Year established: 1996
Mobile compatible: Yes
Jurisdiction: Costa Rica
Overall rating: C-
Recommended: For recreational players
SBG Global Sportsbook Review
Based offshore SBG Global begun life in 1996 and got its name from a perceived marketing opportunity arising from the closure of the large Steve Budin owned company SDG Global, which was closed as Steve Budin left the gambling business in the face of legal issues.
Perhaps in lieu of this questionable attempt to garner publicity from choosing a name similar to a former indicted and fined company, SBG remains today one of the lesser known sports betting sites. However, SBG is beginning to provide decent option for customers on the look out for low stake betting opportunities.
Regardless of early teething problems and complaints made against the company SBG has become considerably more reputable in recent times with previous scam warnings disappearing. That said early complaints and scam warnings were born out of accounts being zeroed, or having winnings removed for contentious and suspect reasoning.
The most recent tumultuous news regarding SBG came 5 years ago, with no discernible negativity surrounding the company since. A history of unethical trading does leave a bad taste in the mouth for some, but with half a decade of smooth business SBG appear to have got their act together and offer a safe betting environment for players. Most complaints were made regarding large stakes or large balances, with small balances seemingly risk free, rendering SBG a safe bet for less high risk playing.
Betting Markets
Focusing on the North American market SBG offers all the usual sporting betting options to be expected: NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS, as well as College Football, Basketball and Baseball. They also offer the opportunity to bet on Canadian sport, Womens Basketball, Rugby, Cricket, UFC, Boxing, Auto Racing, Horse Racing Golf, Tennis, cycling. Outside of the sports environment they also offer the chance to bet on US politics and Entertainment betting, whilst also providing customers with a virtual online casino.
Live Betting
As in-play Bets are now an incredibly popular and in demand aspect of betting for players, SBG of course offers in-play to its customers. However, its array of options in doing so does appear slightly limited. Punters are limited to an in-play betting line of 500 dollars and are only available for Straight Wagers, Parlays and If Bets. Additionally in-play bets are only offered on previously selected, nationally televised games, handicapping their appeal in comparison to better known and bigger bookmakers.
Usability of the site
SBG lacks the totalising sense of security and does not offer punters the lack of caution that they may feel with bigger, better-known bookmakers. However, with an increasing reputation and a clean history for five years customers may begin to feel more relaxed. SBG has spent a considerable outlay on a major advertising campaign in recent times with their odds being seen on ESPN, Yahoo, USA Today, AOL HBO, MSNBC, among other international networks. Indicating that increasing their brand awareness is of a major concern to them, and that therefore negative press from unethical trading would be not in their best interest. Another decent selling point of the company to the tech community is the ability to deposit using Bit coins, increasing their potential clientbase and giving the company a modern tone.
SBG does not offer its own app for mobile based betting, however it does have a mobile platform for its website, which offers a reasonable interface. Needless to say whilst their own app is lacking they will fall behind in most mobile based factors, as it just provides their website, slightly downsized to fit the mobile screen.
Customer service is available 24/7 and offers toll free calls to a limited number of countries: USA, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia Mexico, Norway, Panama, Russia, Singapore, Sweden and the UK. They can also be contacted on live chat messaging, email or check a FAQ section of their site.
Conclusion
A questionable history still prevails over this bookmaker, but with a non-controversial recent past and an attempt to really push the SBG Global into a wider audience, punters should perhaps feel comfortable returning to SBG. It remains to be seen whether this happens, but with the use of Bit coin perhaps SBG could use this to differentiate themselves and find a prominent role in the market.
Advantages:
- Lots of betting with sports, live dealer casino and racebook;
- Good live betting and mobile betting;
- Biggest overall bonuses in the industry;
- Many weekly and monthly free contests;
- Easy to use online betting software;
- All transactions are fully secure and encrypted;
- Instantly-available customer support.
Disadvantages:
- Not regarded as a book with a good reputation;
- Site somewhat plain-looking and drab;
- Not available in certain countries;
- Lacking better deposit/cashout methods.
Payments:
Visa/Mastercard, Skrill (Moneybookers), Bank Wire Transfer, eChek, Neteller, FirePay, Cash, Bitcoin
*Keep in mind to double check information. Be prepared for changes to restricted countries, bonuses, currencies, deposit and payment options, languages, contact info.
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