Greetings, fellow cyberspace travellers. We know it can seem intimidating when you look into the vastness of the unknown. Indeed, in that seemingly endless void, it can be hard to know which way is up or which direction you’re heading in. This can certainly be how it feels when trying to navigate the epic reality of new bookmaker sites. If online betting is like the endless intergalactic, then new betting providers are the universe ever-expanding beyond our comprehension.
But, before you feel overwhelmed, never fear, as we’re here as your on-board navigation system, making sense of these ever-expanding galactic seas. Here, we’ll be focusing in on new betting providers and how they compare against each other, as they really do complete a cosmos of their own. And they have a lot to offer. We’ll be breaking down exactly what makes new betting providers different so you can see whether or not they suit your space sensibilities, or whether you’d be better sticking with one of the older stars.
On top of that, we’ll help you contextualise their place in this universe, so either way, you have a better ability to navigate what’s out there. What more is there to say except strap on your space boots, we’re going for a ride to some new bookmaker planets.
Now, part of the reason that online betting has hit meteor levels of popularity is that there is so much variety to it. At PlayersBest, we cover it all. We have looked at multitudes of sportsbooks, a colossal selection of casino providers and even a dedicated poker planet, lunar lottery selection and have seen the Big Bang which has been the rise of online Bingo. In other words, when we’re talking about betting providers – or when anyone else is talking about betting providers – it could mean just about any and all of these things.
The “all” of this matter is super important. That’s because only some operators stick to just one of these betting galaxies. In other words, you might have a casino that just focuses on slots and that’s all they do. Or a new sportsbook, that provides great betting markets. Just to be clear, we don’t necessarily view this as a negative when looking for the best betting sites. If a site has a target audience for a specific type of betting, then the lack of alternatives is not necessarily a flaw.
Let us put it this way, if a new operator was purely dedicated to being a new sportsbook, and nothing else, we would not mark them down for a lack of video poker, for instance. If, however, a site proclaimed to be aimed at doing everything – and advertised themselves that way and to that audience – it would get a more negative response in that case. We’re comparing how well they will please their specific betting audience.
And that brings us onto jack-of-all-trade betting sites. Not only could a new bookmaker mean any of those things, but it could also mean all of them. More and more betting sites do try and provide a little bit of everything.
Some people think that a new bookmaker only means new sportsbooks, but it could absolutely mean a site that has a variety of different betting products. This is an issue that really comes down to people’s different interpretation with regards to terminology.
To be clear, a new betting provider is any site which provides almost any kind of betting product. A new bookmaker is any site that includes a new sportsbook, but can also include many other forms of betting, such as a casino or poker room. All could be considered amongst our best betting sites.
Before we get into the different trends between new and old betting providers, there’s a couple of things we should talk about. Firstly, we don’t want you to feel intimidated by the scale of the industry. We want to be telescopically clear here, we think that the amount of betting options that are available is a fantastic thing.
All of this choice has two major positive impacts. One is that it creates an incredibly dense level of competition. Think of all these operators as molecules and the act of comparing them supercharges them by shining a light on which ones are worth your while. It illuminates the sometimes hard to see betting night sky. And what that means is that the overall standards improve.
Indeed, they improve until they’re incredibly high. That’s because with so much choice out there, the only way to survive such an uninhabitable atmosphere is to be exceptional. It has made many betting operators raise their game.
The other really important thing that comparing all these different betting providers does is help create a sense of categorisation and order. When it comes to betting sites, as we’ve discussed, things are a lot more complicated than simply what is good and what is bad. There’s genres, preferences, niches. When we compare these new bookmakers, it’s not just to give an idea of quality: it’s also to let you know what kind of product they’re offering. You can then use that as a reference point based on your personal preferences.
We referred to ourselves as a navigating system at the beginning and that’s true. But our job is to tell you where things are, the destination is ultimately up to you. Our comparisons are hopefully, a great tool in understanding exactly where each destination will take you.
Like a shiny new spaceship, the hope of choosing a new betting site or new sportsbook is that it will be able to take you to places that the other older options cannot. Ultimately though, does a site being new really change what you can expect from it? Well, like many things on this Earth, it really does depend.
Some bookmakers – sportsbooks or betting providers more generally – can still be quite traditional in terms of how they do things. New sportsbooks especially can still be quite conservative with how they work, the kind of promotions they offer and their design. It all depends on the individual. So then, is here much of a difference between new operators and their illustrious forefathers? The truth is while new bookmakers don’t have to be different, they tend to be more often.
Older betting providers typically take fewer risks. They have a brand and a way of doing business that works for them and are more likely to stick to it. Indeed, when you look at many of those huge names, you’ll see their sites are very much of the old guard. Usually technically and structurally sound, but not doing anything to innovate. The reason for this trend is simple: they don’t have the same motivation to innovate. They have already been to the moon and back in terms of betting success – a new sportsbook has not.
In order to find ways to stand out – and avoid the asteroid field of competition – newer operators often need to come up with a new rocket field. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, and that’s just so much more pertinent a concern for a site that has yet to break into the mainstream.
