Bwin Review

Bwin Sportsbook Summary

The competitiveness of the Ontario sports betting landscape is a dream scenario for players – but it might wind up being a bit of a nightmare for scuffling operators like bwin.

The Entain-owned product has some redeeming qualities, as you’ll see in our comprehensive review. But the strikes against are significant and will undoubtedly prevent bwin from reaching the lofty levels of global stalwarts. In the end, I encourage you to give bwin a try – but with the caveat that there’s a chance you’ll want to look elsewhere.

Bwin Quick Facts

Bwin Locations

Bwin is live and legal in Ontario, having been approved by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario (iGO). As an international bookmaker, you can also find this brand worldwide throughout the UK and other regions.

Sports Leagues to Bet On

Bwin’s sports offerings match the industry standard, with a solid variety of global competitions from which to choose. Here's a look at how it provides Ontario users with coverage of the most popular sports:

NFL Betting

Bwin provides NFL bettors in Ontario with plenty of opportunities to profit on their favourite teams. Pre-game markets include moneylines, spreads, totals, and quarter- or half-specific markets, while players can also bet on any of Bwin’s in-game offerings. The 20 cents of juice on standard spreads and totals is in line with the industry standard – no better, no worse.

NBA Betting

Basketball betting has grown in popularity, and bwin is here to serve the hoops-happy crowd with moneyline, spread, and total markets. Player and team props are available here, though top-flight sportsbooks like Sports Interaction and bet365 have a bigger selection of offerings. Bwin does, however, keep pace nicely when it comes to the number of futures markets it has.

College Football

U.S. college football betting is seeing increased interest in Ontairo, and bwin is ready to serve an eager audience with moneylines, spreads, and totals for most Division I NCAA football games during the season. And as with its NFL markets, bwin prices the majority of NCAA football spreads and totals right in line with the standard across most Ontario sports betting sites.

College Basketball

Bwin has the bases covered when it comes to NCAA basketball betting, offering traditional markets throughout the regular season and conference tournaments. And as with most providers, bwin steps things up a notch before March Madness tips off.

NHL Betting

Ontario hockey bettors will find bwin hits most of the right notes when it comes to daily offerings. Players can wager on moneylines, pucklines, or totals, while the in-game selections are decent (but could be better.) Team and player props are among the most popular live options, and bwin has improved its offerings in both of these areas in recent years.

MLB Betting

Summertime means MLB betting – and bwin comes armed with a strong offering of baseball odds for all the Blue Jays fans. From moneyline, runline, and total options to player props, inning-specific markets, and alternate totals. The best part of bwin's setup here is how it lays out the player props, maximizing screen space to display as many options as possible.

Other Sports Leagues

Bwin provides a strong base for soccer bettors, offering up a wide variety of wagering markets across many of the top European leagues. Tennis is also a strength of this operator, particularly regarding its selection of live betting opportunities.

Other sports and competitions Bwin covers include alpine skiing, baseball (international), biathlon, boxing, MMA, cycling, darts, Formula 1, golf, handball, hockey (international), lacrosse, NASCAR, pool, Rugby League, Rugby Union, snooker, table tennis and volleyball.

As for more exotic betting opportunities, bwin has these, too. Customers can wager on chess, motorbikes and ski jumping, or they can pivot to non-sports markets like entertainment or politics. bwin also offers virtual markets for football, basketball and football, ensuring action in those markets year-round.

Esports are also offered at bwin. However, the range of markets available in this sector isn’t quite as impressive as those we’ve seen at other UK bookmakers. Many of the most popular esports are covered here, though, from League of Legends (LoL) and Dota 2 to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).

Online Betting Experience

Players have three options with bwin: The desktop version, the mobile web version, and the app (which is downloadable on both Google Play and the App Store). And as much as it pains us to say this, you’re probably better off using either of the first two iterations.

Website Experience

The desktop interface is one of the best parts of this sportsbook, and definitely worthy of praise for being among the best configurations of any Ontario sports betting site.

Once you become accustomed to where everything is on the screen, the layout is terrific: Popular markets and odds boosts are listed right below two sets of handy menus, with a complete list of sports on the left, markets in the centre and the bet slip, multi generator and non-intrusive casino search widget on the right.

The little things matter to bwin, too – like selective splashes of colour that stand out on the white background but aren't distracting. Micro enhancements like this, combined with making it easy for even novice bettors to find what they're looking for, make this layout a major win.

Mobile Betting and Betting App

We have nothing but good things to say about the website. The app, on the other hand ...

Bwin's mobile version, for some reason, is frustratingly slow; good luck trying to click from one page to another without getting a spinning-gold-and-white “wait a second” wheel. It happens just about every time you switch sports or screens – and sometimes, the wait can be up to five seconds. That’s bad.

