PointsBet Review

PointsBet is a smaller sportsbook that can legally serve fourteen states, putting it in a similar realm as sports betting apps like BetRivers. But despite its limited availability across the United States, PointsBet excels in its sports market variety, which makes it an excellent choice for avid sports bettors and punters. With 29 primary sports markets in its arsenal, PointsBet outdoes bigger competitors like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars Sportsbook. This is the perfect solution for those interested in betting on the primary sports leagues and international and niche markets.

This PointsBet review will show which sports you can bet on, which banking options you can use to experience quick, easy payouts, and how you can enjoy betting on the go from the comfort of your mobile device. And we’ll outline how you can earn bonus cash on your first sports bets so you can start on the right foot!

PointsBet Highlights

Let’s dive into this PointsBet review, and we’ll let you decide if the juice is worth the squeeze on this one. The fast facts below are a good outline of what you can expect from this particular sports betting app. A lot of its features are standard with other sportsbooks, but there are some unique features found here, too.

You won’t find DFS contests or a separate poker section at PointsBet, so apps like DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars Sportsbook will have the advantage there. But 29 sports market options for betting and a solid lineup of slot machines and live dealer tables make PointsBet worth a look and, dare we say, an ideal fit for many bettors and gamblers out there. And it’s hard to argue with 48-hour payouts and over 95% payout percentage of real money casino games.

Contents of the Page

If you’re looking for information on PointsBet and you need to be quick about it, use the jump links to navigate our PointsBet review with ease.

Overview of PointsBet

Founded by Sam Swanell, Nick Fahey, and Andrew Fahey in 2015, PointsBet is an Australia-based sports betting app that can legally serve customers in the United States, though there are limitations state-by-state. The company is headquartered in Cremorne, Australia, and is publicly traded on the NYSE under the PBH (PointsBet Holdings Ltd.).

PointsBet gained its footing in the US market when the Supreme Court struck down PASPA (The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act), opening the door for states to legalize online sports betting and gambling within their borders. In the past five years, PointsBet has expanded its US footprint and currently serves fourteen states. They offer 29 sports markets to bettors, making it a popular option for people looking for obscure, niche markets and betting options of international leagues.

Pros and Cons

Like any other online betting app, PointsBet has its strengths and weaknesses. It’s just the name of the game; we have yet to encounter the perfect sports betting app. Below you can gain a realistic picture of PointsBet and check out our pros and cons list to see where they excel and fall short for us.

There’s more to like than to dislike with the PointsBet app. Our review will highlight all aspects and factors of the platform to flesh out our pros/cons list.

PointsBet Bonuses & Promotions

This is the weaker part of the PointsBet sportsbook. It has to be one of the smallest promotion sections we’ve ever seen at a sports betting app. There’s only one welcome bonus for newcomers and only a couple of promos for regular bettors revolving around parlay betting. Let’s take a closer look at how you can earn extra funds at PointsBet, even if there’s not much available.

Daily No Sweat Bet Up to $100

PointsBet Welcome Bonus Terms & Conditions

Follow the instructions below to get your bonus funds as a new sports bettor. If every one of your first ten bets loses, you could earn up to $1,000 in your first ten days. 

1. Click “Bet Now” to begin. 
2. Place a $1+ bet on any sports market every day for ten consecutive days. 
3. If your bet wins, you get your payout. 
4. For bets that lose, get reimbursed 100% of bets up to $100 per day. Whatever you bet will be returned to you in Bonus Bets so the amount will vary from bettor to bettor

Same Game Parlays

There are a few “promotions” aside from the welcome bonus, but they are plugs for same-game parlays. This is where bettors can take several bets they have placed on the same game and combine them to get a larger payout. It’s all contingent on all legs of the parlay being correctly predicted. Otherwise, it’s a complete loss. With parlay betting, it’s high risk and high reward. 

