Unibet Review

Unibet Screenshot

Unibet have managed to form a strong reputation in the gambling industry. Coming from a poker background, it’s always interesting to see how companies make the switch, but there have been few that have been as successful as Unibet over the years.

What the company have tired desperately to do is bring in a brand of betting that no other company has. This is pretty tough in what’s now a very saturated marketplace, but they have tried to develop a website that will not only be current in terms of market coverage, but also that of it’s design. In fact, you can tell the design aspect has been very important to them with multiple overhauls over the years. Their current development looks like it’s one that’s going to stick and to be honest, will be a great attribute to bring in the punters.

Sign Up Offers

Money Back up to £40 if Your First Bet Loses + £10 Casino Bonus

For racing fans Unibet offer money back on your first bet if it loses, up to a maximum of £40. The money back is given as a bonus and to qualify your first bet must be for £10 or more and at odds of 2/5 or greater.

T&C's: 18+ begambleaware.org. New customers only. Min deposit £10. Money back as bonus if first bet loses. Wagering requirements: all sportsbook 3x at min. odds of 1.40 (2/5), casino 50x. Unless forfeited the sportsbook bonus must be wagered before using the casino bonus. Bonus expires 7 days after opt-in. Full T&C's apply. #ad

Loyalty Offers

In-Play Free Bet Club: £10 Every Week

Unibet In-Play Free Bet Club

Free bet clubs are run by betting sites to reward regular customers. They involve giving free bets once you have placed a certain number of wagers. Unibet give you a free £10 in-play bet if you place five bets or more in-play on football, tennis, cricket, darts and basketball in a given week. Here's how you qualify:

  1. Opt-in on the Unibet website
  2. Place 5 live bets of at least £10 at odds of evens (2.0) or greater on football, tennis, cricket, darts or basketball between Monday and midnight on Sunday.
  3. You'll receive your free £10 bet by 4pm the following Monday, valid on in-play markets for 7 days.
  4. You can repeat this the next week.

As is generally the rule, free bets do not count as a qualifying bet and free stakes are not returned in your winnings.

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Features

Unibet Statistics

Unibet have recently introduced their statistic section to their sportsbooks, which brings tons of stats and data from a number of sports around the world. What we liked about this is not only is it free to use for all account holders, but it genuinely gives you a much better insight into which markets you are looking to bet on. Granted, it’s not exactly a unique feature in the betting industry, but we think that the bookmaker is far stronger for having one, than not!

The ‘Armchair Experts’ is a new addition to the Unibet site which draws upon the experience of former sports stars. The information that’s on offer is actually quite good and works much the same as a blog would, we suppose. The likes of Graeme Swann and Gavin Hastings are two of the bigger names on their and their insights into both cricket and rugby, respectively have been fascinating to read.

Unibet run an interactive live betting leader board which anyone with a Unibet account can play. Basically you get points for the number of correct bets you make and the amount that you use their live betting platform. This allows you to go head to head with other Unibet punters (or your friends) to find the king of live betting! A different feature, no doubt, but one that we really enjoyed!

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Banking

Payment Methods

You can make deposits with Unibet using your bank debit card, with prepaid cards like Ukash and Paysafecard, and with eWallets including PayPal, Skrill and Neteller.

Fast Facts

  • Minimum Deposit – The minimum deposit amount is £5 for all methods apart from PayPal which is £10.
  • Minimum Withdrawal – Much like the deposits, this is £5 for all methods other than PayPal which is again £10.
  • Withdrawal Time – This changes depending on the payment method that you are using. Generally, Neteller and Skrill withdrawals will be received within 12 hours. Bank transfers will take 1-3 working days and returns to debit cards will take 3-5 working days.
  • Fees – Unibet make no charges for withdrawing funds.
  • Bonus Exclusions – None are stated but it’s wise to check the terms and conditions for each offer.

Licence & Contact

Customer Support

  • Live ChatVia website (24 hours a day)
  • Email[email protected]
  • Telephone – UK: 0800 329 393 (Freephone) International: 0207 257 8701 (both 24 hours a day)

Company Information

  • Licence Details – UK Gambling Commission 45322
  • Company Name – Platinum Gaming Limited
  • Registered Company Address – Suite 2B, 143 Main Street, Gibraltar, GX11 1AA

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About Unibet

Unibet Home Screenshot

Given that Unibet trades on the Nasdaq in Stockholm and was founded by someone called Anders Ström, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it is a particularly Nordic company. In many ways you’d be correct to think as much too. Yet it was actually founded in London, with Ström living in a flat in the Earl’s Court part of London in 1997 when he had an idea for a company that could take bets over the telephone. A licence to operate was secured and Unibet grew over the following two years, allowing it to launch their website in 1999.

What followed was a company that expanded quickly, diversifying enough to ensure that it could operate in different languages and be able to cope with the demands of more than 300,000 customers by 2004. Part of the company’s ability to keep itself in the public eye stemmed from sponsorship deals, with the likes of Glasgow Rangers and Club Brugge being backed alongside the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unibet also sponsored a key race at the Cheltenham Festival, allowing it to become known by horse racing lovers courtesy of one of the sport’s most beloved meetings.

The Early Years Of Unibet

Combined Fabric Flags of the UK and Sweden

When he first launched Unibet, Anders Ström had one main aim: to treat punters better than all of the other bookmakers. His hope was that he would be able to give bettors more information than anyone else, meaning that they could make informed decisions about what it is that they were betting on. This, he thought, would see his company become one of the most trusted on the market. Having spent many years betting himself, Ström knew what it was that punters needed and wanted to receive from the bookies, so he endeavoured to provide it for them.

