Bwin Review

Bwin is an established name in the world of online sports betting and although it doesn’t necessarily possess the same gravitas as some of its competitors, it has been a regular on the Irish betting scene for over two decades.

In this review, I spent a period of time wagering with bwin and enjoying the chance to test out their comprehensive online sportsbook. Although there were areas which could be significantly improved, I found the overall experience enjoyable.

Find out what I thought of this popular Irish betting site and whether I was satisfied with the €20 free back up bet and the amount of sports markets available on a daily basis.

When it comes to choosing an Irish bookmaker to sign up to, there are always several pros and cons and these must be taken into consideration before taking the plunge. Having immersed myself in bwin over a two week period, I was able come up with a comprehensive list of strengths and weaknesses for this online sportsbook. 

✔️ Bwin Strengths 

• Impressive range of live streaming options – In-play betting has become incredibly popular over the last few years and if you’re hoping to get involved once the action has already got underway, then having the live pictures available is incredibly helpful. I was impressed by the range of options available with several high-profile ATP and WTA tennis events sitting alongside top-level snooker and European football. 

• Plenty of In-Play Opportunities – Nothing is more frustrating than missing the start of a match, however, in-play betting allows you to wager on a number of different markets such as ‘next goal’, ‘next touchdown’ or  ‘winner of next set’. The in-play section of the site is incredibly straightforward to access and there are loads of competitions and leagues to choose from.

• Healthy range of deposit methods – if you’re thinking of signing up to bwin, you’ll probably want to know how to make your first deposit. There is a decent range of options and it’s good to know that you can use modern methods such as Apple Pay to fund your account.

• Competitive Odds on a range of sports – Whether you’re betting on singles, doubles or accumulators, it’s always comforting to know that you have taken the best possible price. Bwin’s odds are always competitive and they are rarely beaten when it comes to betting on football, tennis, golf and hockey. 

❌ Bwin Weaknesses  

• Underwhelming welcome bonus – Many online bookmakers pride themselves on offering a generous welcome bonus, however, bwin do not count themselves as one of them. I understand the appeal of a €20 Free Back-Up Bet, however, if like me, you win your first wager with bwin, then you are not able to benefit from this offer. Other Irish bookmakers offer free bet credits and bonus money to play with, however, this is not the case with bwin.

• Limited horse racing markets – Horse racing is the sport of kings and it has many fans. Most online bookmakers offer a comprehensive range of horse racing betting markets from the UK, Ireland and further afield. Although does have most Irish meetings covered, I was disappointed by the lack of depth and additional markets when it came to betting on anything other than the high-profile festivals. There is also a limited number of horse racing streaming options.

• Site and App can be slow – Although I am impressed by the design of the site and I really love the colour scheme, I found the speed of the bwin site a little frustrating at times. Although it didn’t prove too inconvenient, I would have preferred the app and the main interface to be a little quicker when moving between menus.

Conclusion

Although bwin may not be the site for you if you have a hankering for a generous sign-up bonus, it does have plenty of positives and I loved using the in-play and live streaming section of the site. This was an incredibly handy way of keeping across my bets whilst I was out and about and it worked equally as efficiently on the app. There is plenty of sport available and the markets are plentiful with competitive odds, however, as a horse racing fan, I was left a little disappointed by their offering in this area.

I’d heard plenty of positive reviews about bwin before signing up for an account. My initial feelings were positive and I enjoyed the simplicity of their site. The app was easy to find in the App Store and the downloading and installation process was completed in less than five minutes.

I was satisfied with the user-friendly design of the site and I found that the first in-play section was particularly easy to navigate.

Nevertheless, I was left a little disappointed by the underwhelming welcome bonus. When signing up to other Irish bookmakers, I have enjoyed €40 to spend on various markets, however, with bwin, you only receive a €20 if you’re first bet (of up to €20) is a loser. This was incredibly frustrating as my first wager with bwin was a winner, so I didn’t benefit from this welcome bonus. Typically, my next three bets were all losers!

