We play online sports to win, right? This means we want to find the very best betting websites to support our game. We want to win big.
Let’s take a look at two of the best betting websites: Bovada and BookMaker.
We compare the pros and cons of these two top sportsbooks to help you get a feel for the kinds of features that makes one more attractive than the other. Certainly, a wide range of options can be overwhelming, and different features are attractive to different types of gamblers. Let’s help you decide what works best for you.
Which Betting Website to Trust?
Whether you’re betting dollars in thousands or tens, it’s still your money. Therefore, it’s important to be safe when you bet on sports online.
As with any company or organisation, longevity can be an important measure on how trustworthy they are. BookMaker has been going longer than Bovada, but only just. They were both in the gambling industry long before bets went online, even:
BookMaker formed: 1985, with the first betting site going live in 1997
Bovada formed: 2011, but existed in 1994 under a former name
Bovada.lv was previously known as Bodog.com, founded by Canadian entrepreneur Calvin Ayre. When the sports betting website element of Bodog was established in the US, the name changed to Bovada. However, with decades, not just years of experience behind them, both Bovada and BookMaker have handled a phenomenal amount of cash.
Regardless of its length of existence, we still recommend you check the terms and conditions very carefully for any betting websites you consider using.
Betting Bonuses and Offers
Next, let’s take a look at some of the discounts and offers we might see on each of these sports betting websites:
- BookMaker offers a 50% welcome bonus on the first deposit, up to $300. Bovada offers the same, but up to $250 and only on sports.
- Both sites offer casino and poker as well as sports. Bovada offers 100% casino bonus up to $500 and 100% poker bonus up to $1000.
- You can use BookMaker to place traditional bets on just about every sport you can imagine. Not only that, but there are plenty of proposition bets too, also known as exotic wagers. As the name suggests, these are enjoyable extras in the gambling world, if you don’t know that already.
- However, if you’re looking for props outside mainstream sporting events, Bovada often delivers odds and sports features that you simply don’t find elsewhere.
As you can see, you could be onto a winner with either site, depending on what you want. Bovada has around 300 casino games, which is more than any other betting site, but you can take your pick between the two sites for poker.
If it’s horses you like to bet on, Bovada offers racebook too.
Who Beats Other Online Betting Websites?
One area where BookMaker really does excel is posting lines; it’s usually the first to post them, giving this site an enormous advantage over all others. Slower sites like Bovada can cause genuine frustration for bettors.
Still, it’s half a dozen of one and six of the other.
Bovada regularly pays out winnings within a week. They use rapid transfer systems like Western Union. With BookMaker, you can wait up to a month to collect your money.
Bovada also has the highest rate of acceptance on credit cards when you first start using their site. You should know there is a fee to use cards, but this is waived for the first deposit; read more information about their methods of payment on the full sportsbook review for Bovada.
Gambling Online Should Be Mobile
So, once you’re in, how user-friendly are these sites? You can guarantee that frequent and pro gamblers won’t last long with slow sites that don’t serve their needs. Even those who use gambling sites less frequently need them to be intuitive, or else they’ll never get past the starting block. We listen to what reviewers have to say and share the results, below.
BookMaker Review: Ease of Use
The number of people using websites on their mobile continues to grow year after year. This means bookies need a site that works well on these devices.
BookMaker has a fantastic mobile site. You can fund your account, bet live, and redeem betpoints using your phone. You can read more about its features in the full review of Bookmaker.eu, or try it for yourself on the go.
BookMaker.eu also has something that Bovada doesn’t: live chat. If you’ve experienced using this feature on some of the other best sports gambling sites, players can come to expect it. Often, it’s the fastest way of solving any kind of problem. Should a payment issue be tense, it benefits everyone that the issue is resolved quickly.
Bovada Sportsbook Review: Ease of Use
To keep things simple, you only need one account to use all the betting features on Bovada.lv: sports, casino, poker, and racebook. This isn’t the case on other sites, so it puts them at a real advantage for those who like to play different games.
We have an online account for everything these days, so the less we have to remember, the better. This is especially true if you’re using one site for multiple tasks – since it’s still the same site, moving around it should be easy, whatever feature you want to use.
Particularly popular on the surface is a bet slip interface design, which goes down well with bettors. Bovada is designed with this in mind and it could be one reason to explain why it gets more hits than all of its competitors.
Live Betting
A common feature in any Bovada review is praise for its live betting system. It covers most key sports events, so naturally, it’s popular among gamblers of all kinds. Bovada is onto a real winner with this offering, even if some of the bettors it attracts for these events only bet during the big games or matches – these isolated people bet in very large numbers, so they’re as powerful en mass as individuals who visit regularly.
Who’s Included
Both Bovada and BookMaker are open to US and Canadian players, so neither stands out in this regard. However, BookMaker is available in more languages: Spanish and Chinese, as well as English. That’s one or two more strings to its bow.
Winning Players
If you play with big bucks, you’ll be put off by Bovada’s low wager limit, which prevents you from betting large sums of money. If you’re a small time player and wouldn’t have $1000-2000 dollars to risk in the first place, this doesn’t affect you.
However, those who have money to gamble and who want to make money will be more interested to know that BookMaker appears to be much more accepting of pro players. This means if you get to be really good (or lucky), you’re not restricted on how much more you can go on to win.
Choosing the Best Sportsbook Features for You
All things considered, the gambling site you choose to use is highly dependent on your personal situation. This could be the money you have available, the sports you like to bet on, or even your location. Personal preference also comes into play if you can’t get to grips with the basic functions a site has to offer or you prefer to be mobile than at a desk.
Let’s sum up all the features we’ve highlighted in this review, so you can see which list appeals to you the most. Here are the problems with each site, followed with the most positive elements. You can decide if the pros outweigh the cons, or if one site outdoes the other:
Bovada.lv Advantages
- Excellent welcome bonus for sports
- Casino and poker with welcome bonus
- More than 300 casino games
- Racebook offerings
- Exclusive odds and sports features not found elsewhere
- Pays out winnings quickly
- Highest rate of acceptance for credit cards
- Single account for sports and all other games
- Bet slip interface design
- Live betting on mainstream events
Bovada.lv Disadvantages
- Slow at posting lines
- No Live Chat feature
- Low wager limit for pro players
BookMaker.eu Advantages
- This is the granddaddy of good sports books: It’s been going the longest
- Excellent welcome bonus
- Casino and poker
- Impressive range of wagers to bet on
- Good choice of prop bets
- First to post lines
- Wide range of features on mobile
- Live chat
- Supports Chinese, Spanish and English languages
- Supports pro players
BookMaker.eu Disadvantages
- You can wait a month to collect winnings
- No bet slip interface, which is popular among players
Now you know what makes for good online sportsbook reviews, you’ll be more informed when you venture online. Hopefully, you’ll end up in the right place and enjoy the experience.
Read more reviews and comment about BookMaker, Bovada, and other top betting sites.