When you place a same-game parlay, you can expect the following: 

• Your odds are boosted
• You can maximize your payout significantly 
• You don’t earn Bonus Bets 

PointsBet offers the same game parlays on multiple sports markets but pushes parlay betting for the NBA as they are the authorized gaming operator for the National Basketball Association. Same game parlays work on various bet types, too, including props, moneylines, spread, over/under, and many others.

PointsBet Rewards Program

When newcomers register with PointsBet, they’re automatically enrolled in the PointsBet Rewards Program, where they can earn rewards every time they place wagers on their favorite sports. The rewards don’t expire, and bettors can turn them over for Bonus Bets. The idea is that the more you bet with PointsBet, the more points you can earn toward bonus cash for more sports betting. 

Each kind of bet is worth a certain amount of reward points: 

• $5 fixed odds bet: 1 point 
• $1 parlay or same game parlay: 1 point 
• Any dollar placed on a sports bet (win or loss): 1 point
  
• 100 Rewards Points convert to $1 in Bonus Bets
• You need 250 points built up to redeem

To redeem your rewards, click “Rewards” to see your balance and the running total of points you’ve earned so far. You must have at least 250 points saved before converting them to Bonus Bets. Click “Redeem” to get your Bonus Bets.

If you’re curious to see how many points you gained and converted in the past, click “Activity,” an entire history log will appear outlining everything that has occurred with your rewards account.

PointsBet Online Casino

PointsBet has an entire side of its app dedicated to real money casino games, a nice respite for bettors who might want to break from the betting lines and enjoy a hand of video poker, try out the digital slot machines, or play table games like blackjack or baccarat. While it’s not the best online casino out there, PointsBet offers enough here that makes it a great supplement to its regular sports betting side. 

All casino games at PointsBet run using random number generators (RNGs) to guarantee completely random results without a dealer or croupier. The exception is the live dealer games where the responsibilities of the table are under a human dealer. All single-player games are also required to payout a certain percentage of the money gamblers put into them, the average payout percentage being 97.98%.

Casino Highlights

Though the primary offering is the online sportsbook, there’s a lot to love about the PointsBet Casino, too: 

• Average Payout Percentage: 97.98% 
• Speedy payouts within 48 hours 
• Live dealer tables
• Available on iOS and Android devices 
• Some slots payout 5,000x your bet 
• Live chat support is available. 
• Wide variety of deposit/payout options 
• Available in four states: Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia

Real Money Games Available

Although the game library is limited, PointsBet offers enough where sports bettors can be satisfied and keep themselves busy when taking breaks from the sportsbook.

Slots

PointsBet Casino is home to hundreds of slot titles, all run on random number generators to ensure the reels produce entirely random results. Click on the information icon in the top right corner of each title to preview what comes with the game, including minimum bets, return-to-player rates, and volatility.

Our abridged list only scratches the surface of all the slots offered by the PointsBet Casino. Visit the website or download the mobile app to see the width and breadth of this casino’s slot selection. It’s easily the best category of casino games on the app.

Slingo

Many online casinos don’t include this one as an option for gamblers, so it was a delightful surprise finding a handful of these games under the slots section.

Table Games

We found a few table games at the PointsBet Casino, but it’s not anywhere near the variety you can find with other competitors. If you’re someone who gambles online primarily for table game action, we’d recommend another online casino, though there are many more options in the live dealer section.

Use a basic strategy, and you can increase the likelihood of winning. If you play your cards right and make the right moves, you can earn more than a slot machine that pays back over 95% of what you put in.

Video Poker

We only found four of these games at the PointsBet Casino, and that’s rather typical for a real money online casino. The video poker sections are usually smaller, so this is right in line with what we’ve seen on competing casino apps.

As we mentioned on our cons list, PointsBet doesn’t have a dedicated section of the app for poker rooms or tournaments. It’s not a suitable substitute, but this is the best PointsBet has to offer gamblers who enjoy playing poker.

Live Casino

Play your favorite table games with other members and a live dealer. You can join the live dealer tables by claiming an empty seat and logging into a video feed to see the dealer and members you’re competing against. It’s the next best game section at the PointsBet casino after the digital slot machine list.

