PointsBet review

PointsBet has established itself as one of the leading operators in Australia and is one of the most exciting brands available for US bettors thanks to their unique PointsBetting system.

The PointsBetting aspect is totally unique to the sportsbook and Name A Bet is another feature that very few other legal betting sites in the US offer.

The welcome bonus and the promotions available to bettors, especially No Juice Spreads, are particularly excellent and this overshadows the fact they have fewer sports than the likes of BetMGM.

Where is PointsBet Available in the US?

PointsBet have licenses in 10 US states that ensures they are legal and have to abide by each state’s rules that work to protect the customer.

New markets are regularly appearing as more states legalize online sports betting, and PointsBet are often amongst the first sportsbooks to apply for licenses in each new state.

PointsBet Welcome Bonus

PointsBet have a risk-free welcome bonus of up to $2,000 which is one of the best sign-up offers available and a higher amount than most other sportsbooks. It is available to all new bettors in every state that the sportsbook is licensed in.

Unlike most other major betting sites, there is a sign-up code to access the PointsBet bonus but it is automatically filled in when you register.

PointsBet welcome bonus

Max bonus $2,000 Bonus percentage 100% Wagering requirements None Time to complete the wagering requirements N/A	Expiry date 7 days Minimum odds N/A Bonus code WELCOMEHP2 Sports restrictions None

A free bet of up to $2,000 if your first bet loses is extremely generous by PointsBet and is more than other major betting sites in the US like BetMGM and DraftKings Sportsbook.

The bonus is delivered as a single PointsBet free bet but you do have the option to split it into two, three or four free bets in your account settings, each of equal value.

So if you fancied a bet on Aaron Judge to hit a home run at +250 but didn’t want to put all $2,000, you have the option to split your free bet and just put $500 on.

You then have three more $500 free bets to use on any markets within seven days.

PointsBet Bonus T&Cs

There are some important PointsBet welcome bonus terms and conditions to be aware of before you register and use the offer.

The terms are similar to many other major sportsbooks in the US but you should particularly note that free bets will expire after seven days.

How to Claim PointsBet Sign-up Bonus

Claiming the PointsBet bonus upon registration is fairly easy but you have to remember the promo code when registering.

1

Create a new account with PointsBet

Register and use the PointsBet promo code when signing up.

2

Make a deposit

Fund your account by making a deposit using any of the methods accepted by PointsBet.

3

Place your bet

Place your first bet on any market in any sport and wait for it to settle.

4

Receive your free bets

Get a free bet if your first wager loses.

5

Wager your bonus

Use your free bet within seven days.

When you sign up for your PointsBet account, you’ll need to input personal details such as your name and address, as well as the last four digits of your Social Security Number. The full list of details required is below:

• Email address
• A password
• First Name
• Last Name
• Last four digits of your Social Security Number
• Date of Birth
• Address including city, state and zip code
• Cell Phone Number

This information is required so PointsBet can verify your identity and enable you to legally bet under KYC (Know Your Customer) rules, which work to protect against money laundering and is required by law.

Other Promotions

PointsBet offer some of the best promotions of any US betting site, frequently rewarding bettors with money back on losing same game parlays and occasionally offering boosted odds.

PointsBet also boast their Karma Kommittee, which returns stakes as free bets on select wagers if they are considered to be a “bad beat”, such as a referee making a bad call. This promo is only available to customers in IL/IA/NJ/NY/PA/VA/WV and free bets are given at the discretion of PointsBet.

PointsBet Referral Program

The PointsBet referral program rewards bettors with a $100 free bet when someone they refer deposits $50.

It is worth noting that the referrer must have been a member of PointsBet for a minimum of 14 days and must have: a betting history with PointsBet; a registered Colorado address; deposited and turned over a total of $1000 or more, and not hold a current negative balance.

These terms make the refer a friend system unfavorable for casual bettors and will not appeal to everyone.

Payment Methods at PointsBet

PointsBet have a decent range of payment methods with both online and physical deposits covered. It is worth noting that only Illinois, Iowa and New Jersey bettors can fund their accounts at a physical sportsbook.

