Smarkets Reviews and User Ratings

Full Smarkets Bookmaker Review

If you like to bet on your desktop, then Smarkets just isn’t an option for you. And that’s fine. If, however, you bet on your phone, then Smarkets simply has to be an option for you, because it’s brilliant.

Smarkets' odds are simply some of the best around. There are so many sports in which they will have the best, or among the best, odds out there. On top of that, there are an absolute tonne of markets for different events, with most sports covered in depth. 

Throw in some nice touches, like the “Tips” icon at the top of the page where you can post your bet, plus thinking behind it, as well as seeing other people’s on the same markets, and you start getting a real sense of how thought out a product it is. 

Advantages and Disadvantages

All explained in greater detail in this review, these pros and cons allow users to scan and understand where the strengths lie quickly.

• Established in 2019

• Smarkets (Malta) Ltd.

• UKGC licence number - 39173

First Impression of Smarkets

My First Impressions

This review will reflect the service offered at a specific point in time. I signed up on the Smarkets app – there is no desktop version of the site. Smarkets immediately feels like the high-end apps that you use in other industries – Airbnb, iTunes, Uber etc. Their strength is in their product design and technology, and far removed from the majority of apps that other sportsbooks have. When you open the app you immediately see the markets starting soon, and I especially like the browse tab at the bottom of the menu, which makes navigation to markets easy.

- Luke Bradshaw Lee, - Your Sports Betting Guide 👍

What is Exchange Betting?

With a standard bookie you are taking a bet from the house (the bookie in question), but with exchange betting you are betting with other bettors, and use the betting exchange as a platform where two bets are brokered. You can back a bet, or lay a bet, with different prices for each. The “lay” is more like a traditional bet with a bookie, so with exchange betting (and this is simplifying it somewhat) you can place a bet, or be the bookmaker. To find out more, and digest in more detail, head to our Betting Exchange Guide.

Also, remember that it is always worth checking alternative betting options, including best spread betting sites and betting exchange sites, depending on who you are as a bettor.

Live Betting

This is a very strong part of Smarkets' service.. It has in-play betting for most sports, covering events across the globe. All of this is across a great interface, clearly sign-posted in the top-left of the screen, or further down the home page, with plenty of stats in-game to help inform your betting. At the time of writing, the in-play options included football, tennis and cricket, but these change according to what’s actually going on at the time.

Live Streaming

Live streaming is available on the Smarkets app for horse racing, with over 60 racecourses included, and greyhounds in the UK and Ireland. The quality of the stream is very good indeed, and I half expected it to be so given the quality of the app itself.

Betting Odds

What sets Smarkets apart?

Adam Baylis

Marketing Director

Smarkets' odds are some of the very best around.

In most cases, where Smarkets makes our Top 10s, their odds play a big part in why it does so. Smarkets has been vocal about operating with smaller profit margins, enabling more competitive odds for their members, and is regularly one of the best places to find competitive odds for some of the smaller sports, as well as offering competitive odds on the likes of football and racing.

Betting App or Mobile Site 

As mentioned, there is no desktop version of Smarkets, so everything is done on their app, and it’s excellent. Their full live streaming service is available on the app. The mobile app has been optimised to give you a great viewing experience when streaming any of the events you have bet on. 

All the design is done with mobiles in mind. There isn’t a huge amount of flashing graphics and sounds, with the sole purpose of helping it work better on lower powerful operating systems. Nothing has been crammed in, or squeezed together – everything fits as it should and works the way you want it. See how it compares to the best betting apps in the UK.

⚽ Football Betting

Smarkets' football section is excellent. Covering all the major leagues around the world, as well as a load of smaller ones, you can find plenty of markets for each game. As well as game bets, there’s futures and outrights – top goalscorer, manager of the month, player of the season, and plenty more. Their odds are as good as pretty much anyone else out there, too, so they have to be considered when searching around for value. You can compare with the top football betting sites,

Bet Builder 

You’ll find Smarkets' bet builder for events in most sports, just look for the green “BB” underneath the team names. A lot of sportsbooks have pre-built bet builders, and Smarkets is no different, but they have quite a neat way of presenting them. When you click on a game you’ll see a banner saying: “Game starting soon? Tap here for an instant Bet Builder”.

This then loads a three-leg bet builder that you can use, ignore, or modify by taking away or adding selections.

Bonuses

As well as the welcome offer, there are a few promotions that pepper the Smarkets app, although there is no loyalty programme of free bets club. Most of the promotions involve money back as free bets after betting a certain amount of money. You can also get horse racing and bet builder tokens as you wager on those sports.

Cash Out

With Smarkets, you have the flexibility to cash out your bets, including partial cash out. You can also use cash out on selected bet builder bets, giving you more control over your wagers and potential winnings. It’s one the best betting sites for cash out in the UK.

🏇 Horse Racing

Smarkets' odds are excellent for their racing service. There are plenty of markets, live streaming of races (as mentioned above), great little bits of information and stats listed for each horse and jockey. You can also do Same Race Accas, picking a winner alongside other horse to place also. Compare to the best horse racing betting sites.

