If you’re an online casino connoisseur, there are plenty of options available for you. Many websites offer the chance to bet on your favourite sports and events online. One of these portals is NetBet, which has been operating under that name since 2006 and is owned and operated by the Maltese-based Cosmo Gaming Company. We’re going to take an in-depth look at NetBet and examine whether or not the site is a good place for online gaming, as well as whether it’s right for you.
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Safety
The first question you should ask yourself about any online portal is “will my money and I be safe gaming on this site?”. When it comes to NetBet, safety seems to be a priority for the company, as one might expect from an online gaming and betting platform. NetBet has solid security protocols in place to ensure your card details and identity are never stolen and used by crooks; the company prides itself on its high-quality encryption. In addition to this, every stage of the registration and gaming process requires proof of age, so if you’re a worried parent you can rest assured that NetBet won’t let your kids access the site.
Safety: 10/10
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First impressions
As the old saying goes, the first bite is with the eye, and NetBet certainly offers a lot of information on which to feast when first visiting the site.
The sheer amount of information that’s presented to visitors can be a little overwhelming, and each new visitor is automatically redirected to the Sports page, so if you’re in the market for a little casino play or you’re wanting to look into other gaming opportunities then you’ll need to do a bit of extra legwork. That said, it’s undeniable that NetBet’s information is exhaustive, and its aesthetic is nice and clean, with no clashes in font or visuals. First impressions of NetBet are solid, but we think it could do with a bit more simplicity in its initial approach.
First impressions: 7/10
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Variety
Although NetBet starts players off on its Sports page, there’s actually a huge variety of events and games for players to experience on the site. The menu at the top allows players to choose between sports, live and non-live casinos, poker and other disciplines, so if you game with NetBet you’ll truly be spoilt for choice. We tried a few of these games and found them all to be significantly different, too, so you could potentially spend hours with NetBet’s various offerings. Whatever you like to bet on, whether it’s real sports, esports or casino games, you can guarantee it’ll be here on NetBet.
Variety: 10/10
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Introductory offers
NetBet’s introductory bonus offer can be quite tricky to understand at first glance. The company offers customers a £50 bonus for joining, but this bonus can only be redeemed once a player’s initial deposit has rolled over once with odds of 1.60. That’s not great, and there are plenty of other sites out there which offer slightly more attractive welcome packages. To make matters a little worse, NetBet restricts this bonus in certain countries, where the deposit sum must be rolled over multiple times in order to take advantage of the welcome offer. This isn’t really a unique way of approaching new customers, but we think NetBet could stand to be a tad less stingy.
Introductory offers: 6/10
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Design and user interface
NetBet’s design is, as we’ve previously mentioned, a little cluttered. The company does have a huge amount of information to impart to users, and most of it is crucial – what sports are offered, what the odds are on each bet, et cetera – but still, some cleaning up of the overall visual design might be appreciated.
That said, there’s nothing overtly wrong with the design here, and everything’s easy to navigate and figure out. We didn’t have any trouble locating exactly what we wanted, placing a deposit and getting started with our betting while we were there, and that’s all we can ask for. The colour scheme is unified, so everything is of a piece with itself visually, and the site explains itself well. All in all, NetBet’s visual design is hard to fault, even if we do think it could be a bit less busy.
Design and user interface: 8/10
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Betting odds
NetBet offers reasonable betting odds, but it’s probably not the best place to go if you’re looking for optimal odds on your bets. Generally, NetBet seems to play it rather disappointingly safe when it comes to odds, and although you’ll spot a few gems once or twice, by and large it’s hard to find a bet that couldn’t be bettered (no pun intended) elsewhere. With that said, the betting odds here aren’t too good to be true either, so all in all the odds NetBet offers are middling. With such a high variety of sports and other events on offer, it’s difficult to fault NetBet for wanting to hedge its bets (again, no pun intended) when it comes to odds.
Betting odds: 5/10
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Transparency
NetBet is excellent in terms of the information it gives to its users. The company’s Help Centre facility is wonderful, imparting the company values and describing how NetBet approaches issues like illegal gambling by minors, player protection and limits for unsafe players.
If you’ve got any worries about NetBet’s ethics or its approach to its business model, then look no further than the Help Centre. Elsewhere, NetBet is very transparent with the information it gives to users about how much they’re likely to win, how payouts and transfers are handled and other important payout info.
Transparency: 9/10
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Verdict
All in all, we’re pretty sold on NetBet. It’s got some minor user interface issues and it doesn’t quite hold up when considering some of its competition, but as a betting service for beginners or those who aren’t massively into betting it’s hard to match NetBet. It’s secure, fast, well-designed and packed with features.
Overall: 8.5/10