Crownbet bookmaker review

CrownBet now operates as BetEasy.com.au. Click here to read our review of the new site.

Crownbet is arguably the best corporate bookmaker in Australia in mid 2015. It has only been around in this form since late last year and already has ticked many important boxes, including taking big bets, being reliable in every sense and of course covering the domestic betting scene superbly.

Formed from Sportsbet founder Matthew Tripp’s comeback venture BetEasy and his partnership with Crown Resorts boss James Packer, Crownbet has established itself firmly on Australian soil. Now it remains to be seen whether the pair will take on the world with their promising brand which already has a foothold in Asia where Packer has several large casinos.

This review will run you through what to expect at Crownbet and give you our final verdict on where we think they sit in the pecking order in the Aussie punting landscape.


Crownbet bonuses & promotions

Crownbet is the leading bookie in Australia when it comes to promotions and bonuses. They showed their hand early with some crazy soccer world cup promotions.

Currently they are offering all new customers up to $1000 in bonus bets. New bettors can deposit up to $1000 and receive an extra $1000 if they deposit the max amount.

Here are the current terms of the freebet offer:

CrownBet


Crownbet website layout and navigation

Crownbet has gone with a simple, easy to navigate home page interface as well as some nifty Android and iOS apps and mobile sites.

The website uses four tabs across the top to help you find the bet you want.

  • Home – obviously takes you to the the bookies homepage.
  • Racing – Opens up the horse, greyhound and harness racing options.
  • Sports – takes you to all the sports betting markets.
  • Rewards – Review all the Crownbet rewards options
  • Promotions – Let’s you take advantage of the promotions, bonuses, enhanced odds and free bets on offer.
  • Support – Gives you a choice of several options to use to raise issues with the company.

The ever present bet slip is down the right hand side of the site and it is very easy to add multiple options, work out how you want to bet them, (single, parlay, etc) and clearly tells you when your bet is placed.

On the left hand side, there is a direct link “Today’s racing” to the events of the day at the track. “Upcoming sports” gives the punter access to the sports about to kick/tee/bounce off.

“Bet Live” is self explanatory – that’s the events that are already under way

It also features direct links to the big sporting events that are coming that week, such as English Premier League, Cricket World Cup, NBA matches, any event that an avid punter will be looking to lay their hard earned on, so they don’t have to trawl through the site to find it.

Below that panel, also on the left hand side is a nifty little feature that lists the next five races from the track, in jump order. So if you’re trying frantically to get a bet on the next race, all you have to do is hit the home page.

Below that will be access to the rest of the racing of the day, thoroughbred, harness, greyhound, racing futures, jockey challenge and even racing results, so you can check how your nag or dishlicker did.

Below that are tabs that provide access to the most popular sports.

Underneath that is the racing, which is ordered in next to jump. But this is where is gets cool.

Say the next race to go is at Townsville, underneath that will be the first six competitors in the field. So you can simply click on the name of the competitor you want and there it is.

Now the good thing is, once you select your sport, the event options come up in the middle of the screen, with drop down menus helping you find the event and market you want.

Click on the bet and it is added to your aforementioned bet slip down the right hand side, for you to decide how you want to make the play – ie, how much you want to outlay, whether you’re after a multi or a single, etc.

Javascript is the engine guiding the Crownbet machine, so instead of mucking around with odds changes in your bet slip, it constantly updates as the market fluctuates.


Finding a sports bet with Crownbet

While it got off to a bit of a slow start under the BetEasy brand, Crownbet.com.au has rapidly expanded the number of sports it runs books on, which we’ve mentioned above.

From all the best Australian sporting codes, like the AFL, NRL, A-League and the like, to the big US and European markets, like the NBA, NHL, NFL and Euro soccer leagues, it seems like the bookie is adding more and more every day.

It’s also heavily increased the number of bet options it offers, from the standard head to head, line, overs and unders and margins, to the more exotic pick the score or player performance bets.

Now there are live odds displayed online, but in Australia, there are laws banning punters from placing live bets on the web. Never fear though, just pick up the phone and ring your bet through!


Thoroughbred, greyhound and harness racing betting

Whether it’s thoroughbred, greyhounds or harness racing (or all three) you like to bet on, Crownbet.com.au has you covered.

