2023 LeoVegas sportsbook review: Ontario

While writing this LeoVegas sports review, I found that this site gives its sports bettors an awe-inspiring range of betting options. Its range of games targeted at Canadian bettors also really impressed me. Much like its online casino, ‘variety’ is a guiding principle of this site. 

Sports like hockey and bandy are popular in Canada, so it was great to see them well represented here. I was also pleased to see that LeoVegas has provided a wide selection of other sports, including darts and WWE. 

However, I wouldn’t say I liked that finding the less obvious sports was pretty challenging. I had to go through two menus to get to sports like boxing and Formula 1. They may lose players by making it too hard to find certain sports. 

However, that’s just a minor niggle. Overall I do think that LeoVegas has several solid points going for it. It offers markets in over 30 sports — the winter sports category contains several options! So, if you love sports betting, like I do, this is a great site! 

I also like that the LeoVegas website covers events from several countries. For example, when you click on rugby union, you’ll see various International competitions and the French Pro 14 league. 

LeoVegas does a fantastic job of covering American football. It covers not only the NFL and the Super Bowl but also College Football (NCAAF). However, it is careful not to leave its Canadian bettors out. The site also offers betting markets on the Canadian Football League (CFL), so local bettors can place wagers on their favourite Canadian teams. 

As you would expect from an Ontario-based site, its hockey coverage is excellent. The live betting options mean bettors can make instant wagers while the game is in progress. LeoVegas sports covers the NHL in depth as well as International events and leagues from numerous other countries such as Austria and the UK, so there’s plenty of choice for fans of the game.

Overall, I think LeoVegas online sportsbook provides players an excellent range of betting options. It has various sports available and even covers Politics, TV and Novelty. 

This online betting site’s choice means that there should be something for everyone. I found that all the major sports were covered, and I liked adding slightly more niche sports such as ‘surfing’. 

A ‘bet builder’ function on the site allows you to build parlays or take a ready-made option. I enjoyed this feature, as I do like to increase my potential winnings with a parlay bet. The bet builder is easy to use and is available both pre-match and in-play. 

LeoVegas sportsbook also gives you a ‘Cash out’ option on certain wagers. I really like this feature as it means you can redeem a wager that is not yet settled, giving you more control. In essence, you can cash out early if things aren’t going your way to cut your losses or if you want to guarantee a small profit in case the match outcome changes. 

Having used this site for a while, I found that I loved the amount of choices it gave me. This sportsbook has enough variety to keep most sports fans entertained. 

When it comes to the Bet Builder, you can use this betting feature to build parlays on NHL and NFL games. You can build parlays (accumulators) comprising bets on different games. You can create parlay bets using Moneylines, Totals, Spreads, Outrights, and other bet types. Of course, your parlay will succeed only when all the individual legs win.

The only deficiency I noted in the LeoVegas sportsbook was the absence of the American and fractional odds formats. If you have ever played on FanDuel in Ontario, you will find all three formats on that platform. 

Why am I focussing on the odds format angle in this review? This is because many players in Canada are more comfortable and familiar wagering with American odds. 

I found that the odds that LeoVegas offers are pretty good in general. When I compared them against some of their competitors, like BetMGM and DraftKings, I found that LeoVegas came out well. Its years of experience in the industry mean that it knows that having good odds is essential to attract and keep bettors. 

I also liked this sportsbook for its LeoBoost feature, which provides enhanced odds on specific markets. That said, many other online sportsbooks also offer an Odds Boost feature, but again the boosts offered by LeoVegas were competitive. 

The LeoVegas sports website performs decently well in the odds department. All odds get updated regularly, but they are present only in decimal format for Ontarian bettors.

While deposits are generally instantaneous, as is usual, withdrawals do take a little longer. This is because LeoVegas imposes a pending period during which it verifies your request. Once that pending period is complete, withdrawal processing time can vary from nearly instant for Interac, iDebit and the Neosurf e-wallet to 5 business days for Bank Transfers. 

I wasn’t greatly excited at what I saw in the payments section. Yes, LeoVegas has Visa and Mastercard, but what about e-wallets like PayPal, ecoPayz, and maybe even cryptocurrencies? Many online sportsbooks, like FanDuel, support some of these alternative payment options. 

Nevertheless, I feel that LeoVegas offers Canadian bettors a reasonable number of betting choices. They have covered the primary payment methods used in Canada, which is good. 

I did find it challenging to find its maximum withdrawal and deposit limits. On the other hand, sportsbooks like Caesar and PartySports display this critical information prominently. I also wish LeoVegas advertised its deposit and withdrawal fees, if there are any. 

Lately, some Canadian online bookies have begun accepting Bitcoin-based payments. I think this cryptocurrency could be a great addition to this online sportsbook. Cryptocurrencies are becoming more widely used, offering bettors more anonymity and fewer transaction fees. 

In summary, LeoVegas works with popular brands like Interac, Neosurf, Visa, and Mastercard, but I’d like to see it partner with a few more brands. I would also like more detailed payment-related information on this sports betting site.

I feel that the LeoVegas online betting site does well about the safety and security of its players. It has up-to-date 128-bit SSL encryption, which is reassuring, though 256-bit would be even better. 

The Ontario government licenses and regulates the site. This means that LeoVegas is held up to the highest standards. For example, the site’s footer has links to a clear and detailed Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy, so you know exactly how any personal data supplied to the sportsbook will be used. 

I was also reassured that LeoVegas only partners with trusted, safe, secure payment methods. Added to the SSL encryption, this means that I am not concerned about my financial data being leaked to third parties. 

LeoVegas also takes responsible gambling very seriously. It provides several tools to players to help them assess and manage their gambling. I was particularly impressed with their Session Limit tool, which lets you limit the time you’re logged in for. 

There is also a whole website dedicated to responsible gambling, Leosafeplay. This is a fantastic site that details all the help that LeoVegas can offer players. This was easy to find in the site’s footer once you realised that it equated to the Responsible Gambling tabs normally found on other sites. 

I do think LeoVegas has taken customer support very seriously. They give their players the options of a comprehensive help centre, 24/7 live chat, and email support. The only thing that lets them down is the lack of phone access. 

The help centre is detailed and has easy-to-understand answers to most basic questions. Most of my questions were answered, so I didn’t have to use the other support options. 

However, I did check out the other options for this review. It took a few hours for LeoVegas to respond to my email query, but when they did, I felt that their reply was satisfactory. 

The live chat answers first with a chatbot, which can answer basic questions, which is great. But if the question is more complex, you can chat to a real person. I thought they were polite and helpful. However, although quick to respond initially, it took 10 mins to get the final answer. If you don’t want to wait, you can leave a message. 

Overall, I think LeoVegas has done a pretty good job of giving players enough methods to answer questions and contact them. However, I think it’s a shame that they don’t have a phone line, as some players prefer to speak directly to a support agent.

I think this is a good site from a usability point of view. However, I do feel that the design is a little old-fashioned. Newer sites use the whole browser window instead of being limited to a fixed width. 

However, many first-time bettors will like this sportsbook because of its simple design and colour palette. LeoVegas has just three shades, and this colour design ensures that it is easy to find essential features like menus on the page. 

I think they have done an excellent job of fitting a lot of content into a limited space. However, I think some essential buttons, like the ‘Support’ button, should be more visible. 

When looking at the mobile app, I felt the design worked better in that space. They moved some menu options to the bottom of the screen, which made them more prominent. 

In summary, this is an excellent site from a usability perspective. However, it is a little old-fashioned. It has kept a consistent design across devices, which makes it a good sports betting experience.