Can You Trust Bookmaker Reviews? – Where To Find Honest Ratings

Posted on by Toby @ Punter2Pro

The internet feels like an all-knowing source of information. But in the case of bookmaker reviews, it can be a source of misinformation.

Yes, some bookmaker reviews are written by legitimate, impartial sources. They’re often written by people who genuinely enjoy gambling and have first-hand experience of the betting sites they promote. However, it’s important to be aware that the majority of reviews are written by people with a vested interest in plugging one particular bookmaker or group of bookmakers.

So, can you trust bookmaker reviews?

 

Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs are the main driving force behind bookmaker reviews.

Gambling affiliates are individuals or companies that promote and advertise online betting sites. They earn a commission for customers they refer, in the form of one-off payments or a share of revenue (player losses). There’s big money in gambling affiliate marketing. Therefore, some content creators are motivated to give their audience the hard sell on particular betting sites rather than provide a more honest, well-rounded review of their services.

One of the big problems with gambling affiliations is that new or less-established gambling brands — or simply those desperate to make an impact on the industry — will often offer the most generous incentives for new signups. This means content creators are more inclined to focus on promoting those brands in order to boost their own profits, rather than recommending betting sites based purely on merit. This can severely undermine the value and credibility of bookmaker reviews.

I’m proud to say that at Punter2Pro, we review betting sites according to a strict, numbers-driven rating system that’s unaffected by personal opinion. Additionally, we review both affiliated and non-affiliated sites to ensure our readers receive accurate information and are not misled.

 

Paid Reviews

With so much competition in the sports betting industry, betting sites need to stand out. Paid reviews are, unfortunately, often used as a strategy for creating positive hype around a betting brand.

A paid bookmaker review is usually published by an individual — such as a betting content creator — who has been compensated in some way for their opinion. This compensation can take the form of money, free products or services, or sponsorship. With a paid review, both parties usually understand that it’s a collaboration. Therefore, objectivity is compromised from the outset.

As a betting blogger myself, I can attest that many paid reviews are often already pre-written by gambling affiliate sites (or even the bookmakers themselves) for third-party individuals to publish and pass off as their own opinion. In other words, the “opinion” being paid for often isn’t an opinion at all.

 

Customer Feedback Ratings

A potentially useful place to search for bookmaker reviews is on an independent review site, such as Trustpilot. These sites enable customers to have their say.

The problem is it can be difficult to know which opinions to trust and which ones to ignore. For example, on Trustpilot you’ll find that many of the most reputable UK sports betting brands, such as Bet365, Ladbrokes, Coral, Betfair and Paddy Power — all have surprisingly poor ratings. Meanwhile, some lesser-known betting sites have significantly better ratings despite offering inferior products. Why would that be the case?

Well, it’s likely that some brands focus more heavily on obtaining reviews on sites such as Trustpilot. This might involve requesting that happy, winning customers leave a review describing their experience.

However, another possibility is that bookmakers are employing people to actively post fake positive feedback about their own site and/or negative feedback about competitors. While I have no evidence to prove this is happening in sports betting specifically, I know for certain that fake reviews exist across many areas of e-commerce (for example, on Amazon). Given some of the aggressive marketing tactics employed across parts of the gambling industry, I’m less inclined to give suspicious-looking customer reviews the benefit of the doubt.

I should, however, point out that gambling sites face an uphill battle when it comes to customer feedback. Dissatisfied players are more likely to leave public criticism than satisfied players are to leave praise. It’s therefore common to see extremely negative reviews from players convinced casino games are “rigged” after a losing streak, despite never having complained previously. Unfounded “sore loser” accusations are common on feedback platforms.

 

Conclusion

Bookmaker reviews and ratings ought to be a great way to narrow down the best betting sites. However, very few reviews or ratings come from truly legitimate, unbiased sources. Commercial incentives influence many of the opinions published online.

So always be wary of the intentions behind any betting site recommendations you read or hear. Use review sites written by people who clearly have first-hand experience of sports betting. And if you’re ever in doubt, opt for a long-established betting site — because public perception is difficult to fake on a large scale. Long-established operators generally earn their reputation by consistently offering a reliable product over many years.

Looking for trustworthy betting sites? Browse our Betting Sites by Category hub to compare reputable bookmakers, betting exchanges, sharp sportsbooks, crypto betting sites and more.

Toby @ Punter2Pro
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