Sportsbet review for New Zealand: 2025 findings

Best sportsbook in your area
Sportsbet stands out from the competition with its unique features, including full sports coverage and top-notch odds. Plus, it’s one of the few sportsbooks that accept NZD for deposits and withdrawals. Our Sportsbet review dives into what makes this betting site great with a comprehensive analysis of betting markets, payment options and security features.
Pros and cons
- Many betting markets
- NZD accepted
- Strong security measures
- Support not 24/7
- No welcome bonus
- Limited withdrawal options
General ratings
General info
Launch date | 2017 |
Company behind | Flutter Entertainment |
Best alternatives to Sportsbet sportsbook
Expert verdict
This is a detailed review to sum up. On the one hand, Sportsbet offers a wealth of excellent gambling options with various sports and betting markets on offer.
However, despite being popular with Australians and Kiwis, it’s not one of the most transparent sites. New Zealand players will struggle here, particularly as this bookie quickly restricts players with frequently winning bet options.
Additionally, there is no welcome bonus available to Kiwi players despite many other Australian-based betting sites offering one. It also restricts the number of withdrawal options available to Kiwis too.
If this wasn’t enough, the site doesn’t have the best support either. There is no 24/7 service on offer, so you will often find yourself left hanging as a Sportsbet customer. In short, there are plenty of better options for Kiwis out there. Sportsbet is not one of them.
Bonuses at Sportsbet NZ
We always put the information about any bonus bet or other promotions right at the start of any review, and the same is true here for our dive into Sportsbet NZ. This is done because we know you will first look for it when signing up to a new sportsbook. After all, it’s super important!
The best betting sites will have a strong welcome bonus to get you started. They will follow this with regular promotions such as a bonus bet or odds boosts.
So, we expected a Sportsbet sign up bonus to be offered, but none can be seen here. However, this is partly because Australia does not permit advertising bonuses on sportsbooks. Nevertheless, the only bonuses this bookie offers are bonus bets, and some boosted odds.
Bonus facts
Category | Details |
---|---|
Welcome bonus | Not advertised |
Bonus code | N/A |
Wagering requirements | N/A |
Minimum qualifying bet | N/A |
Risk-free bets | N/A |
VIP rewards | N/A |
Other bonuses | Bonus bet, odds boosts |
Players will find any bonus bet offers in the Specials section, updated weekly. Additionally, players can win a bonus bet by playing free games, or they may be sent bonus bet deals by email or SMS. Every bonus bet is valued at AUS$1, but can be split or combined. Any winnings are paid out minus the bonus bet value used.
Bonus rating
- AUS$1 bonus bets
- Bonus bets can be combined
- No other bonuses
Well, this review starts on the wrong foot. That is the lowest score out there from me, as I haven’t seen hide or hair as a welcome bonus.
The problem is that Australia doesn’t allow a bonus bet to be advertised. But, even when you do sign up, Kiwis are not given an offer at all. I should have signed up with a sportsbook like Winz.io for NZ$500 in bonus bets.
This is particularly disappointing because other Australian-based sportsbooks, such as FansBet, offer New Zealanders a welcome bonus regardless of being unable to advertise them.
It’s a big downside, and I can’t get past it. The only thing making things more appealing to NZ players is the possibility of scoring some $1 bonus bets in the weekly specials.
Sportsbet racing and other markets
After the poor showing at the start, Sportsbet NZ does at least pick up here regarding the betting markets available. Ideally, we want to see 20 or so sports as a minimum.
Sportsbet offers over 30, and many of these are more unusual sports as well. Of course, there are popular football and rugby (union and league), but you can also bet on chess, lacrosse, surfing and more. Remember that you can bet on the same race in this sportsbook.
Within each sport, there are a wealth of different betting options too. You can find various domestic and international tournaments and leagues on offer across them all. Simply add to your bet slip, and off you go.
Sports facts
Category | Details |
---|---|
Number of sports | 35 |
Betting markets — Basketball | 50+ |
Betting markets — Football | 100+ |
Betting markets — Rugby | 90+ |
Esports | Yes |
Other markets (politics/event betting) | Yes |
Impressively, for this Sportsbet review, we found that there are also several unique markets available as well. You can bet on a number of different esports, entertainment options, royal events and even politics depending on what’s on.
Available events
Featured betting markets
Sports & markets rating
- Good NZ and AUS markets
- Specialty wagers
- Few betting lines for niche sports
Okay, so I was a bit mollified when it came to this section, as this bookmaker did its best to turn things around after the disappointment in the bonus section.
