Bonus Offers - Claiming your Vbet bonuses
Vbet’s offers are listed under the ‘promotions’ tab at the top of the site and there are a few different ones, in particular catering for the football punter.
The premium bonus at the sportsbook is the welcome offer. This is only available to
new sign-ups in the UK who are 18 years of age or older. The offer includes a guaranteed free bet whether you win or lose. The terms and conditions are not straightforward, so be sure to scrutinise our overview below.
You will have to sign-up and make a multi-bet over at least three legs within the first 30 days of opening your account. You will need to place a minimum stake of £2 at minimum odds of 3/10 (1.30) per leg. Here’s what you stand to earn:
- If you win:
You can claim your winnings plus you’ll get 50% of your stake back up to £10 as a free bet bonus.
- If you lose:
You will get back 100% of your stake up to £20
Terms and conditions apply, so we advise you to read over the bonus policy at VBet before claiming the offer.
Usability, Look & Feel - Takes some time to familiarise yourself
The set-up of the website is not particularly common and a first-time user may struggle to quickly get to grips with it. For example, to find your market you first have to either choose between ‘in-play’ and ‘pre-match’ options at the top of the page, or scroll further down where there are three options – ‘live events’, ‘highlights’ and ‘upcoming events’.
Once through this initial stage, finding the exact market you require isn’t as easy as it could be. As is seen on many bookie websites which have their roots outside the UK, event markets are often grouped under the country in which they are taking place. For example, on tennis you are offered ‘Austria’, ‘USA’ etc. If you want to bet on the Kitzbuhel Open but don’t know in which country Kitzbuhel is, you’ve got a problem.
Such issues will undoubtedly put some potential customers off but for those who do persist it soon becomes clearer how to navigate the site and the BetConstruct software begins to come into its own. Markets are displayed pretty well – drop-down menus and tabs separate out the various market categories associated with an event – with the purple-based colour scheme working in a clear, simple manner.
Not surprisingly in 2018, the site is clearly designed for mobile use – when navigating the desktop version there’s a lack of ‘flow’ compared to its mobile sister. On the desktop site you can end up with four main columns across the width of the browser (starting with the sport menu on the left and ending with the betslip on the right). On mobile they simply replace each other as you navigate through the site.
There’s a useful, if increasingly common, feature that allows users to put their favourite betting events all in one place by clicking on a star icon associated with each market.
Finally, it’s impossible not to mention the artwork underlay that meets the user when they come to the home page. In terms of usability if offers nothing but it’s attractive and most definitely different to anything else out there.
Vbet Mobile App
There is no iOS or Android app available as yet, although the website promises both are “coming soon”.
Payments - MasterCard and Visa payments
MasterCard and Visa options are available, while on the money transfer front users of Neteller, Skrill, ecoPayz, SafeCharge and MuchBetter are all accommodated – a fairly wide range for the industry.
Customer Service - Live chat options available
With a fairly small customer base in the UK at present, there’s little to suggest users aren’t happy with the Vbet experience. Indeed many will be happy with the firm’s happiness to take bets of as little as 10p.
In terms of contacting the firm, registered users can use the live chat facility or, if the question isn’t time sensitive, fill in an online form or email support@vbet.co.uk. There’s no phone option though.
Social media isn’t really the way to contact Vbet either. They don’t have a Twitter handle for their UK-based operation and while they are on Facebook (@VbetUK) the page has a very low following and doesn’t seem to be encouraging queries, more advertising its products.
License & Security - Is Vbet secure?
In terms of Vbet’s core business, BetConstruct were awarded a licence for their sportsbook product by the UK Gambling Commission in 2015 (remote operating licence number: 000-044662-R-324273) with Vbet.co.uk launched last year.
Overall Conclusion - A provider with potential
Vbet has potential – and elements of its offering with be keeping some customers happy already – but right now it simply has too many key flaws to offer mass appeal.
Not offering markets on racing and golf seems odd, to put it politely, when trying to make a breakthrough in the crowded UK marketplace and it should be easier to navigate round the site in order to find the market you are looking for. Usability is absolutely key in the online betting industry these days.
Maybe if the firm was really pushing the boat out when it comes to price, such issues could be put to one side, but that’s not the case.
There are some good aspects – like the guaranteed bonus bets whether you win or lose – but Vbet will need to improve in other areas if they really want to make an impact in the UK.