🇺🇸 US Sports Betting

A full range of American Sports is available. At the time of writing, only the MLB season isn’t up and running, with the other major leagues in full swing. Beyond that there are lots of international markets for these sports.

🏈 American Football Betting

When you see an American football section (and the same for basketball, too), you want to see game lines, with spread, total and moneyline markets right there. That’s what you get at Smarkets, although they have named the moneyline markets just as “winner”, but that’s absolutely fine by me. The odds are very competitive, as ever, I really like the little helmet icons that accompany the team names and the number of markets per game is brilliant. It’s worth checking out our best NFL betting sites to see if Smarkets ranks as one of the best.  

🏀 Basketball Betting

There are plenty of NBA betting options as well as odds from the biggest matches in Europe, including France, Germany, Russia, the UK. Beyond that you’ll find competitions in Australia, China and Japan. For each there are just so many markets to choose from, with the standard lines, player props, but plenty more on top of that. Keep tabs on the top basketball betting sites though, to see if they make it onto our list.

⚾ Baseball Betting

This is a bit tricky to gauge at the moment for Smarkets. There’s currently no MLB season going on this time of year, and after a quick search online there actually isn’t that much baseball going on anywhere. They have some outrights on the next MLB season, and everything looks straightforward enough. Look elsewhere for some of the best baseball betting sites in the country.

🏒 Ice Hockey Betting

You’ll obviously get a big NHL focus on Smarkets given the league’s status, but you’ll also find competitions in Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Finland and more. Their betting markets include Puck Line, Money Line, Total Goals, Highest Scoring Period, Double Chance, Winning Margin, Win/Draw/Win Betting and a selection of 3-Way Handicaps. 

🐕 Greyhound Betting

Smarkets greyhound offering is a nice, well-thought out package. There’s no Best Odds Guaranteed, but their odds are so good to begin with you’re probably not missing out on that much, especially if you have a few different betting accounts and one that does include BOG. There’s live streaming for plenty of races and a decent selection of markets.

🎯 Darts Betting

Matthew Edgar

- Your Darts Betting Guide 👍

In terms of darts betting sites in the UK, Smarkets is pretty good. They offer markets for so many different tournaments. The big PDC events are a given, obviously, but on top of that you’ll find the Masters, UK Open, World Cup of Darts, World Series of Darts, World Grand Prix and the European Championship.

Compare to the best darts betting sites in the UK.

Snooker Betting

Steve Madgwick

Editor-In-Chief

No matter the time of year, you will find outright markets on the game’s three biggest events. Other events feature throughout the snooker season, with decent market depth consistently and you can utilise some general promotions, as well as attractive sign-up bonus, if you want to use them for your snooker betting. You can see how they compare to our best snooker betting sites.

Compare to the best snooker betting sites in the UK.

🏉 Rugby Betting (Union & League)

Smarkets has been quite vocal about operating with smaller profit margins to give bettors better odds, and it stacks up with their rugby betting, too. There’s no live streaming on offer here, unfortunately, but the in-play stats are brilliant and make for a good companion if you can watch the game elsewhere. Check why it makes it into our top rugby betting sites.

Best rugby betting sites

Score by selected category (hover over chart for details).

Tap or mouseover chart elements for more info. Pinch to zoom.

🏏 Cricket Betting

James Banting

Expert Guide

Cricket is a decent offering here. You can bet on individual matches, as well as things such as number of runs in the first over, or which batter will top score. As well as international matches – Tests, ODIs, T20 – there are domestic competitions across the world, including the Super Smash (men’s and women’s), the Big Bash and even some Under-19 matches.

We list the 10 best cricket betting sites here.

🎾 Tennis Betting

By James Banting - Smarkets offer bet builders on most tennis matches, and have an absolute tonne of markets per match. This is the case for smaller ITF tournaments, and when you get to the Grand Slams, or other major events, these ramp up even more. See how they compare to the top 10 tennis betting sites on OLBG.

🏌️ Golf Betting

By James Banting - It’s difficult to find any issue with the golf output here. There are ante post markets on all the majors, as well as the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup. There are also LIV Golf Events, the Andalucia Masters, BMW Ladies Championship, plus a few more. You will find golf odds on the likes of Top 5 and Top 10 Finish, Round Leaders and Dual Forecast right here, and even Hole In One markets. 

🏎️ Motorsports Betting

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

A fantastic choice if you bet exclusively on mobile because the Smarkets app is one of the best around. There are markets on all the big events, and even some of the smaller ones and the app is incredibly slick, easy to navigate and with a tonne of supporting data, statistics and extra bits of information to help inform your betting – there’s a reason it’s app focused, and that’s because it’s such a superb product.

Compare to the best motorsport betting sites.