As we’ve previously said, the interface on the home page is very easy to navigate and the racing is no exception, with all three codes available to click through.

The next to jump feature is also a breeze, with betting options displayed in an easy to understand format.

Futures are there too, with all the big cups – both locally (Melbourne Cup, Cox Plate Caulfield Cup, Australian Cup) and internationally (Kentucky Derby, etc) — available.

Probably our favourite part of the site is the online formguide.

Each selection in the race has some basic details about how it has performed, how old it is and its sex, making it very easy for the punter to make comparisons with other selections.

Whether it’s a quaddie, quinella, exacta, trifecta or simple win or place bets, punters will find it very easy to make their different selections.

The Crownbet method is to offer fixed odds on almost every race, with a best tote plus option available, so you can beat the TABs and get their best odds.


Mobile website and apps

We live in the digital age and that means any reputable betting company must have accompanying applications for smart phones, tablets and other devices.

People want to be able to punt on the go and fortunately Crownbet has them covered.

The Crownbet mobile apps are sensational, very easy to navigate, very easy to use. Nice and basic. Exactly what a punter wants when he or she is trying to get a bet on quickly.

It’s one menu that has access to every sport or race you want, simply click, select and lay your bet. All you have to do is hover your finger over the sport or race you want.

It’s that easy.

The apps and mobile website, (which is even more basic than the apps), offer exactly the same markets as the website, you don’t have to worry about missing out.


Making deposits and withdrawals at Crownbet

It’s hard to get this sort of thing wrong and Crownbet provides a number of options for you to deposit your funds into your account. The good old-fashioned credit card is there, but you can also use your bank account to transfer funds (takes a day or two) a biller code for BPAY (ditto) or the quicker POLi feature, which accesses your bank account through a secure connection. POLi obviously protects you if you don’t want your credit card details in the bookies’ hands.

If you want to get your money out, there is no withdrawal card yet, but, under the banking tab on the website, you have a choice of sending the money back to your credit card or having it transferred to your bank account.


Crownbet Q and A

Bet limits: There’s not really a fixed maximum bet with Crownbet. It tends to depend on the event, the market and the odds. You can make bets as small as 1 cent over the web, while phone betting is minimum $20 for sports and minimum $50 for the racing. They have a good reputation for taking big bets.

Player safety: The vaunted security of 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer encryption is used to keep Crownbet customer transactions safe. The bookie has given assurances to its punters it uses Australian Privacy Principles (APP) to keep its website and their information safe for use and constantly monitor for any breaches to these systems.


Crownbet customer service

As we’ve mentioned there are several options if you have a question, query or major issue with the bookie. It does provide customer support 24 hours a day, seven days a week through its live chat and phone line. There is also an email feature, which obviously takes a bit longer to respond.

Details:

  • Racing: 1800 321 321
  • Sports: 1800 321 322
  • Customer Service: 1800 321 323
  • Fax: 1800 657 960
  • E-Mail: [email protected]
  • Postal Address: GPO Box 4279 Melbourne, Victoria, 3001.

Crownbet History (BetEasy, BetEzy)

Tripp and the Crownbet.com.au crew have enjoyed a meteoric rise since he sold Sportsbet to Irish giant Paddy Power (he paid $250,000 for Sportsbet and then sold it for $338 million) and used that money to purchase the floundering BetEzy and rebranded it.

It’s a juggernaut that started out with monstrous bonuses on the Socceroos in the World Cup. Any punter who signed up to the site in August 2014 was given a massive $150 worth of free bets on the Socceroos in the World Cup. That was $50 on the nose of every group match the Aussies played. While they weren’t successful in any of their matches, it drew a massive buzz around the BetEasy brand and that’s continued. It then offered free $50 bets on both the 2014 AFL and NRL grand finals, further swelling its membership sign ups.

The bookmaker has been on a tear, with Tripp first securing the naming rights to the Australian Masters Golf Championship, then nailing the official betting rights to the Australian Football League, before entering into a lucrative deal with Crown Resorts gaming magnate Kerry Packer to give the casino operator a controlling interest and naming rights in the company.

It’s a remarkable turn around for a company (BetEzy) that was once on its knees – and in trouble with the Northern Territory’s gaming regulator – before Tripp worked his magic.