Sportsbook.ag Review

The history of this company and its various iterations could take up the entire space for this review, so let’s focus on a few fun facts. The company was started as a sports betting operation (not shocking, I know). The original owner was a legend in this industry, Patrick Callahan. He is most well known for being the first sportsbook operator to take credit cards as a form of payment. How he managed to pull this off in the late 1990s is definitely worth reading up on.

The operation was sold to Sportingbet PLC in 2001 and traded as a public company until the UIGEA law came into effect in 2006. At that point, the U.S. piece of the business was sold to a company called Jazette Enterprises, and after that sale, casino and poker games were added to the fold. The owner of the site is now listed as Domain Holdings Ltd.

Sportsbook.ag is licensed in the country of Antigua. Once a leader in the offshore gaming space, the small Caribbean country doesn’t have nearly as many licensees as it once did, and the only real benefit of having an Antigua license is their stance against the U.S. trying to meddle with their businesses.

For their casino, Sportsbook.ag has chosen to work with Betsoft. This software company has been working hard over the last few years to bring on clients that accept U.S. players; this decision to enter the “gray market” has turned out to be a successful one for the vendor. Betsoft has a full suite of casino games which we will review in detail a little later on.

Being one of the first online sportsbooks, these guys decided to build their own betting platform, most of which they continue to use to this day. After the sale to Sporting Bet, they added that bespoke platform to their operation, improving the overall quality of the experience for the sports bettor.

The site also offers a poker platform for those of you who like to play Texas Hold’em. This is run and managed by the Merge Poker Network; if you already have an account with this network through a different site then you will likely not be able to play via Sportsbook.ag.

All these software suppliers make their products available for play via mobile devices. This is particularly important for players who want to make some in-game live bets.

Look, I always trend towards sites where I can play not only casino games but also sports and poker from the same account. These days, making deposits is harder than ever, so the less I have to make the better. The fact that I can seamlessly move from poker to sports betting at Sportsbook.ag puts them in a different category than many of the other sites I have reviewed.

While these jackpots may not be as big as many of the ones you have probably heard of, I like the fact that Sportsbook.ag offers over 20 different progressive games. And let’s be clear here; the fact that you can win almost a quarter of a million dollars with one spin of the reels isn‘t exactly terrible. You should definitely check out the Jackpot Games menu of their casino lobby.

As I mentioned off the top, when an operator has been in business for as long as these guys have, there are bound to be many complaints against them. This is true in the case of Sportsbook.ag; if you check the forums, you will find complaints about the site dating back over a decade. The trick here is that with several ownership changes over the years, it is important to pinpoint the issues that can be attributed to the current group. After my evaluation, I believe that many of the complaints you will come across online are legacy-based, so, for now, I would say you don’t have anything to worry about.

My readers will know how much I love the trend towards Live Dealer table games in the online casino world. Most casinos have added these games to their catalog, including many of the sites that are U.S.-friendly. That is why I am shocked to see that Sportsbook.ag does not yet have them available for their players. I am not sure what they are waiting for – there are many providers ready and willing to provide the games. Hopefully, it won’t be long before they are added to the casino lobby.

Betsoft is one of the few software companies who allow their licensees to take players from the United States. With that in mind, they still offer an excellent array of games, including some excellent 3D slots titles. The development team at Betsoft continues to release games as quickly as they can while optimizing those they currently have on their roster.

The poker offering is quite small at Sportsbook.ag. There aren’t many options left for U.S. poker players since 2011, so at least you have a chance to play some smaller cash games and tournaments here. However, if you are looking for a big jackpot or some sort of high-limit game, you are likely going to be out of luck. The good news is that the play on the Merge Poker Network is pretty weak, so if you are a talented player and are willing to grind, then I think you can make yourself a tidy profit at Sportsbook.ag.

There are many different offers available to you at this site depending on what game you are planning to play. I will take a minute to highlight a couple of the promotions here. Admittedly, there look to be many promotions that are given on a one-off, private basis, so these are the ones that the public can see.

For your first bet, you will receive a match bonus of up to $100. Why is this good? Well, first of all, you can use it to the maximum and try to double your $100 right away. Also, this is a one bet promotion; that is very different than the usual deposit bonus that comes along with a high wagering requirement. Of course, this also puts all the risk into one wager, so that is the downside of taking this offer.

Sportsbook.ag offers tournaments in both slots and Blackjack on a weekly basis. You can see all the details on their promotions page, and also you will find the times for these tournaments listed. I like a good casino tournament as it tends to break the flow of just playing the games by yourself. Also, who doesn’t love the chance to make a little extra cash playing a game they were already going to be playing anyway?

One major switch for this site since its inception is the types of banking options available to players. At the time of writing this review, players from the United States or Canada were able to use Visa or Bitcoin to make deposits; players from the rest of the world were limited to only the cryptocurrency. It is ironic that a brand built on being the first to accept credit cards as payment is not so restrictive when it comes to that method; cryptocurrency comes with little to no fees, so it is far more attractive to operators.

There does not seem to be a comp program advertised at this site. This would be pretty disappointing, but perhaps it is simply too hard to manage across the different products and software suppliers.

There also seems to be no information on the VIP Program at Sportsbook.ag on their website. From what I know about sportsbook sites, their VIP program is likely highly subjective, so if you are playing a fair amount, you can expect to receive some communication from the service team offering you some special VIP promotions.

As far as customer service goes, this is now the only way to reach Sportsbook.ag by telephone as they no longer accept wagers over the phone (funny as that was the only way to bet when they first opened their doors). You can also reach the site via email or Live Chat (only available to account holders who have made a deposit).

I see no reason why I wouldn’t play with these guys. I like that they have a full suite of products available, and the fact that the company is still in existence after over 20 years is a nice bit of nostalgia for me. As far as promotions go, they could perhaps be a little more aggressive in trying to attract players, but I do like the Match Bet that they offer. If you can deal with the limited payment options, then I would recommend you give these guys a try, especially if you get the itch to bet on sports when you are playing your casino games!