Bonus Offers - Welcome bonus worth £175
Priority is given to residents of Scotland. The Introductory welcome offer is only available to people who live within the country where the customer’s first bet is matched up to £25.
New Casino customers can qualify for a bonus of up to £175, while existing Casino customers can collect up to £3000 in real money each week and qualify depending on a number of factors, including cash deposits made, number of plays, frequency of play and whether the punter had won or lost with losers earning more.
The Tartan Club is again open only to Scottish residents and allows customers the chance to earn a £5 free bet each week when staking £30 or more at odds of EVS or greater.
A Coupon Buster from McBookie is basically a free bet of one element of an Accumulator lets a bet down and, as previously mentioned, the Best Odds Guarantee on Horse Racing Markets means punters get the better price if their ante-post bet is worse value than the Starting Price.
Usability, Look & Feel - An inutitive site design
There is nothing wrong with the initial look and feel of the website, but that doesn’t mean it’s remarkable. The homepage themes are continued deeper into the site and, as already mentioned, the blues and thistles leave one in no doubt that you’re in Scotland.
There are no particular negatives with the homepage design, but neither does it blow one’s socks off. As a new customer the website’s introductory offer features prominently, both as the top of the page static advert and at the top of the left-hand vertical menu.
The homepage is topped by the Sports, Casino and Offers options and beneath that the In-Play, Horses, Dogs, Golf and Blog areas of the site are given prominence. At the time of the review the World Cup was in this menu area too, but is usually a generic Football heading.
Down the left menu the Top Links (Today’s Matches, Tomorrow’s Matches, Scottish Football, England Football, Both Teams To Score and Result and BTTS) are displayed just above the Top Sports (Football, Horse Racing and Greyhounds.) Then next the full list of available sports is displayed.
On the right-hand side another vertical bar displays the current top bets above a small graphic advert for Casino options.
The central area of the homepage is topped by the prominent In-Play markets with the ability to ‘Show More’ to find the full list of in-play matches in each sport. Beneath the In-Play area, Horse Racing has its own block showing the daily meetings and race times with the option of clicking through to each meeting or race.
All of the major markets are one-click from the main landing page and therefore the customer is close to parting with their money from the outset. It is functional and easy to navigate, but it provides nothing innovative or different to any of its competitors and is less visually striking than many.
Payments - Deposit using your debit card
Customers can deposit by card transaction and withdrawals are available by the same mechanisms and usually received in 2-5 days. A full transaction history can be located in the customer’s account.
Customer Service - A dedicated support team is on hand
A comprehensive customer service mechanism can be found on the website offering the customer the option of contacting the company by email, telephone or via a live chat service. This is available on every day of the year
The Scottish bias on the website has led to a large amount of dissatisfaction. A trawl of the various feedback sites shows only negativity, with previous customers less the complimentary on how their accounts have been dealt with. The majority of complaints stem from the introductory offer being available only to Scotland residents – a ruling that many have felt hasn’t been made obvious at sign-up stage. To be fair to McBookie they have responded and that offer now clearly contains the words ‘Scottish Residents Only’. So the cause of dissatisfaction may have been tackled, but the fact that the comments remain on comparison sites all over the internet leave a stain on the image of the McBookie brand.
License & Security - Is McBookie safe?
Starting out in 2009 this privately owned business with headquarters in Dundee has a website operated by BetVictor and is licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission.
Overall Conclusion - A superb sportsbook
McBookie offers all expected ante-post and in-play markets on worldwide sport, but seasoned with Scotland throughout. The overly prominent Scottish slant to the offerings serves a purpose north of the Border, but has the potential to rile those from further afield and can immediately limit their allure.
They have grown a range of enhancements and bonuses, which match their competitors and heightens the value of the betting experience offered.
The website is one where a customer would say it’s okay rather than incredible. McBookie do the basics well, but there are few bells and whistles, or indeed reel pipes, to convert a basic betting experience into an extraordinary one. In addition, the mobile app is some way behind hitting the basic level.