With 35 sports on offer and a number of novelty markets, this is one of the most diverse online sports betting sites. It certainly beats PlayUp, which only covers around 23 different sporting options. I will say I was impressed with this.
The sports are all categorised neatly and can be found in alphabetical order. The racing options are a different menu and hold some of the more comprehensive selections, including horse, greyhound and harness racing. Sportsbet gives horse matches fans the TAB a good run for its money in these markets.
There are also a number of filter options available, including being able to look for AUS/NZ events only or opting to pick international events. Handy ‘Quick Links’ buttons also make the experience even more accessible.
It should be noted that this sportsbook emphasises horse racing. This is the case as these are the top-listed events and the markets offering some of the best prices for your wagers.
A close second is cricket, which is unsurprising as it’s popular in Australia and NZ. Many big tournaments are highlighted here, particularly the Twenty20 Big Bash tournament, a staple of the Aussie cricket calendar.
Betting features at Sportsbet
Amazingly, things continue on a pretty good level here when it comes to the betting features available at Sportsbet. We always want to see a range of different options to make things very user-friendly.
For starters, this bookie offers a good bet builder feature that’s easy to use as well. It can be implemented across a range of different sports too.
Additionally, cash out options are available for some sports so that you can seek a profit even before the match, game or tournament is up. Not every sport is eligible for this though.
Feature facts
Category | Details |
---|---|
Bet Builder | Yes |
Cash Out | Yes |
Live betting | Yes |
Live streaming | Yes |
Virtual betting | No |
While some of the more specialised features are missing, it is possible to enjoy live streaming of different sports as well as partaking in live in-play betting. You can use their sky racing channels to watch live matches.
Betting features rating
- Various live betting options
- Bet builder available
- No system bets
Mostly, I don’t have any complaints regarding the betting features here. With the Bet Builder, I found it easy to find and get set.
A Racing Multi Builder and a Sports Multi Builder help to keep these two disparate areas separate. I liked this as, just like the Easy Form and Bet Builder at Ladbrokes, it made the process all a lot clearer.
For additional help, there is a section called Best Bet Tips, where you can get the more in-depth information to inform your bet. I liked being able to check out what experts might be thinking.
Live streaming and live or in play betting were also available on the app and desktop site. Better still, it didn’t involve having to phone in to place my wagers. Other bookies that offer in play bets, like Royal Panda, don’t offer live streaming, so this is a win for Sportsbet.
Rounding out the features, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Bet With Mates feature. This is a great little option that helps to bring the social side of betting to the fore and was a nice surprise.
Parlays are one of the more popular options, as you can link two outcomes (or more) with one bet. It’s a higher-risk prospect, but it means you can get a bigger reward. There are a number of parlays offered by this operator, and you can even pick wagers across different online sports.
Sportsbet betting odds
We look at the payout percentages offered to get to grips with how good the odds are at any online sportsbook. We do this for every review calculating them based on the prices provided across a number of sporting markets.
The best sportsbooks will offer payout percentages of 95% on average. If you’re looking for top-of-the-pile options, 97% and up is the way to go. Anything below 93% gets a lower rating.
Sportsbet just scraped in above that 93% marker with a payout percentage of 94.4% across all online sports. It’s not great, but it’s far from being the worst.
Odds facts
Category | Details |
---|---|
Average payout | 94.40% |
Boosted odds | Yes |
Parlay boosts | Yes |
Line movement | Moderate |
All that being said, Sportsbet still comes out pretty high when it comes to the fixed odds price. In fact, it is top in some areas of the market.
Odds rating
- Strong head to heads
- Decent fixed odds
- Average percentage payouts
So, while it’s not doing great in this area, the payout percentages aren’t the worst to find online. I found that Sportsbet was pretty middle-of-the-road here.
With a 94.4% average payout percentage, it’s far from the bottom of the pile. However, while this is a similar average payout to Stake (94.6%), Sportsbet is less competitive regarding the high fixed odds for which Stake is known.
Depending on the sport, some seriously different prices exist across the betting options. Some are vastly better than others, comparing favourably with other bookies.
I was happy to see that there are some boosted odds offered too. These differ throughout the year depending on the sport and the season they are linked to.
Some sports also do not have much in the way of betting options either. However, the racing section is stellar, which is great if that’s what you’re looking for. Additionally, the in-play payout percentages sit on the average of 93% expected for these bet types, which far outstrips the miserable 91.65% at PlayZilla sportsbook.
Payment methods
Many players underestimate the importance of having a variety of payment methods. However, we always take this into consideration in our reviews. Top sites should offer at least ten different methods.
While Sportsbet offers eight methods, only six can be used by NZ players, though these do include the option for PayPal, which is a good start as this method allows instant transactions.