His first job as the de facto Chief Executive Officer of his new company was to get it out of the bedroom of the his Earl’s Court flat in London and start taking bets. He acquired a gambling licence in order to ensure that this would be legal and then began taking wagers over the phone in 1998. Ström and a small team set to work in offering their services to punters, building a loyal customer base thanks to their helpful approach and willingness to offer bettors advice on what to bet on and the wagers that were worth placing.

Going Online

3D Planet on WWW Keyboard Button

Having gained a solid customer base, the next move that Ström wanted Unibet to make was to go online. He had always dreamed of having as wide a customer based as possible, which the internet was beginning to allow by the end of the 1990s. It was with this in mind that Ström gained a licence to offer online betting in both his native Sweden and his new home of the United Kingdom. The first website was launched in the two languages necessary to appeal to those audiences, doubling down on the promise of being a site ‘By Players, For Players’.

Not content with launching a website alone, Unibet also became one of the first online betting sites to provide bettors with information and statistics on what they were betting on. Having established itself in the UK and Sweden, the company next applied for a Maltese Gaming Licence in order to gain access to numerous other countries based in the European Union. At the same time, Anders Ström took a step back from his role in the company and Pontus Lesse was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer in his place.

Making Moves In The Market

Green Growth Rate IconBy 2001, the Unibet website had launched in a number of new countries, having seen it translated into 12 different languages. A year later, Unibet was working with 200,000 customers across 80 different countries, continuing its rapid expansion. By 2004, a decision was taken to float on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, thanks in no small part to the fact that it had taken on board over 300,000 customers. The decision to float allowed Unibet to begin its growth strategy, with the funds used in order to launch an online casino.

This was able to happen courtesy of a takeover of the Belgian casino operative that was imaginatively called Mr. Bookmaker. A series of mergers and acquisitions followed, all alongside the moves to ensure an excellent online presence. Unibet’s first mobile betting platform was launched two years before the iPhone had even been released, showing just how ahead of the market the company was. On the tenth anniversary of the business’ launch, Unibet brought Mario Bingo and Casino under its umbrella, with other purchases allowing it to operate in the likes of Australia, Denmark and Finland.

Kambi Is Launched & Online Poker Added

Green Files on Light Blue Background

In 2010, Unibet decided it was time to put all of its knowledge and expertise into practice. A business-to-business company that it named Kambi was launched, signing deals with numerous betting companies in order to provide them with the software to launch their own sportsbooks. The platform offered by Kambi included the likes of betting odds, user interface and a customer retention tool, which was used by the likes of 32Red, LeoVegas and 888sport. Unibet also acquired the Danish company Bet24, giving it even more strength to operate in the Danish market.

By 2013, there was no arguing with the success of poker, largely thanks to the explosion of the likes of the World Poker Tour. As a result, Unibet decided to partner with MPN Poker before moving its poker operation to its own platform. Alongside Unibet’s improvements, Kambi benefitted to such an extent that it was launched on the Stockholm First North Stock Exchange in 2014. After just one day of trading, Kambi was valued at in excess of £80 million, which was great news to the Unibet shareholders who owned 95% of it.

The Buyout Of Stan James & The Launched Of The Kindred Group

Kindred LogoIn July of 2015, it was confirmed that Unibet was going to buy Stan James in a deal worth about £19 million. Though Stan James owned numerous betting shops around the United Kingdom at the time, the deal did not include them and was instead limited to the Stan James online business. The shops were given a grace period to re-brand with a different name, whilst a decision was taken not to run Stan James online as a competing company to Unibet and instead fold the customer base into the Unibet company.

By now, Unibet wasn’t just one site. Instead, it was a host of products and services that required a new infrastructure in order to ensure that it was well-run. A new parent organisation called the Kindred Group was launched, having 11 different products under its umbrella at the time. Each brand offered something different, from online casinos through to sites that specialised in online bingo. Unibet remained its own entity, but it was now run from under the Kindred Group umbrella and operated alongside the other sites.

Sponsorships & The American Market

Jezki After Winning the Champion Hurdle

By Carine06, flickr

Unibet was a betting behemoth, but its name recognition still wasn’t as impressive as many in the company might have hoped. As a result, a decision was taken in 2017 to become the main shirt sponsor of Aston Villa, with the hope being that this would bring in the lucrative football betting market to the company. In the years that followed, sponsorship deals were also signed with the likes of Preston North End and Leeds, amongst others. On top of that, Unibet also moved to sponsor major events in the horse racing calendar, such as the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Of all of the decisions that helped Unibet’s name become well-known to punters around Europe, perhaps none were as inspired as the decision to sponsor the Professional Darts Corporation’s Premier League darts competition. That travelling show of darting prowess saw the company’s name appear on branding for the competition as moved to city after city. It was a surprise move, but one that many consider to be a defining moment in the company’s modern era. The next big nut to crack was that of the United States of America.

Unibet had hoped to get in on the US market for some time when a deal was signed with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City in 2018. Further deals with the likes of the Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino in Pennsylvania allowed the Kindred Group to genuinely feel as though it was making in-roads into one of the biggest betting markets in the world. Sponsorships continued, which is why the likes of the 2018 Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, were sponsored. More than 20 years after Anders Ström first launched the company, it continues to grow and improve.

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