Again, these are games where you can use a basic strategy to increase your chances of winning and earning bigger payouts. Human dealers assume the duties of the table as they would in a brick-and-mortar casino setting. All video feeds occur in real-time.

PointsBet Sportsbook

The sports betting side of the app is the main reason so many bettors turn to PointsBet as their sportsbook of choice. While they’re light on bonuses/promos for bettors and offer no fantasy contests, PointsBet has 29 sports markets, a robust rewards program for redeeming Bonus Bets, and an excellent live betting section.

Sportsbook Highlights

We touched on a few of these already, but here are the best parts of the PointsBet Sportsbook, the big reasons why sports bettors should keep this app in consideration:

• Available in fourteen states
• Same game parlays
• Earn up to $100 in Bonus Bets on losses 
• Live betting 
• 29 sports markets available 
• Early cash-out 
• Intuitive design
• Robust rewards program

Sports Markets Offered

The exact number of markets available in each state will vary. For instance, Pennsylvania offers more betting markets than Ohio. But the states with the best selection of sports markets top out at an impressive 29. Once you factor in all the niche markets and several international leagues, you have close to thirty options for betting. 

You’ll find the following sports markets at PointsBet: 

All sports markets can be found on the lefthand menu under “Sports A-Z,” clicking on the significant markets opens up additional leagues and divisions. If there are any live events in progress, you find a small “Live” banner next to the name of that sports market, so bettors don’t have to miss out.

Betting Odds

Click on the sports market you want to place a bet on to view the lines and betting odds for particular leagues, games, or events. Choose your league by clicking “All Leagues.” Place bets on sports events that won’t happen for a while by clicking “Futures.”

However, the two tabs you’ll want to focus on are “Featured” and “Next Up.” Featured games or events are usually either live events or big games where a lot of bettors are placing their money. If you want to get in on the latest action, we recommend checking out the games under “Featured.” Upcoming live events are signified by lines and odds under the “Next Up” section.  

In the image above, you can see the baseball bets you could place on this game: spreads, totals, and money line bets. There’s a button (SGP) that allows bettors to upgrade their bets to form a same-game parlay. Choose the lines and odds you want, which are applied instantly to your PointsBet bet slip.

Live Betting

One of the first options on PointsBet’s main menu, the “Live” tab is where you can see which sports games, matches, or events are currently happening or soon to happen. You can select from the sports markets at the top of the menu on the “Live” page, and PointsBet will let you know how many live events there are for each market, too.

Choose the lines and odds you’re interested in betting on, and these will be automatically applied to your bet slip. The “Next Up” tab on the right-hand side of the screen shows any upcoming live events you can bet on, along with the time and who is playing.

Available States

PointsBet serves fourteen states with its sports betting app. You don’t have to be a resident; sign up for a new account out of state and travel to one of the legal states to have the app activated once you cross the border.

Compared to other sports betting apps, PointsBet has an average-to-smaller reach in the United States. When PASPA was struck down by the courts in 2018, PointsBet became a legal sports betting option in many states. They’ve made some decent strides over five years, but many sportsbooks cover twenty or more states.

User Experience

PointsBet makes it easy for bettors to find the sports markets they want to bet on, pinpoint the lines and odds they want, and apply them to the bet slip so they can track the progress of the bet. We don’t have any significant complaints about ease of use. The PointsBet sports betting app makes it completely obvious how their platform is used. You don’t need to consult any manuals or how-to guides on using the betting app; it’s self-explanatory and super easy to figure out, even if you’re a first-time user. 

We tested the mobile app and the website to see how the two formats worked and to see if there was a learning curve that bettors might need to learn to transition from one to another. The only thing we ran into were some slight modifications with a few menus, but the experience with the mobile app vs. the website was not as extreme as we thought it might be. Going from one to another is no big deal.

Legal States Where PointsBet Is Available

PointsBet covers fourteen states regarding sports betting and four states for casino games. In the grand scheme of other online sports betting apps, PointsBet is comparable to BetRivers, which handles similar volume and territory.