The site is also able to offer some pretty wide-ranging limits catering to a wide array of different budgets. The deposit limits minimum that you can put into your betting account is just NZ$5, which is very low.
Payment facts
Category | Details |
---|---|
Number of payment methods | 6 |
Popular payment | PayPal |
Minimum deposit | NZ$5 |
Maximum deposit | NZ$100,000 |
Average deposit time | Instant |
Minimum withdrawal | NZ$10 |
Maximum withdrawal | NZ$100,000 |
Average withdrawal time | 72 hours+ |
Deposit fees | None |
Withdrawal fees | None |
There’s a NZ$10 minimum withdrawal limit across the board. Maximum limits vary, but credit card withdrawals are limited to $49,999 per transaction and $100,000 per day to the same card. When it comes to deposits, there are some high maximum limits in place for the high rollers. All the payment methods are fee-free, which makes it even easier to select which ones to use.
Payments rating
- Very low minimum deposits
- Fee-free transactions
- Few payment methods
I wasn’t unhappy with this section, but neither am I over the moon here. All the standard features are in place, such as no fees, which is good. But I was disappointed that New Zealand players can’t use the Sportsbet Cash Card or Apple Pay.
So let’s start with the positives. I could see a pretty wide range when making a deposit. For instant deposits, Kiwis can use credit/debit cards, POLi and, like Neds, PayPal, but you might have to wait 1-3 days for your money to get to your Sportsbet account if you use Bank Transfer outside the POLi system.
What is important, though, is to make sure that you set your account to NZD before you make a deposit and start playing. If you don’t, you won’t be able to change it. I was happy to see that at least Sportsbet doesn’t convert your NZD to AUD as Neds does or make you use US$ like William Hill.
Withdrawals to an NZ bank account are also much slower, taking 3-5 business days to arrive. And the fact that there are many player complaints about slow withdrawals and restrictions on winning players doesn’t comfort me here at all.
Safety features
Being able to keep safe and secure when playing online is incredibly important to us when we recommend a place to play. So, we always check if there is a licence.
Sportsbet does have a licence and this comes from the Northern Territory Racing Commission. This means that it does have to abide by specific rules and regulations to operate.
On top of this, the website is protected with SSL encryption protocols, which mean that your data can’t be accessed by third parties. This is essential if you want to stay safe online.
Safety facts
Category | Details |
---|---|
Auditing seals | N/A |
Responsible gambling seals | Gambling Therapy |
Licences | Northern Territory Racing Commission |
SSL encryption | 256-bit |
Two-factor authentication | Not available |
Ever blacklisted? | No |
Deposit, wager, time, and loss limits | All available |
Self-exclusion | Available |
Cooling-off period | Available |
Finally, Sportsbet is also home to a number of different responsible gambling protocols. These are there to help you stay safe and not suffer from gambling addiction.
Licensed by
Trusted by
Safety rating
- Licensed in Australia
- 256-bit encryption
- Good responsible gambling tools
- Bad customer reputation
- Many complaints
So this is where things get a little bit tricky. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this operator, it’s not one I would recommend.
It’s also done itself no favours in recent years when it sued a rival sportsbook and won. Unlike LeoVegas sportsbook, which has managed to keep a stellar reputation, Sportsbet has not done so.
I find that almost everywhere I look, there’s something bad to say about this bookmaker. So, while it hasn’t been blacklisted, it sure is heading that way as far as I, and other players, are concerned.
However, it does have good security in place on a technical level with a licence and 256-bit encryption. But other bookies have gone the extra mile, like 888sport with licences from three jurisdictions or Ladbrokes with 2048-bit encryption.
Customer support
For many players, checking out the support is something that is often overlooked. However, even if a site works well, strong support is essential if you do run into an issue at some point.
Here, you can find three different support options available. However, rather surprisingly, there isn’t an email option provided. Instead, you can get in touch via Twitter.
Additionally, there is no 24/7 service on offer, which is unusual in this day and age. However, with a good phone line available for both support and betting options, it’s not all bad.
Support facts
Category | Details |
---|---|
Customer support availability | 6:00 am to Midnight AEDT |
Live chat | Yes |
N/A | |
Contact number | 1800 990 907 |
On-page support | Help section |
There is also a strong Help section, which is really good if you want to get some quick answers. It’s a good option to start with too as you’ll often find the answer here.
Support rating
- Phone support available
- Active Twitter account
- No 24/7 live chat
- Unhelpful staff sometimes
Okay, so again, this section was tricky to rate for me. While some aspects were good, I was less than impressed with other parts of the support here at Sportsbet.
