Coral Bookies have only just become a force to be reckoned with on the online sports betting market, gaining a lot of traction over the last couple of years, so it’s actually possible that you haven’t heard about these guys just yet. In that case, you simply have to check them out straight away – and even experienced bettors should learn what the commotion is all about.
About Coral
The Coral Sports brand belongs to the Gala Coral Group, which is also well-known for its own casino brand. With over 1700 betting shops scattered around, it’s currently the third largest retail bookmaking business in the UK. Apart from that, the group is focusing on the Italian market, where it has already established a very solid foothold.
Punters that like to use both betting shops and on-line betting can take advantage of the Coral Connect card, which allows them to bet through all the different platforms with just a single account and one balance.
Minimum deposit limits and methods
The smallest allowed deposit amount at Coral Sports by most available payment processors is £5.00. Those methods include Visa Debit and Visa Credit Card, Maestro and MasterCard credit card, Skrill and Skrill 1-tap, Neteller, Eco card, PaySafeCard evoucher and even cash if you are near a shop.
They also accept Paypal deposits too with a minimum amount of £10.00.
Coral Bookies opening matched bet offer
The current opening offer is 4 x £5.00 ‘free’ bets when you make your first bet of £5.00 or more. This offer is available to new customers from the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom only. For Irish customers the bets are in Euros.
Your first bet must be at odds of 1.5 or higher. Once you get the free bets you have 7 days to use them. Any winnings from these bets can be cashed out, but the actual wager amount can not be cashed. Lots of different bet types are allowed, such as singles, doubles, trebles, each way and so on, but what you should watch out for is the restricted bet types – you cannot use the bet tokens on Football Jackpot, tote, or multiple bets such as Lucky 15’s and so on.
Pre-Match Betting at Coral
Lots of events, lots of markets and very solid odds – that’s how you could sum up Coral’s pre-match betting. When it comes to the most popular sports, there really is very little to complain about (one notable – and also very strange – absence is the long-standing lack of handicap betting in the tennis markets), even if you like betting on side markets like booking points or total corners.
Moreover, one definitely needs to appreciate the fact that there don’t seem to be many compromises when it comes to the offered odds, which usually fluctuate around the industry standard and sometimes even top it slightly. Coral are also fairly innovative when it comes to novelties betting, so, if you’re looking for weather, politics or TV specials, they should definitely be among your top picks.
Coral Live Betting
Many punters prefer in-play betting over pre-match betting nowadays, however, so do Coral deliver on that front as well? Let’s start by saying that the interface is very clean and that there are plenty of events to bet on, including some of the more obscure leagues and matches. If you’re out just to have the odd in-play punt, you’ll feel right at home at Coral.
However, there are plenty of small details that Coral still need to iron out. The visualization of matches is rather poor and so are the in-play statistics – and these features aren’t even available for a large portion of the offered matches. On one hand, these absences are quite understandable. On the other hand, you can’t claim to be the top of the crop unless you’re willing to invest heavily into such things.
Special Features at Coral
Although Coral have never been the front-runners in the innovation department, they usually do catch up with all the novelties very quickly. In fact, punters can currently enjoy more features at Coral than they can at most other bookmakers.
Apart from the necessary live streaming feature, there’s also the very interesting Coral Radio, which provides commentary for a number of sports, while there’s also nothing wrong with the facilities for live scores, results and statistics.
Nearly everything Coral offer can be accessed through the excellent mobile application. Fans of mobile betting are also going to be pleased by the fact that the mobile app gets its own exclusive enhanced odds on a daily basis.
Coral Bonuses and Promotions
If there’s one thing in which Coral really excel, it’s the sheer number of promotions they offer. New customers are going to get £20 in free bets straight away and that may look like your fairly standard fare, but there’s also a plethora of various bet insurances, money back offers and jackpots available once you really sink your teeth into Coral.
What’s more, Coral really like to stay on top of things, so you’re likely to find a special offer of some sort whenever a big occasion rolls around. Odds boosts are on the cards virtually every single day, while those of you who like to bet on multiples will surely enjoy all those enhanced multiples deals Coral offer on many of events.
Allowed countries at Coral
Normally we list the countries that are restricted from playing at a site but in Coral case we are listing those countries that are allowed to play here. These include Argentina, Albania, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Lithunia, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand (but not Australia), Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Odds and Ends
Visually, Coral are definitely one of the best bookies out there, as the interface is both clean and intuitive without any sacrifices on the sides of usefulness and complexity. That also ties in nicely with the focus on recreational punters, as even complete newcomers should be able to find their way around in no time.
Coral’s excellent customer support also deserves a mention, with all three typical options (live chat, phone, e-mail) available and working smoothly, while it’s also nice to see that all the major payment methods can be used, e-wallets and pre-paid cards included.
The Minuses with Coral Sports
Unfortunately, there are also some issues that one might have with Coral. Firstly, the aforementioned focus on recreational punters means that there isn’t that much to be found for those who like to bet with higher stakes. The odds can be juicy here and there, but you won’t be able to take full advantage of them nonetheless, as there are staking limits to worry about.
Secondly, it seems to us that, while the fundamentals are all nice and polished, there are many rough edges that start to surface once you dig really deep – and some of them are pretty disappointing. One missing or poorly-priced market here, one missing stream there – it’s nothing serious, but it is quite annoying sometimes.
Summary
All in all, it’d be fair to say that Coral are one of the most rock-solid online bookmakers out there right now. The positives are plentiful, the flaws are (relatively) few and far between – and, thanks to the user-friendly interface, you’re going to feel at home straight away.
If you’re a casual player that’s looking for an all-round bookie with a plethora of small promotions and bonuses, you should register at Coral straight away. Chances are that you will love it even if you’re not, but you’ll probably have to make a small compromise or two.