138 Review
Promotions
New players can start their wagering off on the right foot at 138.com by earning themselves a £25 bonus bet. To do this, all a new player first has to do is sign up and create an account at 138.com.
Once registered newbies have to place at least FIVE qualifying bets of at least £10. Once all five bets have been settled, then a bonus bet is granted that will match the value of the qualifying bets up to a maximum value of £25. Qualifying bets must be placed on win single or combo bets – system bets do not count.
Singles bets must be placed at odds of evens (2.00) or over. Each selection in a qualifying combo bet must be placed at odds of at least 2/5 (1.40).
Once a new player has qualified for a bonus bet it will arrive in their account within twenty-four hours, and it must be used within seven days. When used, the bonus bet stake is not returned, only any winnings. It cannot be used on system bets such as Heinz or Trixie – just single and combo bets.
138.com runs several other promotions at all times and on special occasions – such as during the US Open punters received their stake back as a bonus bet if their chosen golfer was beaten in a playoff. For football bettors there's acca insurance and money back as a bonus bet if the top-level game you wagered upon ends in a 0-0 draw.
The site also runs an adjacent online casino. If you like to balance your sports betting with casino play, then there's an offer that will interest you – a one hundred percent first deposit bonus up to £200.
Stay up to date with the latest offers from this bookmaker with our dedicated latest offers page.
Markets available
Both in-play betting and cash out are available.
Site design
138.com does not really look like your typical sportsbook. For a start, the background is white which is usually a big no-no with sportsbooks. Colour is provided via the menus and the icons for all the specific pastimes available for wagering.
Live betting seems to take preference, with the current live betting markets available at the top of the screen, after which come the most popular up-coming events.
The site gives the bare minimum concerning each event – just the time, participants and starting prices. The number on the right of each event gives the additional markets available – just click on the number to see all possible markets.
The site covers all major sports and has multiple markets for each special event – the big football games usually have over one hundred markets for players to wager upon.
138.com is a rarity in that to use the site on an iOS or Android-powered device you have to download a separate app. Usually sportsbooks use in-browser apps, but that's not the case here.
Cashier options
This sportsbook only accepts MasterCard, Visa, Skrill or Neteller (for UK-based sports bettors – Asian bettors have their own deposit options). Strangely, there are icons for both Skrill and Moneybookers on 138.com's landing page, even though Moneybookers is just what Skrill used to be called.
The minimum accepted deposit is £10, and the maximum is £10,000 (£3,000 for credit or debit cards). All deposits are processed instantly. Information concerning withdrawals at 138.com is hard to find unless you are a member of the sportsbook. The minimum withdrawal is actually £10, and you are limited to £100,000 in withdrawals per month.
Conclusion
After capturing a huge percentage of the Asian market, 138.com perhaps has some way to go before it becomes as popular in Europe, but it looks as if this sportsbook is definitely on the right track. The free bet offer is fairly typical and perfectly fair, and at least gives you a chance of winning extra cash from it.
We'd like to see more payment options for UK customers, and a neater-looking site, but we still feel 138.com is a perfectly valid place at which to indulge your sports wagering desires.
Free Bets & Offers
Bet £20 Get £60 in Free Bets + Up to 15% Daily Profit Boost
18+. T&Cs Apply. gambleaware.org