🥊 Boxing Betting

Frank Monkhouse

- Your Boxing Betting Guide 👍

It’s great that Smarkets has a wide selection of boxing markets for all the world’s top bouts in every weight division. I find that the boxing betting odds cover a range of markets. Of course, you can bet on the fight winner for all bouts, but there is also a vast range of other markets, including, but not limited to, Round Betting, Total Rounds (Under/Over), Round Group Betting and Will The Fight Go The Distance.

Compare to the best boxing betting sites.

Other Sports Betting

Whilst these sports might sound very niche, there is a massive market for fans, and millions of them in the UK, so good coverage of niche sports and events is key to be reviewed on OLBG.

Smarkets offers extensive betting options for Handball, volleyball, cycling, AFL betting, and esports. Handball includes global competitions; volleyball,covers European Championships and various tournaments; cycling features future tours and current races; AFL betting has comprehensive stats and esports offers all major games like League of Legends and CS:GO.

🗳️ Political Betting

Nigel Skinner

Expert Guide

Smarkets (along with sister site SBK) is the best political betting site. It’s great when it comes to its variety of markets, odds offered, and sheer level of effort that’s gone into its offering. Smarkets, however, is app only, so the fact that Smarkets’ user experience is as good within a web browser, as its app, sets it apart. But make no mistake, Smarkets offers fantastic UK political betting opportunities.

Compare to the best political betting sites.

Best political betting sites

Score by selected category (hover over chart for details).

Tap or mouseover chart elements for more info. Pinch to zoom.

🎭 Entertainment and Specials Betting

Jake Ashton

- Your Betting Odds Guide 👍

SBK/Smarkets are the number one and two for best entertainment betting sites in the UK. They are highest among all bookmakers when it comes to stake limitations, as well as offering a very generous range of markets and events listed. If you want odds on who the next James Bond is going to be, or a roundup on the favourites for BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Smarkets should be your first port of call.

Compare to the best entertainment betting sites.

Casino

Smarkets has no casino at the time of review. Check our Casino Sites page for dedicated new online casinos and slot sites.

You can also check out OLBG’s latest addition; our Best Bingo Sites. All of which are, obviously, sites fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.

Smarkets Account Opening Process

Couldn't be easier and can be completed in three easy step

1. Click a sign up offer on this page

2. Enter your personal information

3. Set up your security info including passwords.

4. Add a deposit method and make your first deposit

That's it. You're ready to bet with Smarkets. 

Navigation and user experience [desktop v mobile]

This is normally the part where we compare desktop versions of booties to their mobile and/or app offering. Obviously that’s not needed here given that Smarkets is an app-only service. That said, it’s worth highlighting again just how slick Smarkets' app feels when you use it, far better than most other sportsbook’s alternatives. They may pip Smarkets in terms of promotions, or product features such as BOG and the like, but in terms of things like app design, user experience and navigation, there are few better than Smarkets.

OLBG users highlight your design and layout, is that a particular focus?

Adam Baylis

Marketing Director

Placing a bet

This section should only really highlight if there are issues, as the process is almost identical on every site. Within a few minutes of signing up to Smarkets I placed a couple of bets on different sports, one of which took advantage of the welcome offer, and I used their bet builder feature, which was very good indeed. Placing a bet on Smarkets is straightforward with the betslip instantly appearing on your screen when you click a selection.

Managing your account

As mentioned above, the design really makes this tick. Managing your account is at the bottom, along with all your other ports of call, such as BetSlip, My Bets, and the main Search function. All the sports are listed across the top and can be accessed by simply scrolling from left to right and back again.

Responsible Gambling Features

What steps do you take to promote responsoble gambling?

Adam Baylis

Marketing Director

You can set your deposit limit while you’re signing up; long before you’ve got close to actually making a bet. 

There is also a Settings tab at the bottom of the page, no matter what page you’re on, that allows you to make changes to limits, as well as odds formats, or odds change preferences/notifications.

There are the following measures within its functionality: 

• Deposit Limit

• Loss Limit

• Session Limit

• Wagering Limits

• Reality Check

• Time-Out

• Self-Exclusion

• Support Groups & Organisations

• Advice on Keeping in Control

• Parental Controls

• Self-Assessment

All are explained in further detail on their safer gambling page. As well as this, on the same page they list links to the likes of the National Gambling Helpline, Be Gamble Aware and the National Gambling Treatment Service.

Bookie Review Expert Contributing Team

Opinion, research and data collection for this review by

• James Banting (Horse Racing, Golf and Tennis)

• Nigel Skinner (Football and Politics), 

• Matt Edgar (Darts)

• Frank Monkhouse (Boxing)

• Andrew Powell (Horse Racing, Ice Hockey and Motor Sports)

• Jake Ashton (Entertainment and Specials)

🛂 Fact Checked - Sam Darkens - Commercial Manager

✍️ Written by - Luke Bradshaw Lee - Commercial Content Manager

✏️📚 - Steve Madgwick - Editor-In-Chief

Please note: Betfair, Paddy Power and Skybet do not partner with us. As a result we do not have sufficient up-to-date information to provide accurate product comparisons with those specific sportsbooks.