Sporting Index

When it comes to spread betting, the idea has been around for some time. However, very few have played as large a role as Sporting Index. If you haven’t seen this concept before, spread betting is where a player makes a bet on the outcome of an event. Rather than success coming from the bet winning or losing, it comes from the accuracy of the bet itself.

For players, they bet on the outcome being below or above the so-called ‘spread’. When searching through markets, you’ll have an opportunity to buy and sell. When you see the word ‘spread’ mentioned, this means the difference between buying and selling price. Of course, this isn’t a guide on the art of spread betting. Instead, we’re here to assess Sporting Index as a betting site. Should you try Sporting Index? We’re going to review every aspect of their service today!

Welcome Offer

As with every betting website today, Sporting Index have a special welcome offer to entice new users to the betting site. Even without depositing, you can get a £100 bonus for the betting site. When using the bonus, we highly recommend reading the terms and conditions because this lays out the markets where the bonus can and cannot be used. If you win in the spread markets using this bonus, you can keep the winnings and withdraw whenever you desire. With this in mind, it’s a generous welcome bonus. As a word of warning, you will lose the bonus and all potential winnings if it hasn’t been used within seven days.

When researching for this review, we also came across a second welcome bonus. If you place £10 on any market, you’ll get a £10 free bet if the odds are over 1.5. Since this bonus is for fixed-odds bets, Sporting Index have created a welcome bonus for players of both sides. Whether you prefer spread betting or fixed odds, there’s a nice reward after signing up.

To enjoy this second welcome offer, place the qualifying bet inside 30 days of opening the account. As before, you’ll have seven days to use the bet once it has entered your account.

Desktop and Mobile Experience

For many spread betting players, they currently see Sporting Index as the leading service in the market. As a result, they have had to invest in their website, and the results have been more than positive. Starting with the website, it’s user friendly, easy to navigate, and we like the blue theme that exists on each page. Depending on how you like to play, just click the tabs at the top to flick between Odds and Spreads. While Spreads have a dark blue theme, Odds have a slightly lighter theme with more whites and greens.

If we use Odds as an example, all the main sports are listed at the top with the markets displayed below. Interestingly, Sporting Index hasn’t followed the rest of the market with the three-tier layout. Although this classic layout is present in Spreads, the Odds page is slightly different. The markets and odds cover the entire width of the page; as soon as you make a selection, a bet slip will appear from the top bar.

Thankfully, the website is responsive. If you’re working on a smaller window or a mobile device, the bet slip will move to the top of the page (where it will remain as you scroll between sports and events.

If you prefer Spread betting, this side of the site works just as well. For new players, you will actually find tutorials and tips. Since not everybody has spent time around spread betting, we like this feature.

Finally, we should mention the mobile app available on the Google Play store as well as the App Store. If you’re someone who likes to play on an app and make bets in seconds, the Sporting Index one nicely replicates the website. The menus are hidden nicely, and you can access your account and other features.

Banking and Payment Methods

Back in the day, betting websites and casinos would have limited banking options. Now, some betting sites have 20 or more different eWallets and banking methods. For Sporting Index, they sit somewhere in the middle. When depositing, you’ll have access to:

• MasterCard
• Maestro
• Visa
• Neteller
• Skrill
• Fast BankTransfer

With all methods, the minimum deposit is set to £10 and they are all processed instantly with no fee or charge. On the other hand, withdrawals have all the same options except Fast BankTransfer. In our experience, the quickest withdrawal methods were Skrill and Neteller since they were processed instantly. With MasterCard, Visa, and Maestro, you’ll have to wait 3-5 days for processing. On a more positive note, there are no charges for withdrawing from your account.

Before moving on, we also couldn’t find any reference to maximum limits for withdrawals. For high rollers and those who plan on winning big (don’t we all!), this is great news. With other betting sites, they seem to monitor the high rollers to control their profits.

Sports and Markets

As mentioned previously, Sporting Index are considered a leader in the spread betting niche, so this is where you will find the most populated markets. We found markets for all major events, leagues, tournaments, and competitions. However, you don’t need to be into spread betting to enjoy Sporting Index. Instead, they have two sides of the website; Odds and Spreads.

Across both sides, we found a strong selection of markets. Of course, the biggest ones are horse racing, greyhound racing, and football. For any betting site to succeed, these seem to be the basic markets that every service requires. After this, Sporting Index dip into rugby union, golf, cricket, snooker, tennis, Australian rules, rugby league, and others. If you like American sports, we enjoyed selections in NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL.