Aside from cash at cage, all deposit methods are available in all states and one of the best aspects about PointsBet is their low minimum deposit amounts.

You only have to deposit $5 at PointsBet to get up and running, which is perfect for new and more casual bettors who only want to place small wagers.

						ACH/eCheck
Min/max deposit	$5/-	$5/-	$5/$500	$5/$10,000	$1/-	$5/-
Min/max withdrawal	N/A	$5/-	N/A	$5/-	$50/$10,000	$5/-
Fees	None	None	None	None	None	None
Payout time	N/A	1-2 Days	N/A	2-5 Days	Up to 24 Hours	2-5 Days
Withdrawal method	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Adding more methods like VIP Preferred and Play+ would be ideal as that would give more options to bettors and make PointsBet even stronger in this aspect.

How to Withdraw at PointsBet

PointsBet offer four different withdrawal methods, each of which is available in all states where the sportsbook has a license.

Each method of withdrawal is listed below, including the processing time:

• PayPal: 1-2 days
• Online banking: 2-5 days
• Cash at Cage: Up to 24 hours
• ACH/eCheck: 2-5 days

PayPal is the standout method here due to its popularity and the fact that the money will be with you inside a couple of days.

PointsBet Mobile App

PointsBet have a mobile app for both iOS and Android, with easy links to them via the menu on the desktop website.

Apple users can download the PointsBet app via the App Store onto iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, whilst the Android version is available on Google Play.

The PointsBet app is generally very good, providing bettors with a seamless experience that really makes it easy to wager with them.

Five buttons across the bottom take you to the sections you are most likely to want to visit, including live betting and the bet slip, although we did find that there was occasional freezing when trying to navigate the PointsBet app.

Geo-location with PointsBet

PointsBet are unable to accept wagers from states where they are not licensed and so you have to verify your location with them before you can bet.

You need to download GeoComply software on your desktop to do this, and thankfully PointsBet make this easy by providing a pop-up when you first try to bet. After you have downloaded and installed it, the plugin will detect where you are and whether you are legally allowed to bet from your state.

To verify on your phone, ensure location services are turned on. If you are on WiFi on your phone or tablet, this will detect your geo-location automatically.

PointsBet Customer Support

PointsBet have comprehensive customer support, offering the trifecta of live chat, phone number, and email to provide you with all the options you need.

Our experience with support agents found them to be knowledgeable and quick to respond about both general sports betting queries and more specific account questions.

The PointsBet FAQ is also detailed and can often give you the answers that you need without having to contact agents directly.

PointsBet customer support

Live chat Open 24/7 (except in PA where it is open 10am-10pm) Email [email protected] Phone number (312)-800-8716 FAQ Detailed

Betting with PointsBet Up Close

PointsBet have one of the best sports betting platforms in the US, providing punters with a huge range of sports and markets to wager on.

The menu on the left is split into convenient sections that easily allows you to navigate to popular leagues and events, as well as live streaming and boosted odds.

However, the desktop could do with improvement because the promotions carousel is big and overwhelming, forcing you to scroll to find anything useful like live games and upcoming fixtures.

A unique feature of PointsBet is PointsBetting which gives you the option to wager on adjusted lines with variable stakes that change depending on how right (or wrong) you are. You can use the link below find out more about PointsBetting.

If you don’t want to get caught up with PointsBetting and not being sure how much you’ll win or lose, you can just bet on regular markets.

Sports Available to Bet On

PointsBet specialize in NBA betting by their own admission, but that does not stop them from offering a decent list of sports for bettors.

Although not as absolute as some other major betting sites, PointsBet still have 20 sports to bet on as well as entertainment and Name A Bet.

Name A Bet allows bettors to request a market that is not available on baseball, basketball, football, golf, hockey, MMA, motorsports, soccer, or tennis – putting more control in the hands of customers.

Other Sports

PointsBet have a reasonable number of other sports to bet on as well as the big four and college football, with soccer the highlight of this aspect.

There is an excellent variety of tournaments available to bet on and the most popular leagues, such as the English Premier League, have plenty of markets plus PointsBetting options.

