Betzone

BetZone UK Review (2023)

Betzone is a relatively new betting site launched in 2021 that stands out for its generous welcome bonus and ease of use. The site is a product of Bet21, which Playbook Gaming operates. They are also behind bresbet.com, planetsportbet.com, Vickers.bet, and rhino.bet.

Betzone has its headquarters right in the UK — in Newbury, Berkshire, unlike most betting companies. It is licensed and regulated by trusted authorities in the gambling industry, including the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) and the Malta Gaming Authority (MG).

This review scopes out Betzone's sportsbook and other features necessary to a punter, such as sign-up requirements, customer support and payment methods.

Betzone Sportsbook

Betzone has a straightforward sportsbook with the "popular" and "A-Z" lists constantly located on the left-hand side of the website. The mobile version has them tucked away in a drop-down menu.

This platform emphasises football and horse racing, which get dedicated tabs at the top, next to in-play, casino and live casino sections. They are accessible from anywhere on the site.

Sports Available

Betzone chose to go with the full range of 30 games offered by Playbook Gaming. Football and racing are prioritised as with other betting sites operating in the UK market.

The A-Z list of sports and other specials on Betzone includes:

• American football
• Australian Rules
• Badminton
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Cricket
• Cycling
• Darts
• Esports
• Football
• Formula One
• Gaelic football
• Gaelic Hurling
• Golf
• Greyhound Racing
• Handball
• Horse Racing
• Ice Hockey
• Mixed Martial Arts
• Motor Sports
• Politics
• Rugby League
• Rugby Union
• Snooker
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• TV & Specials
• Volleyball
• Winter Olympics

The football section primarily focuses on the English market, followed by the rest of the world. There were over 130 football tournaments and leagues from all over the world at the time of writing. The list included competitions from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Horse racing is more limited to the European region. There were UK and Irish meetings only, which is not uncommon for UK betting sites.

Greyhounds offerings, too, are European-focused. You can expect races from famous locations such as Central Park, Towcester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Crayford, Newcastle, Romford, Swindon, Perry Barr, Sunderland, Hove, and Monmore.

The rest of the offerings in Betzone's sportsbook focused on the most popular events worldwide. For instance, Basketball only had the NBA standings. Baseball had the US Major League Baseball, Korea Baseball Championship, and World Series. Snooker only had World Snooker Championships.

Betting Markets

Betzone lacks a bet builder but offers an impressive range of markets. For example, there were at least 80 betting markets for football matches. You can expect all the popular bet types, such as:

• Match winner
• Over/ Under
• Total number of goals
• Goalscorer
• Handicaps
• HT/FT
• Number of cards
• Player performance
• Draw no bet
• First half result
• outrights

The site has a particular category called "Betzone Events," where you can find additional unique betting markets such as:

• Specific player to assist a goal
• Two players to score the first goal of the match
• Two specific players to score
• Over 3.5 goals (or any other number) in the game
• A goal in the first 10 minutes
• Both teams to score in the first half
• A red card in the match

Most Golf events had over 60 betting markets, which was commendable.

Horse racing only had Win/ Ew and Forecast/ Tricast markets. However, you can find additional markets for the sport under Betzone events. They include:

• Two or more favs to win (options for 3, 4, 6, and 5 were available as well)
• Rider to ride two or more winners
• Rider to ride three or more winners

The rest of the sports on Betzone have 0-20 markets. For instance, Baseball had 17 markets, Cricket had 15, while tennis had 10. Some less popular sports among punters, such as cycling, only had markets for the race winner (outrights).

Some listings such as politics and Esports, Politics, and Badminton did not have any offerings, implying that Betzone only has something for those categories during specific seasons.

Betting Odds and Margins

Betzone's odds come in fractional form. The site doesn't seem to have an option for changing this default to decimals. 

Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) is available for horse racing. However, it only applies to bets placed after 10 am on race day. This timing is a bit late, considering some high-street bookies have the options the day prior or at least by 8 am on the day of the race. Also, as often the case across the industry, BOG does not apply to ante-post bets.

Betzone's betting margins average 6.9 for football. These margins are not among the best, but they still compete fairly against popular betting sites known for having great odds. For example, 888 Sport has an average of 5.2% for football, Coral has 5.6%, Redbet has 6.3%, and Galaxy.bet has 8.2%. However, the top sites for low football margins, such as 1XBet, have been known to go as low as 1.2%.

