Experts’ Rating
8.7/10
Pros
Impeccable reputation, Large limits, Early lines and overnight odds.
Cons
Modest bonuses, Payment processing woes.
BookMaker is one of the more well established sportsbooks operating today. They started out however under different ownership than they are under now. Formerly with the Costa Rica International Sports group, Bookmaker is now owned by BMX Entertainment. BMX is located in Nicosia, Cyprus and owns several sportsbooks.
As part of the CRIS group, Bookmaker was on a network of betting sites that were among the first to publish betting lines for any particular sport. They would say that their betting sites were “Where the Line Originates”. Even though Bookmaker is no longer part of that group they still have the same slogan.
It stands to reason though. Bookmaker still is way out in front of a lot of other sportsbooks when it comes to setting the odds. And many of those other establishments wait to see the Bookmaker odds before writing their own betting lines. Knowing that should give you some idea of the skill that the new management has in creating betting lines.
OPENING YOUR BOOKMAKER ACCOUNT
Bookmaker’s parent company owns other major sportsbooks like Diamond Sports International. Because of this, you should not be surprised to see a signup form that’s virtually identical to DSI. Of course in this day and age there’s not much new under the sun when it comes to sportsbook applications. Bookmaker’s signup is as simple as anyones, needing only your name, contact details and a password selection.
What Bookmaker does offer that’s a bit different however is an option in the signup form for mobile wagering. If you like this idea, a separate section of the website will take you through the process of setting up your cell phone or PDA. After you input your information it will then send a text message to your device with a link to the mobile wagering program.
SOFTWARE
Bookmaker uses products from Digital Gaming Solutions (DGS), a Costa Rica based company. They furnish gaming software to a lot of sportsbooks operators who also are headquartered in Costa Rica. Over the years DGS has acquired quite a reputation for their expertise. Their programmers are considered some of the finest in the industry. The mobile gaming software that gives you betting lines and takes your wagers from your cell phone is only the newest wrinkle in their capability.
When you think about it, the software from companies like DGS is really the portion of the sportsbook that is visible to you the player. The Bookmaker website is attractive, easy to navigate and consistently in good working order and it’s the software in the background which takes a lot of the credit. Based on the user interface and the quick transactions Bookmaker certainly seems to have a quality partner in DGS.
BETTING LIMITS
The general rule from Bookmaker is that the minimum bet is $5 when playing online but $50 when you place your bet by telephone. The stated rules for the maximum bet is an online bet limit of $5000 and a telephone wager of $20,000 at most. Note that the general limits may not exactly match the house limits.
Unlike some sportsbooks, the house limits are only shown as an available table just as you are logged in and are placing a wager. Some sportsbooks publish these limits even to casual viewers. The side bets for Pro and College Football are the highest bets allowed for any sports. NFL side bets are a maximum of $20,000 and NCAA Football side bets are $10,000 maximum. Aside from those unusually high limits, baseball, basketball and hockey all have a limit of $5000. Even so, only Basketball and Hockey allow a $5000 bet on the moneyline.
Soccer limits vary from $250 to $3000. Men’s Tennis and NASCAR allow a $1000 bet on the moneyline and Golf matchups can go as high as $2000. If you are looking for props or futures, the limit is set at $1000 for most events. Of course as you are probably aware, these limits can be raised with a simple call to an agent at Bookmaker. They are authorized to make an approval on a case by case basis.
SPORTS
There are probably very few sportsbooks where Football and Basketball don’t rule the day, and Bookmaker is no exception. The NFL gets more volume per game than NCAA Football and the same goes for the NBA vs. college hoops. MLB Baseball and Hockey see about as much traffic as Basketball. Soccer is the highest draw among European sports followed by Rugby and Cricket.
Boxing, Golf, Tennis and Auto Racing have a more or less international following and lines are given for those sports on a seasonal basis. Horse Racing is very popular and is actually on a dedicated Racebook section of Bookmaker’s site. There are some pretty exotic bets out there as well. How would you like to bet on Polish basketball? Zgorzelec was a 6 point favorite this week.
BONUSES
BookMaker has a couple of different signup bonuses. The highest is 20% with minimum rollover requirements but they also offer a 10% bonus with less strict rules. You can use that bonus at more than just the sportsbook however. The Casino and Racebook events are also open for bonus wagers. You will need to make your deposit without using a credit card in order to get the bonus, and you’ll need to deposit at least $300 as well.
A total of $500 is the most you can collect as a signup bonus. With current deposit limits it appears that you would need to make a person to person money transfer to deposit enough to get the full $500. The 20% bonus requires that you roll the bonus over 5 times before you withdraw it or anything you won using it. The 10% bonus has a 3x rollover requirement. Bookmaker also offers a 10% reload bonus on any new deposits after your initial one. Again the minimum deposit is $300 to collect a reload bonus.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
The first thing to know is that the Bookmaker support center is never closed. Whether you call in by phone or use the live help option you can reach them anytime. Live Help is available by clicking the button by the same name on the front page of the website. They will gladly answer whatever questions you have even if you are not a member of the sportsbook yet.
Bookmaker’s help lines are broken down into departments, and each one has a particular contact phone number associated with it. The agents who answer are experts on administrative, technical and betting issues.
CONCLUSION
Even amidst the management changes in recent years Bookmaker has remained at the top of its game. We hope that our review of their betting lines and financial systems has given you the reassurance to bet at their sportsbook with confidence.
In particular we feel that their betting limits offer some real opportunities. Higher limits on the moneyline really favor those players who want to pick their team to win without worrying about the point spread. Combine this with a competent management, good customer care and a dynamic software platform, and you have one of the premier sportsbooks on the web today.