• Australian Rules
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Cricket
• Cycling
• Darts
• Entertainment
• e-Sports
• Football
• Golf
• Handball
• Hocket
• MMA
• Motor Racing
• Rugby League
• Rugby Union
• Soccer
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Odds Comparison

PointsBet’s odds on the major sports are some of the best in the entire industry, routinely offering prices that cannot be beaten.

Their NFL spread prices are strong and it is common to find that they have multiple moneyline odds that are the best of any sportsbook, allowing you to get the most returns possible.

As well, PointsBet have a significantly lower margin on NBA spread betting – meaning they are almost guaranteed to offer better prices than their competitors.

The No Juice Promotion ensures that PointsBet cannot be beaten on NFL spreadswhen the offer is running, but it is rare they have the best closing price on moneyline.

PointsBet Blog and Betting Picks

PointsBet have a blog called Pulse but it is barely worth the paper it is written on.

The sportsbook updates Pulse with only infrequent posts and the vast majority are not helpful to bettors, instead of focusing on betting news and business updates.

Relevancy

Pulse is not very relevant to bettors, offering little that can benefit them except for occasional promotion updates.

Reliability

The blog is reliable in the sense that the information is correct, but there is not much that is helpful for punters.

Update frequency

PointsBet do not update their blog regularly, sometimes going almost two weeks without a single post.

US sports coverage

PointsBet’s blog only updates about US sports, mainly NFL and golf.

Other sports coverage

PointsBet do not cover other sports in their blog.

Media format

Despite having a section for videos, PointsBet are yet to upload anything there. All posts on this blog are text updates.

PointsBet’s blog is pointless for those who want betting tips or help with wagering. The only real value to come from it is information about promotions, which is occasionally lacking on the actual sportsbook.

If you are looking for a strong blog, we recommend BetMGM’s as they have multiple posts per day about a variety of sports as well as audio and video content.

Bet Slip

PointsBet’s bet slip is easy to use and understand, although it can be a bit of a pain to get to it. Selecting a single bet does not add it to the slip unless you click on “Start Parlay”.

That brings up the slip on the right-hand side of the screen, and unlike other sportsbooks, the tabs at the top are for the bet slip, pending bets, and settled bets. Other bets like round robins are located at the bottom of the slip.

PointsBetting

PointsBet have one of the most unique and innovative sports betting methods ever seen in the industry. Bettors can wager on adjusted lines which are not fixed odds like a regular market, but instead they are variable and the amount you could win or lose changes.

With PointsBetting, the more right you are the more you win – and the more wrong you are, the more you lose.

The amount you can win or lose with PointsBetting is capped, but this does vary considerably by market and you should always check to see how much you could end up losing on a single bet.

You can also add a manual cap to PointsBetting wagers, which limits the amount you can win or lose on a single bet.

Betting Markets

The number of betting markets available in the major sports at PointsBet cannot be matched by any other sportsbook. The site claims to “offer the most markets on all major U.S. sports (NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, PGA TOUR),” and our research found this to be true.

• Spread
• Total
• Moneyline
• Game Props
• Team Props
• Player Props
• Half Betting
• Quarter Betting
• Anytime Scorers
• Name A Bet

PointsBet could do a better job of splitting up their markets on each game page, with dedicated tabs currently only for Fixed Odds, Same Game Parlay, PointsBetting, and Teasers.

Markets like player props and alternate spreads are found under Fixed Odds as drop-down menus, which can make it difficult to find what you want to bet on.

NFL

NFL betting at PointsBet is an experience that really can’t be beaten by any other sportsbook.

The number of markets available is far superior to competing betting sites and the No Juice Spreads promo means they are guaranteed to be best price on the main handicap whilst it is running.

Their PointsBetting markets are incredibly innovative, too, allowing you to bet on anything from the number of points scored to the win margin.

NFL

Margins 4.8% NFL betting markets 221 Odds Competitive Min/max bet $0.05/$1m Promotions No juice spreads, Risk-free same game parlay

If you want to place moneyline wagers then you may prefer to go with the likes of BetMGM or FanDuel Sportsbook as these tend to offer better straight-up win odds.