At this point, we should provide a small warning. If you have no intention of spread betting, you might be better off choosing another service. Since Sporting Index’s focus is on spread betting, they don’t have the most expansive markets in the Odds section. Beginners will still get by, but more experienced players may feel restricted.

If you’ve checked the markets on Sporting Index and are still happy to go ahead, you may also find betting opportunities for F1, darts, eSports, politics, TV shows, and other novelty markets.

Betting Features

As we all know, the betting world has advanced in recent years; you can’t just offer some markets and expect success. Firstly, players enjoy betting live while an event unfolds. Fortunately, Sporting Index have in-play markets on the Odds and Spreads sites. We tested the in-play betting system and found it to be enjoyable and this is mainly due to the sleek nature of the website. We could move from sport to sport, add selections to our betting slip, and place bets in good time (this is essential if you want to make money with live betting).

Despite the positives, we have seen more extensive live betting opportunities elsewhere. Rather than lots of events, Sporting Index offer a handful of events for live betting but with lots of markets in each. If you like in-play betting, one good thing we’ll say is that the odds were relatively strong.

The in-play offering is easy to find; on Odds and Spreads, you’ll see the tab running across the top of the page. One thing we enjoyed was that, after clicking In-Play, we were offered three further tabs depending on whether we wanted the current in-play markets, the events coming up, or specials.

While on the topic of betting features, you’ll be glad to hear that the cash-out option is available and prevalent on Sporting Index. If you’re nervous about the last ten minutes of an event and want to quit while you’re ahead, hit the cash out button. Although you won’t win as much as leaving the stake in the bet, you will be able to breathe (and celebrate if something changes to make your decision justified!).

Finally, another strong feature is the ability to live stream certain events. Let’s not forget, this isn’t a feature widely available with all betting websites. Therefore, the fact that Sporting Index has some events for streaming does put them ahead in this area. When an event is streamed, it tends to have more markets available for bettors.

Security and Licenses

With any betting site, it’s natural to feel concerned about security because we’re offering personal details and banking information. With Sporting Index, there’s no need to be worried because they have two main licenses:

• UK Gambling Commission
• UK Financial Conduct Authority

If you didn’t know, these licenses ensure that Sporting Index follow strict rules and regulations. The licenses show a secure service and that you will be able to enjoy a fair gambling experience.

Furthermore, the app and website use encryption technologies to protect your personal and banking information. In fact, they seem to use advanced encryption services so that you need never worry about the safety and security of your details.

In recent years, the online gambling niche has been hit by two problems; fraudulent accounts and gambling addiction. As a result, the industry has introduced advanced verification measures to confirm the identity of every single user. When registering for Sporting Index, they may ask to see certain documents. Although it seems annoying in the moment, you will actually look back and admire this extra security measure. With ID and a proof of address, we can safeguard minors and gambling addicts.

Odds and Limits

When researching Sporting Index for this review, we heard hints that some markets had a pre-set profit and loss limit. This being said, we saw no evidence ourselves. In fact, we saw plenty of evidence that most markets allow for unlimited wins and losses. With this, you shouldn’t ever be limited in what you win (or lose, so be careful!).

What about betting odds? You might have liked everything we’ve said so far, but it’s all a waste if the betting odds are poor. With spread betting, it’s actually difficult to gauge the strength of odds because of the sheer lack of competition in this market. Generally speaking, however, the odds seem to be at least equal the competition, if not better.

If you’re focused on the Odds side of the site, you may be disappointed. We’ve mentioned before that this isn’t Sporting Index’s primary focus, and this means better odds are found elsewhere. Some special markets will have good odds, but it’s nothing to write home about otherwise.

Customer Service

If you ever need help on Sporting Index, they have a live chat feature that runs between 8am and 11pm. Alternatively, you can send an email or even go down the traditional route of sending a letter. If you need help during the early hours, there is a hotline that’s open 24/7. We tested the live chat feature and the staff were friendly, polite, and knowledgeable.

Responsible Gambling

In the way of Responsible Gambling, there’s a dedicated page on Sporting Index and it’s split into four sections:

• Take Our Test
• Track Your Gambling
• Need a Break
• Protecting Minors

In the first section, they list a handful of questions and then suggest a gambling problem when a player answers ‘Yes’ to four of the questions. In the second, there’s advice on managing an account and keeping control of the gambling experience with deposit limits and other actions. Meanwhile, the final two sections have tips and links to important gambling organisations.

Summary

It’s fair to say that Sporting Index isn’t the best service for traditional odds, but there are benefits to a platform that has Spreads, Odds, Casino, and Poker. If you play all four, all you need is one account to enjoy everything. There are small problems with banking methods, live betting, and the Odds section, but there are also many other positives to enjoy with Sporting Index!