So, why choose a new betting provider if they can be the same? Well, because it’s much more likely that they are not. You are more likely to find something new or something niche from a new betting provider because they have much more reason to innovate. Even on a design level, you’ll usually find it’s the new kids on the betting block who look and feel different. In other words, if you’re looking for something unique, then it’s those new stars that shine the brightest.
Now you know why you should consider new betting providers a touch differently – and that they are part of the bountiful betting buffet you can currently enjoy online – the question still remains, how exactly do we compare a new betting provider with everything else out there?
In order to help you understand how we craft our planet-renowned recommendations, we’re going to break down some key comparison points. We hope that this not only gives you insight into how we track the course towards great online betting, but also how you can better use these guides to plot the right course for you.
When it comes to comparing new bookmakers, there’s always an extra focus on security. It’s natural that people are warier of companies that are new and untested, and not necessarily without good reason. That said, how these checks are made remains largely the same. We’ll take a telescope to their licensing, encryption, privacy policy, responsible gaming policy, banking options and more. This way, we can ensure that everything is as it should be.
The standards for a newer provider remains every bit as high as any of the industry juggernauts. The only area we do feel that newer providers have to get a touch of leeway is in reputation. You just can’t expect a company which has been around for a small amount of time to have the same credentials in this regard as one that has been a household name for lightyears. Time is relative, but that remains a consistent rule.
Sometimes you just need to get in touch with mission control to figure out what is going on. Customer service can come in a variety of different forms. It begins with the Help and FAQ sections, and in general, how well a site explains itself.
Obviously, there’s no excuse for any slip in standards there. Neither is there in the quality of the responses that are given. We’re always looking for service faster than the speed of light and every bit as impressive. In terms of options, it’s more understandable for a newer site to not have the resources to provide around the clock coverage, but we still want as near as possible in that regard.
We’ve talked a lot about just how vast the world of online betting truly is. And that’s not just true of betting sites themselves, but also of the variety they offer within themselves. Now, what we’re looking for is as many quality betting opportunities relevant to their user base as possible. So, if we’re talking about a sportsbook, the more leagues covered, the better.
It would also be the case in terms of the betting markets within each game covered. A selection of handicap bets, first half bets and goalscorer bets would be better than just To Win markets. As long as it makes sense and as long as the quality is there – unlike when we uncover a storm of meteorites – we’re a ‘the more, the merrier’ type of crew.
But what do we mean by quality? Well, in the context of a sportsbook, it would mean better odds. Now, better odds are something we all want no matter how long our chosen operator has been around. And there’s no reason to not have the exact same standards.
There are different versions of what quality variety could mean too. For a casino, it could mean the games are provably random and fair. For a poker product, it could be referring to rake. In other words, we want a lot of different ways to bet, but we also want all those different ways to provide good value. A new operator with great odds is just a very prominent and simple example.
In terms of aesthetics, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That said, we do think that people are more expectant of originality from new operators. There’s a level of subjectivity here but we do try and give some impression of how broad we think the design appeal of a site is. You can say, for instance, that many people like the look of a shooting star across the night sky. We also look at the structure and the technical side of the site to see if everything is easy to find and easy to use.
Speaking of a site’s technical performance, there is probably no better test of exactly that than the live section of a betting site. When we’re talking about a sportsbook, there’s two cosmic elements to this. One is your ability to bet live. Odds are always updating on a sportsbook to reflect the action. Everything moving seamlessly and being processed quickly allows you to respond to the action properly. If something stutters or is slow to respond, you could miss out on vital betting opportunities.
The other element is live streaming, which is an enormous technical challenge to pull off well. This isn’t always possible for operators, due to logistical/licensing issues, but some kind of graphic or information to keep up with the action is always appreciated. The casino version of this is, of course, live casino games, which have many of the same issues to contend with.
When comparing operators generally, promotions are of huge importance. We talked a lot about how incentivised new sites are when it comes to finding ways of standing out. Well, there’s no better platform to give your site a gravity-defying boost than with a tasty set of promotions.
Two key things we’re looking for here is creativity and the value you tangibly get from the promotions. We don’t want the bonus benefits to be big and mysterious like the milky way. We want to be able to look at the terms and conditions and say that you can receive this actual real-world value.
Sportsbooks are often excellent in this regard, with Bet Boosts, acca insurance and often very low wagering requirements. Although of course, any kind of betting can have a great promotion. In terms of creativity too, any operator can be original. It’s just that, as we said before, new operators just have more of an incentive to do so.
One of the things that is always on our minds across all of these comparison tests is why would someone choose this site over all the rest that is out there? Ultimately, that is the question that a betting provider needs to answer in order to rise above the rest. The market is simply too crowded, and the standards are too high, for a new betting provider to simply be decent. That is a baseline – there needs to be something more to make it worth your while.
Remember, all of these betting sites are trying to get you to choose them. You could – and in our opinion, should – be as picky as possible. It’s the job of the new sportsbook to show everyone why they belong not just at the top of their competition but also those who have solidified their reputation over many years. Most importantly though, they need to prove it to you.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
Trading financial products carries a high risk to your capital, especially trading leverage products such as CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.