Bettors can download the app for iOS or Android devices, but there aren’t enough reviews to provide a worthwhile rating here. And to be honest, you might get a better experience going with the mobile website.

Live Betting

Bwin takes live wagering seriously – the result of that attention to detail is a truly immersive, next-level in-game experience for beginners and expert bettors alike, rivaling that of industry leaders like FanDuel and Caesars.

Bwin offers live betting for hundreds of sporting events daily, from the biggest and most-bet markets to some of the more obscure daily offerings. The app quickly updates odds based on the action, and its responsiveness allows bettors to make their live bets rapidly.

Making this product even better is a high-quality live streaming experience featured prominently on the main page. Bettors can access streaming options for a limited number of events in the top right corner of the screen, though players will need to be logged in (and, in some cases, have a real bet on the event) before being able to view it.

Casino, Poker, & Other Gaming Options

As with most sportsbook operators in Ontario, bwin has a robust offering of casino games for players looking to expand their gaming interests.

Bettors can access the main Casino tab at the top of the desktop home page and at the bottom of the app. Slots are sorted into several categories, including most popular, top jackpot slots, and recently added games. Players can also access bwin’s table games from within the Casino tab, a list that includes blackjack and roulette.

Bwin also offers an excellent selection of poker tables as part of the Party Poker Network. Players can choose between various cash games and tournaments, all from the comfort of the bwin desktop site or mobile app.

Bwin History

Bwin – known initially as betandwin – launched its first online gambling site in 1998, roughly a year after it was founded in Austria. It made an immediate impact in the space by pioneering live betting and quickly moved into online casino and poker after acquiring Gibraltar-based Simon Bold and moving its operation to the British Overseas Territory.

Betandwin launched the bwin brand in 2006 and made another major splash by offering live streaming of selected sports events. A merger with Britain-based Party Gaming in 2011 made the company the largest publicly traded online gaming firm. After years of success around the globe, the bwin brand was subsequently purchased in 2016 by British GVC Group, where it stands today as one of the parent company’s most notable brands.

Today, bwin operates in Ontario under Entain PLC, which owns the parent company of Canada-based sportsbook Sports Interaction.

Customer Ratings & Reputation

Bwin has its share of supporters – but some have taken the world-renowned sports betting brand to task for several shortcomings.

The first, and perhaps most disappointing, is that some customers have remarked that they saw their bet maxes capped immediately after depositing into their accounts. While it’s common to see sportsbooks limit players on heaters, it’s something else altogether for new players to see themselves held to $1 max bets not long after making their first deposit.

The lack of a dedicated loyalty program is also a significant strike against. With an ever-growing number of sports betting sites now available to Ontario residents, sportsbooks need to provide a compelling reason for users to stay with them – and bwin is really missing out here.

Another big issue centres around customer service, which I'll get into below.

Customer Service

The customer service itself at bwin is merely okay. A 24/7 chat option is nice, but not when the operators seem disengaged and take minutes to answer simple questions. You can expect a similar experience whether reaching out by phone (613-902-0306) or email (done through a form on the app itself). Nothing gets answered quickly, it would seem.

Bwin offers the standard methods of reaching out to Customer Service, though these options aren’t that easy to find in the app. You’ll need to go into the “Help & Contact” tab, click “Browse our help topics,” select “Other,” choose the “I haven’t found what I’m looking for” option, and then decide on how you would like to contact bwin’s CS department. Not ideal.

Bwin Contact

• 24/7 Live Chat
• Email: Users must submit an online form
• Phone: 1 (613) 902-0306

Bwin Legal Betting

Bwin is regulated in Ontario by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario (iGO).

Responsible Gambling

All legal and regulated sportsbooks in Ontario are required to register with the Responsible Gambling Council, a leader in the prevention of problem gambling in Canada and globally for over 35 years.

Here's a list of other recommended responsible gambling resources available to bwin Ontario players:

• ConnexOntario: provides service information for people experiencing problems with gambling, drugs, alcohol, or mental health. Helpful, supportive system navigation specialists answer all calls, emails, or web chat requests 24/7. Call 1-866-531-2600 for more info.
• BeGambleAware.org: offers free, confidential help and support to anyone worried about gambling for themselves or others.
• Gambling Therapy: a global service provided by Gordon Moody offering free emotional support and advice to anyone affected by gambling.

Why Choose bwin?

You don't have to dig deep to find bwin's most redeeming qualities, which include competitive odds in most markets and a truly enjoyable site layout that ranks among the best in Ontario.

Unfortunately for bwin, everything it does well is largely negated by a laundry list of problems.

From a frustratingly slow app experience to subpar customer service to a limited number of withdrawal options, bwin could have problems making inroads in one of the most competitive markets in North America. And if it can’t even be bothered to reward its long-standing members with a basic loyalty program, it will have all sorts of trouble attracting new customers.

Bwin is worth a spin, but don't be surprised if your stay is a short one.