Football Promotions at PointsBet

PointsBet have two NFL promotions running throughout the season, putting them on a par with other major betting sites, although the ones here are amongst the best of any sportsbook.

No Juice Spreads is perhaps the best NFL promotion available to US sports bettors considering there are no catches, so it puts the power into the hands of the customers.

NBA

PointsBet claim to have more NBA betting markets than any other sportsbook in the country and this is correct thanks to PointsBetting.

Their margins on NBA betting are much lower than other betting sites thanks to spread odds of -105 on each side rather than -110, further establishing their place as one of the leading sportsbooks.

NBA

Margins 2.4% NBA betting markets 500 Odds Strong Min/max bet $0.05/$1m Promotions None

Basketball Promotions at PointsBet

At the time of this PointsBet review, we found that they do not yet offer any basketball promotions. As the season was still a few weeks away, this is not a surprise.

Given that they have promotions in other sports during the season, we would expect to see PointsBet add them for NBA in the future.

NHL

NHL betting at PointsBet is still limited due to the hockey season being some weeks away from starting. There are some basic markets up but much fewer than other major sportsbooks like BetMGM, although PointsBet’s margin on spread betting is significantly lower.

NHL

Margins 2.4% NHL betting markets 134 Odds Strong Min/max bet $0.05/$1m Promotions None

Ice Hockey Promotions at PointsBet

PointsBet do not offer any hockey promotions at the moment, due to the NHL season still a few weeks away from starting. We would certainly expect some to be in place for the start of the campaign.

MLB

PointsBet are excellent when it comes to MLB betting, with the sheer number of markets beating all their competitors.

Their figure of 116 markets is propped up by PointsBetting options, which accounts for 64 of those, but that still sets the betting site apart.

MLB

Margins 4.8% MLB betting markets 116 Odds Competitive Min/max bet $0.05/$1m Promotions Same game parlay insurance

The only negative for MLB betting at PointsBet is that very few of their moneyline odds are the best price, especially when wagering opens.

Baseball Promotions at PointsBet

They do not prioritize baseball when it comes to promotions, offering just one for bettors at the time of this PointsBet review, although that is still more than some other major sportsbooks.

This promotion is especially good for customers who wager on a Same Game Parlay anyway, and the $25 maximum refund appeals to a wide range of bettors.

NCAA

College football and college basketball betting is available at PointsBet, with most bettors able to wager on every game played.

The only exceptions come where state regulation limits college wagering, such as those in New Jersey being unable to bet on in-state teams or bet on games played in NJ.

NCAA

Margins 4.8% NCAA betting markets 53 Odds Competitive Min/max bet $0.05/$1m Promotions College football risk free parlay

As a result of state regulations, PointsBet offer more markets in some states than others but their market offering is still significantly less than some other sportsbooks like BetMGM.

NCAA Betting Promotions at PointsBet

PointsBet have one NCAA Football promotion, which puts them ahead of most major sportsbooks as the majority do not have any competing offers.

A risk-free parlay should interest most bettors as it is a very common method of betting anyway, so the chance to get a refund up to $20 in PointsBet free bets makes this promotion worthwhile.

PointsBet Betting Features

PointsBet boast three extra betting features for customers, allowing you to really take control of your wagering.

• 

  Early cashout

  Early cashout lets bettors settle their wager early for a determined cash value. PointsBet doesn’t always show in advance which bets are available to be cashed out. They also offer Partial Cashout, which allows you to settle only part of your initial bet if you want.

• 

  Live streaming

  PointsBet offer live streaming of certain games in select sports, most notably European leagues in soccer, hockey, basketball and handball. You can see which games are currently available to watch by selecting “Streaming” from the left menu. To view all upcoming games, click on “Next Up” and look for the events with a play button on them.

• 

  Bet builder/Same game parlay

  Same Game Parlay is available on NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB betting at PointsBet. This feature gives you the freedom to combine certain markets from the same game into a single wager.