I thought the slow turnaround time of Betway emails would be the worst support, but I was wrong. Sportsbet can beat that by bringing in less-than-helpful staff to operate their live chat, but maybe I just caught them on an off day.
However, what I found hard to fathom today and age was that none of the support options are available 24/7. Instead, you can only access them from 6 am to midnight AEST, which I don’t think is good enough. BetVictor sportsbook manages to offer a similar range of contact options 24/7.
Yes, you can use a phone line, and Twitter contact is helpful, but it is bizarre not to find an email address anywhere on the site. Not a fan, so it gets a low score.
Sportsbet app and site usability
Finally, we come to the overall look and feel of the site. In aesthetic terms, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Sportsbet. It’s nicely laid out with clear, easy menus.

Additionally, everything is mirrored nicely on the mobile browser and app sites. This means that the setup is the same no matter what platform you use.
Navigating through to find a specific sport or event is also very easy, thanks to the alphabetizing and filters provided. The racing options are kept separate from the other sports too.
Platform facts
Category | Details |
---|---|
Mobile app | Yes |
Ease of navigation | Very easy |
Filters | Yes |
Search function | Yes |
Loading speed | 1.2 sec |
UI and UX rating | Excellent |
Other products | Esports |
The site loads well too and is very streamlined. But, this isn’t always the case for the mobile site which does suffer from glitches on occasion.
Play on devices
Platform rating
- Great Android and iOS apps
- Easy to navigate platform
- Useful sports filters
- App has glitches
- Complex complaint process
Once again, this was a section with some distinct good and bad points. One complaint from me is that, like Royal Panda, there is no dark mode. I’m just not a fan of lots of white space.
However, there are a number of other features here to help players, including a decent-looking FAQ section. Still, overall bet365 offers a much more user-friendly experience.
Sportsbet claws back a few points for having an app which mirrors the main site. But it promptly loses them as the app is often glitchy and has bugs, which impacted my ability to place a sports bet through the bet slip. It’s not something I want to go through again, but at least there was an app, unlike the situation at MyBookie.
However, overall I still felt this was not a player-friendly site. For instance, while the Help section appears detailed at first glance and is for some topics, key info is missing and getting answers can be harder than I’d like.
FAQs
Is Sportsbet trusted?
Unfortunately, no not really. The site is licensed in Australia and is very popular in that country. However, bonus options are limited to bonus bets and there are serious restrictions on the deposit and withdrawal payment methods available to NZ players. Additionally, winning players are quickly restricted on the site, which is just downright unfair meaning we recommend avoiding this one.
Can you use Sportsbet in NZ?
Yes, you can use Sportsbet in NZ. The sportsbook is Australian, but it does allow NZ players to join in the fun. You can simply make an account and set your currency to NZD before you begin playing. Make sure this is set prior to making a deposit as you won’t be able to change this later on. Be aware that to Australian regulations, Kiwis won’t see any advertisements for a sign-up bonus bet, but they are there for the taking.
Why can’t I cash out on Sportsbet?
While it is possible to cash out, there are a number of reasons why any withdrawal you request is failing. First, any amount you deposit at Sportsbet must be played through at least once before a withdrawal can be made. So, if you deposit NZ$50, you must play through that amount. Additionally, you may not have completed the verification process, which will also slow things down.
Does Sportsbet have a sign up bonus?
Yes, there is a sign up bonus offered to Kiwis. However, recently, Australia changed the laws prohibiting all betting sites from advertising their bonuses publicly on their websites. This means that in order to see any eligible offers, you do need to sign in to your Sportsbet account. However, even when you do so, as a New Zealander, there are no offers available.
Can you download Sportsbet in NZ?
You can access and download the mobile Sportsbet app in New Zealand. There is an app for both iOS and Android. Additionally, you can access the main site on your phone by simply using the mobile browser version. No matter how you access it on your phone, the performance and layout is the same as you’ll find on the desktop site.
Operator comparison
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Expert rating |
Expert rating
77
/100
|
/100
|
/100
|
Playscore |
Playscore
70
%
|
%
|
%
|
Bonus |
Bonus
Specials, early cashout, and same-race multis
|
|
|
Minimum deposit |
Minimum deposit
$5
|
|
|
Minimum withdrawal |
Minimum withdrawal
$10
|
|
|
Deposit methods |
Deposit methods
6
|
|
|
Sports |
Sports
15
|
|
|
Cashout |
Cashout
yes
|
|
|
Visit site | Visit site | Visit site |
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- Winz.io sportsbook
- BetVictor sportsbook
- LeoVegas sportsbook
- Bet365 sportsbook
Sportsbet sportsbook review
Do you have any experience with this operator?