Welcome Bonus

New Betzone customers are welcomed with bonuses worth up to £60, credited as free bets and casino spins. Among significant terms for the welcome bonus are:

• A minimum deposit of £10
• Place 5 bets worth £10+ to get £10 free bets + 10 spins for free
• Place 10 bets worth £20+ to get £20 free bets + 20 spins for free
• Place 10 bets worth £20+ to get £50 free bets + 50 spins for free
• Minimum qualifying odds of 1/1 (2.0)
• A maximum of 7 days to settle bet credits

Since the maximum amount for the free bets is £60, you can only combine the options for £10 and £50 or £10 and £20. You cannot get £20 and £50 because that would exceed the limit. Therefore, if you place 10 bets worth £50 or more, you will get £10 from offer one and £50 from offer three, but nothing from offer two.

Other significant conditions for the Betzone welcome offer include:

• Qualifying bets for football and horse racing must be placed on the same day of the match or race, respectively
• No Accas
• Bets must be settled (void or cashed out bets do not count)
• 30 days to claim bonuses from registration day, then 7 days to place the bets
• No more than a single qualifying bet on the same event

Existing Customer Promotions

Betzone does not have any exciting promotions for existing customers. There is no section for promotions on the site either. Continuing customers can only enjoy special treatment through the loyalty program they are allowed to join when signing up.

You may consider Best odds guaranteed (BOG) for horse racing as promotional. Still, it is also worth mentioning that they are almost a standard option among most betting sites.

Live Streaming and In-Play Betting

Unfortunately, Betzone does not offer any live streaming services. Still, you can access live betting options via the "IN PLAY" section at the top of the site among the header tabs The sports with in-play betting include football, golf, and tennis.

Football in-play betting has up to 20 markets for popular matches, while less celebrated events have up to 10 markets. Of course, the odds continue to change as the game progresses.

One downside of Betzone in-play betting is that the site does not provide detailed match data for the live games. This lack of information may make betting challenging if you rely solely on the site. In-play punters may have to follow the game via other channels and only use Betzone for staking.

Cash Out

We could not find any cash-out function, so it is unclear whether Betzone allows punters to close the deal before the event ends. However, the terms and conditions talk about cashouts, hinting at the possibility of cashing out early on your stakes.

Customer Support Options

Betzone has 24/7 customer support, which means you may get your query answered at any time of the day. However, this round-the-clock support does not necessarily mean the team will respond fast. According to Betzone, customers should expect up to 72 hours before a service team member gets in touch. Three days may not be good enough for a customer with an urgent issue.

Additionally, the site lacks the live chat feature that most sports fans have grown accustomed to in today's online betting industry. Understandably, it is not uncommon for newer companies to cut the budget on the CS team during their earlier days.

Betzone's customer support is available via social media channels and email as follows:

• Email: customerservice@betzone.co.uk
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

The site also has an FAQ section located in the footer section. It provides impressively detailed and transparent answers to most of the customers' common questions. You can find brief explanations concerning deposits, withdrawals, account opening and verification, proof of funds, and how to make complaints.

Another thing noted from Betzone's customer support is that it is available in English only, much like the site language. The use of English exclusively does not come as a surprise considering their location and target market is in the UK.

Mobile App

Betzone has excelled at mobile betting. There are betting apps for Android and iOS users, which you can download via the Play Store or Apple Store. The site has links to respective stores in the footer section at the bottom.

You can access all the Betzone site offers via the app, including pre-match or in-play bets, price boosts, casino games, and more. At only 4.7 MB for Android and 12 MB for iOS, the app is compact, downloads fast, and loads quickly. It is also user-friendly, featuring a drop-down menu that contains direct links to all sections of the app and declutters the space.

The Betzone iOS app is rated 4.0/5, while the Betzone Android version is rated 3.0/5. Betzone chose to develop the Android version in house, but GW Gaming Ltd made their iOS app. Other sites with GW games include Bet365, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Paddy Power and more.

You will need Android 5.0 or iOS 11.0 and up to install the app. It is also compatible with macOS 11.0 or later with at least the Apple M1 chip.

Betzone Safe & Responsible Gambling

Betzone endorses responsible gambling as a social responsibility and customer care policy. The site has a tab called "Safe Zone," where you can find information about responsible gambling alongside links to various organisations dedicated to helping players with problem gambling. The site also offers tools for customers to track and control their gambling behaviour. They include:

• Deposit limits
• Play Break
• Questionnaire form for addictive gambling
• Self-exclusion