Unibet

The Unibet brand is one that’s been growing steadily over the years and from very humble beginnings too. Although formed in the UK, the sportsbooks roots also lie within Scandinavia thanks to its founder, but these days, they are able to cover a huge range of countries across Europe.

The size of the company might actually surprise many. As part of the Kindred Group, they also oversee brands such as 32 Red Casino here in the UK and others that operate in different countries. Revenue figures of over £350 million a year and over 1,000 employees globally, make the backing behind that of Unibet one of the biggest in the industry.

Football

Like so many bookies that have big interest from within the UK, football is one of the biggest sports that they cover. The site is able to offer up a huge range of markets and bets to choose from and their unique take on how these are presented definitely offers something a little different in a sector where it is hard to really set yourself aside from the crowd.

To give you an idea of the popularity of the sports, at the time of writing, there are over 19,000 different markets to bet on for football. The next biggest is that of tennis that includes just shy of 2,000, some 10% of the total football coverage.

FOOTBALL PRICING

Whilst market size is definitely something that is worth noting, the bread and butter of any bookmaker, for any sport, is that of its pricing structure. We’ve been familiar with Unibet for many years now and have been able to compile reviews on the bookmakers pricing throughout that time. It’s probably worth noting that we’ve often found them to struggle with pricing, compared to that of the bigger bookies at least.

From the markets and games that we have been able to test recently though, we’ve found them to have improved massively. In fact, we would go as far as saying that they are the most improved bookmaker in terms of pricing over the last decade, such has been their turn around.

It didn’t take us long to see just how competitive they have been. It’s fortunate that at the time of writing this review, the World Cup happened to be taking place, which means that bookies are highly active and competitive. We looked at dozens of games from around the world and were able to consistently find that Unibet were as strong overall as any bookie that we’ve tested.

France Vs Denmark: Example 1

Argentina Vs Nigeria: Example 2

Croatia Vs Iceland: Example 3

You can see above that we have included the outright winner market for three games that were on offer on the same day, and Unibet are able to offer a best price in at least one selection within all 3.

What jumped out at us was the fact that they weren’t just best price for say, a short-priced favourite. Instead, they are best priced for two of the favourites here and a draw. This shows that they were well-rounded, which is a massive plus and should be something that you need to consider when deciding on your next or even first bookmaker.

We obviously extended our reach even further this to games upcoming and from around the world, finding very similar results. Whilst it’s tough to say that one bookie offers better odds than another, as they fluctuate with each game and market, we’d have to say that Unibet are one of the best based on our research. Another point to make is that they offer a ton of promotions, such as enhanced prices and odds boosts, which add further depth to their already stellar pricing section.

MATCH BETTING

The good news continues as you start to work your way through the games and markets that are on offer. They are able to offer a massive range of leagues from around the world. Europe dominate these leagues, which isn’t uncommon, but they do include fixtures from all over the world, such as Brazil, Latvia, Philippines and the USA, to give you an idea of the range.

Another thing that jumped out at us is their coverage of Scandinavian football. We mentioned briefly at the start that they have Scandinavian roots as a company, so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to see this. We’d actually go as far as saying that they are the best when it comes to leagues within Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. We wouldn’t go as far as saying they were niche markets these days, but many bookies fail to get anywhere near the coverage that Unibet do.

MARKET COVERAGE

The market coverage on offer is massive. For example, the World Cup games that we spoke about above each offer over 450 bets per game. We think this may be the biggest that we have seen and certainly the biggest from the higher profile brands in the industry. The range of markets and bets were pretty incredible actually. We really liked that they were all in drop down menus, which meant you weren’t overwhelmed as you entered each match. Instead, you can choose your category and then see your bets from there.

Highlights for this had to include the Asian Lines and the Player Specials, each with over 50 bets alone. The Asian Lines in particular were about as comprehensive as you can find, offer 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75, both plus and minus, right from 0 through to 4.

The match combination section was another interesting one, as you were able to take advantage of combinations that the Unibet team had come up with. These might include the likes of Over 2.5 goals, Over 4.5 corners and over 1.5 yellow cards, to give you an example.

FOOTBALL STATISTICS

Each game is linked to Unibet’s free stats section. This is powered by that of Sport Radar, who are fairly new but have been making great progress. We’ve seen them within a number of other bookies and they work really well.

The basic information that you get includes previous form, highest win, total goals, average goals per game (great for goal betting markets), some key facts, previous meetings, last matches, next matches (both including odds where available), player stats and some more in-depth goal data, as well.

IN PLAY BETTING

The in-play betting section is another strong part in the makeup of Unibet. The first thing that we noticed is the number of bets as soon as a game goes in-play, massively reduce. We saw them drop form around 450 to 170, which is noticeable, but understandable.

Once you jump in, the design of this section is very clean, but informative. The markets still take on the drop down menu feature, which again works well due to so many moving parts and the number of markets that get adjusted.

Action Betting

One of the highlights is that of Unibet’s unique “Action Betting”, as you can see above. The bets will change as the games go on, but often include throw in, goals and free kick type of bets. They change fast, but they settle faster than most bets also, with very little delay from clicking place to the bet actually being placed.

The match centre is another good feature that allows you to see what’s going on and with what team. You can also enable to stats function here to see what’s gone on previously in the game, especially handy if you are late to it.

Horse Racing

The horse racing section at Unibet has taken its time to develop. They’ve not always been renowned for betting within the sport, but the company’s drive to keep improving has seen this section improved massively over the last few years. Just like football, we will start by looking at the odds on offer and if they stack up to that of the competition.

