebranding numerous times. The change from Victor Chandler through to BetVictor hasn’t always been the smoothest of rides, but now the company and brand are one of the biggest and most distinctive in the industry.
What BetVictor have been able to do so well is just to keep it simple. They possibly don’t have the gimmicks and features that other bookies have, but they have a sweet design and they are about as strong as you will find when it comes to pricing, which are probably the two key areas to seeing long-term success as a bookmaker.
Football
Like most bookies, football betting is the bread and butter for BetVictor. The company rely on the sport probably more than any other and it’s the main reason why they get so many punters through the door every day.
What’s been great to see from BetVictor is that they are always moving forward. As stated, they keep things simple, but they make subtle changes that have a big effect. But, it’s their pricing structure that’s had the biggest lure and to hammer home just how good they are, they’ve actually won industry awards as the best priced bookmaker for several years, so it’s not just us banging on about them out of favouritism.
PRICING STRUCTURE
We’ll go on to pricing next, which is probably pretty fitting for BetVictor actually, being their biggest strength. The research we conduct is pretty simple in that we look through certain betting markets and literally compare prices amongst the biggest bookmakers in the industry.
We’ve mentioned it already, but their consistency is definitely what sets them apart from so many bookies. Their pricing structure is really impressive and whilst they aren’t always the best price, they are never far behind. In fact, in all of our comparison and tests, they were never more than 5% off the best price going, which is pretty incredible considering we have tested dozens of markets and bets.
The flip side is that they weren’t outright best priced for all that many games either, which we were actually a little taken aback by. The company have obviously got a plan to offer punters an alternative to having loads of bookmakers on the go at any one time, and to do this they have decided that it’s best for them to simply offer great, but not the best odds as a result.
It’s impressive to see as we can’t think of too many bookies that are as consistent when it comes to betting on football. Even when we moved down the leagues into League 1 and League 2, the games and odds were all very similar, with none falling outside of that 5% buffer that we spoke about earlier.
There will be times where BetVictor aren’t in this buffer, but conversely, there will also be times when they are outright best price, just as long as the latter occurs more than the former, they are on to a winner here.
MATCH BETTING
In terms of leagues, all the usual suspects are on offer. The main contenders from the UK are that of the Premier League and the Championship, but it is worth mentioning that coverage of lower league fixtures, running right down to that of non-league can also be found. The market coverage doesn’t really start to waiver until you get down past League 2. For all the leagues above this, they are really solid, and it’s been impressive to see just how many there are to choose from.
Whilst the site covers leagues from all over Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa, it does become a little diluted as you get a little more obscure in your selections. For example, coverage of the Brazilian Serie C league is never going to compete with the likes of La Liga in Spain or Serie A in Italy. Again, all things that we would fully expect to see from a bookmaker of this size though.
The market coverage is again, solid without going over the top. You get around 100 markets in total, which is actually on the small size these days, especially when you consider the likes of 888Sport are offering up over 600 markets on some matches.
To be honest though, you’re not really going to need more than this. Any additional markets to this are either going to be obscure bets that are linked to what’s already there or novelty bets, that aren’t really going to offer any value as they will be almost impossible to research.
What’s there is good though, and there were a couple of markets that really stood out. Combination bets are really popular these days, and the inclusion of the Match Action, 1stGoalscorer Plus and the Goal Scorer Plus markets are all great additions. Essentially for each you choose from the number of goals, corners, yellow cards, first/anytime goalscorer and then time of the goals. You can get really creative here and it allows you to form some nice bets.
As a follow up to this, they have also included their Price It Up builder. It’s a little like the Twitter account version, where you tweet your bet in, but BetVictor have actually coded a program into the site that allows you to form your own bets really quickly. You can jump from markets that include the match result, both teams to score, player and team goals, player and team cards, and corners. Again, you can really go to town with this with some potentially massive winners on offer as a result.
If you are looking for other bet types, then you can still Tweet the BetVictor Twitter page, simply, using the hashtag #PriceItUp and they will load your bets on the site for you.
IN PLAY BETTING
The in-play betting section at BetVictor is a thing of absolute beauty. The reason why it works so well is that it’s quite simple and doesn’t have loads going on, this is until you click on each individual match that is. The homepage also includes a handy favourites section, where you just click the star button next to the game you want to track, and it pins to the top of that page.
