SBK Review

Who are SBK?

Have you heard of Smarkets? That is a popular betting exchange and prediction market platform which was established back in 2008.

In 2019 they launched SBK, their dedicated sports betting platform. Licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, SBK looks and feels like a traditional bookmakers’ site/app, with odds and markets across a wide range of sports.

They’ve not just copied other bookies, though. Features like their ‘Acca Lab’ ensure that SBK stands out from the crowd.

Are SBK’s Odds Any Good?

The unique selling point of SBK is that their odds are powered, to some extent, by the Smarkets exchange.

What does that mean for punters? Basically, lower margins… which are often reflected in better-than-industry-average prices.

As a guide, we tested SBK’s football odds for a weekend’s fixture list and found that their margin was around 4% - this was considerably lower, around 3.4%, for Premier League games.

As with most betting sites, the margin is higher for horse racing (around 4.5%, as per our testing), tennis (approximately 5%) and other sports.

But when you consider the overall picture, we can conclude that SBK’s odds are very good when compared to other mainstream betting sites that you may already be using.

Is the SBK Welcome Offer Good Value?

If you think about it in such a way, the SBK welcome offer equates to a bonus of 300% on your first bet – you will do well to find any promotions that can match such a percentage.

In real terms, the SBK welcome offer is Bet £20, Get £60 in Free Bets.

The minimum deposit is £10, although you’ll obviously want to deposit at least £20 in order to then place the appropriate qualifying bet. Note that only debit card and bank transfer deposits are eligible.

Here’s the key: you have to place that £20 qualifying bet at odds of 2/1 or longer (3.00+ if you use SBK’s standard decimal odds format). Now, £20 is a decent sum of money, so our tip is to stay as close to 2/1 as you can and try to place a value bet – rather than some unlikely longshot.

Within 48 hours, the £60 of free bet credits will be added to your account. These are awarded as:

• £10 football bet builder + a £5 horse racing multiple – when your qualifying bet has settled
• £5 free bet, 2 x £5 bet builder and a £5 multiple – 24 hours after your qualifying bet has been placed
• £5 football bet builder, £10 bet builder and 2 x £5 horse racing multiples – 48 hours after your qualifying bet has been placed

We quite like this ‘staggered’ approach. It ensures you can fully research how you want to use your free bet credits before receiving them.

Football Betting

Excellent odds are the foundation of SBK’s football betting, but this is also a platform that is easy to use.

They have broken down their offering into days and competitions, so you can easily find the games and markets you want to bet on.

Click on the ‘competitions’ tab and you’ll no doubt be as impressed as I was by the spread of leagues and cups available: from Algerian Ligue 1 to the Welsh Premier League.

You will find a more exhaustive selection of markets elsewhere, and the absence of quarter-goal Asian handicaps will be a source of frustration for some readers. But most bases are covered nonetheless, with dozens of options available within their bet builder tool.

All of the added extras you would expect are in place, such as in-play and outright betting, however live streaming is very limited – and, in my experience, was only available for games that I wasn’t particularly interested in watching.

Football is perhaps the best sport for SBK’s Acca Lab feature, which enables you to build multiples with just a couple of taps of your screen, with sliders making it simple to find your chosen games and markets.

Horse Racing Betting

Simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to SBK’s horse racing coverage.

They provide prices across UK and Irish, French, American and other international racing, with decent odds that are highly competitive when compared to other mainstream firms.

My disappointment was the lack of markets, with win only, each way and place betting the only options – there’s no access to exotics, distance betting, head-to-heads or Tote pools, which is a pity.

SBK have extended their bet builder tool to horse racing though, and you’ll also find their in-play coverage to be of a good standard – backed by live streaming of UK and Irish meetings.

Sports Betting

I counted 25 different sports amongst SBK’s A-Z, as well as TV, novelty and specials, so there’s a decent spread of action to explore.

The main standout is tennis betting, which is largely because of the liquidity that is fed into SBK from Smarkets – that equates to some particularly excellent odds for ATP and WTA events.

The NFL betting is another area of strength. There’s dozens of markets to choose from per game, including all the standards you’d expect plus a choice of player prop lines – I have rarely seen such a wide spread of ‘alternative’ lines for passing yards, receiving yards etc.

I also wanted to shine a light on their golf coverage too, as they provide odds for any and every tour available – from the PGA, DP World and LPGA to LIV, HotelPlanner, Korn Ferry, PGA Champions and more besides.

SBK Payment Methods

Another perk of SBK is that they welcome a wide range of payment methods.

However, it’s worth reiterating that only deposits made with debit card or bank transfer are eligible when claiming the welcome offer.

The full list:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Maestro
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• PayPal
• Trustly
• Neteller
• Skrill
• Instant Bank Transfer

FAQs