SBK Sports Reviews and User Ratings

Full SBK Bookmaker Review

SBK Review Contributors

• Data Collection and Research By - OLBG's Expert team See details at the bottom of the page

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.

Who Are SBK?

SBK is the fixed odds sportsbook arm of Smarkets – one of the best betting exchanges available in the UK. Exclusively available as a mobile app, you'll find no desktop betting site but an option to download from the App Store, Google Play, or Android APK. Use the link above to register and grab the current welcome offer. Having launched in 2019, SBK are making moves within the industry.

• Established in 2019

• Smarkets (Malta) Ltd.

• UKGC licence number - 39173

First Impression of SBK

By Luke Bradshaw Lee - This review will reflect the service offered at a specific point in time. I signed up on the SBK app – there is no desktop version of the site. 

SBK 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.

SBK Live Betting

This is a very strong part of SBK’s 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.

SBK Live Streaming

Live streaming is available on the SBK 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.

SBK Betting Odds

How do SBK's odds compare to competitors?

Adam Baylis

Marketing Director

SBK’s odds are some of the very best around.

In most cases, where SBK makes our Top 10s, their odds play a big part in why it does so. SBK 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.

SBK Betting App or Mobile Site 

As mentioned, there is no desktop version of SBK, 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.

SBK Football Betting

SBK' 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.

Bet Builder 

You’ll find SBK’s 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 SBK 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 SBK 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 SBK, 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.

SBK Horse Racing

SBK’s 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.

SBK 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 SBK, 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 SBK 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 SBK. 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 SBK 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. 

SBK Greyhound Betting

SBK 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.

ALSO READ

The Top Greyhound Betting Sites of 2024

SBK Darts Betting

In terms of darts betting sites in the UK, SBK 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. 

SBK Snooker Betting

By Steve Madgwick - 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.

SBK Rugby Betting (Union & League)

SBK 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.

SBK Cricket Betting

By James Banting - 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.

SBK Tennis Betting

By James Banting - SBK 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.

ALSO READ

The Ultimate Guide to Tennis Betting Sites in the UK

SBK 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. 

SBK Motorsports Betting

By Andy Powell - A fantastic choice if you bet exclusively on mobile because the SBK 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.

SBK Boxing Betting

By Frank Monkhouse, former professional boxer - It’s great that SBK 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.

SBK 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; let’s dig in.

Esports Betting

A real strongpoint from SBK. Head here for fantastic odds on competitions for the likes of Counter Strike 2, Call of Duty, DOTA 2, and League of Legends. SBK are also in the process of increasing their esports output, in terms of events and markets, so expect a good thing to get even better.

Handball Betting

At SBK, there’s an okay selection of handball betting markets and odds including the likes of Win/Draw/Win, Handicap, Total Goals and Win Match – Draw No Bet markets. And you have the chance to place your bets on matches right across Europe from the domestic handball leagues, all the way through to the major international tournaments.

Cycling Betting

SBK offers betting on cycling for sports bettors who like to dabble in cycling betting, and comparing it with others out there it’s what we’d expect. There aren't lots of markets, but what you can get is odds on next year’s Tour de France winner, as well as some of the Classics. This includes Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, and that’s fairly typical of most sportsbooks at this time. You will be able to take outright positions on tour winners and placements for cyclists and teams,as well as awards like the King of the Mountains and the top young rider. You can bet on individual stage winners and podium finishes, and even bet In-Race as the twists and turns of a race unfold.

Aussie Rules Football Betting

As we’ve mentioned, it depends on what you’re after, and it’s that that may determine where you wager. SBK doesn’t have the event coverage that others do, with the AFL and just a little more on top, but the markets that they have on those games and, crucially, the odds that they have in those markets, are very good.

Political Betting

By Nigel Skinner - SBK (along with sister site Smarkets) 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. SBK, 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, SBK offers fantastic UK political betting opportunities. 

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Entertainment and Specials Betting

By Jake Ashton - 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.

Virtual Sports Betting

SBK has no virtual sports betting at the time of review.

Casino

SBK has no casino at the time of review.

SBK 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 SBK. 

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 SBK is an app-only service. That said, it’s worth highlighting again just how slick SBK’s app feels when you use it, far better than most other sportsbook’s alternatives. They may pip SBK 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 SBK.

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 SBK 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 SBK 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.

SBK Responsible Gambling Features

As with all online betting companies, responsible gambling should be and will be an essential element of the service provided.

Expect KYC procedures and document supply as a matter-of-course, to confirm your account after you have deposited a certain level of funds and in the event of any large wins.

You can set limits for yourself across depositing options and daily staking options too, so you can set your levels and keep control of your gambling.

Expect SBK to contact you via your preferred communication method if there are suspicious activities on your account. This protects your account from being accessed by someone other than you and ensures you control your gambling activity. SBK have a legal obligation to question your activity if they believe it to be suspicious.

What steps do you take to promote responsoble gambling?

Adam Baylis

Marketing Director

Bookie’ Review Expert Contributing Team

Opinion, research and data collection for this SBK review by

• Darren Brett (Greyhounds expert) 

• 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

• Edited and Published - Steve Madgwick - Editor-In-Chief

SBK Review Summary 

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

SBK’s 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. SBK clearly set out to do something when it launched, with a product-led sportsbook, and they’ve achieved it.