Once you jump into the match you get to see in much more detail what’s going on and also a wide range of markets to choose from. The stats at the top of the page are actually pretty basic compared to some, showing the number of corners, yellow and red cards, along with the score. But, it’s the only real negative. The match centre is fast and with great graphics, allowing you to easily track games, then you’ve a full column on the right that just has your bet slip and isn’t cluttered with loads of adds that you don’t really want to see.
We also wanted to make you aware that a lot of the markets and bets within the live section are available to cash out. This is actually something that not all that many bookies offer, rather surprisingly, outside of the match result, so if this is something that you think will benefit your betting strategy, then it’s well worth a go.
Horse Racing
Alongside football, horse racing is another of the most popular sports on the site. The company actually have a long tradition with the sport as it was with this that essentially the bookmaker was started on. It’s also one that they like to invest back into today, sponsoring races and having several races named after the brand as a result.
The website carries on with a host of race and features to utilise for the punters. What you will find is that the coverage is about as good as you’re going to find, especially within the UK and Irish markets.
CONSISTENT PRICING STRUCTURE
In terms of pricing, the horse racing side of the bookmaker is an almost carbon copy of our findings for the football section. They are just so consistent, and we tried to really trip them up, checking some races from tracks that aren’t all that popular, but they were bang on the money almost every time.
We did notice that they are a little more erratic than the football bets when it came to the longer priced odds. For example, we spoke about a 5% buffer for the football odds previously and we would guess that this is more along the lines of 10% for horse racing, which is to be expected, given the number of horses that are involved and the higher odds that some of the longer priced bets include.
What’s been good to see from BetVictor is that they have been doing this for years, as well. They’ve not won awards that we know of, like they have for football, but the site is very familiar to plenty of the team here and everyone says that this has been the case for as long as they can remember. It’s like the old saying goes – if it aint broke, don’t fix it.
UK & IRISH RACING
As racing within the UK and Ireland is so well covered by pretty much all bookies these days, the range of races aren’t all that surprising and to be honest, are about what you would expect from pretty much all major bookies in the industry.
Prices come on for most races the night before, which is something we are big fans of. There is nothing like getting in before the bookies are able to react to any possible changes in either the ground or the line-up for the race, with Antepost rules no longer applying. Again, this is something that is getting more common, but there are still plenty of sites that won’t open these markets until the morning of the race.
BET FINDER
One of the latest features that we loved to test out was that of the Bet Finder that is now available via both the desktop and mobile betting app of BetVictor. Bet Finder allows you to narrow down your search for potential bets throughout the day. You can choose things like horse ability (represented in star rating), if the horse has won at the track, won over that distance, improving horses and even by the price of certain horses. It then spits out the horses that fit the bill and then you can decide to back them or not. It’s not just one of our favourite features on site, but we think it’s one of the best that we have found in the industry to date and an absolute must for beginner bettors looking to find some value from potential bets.
The race card is another section of the site that we think is so cool. It’s linked up with Timeform, so the information that you can take from it is highly substantial. For each race, you are able to see things like the star rating, what Timeform says regarding each horse, what they say on the race overall and then take away some good form information to create your own bets as well if you like.
The site also includes a Bet and Watch service. All you need to do is wager a minimum of £1 and you will gain a live feed of that race to watch either within your browser or via the app if you’re on that.
INTERNATIONAL RACING
International racing on the site is very solid. They include racing from all over the world, but the majority are made up of that of France and the USA. Outside of these, the likes of South Africa and Australia are other well covered racing countries.
We will say that with each of the international races the Timeform section of the racecard is removed. This is pretty common to be honest as they only support that of UK and Ireland races for the most part, but info is easily obtainable from third party form sites online.
ANTEPOST
Antepost betting is another popular section at BetVictor and they are able to serve up a wide range of races to choose from. We really liked that all the meetings and races are neatly separated into sections that allows the users to see where the races are taking place. Too many bookies just have one long list and then name things like “The Gold Cup”, which could be 1 of about 4 that take place all over the world.
Obviously, meetings, such as the Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival are the main contenders, but there is plenty of others to choose from, and even some from across the pound, such as the Breeder’s Cup and the Kentucky Derby, to name just a couple.
Usability
As you’ve probably guessed from this review, we really like the look of the BetVictor bookmaker. In fact, we are going to go as far as saying as it’s the best in the industry right now. There is a certain air of calm and simplicity that we just love and where most sites have flashy banners in your face, often trying to get you to try other betting products which you have no interest in, BetVictor almost just say, welcome, take your time and have a look around, and we love that.