There are around 35 sports to choose from, and I must admit that I enjoyed having a wide variety of football and tennis markets to choose from. However, it was immediately noticeable that the selection of betting opportunities is limited compared to some of their rivals. However, this should be caveated by mentioning their standout odds. I compared the prices of the majority of my bets and bwin came out on top (or equal) around 75% of the time.

It appears as though bwin simply concentrating on high quality sports betting markets with competitive odds as opposed to diluting the process by offering hundreds of different sports and thousands of different markets.

As a huge horse racing fan, I was pleased to see the Leopardstown Christmas Festival priced up on the site, however I would have preferred a greater range of alternative markets such as ‘head to head’ and ‘to place’ markets. These would have especially handy for the races containing a large number of runners. However, they have improved their horse racing offering in recent years and I noticed French and US racing being added to the app in recent weeks. This is a step in the right direction.

I was pleased to see a wide range of deposit methods available and the choice of payment options dwarfs many of its competitors. The availability of Apple Pay was particularly pleasing to me as I’d recently installed this on my iPhone. Having plenty of payment methods was one of the best things about this site and the depositing process felt safe and secure throughout. I found that the deposit and withdrawal limits were perfectly fair and it was exceptionally simple to get started and make my first deposit.

I had very few problems during my first few weeks of using bwin, however, I wanted to test out their customer service. I decided to contact them using the live chat service and enquire about leagues and competitions that I could not find on either the desktop site or app. Although they were unable to provide the markets that I was enquiring about, the operators were friendly and professional throughout. I found them to be likeable and they were extremely apologetic. Although there was a small waiting time involved, I put this down to the time of year (between Christmas and New Year).

The bwin mobile app was very straightforward to load and sat nicely alongside my other sports betting apps on my iPhone. Although I mainly used the desktop site, I sampled the app whilst on the move and I found that I was able to keep across the latest football, racing and tennis events on the in-play section of the app. The app mirrors the main desktop site and although I found it a little slow at times, it mostly fulfilled my needs and was aesthetically pleasing.

Overall, using bwin was a positive experience. There were one or two frustrations, primarily the lack of welcome bonus, however, I plan to use the bwin site and app after completing this review. The simplicity of the interface and pleasing livery of the site make it easy to wager on a variety of events. The range of sports betting markets could be greater, but I always found that I got plenty of value when betting on football and tennis markets and this is a big tick in the box for bwin.

It is completely legal to place a bet with bwin in Ireland. Having successfully welcomed Irish players for two decades, bwin is one of the most trustworthy names in the business. I was happy to sign up for an account and make my first deposit. The process felt secure and I was reassured to see that they use SSL encryption to help protect my details. The addition of Apple Pay is a welcome addition to anyone who doesn’t fancy submitting their debit card details. 

They are fully licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission which is reassuring as well as the Government of Gibraltar.

Every Irish sportsbook will offer their customers a welcome package and this is usually the first thing that punters look for before signing up. These can vary greatly and there is often a separate bonus for sportsbook and casino users.

Bwin’s Welcome Bonus

Get a €20 Free Back-Up Bet 

I was left a little disappointed by bwin’s welcome offer as it doesn’t match up to the generosity of many of its peers. As my first wager with bwin was a winner, I failed to benefit from this. However, if you’re opening bet isn’t successful, you will receive a €20 free bet to use on any sporting event. 

How to claim bwin’s Welcome Bonus

• Click the yellow ‘register’ button on the top right hand side of the home page. Submit your details and await email confirmation.
• Deposit up to €20 and place your first bet on any sporting event.
• If your first bet is a winner, you will receive your winnings once the event has concluded.
• If your first bet is unsuccessful, you will receive a €20 free bet within 48 hours. This can be used on any sporting event.

Bwin’s Welcome Bonus Terms and Conditions

All sportsbook welcome bonuses come with a number of terms and conditions and Bwin is no exception. There are a number of terms that you must adhere to in order to successfully claim your €20 free bet.