• 

  Easy parlay

  PointsBet do not offer an Easy Parlay feature.

• 

  Edit bet

  There is no ability to edit bet after you have placed it at PointsBet.

Two of the three betting features that PointsBet offer are industry-standard, but they take it a step further with partial cashout as this is something that other sportsbooks do not offer.

Whilst live streaming also gives them a leg-up on betting sites that don’t have it, the range of sports available to watch won’t really appeal to most bettors in the US. For instance, we found that the only sports streaming at the time of this PointsBet review was Romanian Cup soccer and German hockey.

PointsBet Live Sports Betting

PointsBet have plenty of live betting options for punters, providing a host of sports and markets for those who like to wager in-play.

As well as the big four US sports leagues, PointsBet offer live betting on all manner of sports including soccer, tennis, rugby, cricket, and Australian Rules – just to name a few.

The live betting page offers a list of every game available to bet on in-play, including how many markets are available and an icon to denote the sport.

The key markets for each game – such as moneyline and spread – are displayed on the live betting homepage so there’s no need to click into a game if you’re just betting one on team to win.

Further markets, which can number in the hundreds for big events, can be found by simply clicking into the event. The sheer number of markets they offer combined with the generally competitive odds make PointsBet one of the best sites for live betting.

PointsBet live sports betting

Range of markets Advanced Live stats Basic Ease of use Easy Live streaming options Basic

The more popular sports and events have an animated display that shows you what is happening in the game, as well as in-depth stats to allow you to make the most informed betting decision possible.

Is PointsBet Legit?

PointsBet is a legit betting site in the US. They are licensed by the appropriate regulator in seven states and also operate in Australia.

PointsBet company info

US licenses CO, IL, IN, IA, MI, NJ, WV Other products Casino Non-US licenses Australia Responsible gambling measures Deposit Limits, Time Limits, Self-Exclusion, Cool Off Period	Year founded 2015 Owner PointsBet Holdings CEO Johnny Aitken Publicly traded Australian Securities Exchange

History of PointsBet

PointsBet are relatively new to the betting world, having only been founded in 2015, but have grown rapidly in that time.

PointsBet Launched in Australia

PointsBet begin betting operations in Australia with their innovative PointsBetting product.

New Jersey launch

Six months after online sports wagering is legalized in New Jersey, PointsBet begin taking bets in the state.

Publicly listed on ASX

PointsBet goes public on the Australian Securities Exchange in June, raising $122m AUD by October.

Transformational partnership with NBCUniversal

PointsBet sign a five-year deal to become the Official Sports Betting Partner of NBC Sports in the US.

West Virginia launch

PointsBet launch in West Virginia, taking their tally of US licenses up to seven.

Alternatives to PointsBet

If PointsBet isn’t the sportsbook for you, there are plenty of other excellent options for you to try. Whilst PointsBet do boast excellent odds and exciting promotions, the lack of sports compared to other major sites may be offputting.

BetMGM boast over 25 sports to bet on as well as offering perhaps the best blog of any legal US sportsbook that has posts about a variety of sports and betting tips.

Some other US betting sites we suggest can be found here:

Fanduel Sportsbook

Excellent app

$100 bonus when you refer a friend

Poor blog

FanDuel Sportsbook review

BetMGM

Lots of sports available

Well-maintained blog

Poor app

BetMGM review

Caesars Sportsbook

Superb app

Great odds

No live streaming

Caesars Sportsbook review

Conclusion

PointsBet is one of the best legal US sportsbooks due to their incredibly competitive odds and unique PointsBetting aspect that really sets them apart.

They also provide some of the leading promotions that constantly reward bettors with free bets, boosted odds, and smaller margins to offer even more reasons to bet there.

The key features of PointsBet, both positive and negative, are listed below:

• PointsBet’s promotions are better than most others available at any sportsbook.
• There are 10 states in which PointsBet have a license, ensuring their legitimacy and safety for bettors.
• The $2,000 welcome bonus at PointsBet is the highest amount available amongst legal US betting sites.
• PointsBet offer markets on 20 sports, which is less than other competitors.

FAQs