HORSE RACING PRICING

Horse racing fans will be pleased to know that the good work Unibet have been able to produce within the football pricing section has carried over to that of horse racing. There has been a massive range of races and meetings to cover, so we are even more confident in saying that Unibet have to be one of the most competitive in the industry right now.

Here is an example of their horse racing pricing.

The market above was actually the very first one that we clicked on to start our comparison, but it gives a great overview of what you can expect. As you can see, they are best or equal best priced for 4 from the 8 horses in this race, which is hugely impressive.

We found this to run throughout most of the races that we tested and whilst there were the odd few that they struggled with, we wouldn’t say that this was anything out of ordinary. What’s great about the above example is that you can compare it to any of the bookies that you are already betting with to see how they differ.

Horse racing is a much harder sport to nail down price wise, especially given the number of races and then horses within each race. The flip side to that, compared to football at least, is that the number of markets are much smaller, which allows them to be more concise with the outright winner odds.

We also wanted to highlight that the racing section is kept separate from the rest of the bookmaker, which we really liked. You’re able to choose from both horse racing and greyhound racing within the dedicated section, along with taking advantage of the live commentary, horse racing blog, form guides, alerts and even betting rules.

UK & IRISH RACING

A good percentage of the races that Unibet cover are from the UK and Ireland. This is where a vast number of the punters are from and want to bet on, so it makes sense. You’re generally able to get markets around 24 hours in advance for races, which means they change up from Antepost markets a little earlier than most. This will suit some punters more than others, but we also like to see earlier prices rather than later, especially if you are looking to bet ahead of the race.

Market coverage is pretty basic to be honest, and you are able to choose from the winner/each way, forecast and tricast bets. It’s also worth noting that Unibet do offer Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG), which means that if the Starting Price is bigger than the price you took and your horse wins, they will pay out at the higher Starting Price. It’s a common feature these days, so it’s imperative you take advantage of it to not leave value on the table.

There is streaming for the vast majority of races in the UK and Ireland. This can be accessed by placing a wager of £1 or more on any market to get access. It’s worth noting that access will only be for that race that you have bet on.

The race card is one of the many highlights within the horse racing section for us. They have teamed up with the Racing Post, which means that for most races you get a detailed look at the possible outcome for that race. The card will include a short overview of the race at the top and then you can expand each horse to see more detailed form and how they might run. You can extend this further by clicking “Full Form” and from there see how they ran in their last races.

INTERNATIONAL RACING

The international coverage on site is something that took us by surprise if truth be told. The coverage is some of the best we have seen. It includes racing from the US, Canada, France, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Chile and many more. In terms of the sheer number of countries it covers, it’s right up with the best in the industry.

What also caught our eye was the fact that a number of these races can be streamed via their the Unibet live streaming platform. Again, this is part of their free service, the same as that of the UK and Irish version, but not something that you see all that often within the betting industry.

The downside is that the racecards are a little more basic and they don’t include information from the Racing Post, meaning you’re going to need to dig a little deeper to get anything more than basic form. Aside from that, the sheer volume of races and the variety of countries that they come from make it one of the most impressive sections we have come across.

ANTEPOST

The Antepost section can be found within the main racing HUB and it’s highlighted by clicking the “Futures” button at the top of the screen. This is actually the first section of the entire site that we have found to be poor. The reason is that the number of races included are extremely low. In fact, at the time of writing, they only included two races, which were both within the next 7 days and from not particularly big meetings.

It’s not something that would discourage us from using Unibet for horse racing, but it’s definitely a negative. If you are looking to take on Antepost markets and races, then you will need to use a different bookmaker we’re afraid.

Australian Rules

Whilst Aussie Rules is a sport that a lot of bookies offer basic markets for, there are few that we have come across that provide as good a coverage as Unibet. It’s a surprise inclusion to be honest, but nevertheless, the amount of information that’s on offer is quite remarkable.

The sport is fourth in the total number of markets on offer, behind only football, tennis and baseball (other American sports when in season will rotate with baseball). Each of games from the AFL get at least 50 markets to bet on, ranging right up to 130 as the games start to draw closer and rise in terms of importance.

Usability

The usability at Unibet is excellent. If we were writing this review 5 years ago, we would have easily grouped Unibet to be one of the poorer looking and working sites. But we are happy to tell you that the improvements made in that time have been night and day.

The site follows a fairly similar platform layout to some other bookmakers, but that’s not a bad thing. We liked that Unibet have made this base into their own and the green, white and black colour scheme works really well for the brand.

MOBILE APP

The app is a massive triumph as well and we enjoyed using the mobile version just as much as the online version. It is worth noting that there are a few functions and features online that you can’t access via mobile though, so bear this in mind.

Other Products

CASINO

Unibet were able to include their online casino almost from the get-go alongside their online sportsbook. It’s not as well established but works well as an extension of the sports betting brand. They utilise a number of different game developers, which include Microgaming, NetEnt, IGT and Blueprint Gaming, to name just a few.

The casino has hundreds of games to choose from and are great at keeping it feeling fresh by adding (and removing) games every week. We were impressed that the site allows you to “like” each game if you’ve enjoyed playing, which offers new users to the site a look at what might be popular. Some of the more popular games on site, as voted by users, include Starburst, Book of Dead and Twin Spin.

POKER

The poker room has been running since 2005 and Unibet are pretty unique in that they run on their own network. This is a double-edged sword in some respects as on the one hand you get a lot of casual players making the switch from sports and casino, but also can see low traffic numbers, especially in off-peak times.

The software that’s on offer is some of the best we have seen. The graphics are amazing, and it really feels unique, which is something not all that common in this sector of the market place. The soft player database and looks make up for the low traffic in what’s potentially one of the most underrated poker rooms in the industry.