Whilst it’s aesthetically pleasing, it also functions really well. You can skip between pages and markets with absolute ease and then you’re able to find exactly where you were if you get lost by simply using the left-hand sidebar, before getting to your betting market.
MOBILE APP
The betting app is great too. It’s right to the point, no clutter and loads up super-fast, even on poor network signal. But despite how good the app is, BetVictor is one of very few bookies these days that we actually prefer using on our desktop, rather than on our phone or tablet, which is credit to the desktop design team more than anything. We are not taking anything away from the app.
We do have one gripe though and that is a lack of a search function. With a site as big as BetVictor, we really do think it could benefit form one, no matter how well laid out the bookmaker is.
Casino Games
There is a fantastic assortment of slots, blackjack, roulette and scratch games that are easy to play while on the go or just hanging around at home. Anyone looking to enjoy a high quality online gambling experience can rest assured, BetVictor will have them covered.
SLOTS
In terms of the video slots selection they are out performed by few, there’s a huge variety available. Some of the most popular titles on offer include Super Diamond Deluxe, Carnaval, Wish Upon a Jackpot, Spartacus and Starburst.
Of course, you can expect to see the full range of NetEnt titles, as well, with Gonzo’s Quest, Asgardian Stones, Twin Spin, Koi Princess and more on offer. There is also all Microgaming’s most popular games like Immortal Romance, Dragonz and their new Oriental inspired game 88 Fortunes, which uses a unique 88 pay line layout. The games can be ordered by popularity, software provider and release date so you can easily find the right game for you.
ROULETTE
There is a fairly varied range of roulette games available. As you would expect, you’ll find the classic variations of European Roulette, American Roulette and French Roulette. There are some less common game variants including Pinball Roulette and 10p French Roulette. There is also high stakes Roulette where table limits are dramatically increased to allow higher stakes.
All these games are available through the Tables tab in the navigation bar and if you want to view all the roulette titles available, simply use the drop-down menu to simplify the list.
BLACKJACK
Like roulette, there is a wide and varied range of blackjack games. Again, you’ll find the classic, simple versions that you expect to find in land based casinos like Standard Blackjack and Realistic Blackjack.
You will also find some unique variants that offer you the ability to place additional wagers in the form of a side bet. Some of these games are Single Deck Blackjack, Perfect Pairs Blackjack, Double Blackjack and high stakes Blackjack. The latter of which, again like roulette, allows higher staking players to get in on the action.
VIDEO POKER
This site used to have one of the more varied range of video poker titles, but this has been cut down considerably since then. Now one thing you’ll notice when navigating the video poker games, is that the majority of titles appear twice. This is because you are offered both the one hand, and the multi hand variations of the game where available.
In fact, some of the games have up to 10 hands available to play at once, massively increasing your chances of hitting one of the lucrative royal flush hands. Some of the other video poker games you will find include Jacks or Better, Jacks or Better Multi Hand, Joker Poker, Triple Play Draw Poker, Deuces Wild One Hand, All American Multi Hand and Challenge Poker.
OTHER GAMES
BetVictor offer a massive amount of instant win games and other games. First, you’ll see a variety of baccarat titles. Next up are the poker games, and the range is one of the most comprehensive out of any online casino we’ve reviewed.
You will find titles including Caribbean Stud Poker, 3 Card Poker, Red Dog, Casino Hold ‘Em, Oasis Poker, Euro Poker and Casino War. There is also the game craps, which is relatively rare to see at an online casino today, as it is still largely a land based casino game.
Live Dealer Casino
Here, you can enjoy a range of classic casino games played out right in front of your eyes. The live casino works through a live video stream, which sends a real-time stream from the dealer to your computer. You place bets as normal, but instead of it being computerised, a live dealer carries out the actions you choose.
This is a great way to combine online gaming with the thrill you would get from a real casino, and the large choice of games on offer means you’re bound to find a game that suits you. The varied selection of games includes Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat, 3 Card Poker and Casino Hold ‘Em.
- Live Dealer Games: Blackjack, Roulette, Casino Hold ‘Em, Baccarat and 3 Card Poker
- Opening Times: 9am to 5am
- Limits: Dependant on the game, usually from as little as £1 per hand