Legal States

Aside from PointsBet handling Kansas and BetRivers handling Arizona, they are practically identical. The casino business is the same between PointsBet and BetRivers, with both states only serving customers in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Retail Partnerships

PointsBet has affiliate programs with land-based sports betting locations in each state, too. These places are where bettors can deposit funds and collect payouts in person as they place bets on the mobile app.

How Does PointsBet Measure up to Competitors?

We mentioned earlier that PointsBet is most comparable to BetRivers, primarily because they feature the same legal states and have roughly the same number of sports markets for bettors to enjoy. If you look at the exact states these betting apps serve, the lists are nearly a clone copy. 

Comparing PointsBet to DraftKings or FanDuel seemed like stacking apples up against oranges, so we chose to make a comparison between PointsBet and the following three sports betting apps: BetMGM Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, and BetRivers Sportsbook. We’ll look at several categories (bonuses, types of gambling, mobile apps, etc.) to see how PointsBet stacks up.

Sportsbook Comparisons

PointsBet App Compatibility

How to Sign Up at PointsBet

Follow the steps below to sign up for a new account with PointsBet. Like other sportsbooks, the entire registration process only takes five minutes or less to complete. Get started with PointsBet in no time!

To learn how you deposit funds into your PointsBet account, check out the next section of our PointsBet review.

PointsBet Banking Options

Like many of its competitors, PointsBet offers a wide range of payment and deposit options, so members of the app can bank in a way that’s suitable for them. Most methods let bettors get access to their funds instantly, and the payouts usually take around 48 hours to drop into your account, though it can vary based on how you bank. 

Let’s review the PointsBet banking options and highlight the best for bettors who enjoy speedy payouts and easy fund transfers.

Deposit Methods

Payout Methods

How to Deposit Your Money

Depositing money into your PointsBet account will vary based on the banking methods you’re using. Follow the instructions below to deposit funds using credit/debit cards, online banking, eChecks, and PayNearMe.

How to Collect Your Money

Most PointsBet payout options work the same way, so follow the steps below to begin the withdrawal process. The steps take less than five minutes, but your payout could take a few days if you choose a payout option with a longer wait time.

PointsBet Customer Service

If you need help at PointsBet, you can reach someone in the customer service center. They are happy to address any problems or issues you might have using the PointsBet website or mobile app.

• Email: [email protected] 
• Live Chat: Available 24/7
• Phone: (312) 800-8716

Email responses can take up to 24 hours. Live chat and phone are the fastest and easiest ways to contact the support center. Live chat, however, is a 24/7 option, while representatives are only available by phone from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. MST, seven days a week. 

So, Is PointsBet Worth It?

Ultimately, several great reasons make PointsBet worth it for many bettors, but good reasons exist to pass on this. And that’s okay. It’s not an ideal betting app for everyone. If you’re on the fence right now and wondering if PointsBet is worth pulling the trigger on, keep reading. 

Let’s go over the excellent reason to join another sports betting app. These are features that PointsBet doesn’t have or areas where their performance is weak, next to other sports betting apps.

• You want to bet on fantasy contests or get in on fantasy tournaments.
• You want to play in poker tournaments.
• You’re looking for various bonuses or promotions to build your online bankroll.

However, PointsBet is worth your time, money, and energy for bettors who want to bet on various sports markets. There are 29 in total, the most significant aspect of PointsBet. It’s a good sportsbook if you want to earn points on your bets that can be redeemed for extra bets. You can get speedy payouts, typically within 48 hours, but they fluctuate based on your banking choices. 

We compared PointsBet and BetRivers, who are basically on the same playing field in light of the major sports betting apps. Both have smaller footprints in the US, compared to BetMGM or Caesars and their strong affiliate programs, but they offer steady sports betting opportunities to their customers. That’s the best way we can describe the essence of PointsBet; it’s standard and has many steady features that provide its bettors with a solid experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Check out the most popular questions from readers about the PointsBet betting app. Learn more about PointsBet quickly without trying to read the entire review.