You must place your first bet within seven days of signing up. You must place a bet of up to €20 in order to qualify for a free €20 Back-Up bet. Your initial bet must contain 3+ selections at odds of 1/2 or greater.

Casino Bonus for New Users

At the time of writing (January 2022), bwin doesn’t appear to offer a welcome bonus for casino users. However, there a handful of ongoing promotions which offer players daily drops and access to exclusive tournaments with lucrative jackpots. 

As a sports-mad Irish punter, I was looking forward to getting stuck into the various markers and features offered by bwin. Although it doesn’t have as many standout features as some of its rivals, there was more than enough to keep me satisfied and all of my basic requirements and needs such as access to live streaming, in-play betting and cash out featured prominently.

Bwin Live Streaming

Live streaming has become increasingly popular over the last few years and bwin offers a vast selection of sporting events on a daily basis. I was pleased to see that it was incredibly simple to access these streams and I was able to easily switch between them. This helped improve my live betting experience and I enjoyed being able to watch different leagues and competitions on my smartphone.

Bwin In Play Betting

Sometimes it’s impossible to keep on top of every sporting event and it’s much easier to simply get involved in ongoing matches. I was delighted to find a wide variety of in-play markets including ‘next goal’ and ‘next set’ betting and the odds were updated quickly and efficiently.

Bwin Edit My Bet

Although I didn’t require this service during my first couple of weeks, I enjoyed the fact that I was able to ‘take control of my bet’ and edit selections on accumulators that I have already placed. This is particularly handy if there is some surprise team news or rumours of a pre-match injury. It’s a very handy tool which is not offered by every single Irish bookmaker.

Bwin Enhanced Accumulators

Each day, bwin offers a selection of enhanced accumulators which often contain some the most popular bets made by Irish punters. Although these tended to vary in quality, I am pleased to say that I spotted a handful of winning enhanced accumulators during the course of the week.

I found that the bwin mobile app was able to match the quality of their main desktop site. It was easy to locate in the App Store and I was able to download and install it in under five minutes. Although it wasn’t as quick as other mobile apps, I did find the interface extremely simple to navigate and the site was laid out in a fairly logical fashion.

Although I’d already signed up for my account using the main site, Irish punters are able to sign up and make their initial deposit using the app and it is equally as secure when it comes to banking.

There were plenty of markets and I was still able to access the enhanced accumulators and able to edit my bets using my iPhone.

Although the mobile app doesn’t particularly stand out compared to many of its peers, the bwin mobile does everything that you’d expect. It’s a little slow at times, but I found the in-play activity and the live streaming service extremely enjoyable and I was able to easily place bets whilst on the move.

Banking with bwin is extremely straightforward and with a minimum deposit of €10, it couldn’t be easier to fund your account.

In order to qualify for the €20 back-up bet, you’ll need to fund your account and luckily, I found that there were lots of ways to do this. I enjoyed the wide variety of options including Apple Pay, which isn’t offered by all Irish online bookmakers. They also accept VISA,  PayPal and Neteller.

There are no additional fees for making a transaction and it was good to see that my funds were deposited immediately into my account. Although I wasn’t able to make a withdrawal using Apple Pay, I did find plenty of options available and I was pleased to see that my PayPal withdrawal has been fully processed within six hours. Other methods may take a little longer, however, generally speaking, all withdrawals should be completed within 48 hours.

Although I’ve heard reports of slower withdrawal times, I was left extremely satisfied by my experience with the bwin cashier. I found the whole process to be more than satisfactory and with so many deposit options, there is something for everyone with bwin.

Bwin take customer support extremely seriously and as a result, they have extended their live chat service to operate 24/7. This is a welcome addition. I also enjoyed the fact that there is a dedicated phone line. I contacted bwin using their live chat service and although it took a few minutes to connect me to an advisor, they remained professional throughout. My query was resolved quickly and efficiently and I was pleased with the experience.

I also noticed that bwin were able to answer queries on social media and were happy to respond to questions using the messenger or DM service.

Overall, I was left satisfied by my experience with bwin’s customer service department. I felt reassured that my concerns and questions were being taken seriously.