Sporting Index Sign Up Offer Bet £10 Get £60
Craig Jones 
Originally created to be the home for spread betting, Sporting Index was often a place where the betting mathematicians gathered. But they now offer traditional fixed odds betting alongside this, perfect if you want both, but if you want to stick with just the fixed odds markets, you can head into that section, and ignore the rest.
In this review of the site, I’ll touch on both, but focus mainly on the fixed odds section of the site.
Overview
Sporting Index was created all the way back in 1992, offering spread betting on sporting events. This was initially from their London office, but in July 2001, they launched a spread betting website, the first fully interactive version of this.
In 2004, they added a casino section, and virtual sports games, using spread markets. It was some time later, August 2019, when they added in fixed odds sports betting for their UK based customers.
With spread betting, fixed odds betting and virtual sports all under one roof, it is fair to say that I found the Sporting Index very confusing as a first time visitor.
However, this does get easier with time, and when you go into different sports and select fixed odds betting, this setting is remembered for the next time you visit, so as you play, the spread betting option is hidden, unless you select it to appear again.
Sign Up Process
I’ve condensed the sign up process into three nice and easy steps for new players to follow, this should be simple and easy, even for those who are complete beginners with sports betting.
How to Claim the Sporting Index Welcome Bonus
Firstly, here’s the three steps you need to take to claim the Sporting Index welcome bonus.
Now, It’s incredibly important to know and understand the terms and conditions of any welcome bonus before you take it.
This will help you to cover the wagering requirements, and minimum odds that need to be hit and know about the times involved, when you will get free bets, and how long you have to spend them.
Here are the key terms that punters need to be aware of.
- Join and place a £10 fixed odds bet at odds of 1/2 or greater. Qualifying bet cannot be placed in-play or cashed out early.
- Once the bet is settled, get a £10 free fixed odds bet, a £5 free Total Goals football spread bet, a £5 racing Winning Favourites spread bet and a £1 racing Race Index spread bet.
- The second £10 free fixed odds bet, £5 free Total Goals football spread bet, and £5 racing Winning Favourites spread bet will be credited 24 hours later.
- The third £10 free fixed odds bet, £5 free Total Goals football spread bet, and £5 racing Winning Favourites spread bet will be credited another 24 hours later.
Overall, I think these terms are very fair, with a smaller number of restrictions and rules than some other free bet offers. For example, I found no wagering requirements here for the winnings.
I also like the fact you get 28 days to claim the free bets, there is no rush here, you can wait until the next suitable betting event comes along for you.
Sporting Index: My Opinion
If you can forgive the tough start as a new user on the homepage for the first time, and move past that, then there is a lot to like about Sporting Index.
I am a very experienced gambler, but even I found the site confusing, because the home page is absolutely packed with betting options, in play odds, links to sections of the sportsbook, it was all a little too much.
But give the site time, if you can, because it will learn your preferences, and become far easier to use as you move through the different sections.
I didn’t find the most diverse sportsbook here, at the time of writing, I found 20 traditional sports listed, plus eSports, politics and TV specials, so 23 different options in total.
This will cover most, but those looking to find a small niche, futsal, or Gaelic sports for example, were not available here when I looked.
One of the most important elements of any bookmaker is the odds they offer, you always want value. I ran some tests on football, which you can see in the odds section below, and was really happy with what Sporting Index were offering to players, it’s competitive, and in some cases, as good as you will get anywhere else.
Promotions are something I rate highly and look out for, they are a great way to boost your value after the free bets have been spent. I’ve highlighted a few options here, a great acca boost and some nice horse racing promotions that many people will appreciate.
I was happy with the mobile app, and the speed in which I was able to browse the markets was good. It does suffer a little from the jam packed feel of the homepage on desktop, there’s so much happening, but if you can get used to that, or look past it, then the usability of the app is really good.
Finding something to bet on is made easy by the simple to follow menus, and as selections move into the bet slip, choosing a stake and bet type is also simple to do.
The support team do not cover 24 hours, but do cover the main hours in the day, and when running a test, I found the response to be very quick from the operator in the live chat box.
Payment options could be more varied, and that may be a downside for some, especially if you are used to using third party e-wallets, more of that below in the payments section.
Betting Markets & Odds
Check out the table below, to see what was available to bet on when I visited Sporting Index.
| American Football | Aussie Rules |
| Basketball | Boxing |
| Cricket | Cycling |
| Darts | eSports |
| Football | Golf |
| Greyhounds | Handball |
| Horse Racing | Ice Hockey |
| Politics | Rugby |
| Snooker | Specials |
| Table Tennis | Tennis |
| UFC | Virtual Sports |
| Volleyball |
I found the coverage to be good, but there as some sports missing. This won’t affect 95% of gamblers, as the big sports are all on offer here, but if you are looking for something incredibly niche, you are not guaranteed to find it here, and should always check before signing up.
As I mentioned above when giving my verdict, futsal and Gaelic sports are not available here, another couple of examples are pool and speedway, all of which feature on the more extensive sportsbooks, but not here.
Ask yourself if this could impact you, the chances are it won’t for the vast majority of punters, but for those that are impacted, this may not be the site for you.
Let’s move onto the odds available now, and firstly an overview. I scanned a list of upcoming big football games from the Champions League.
I took eight games which were all taking place that week. Looking at the win market, which means a total of 24 options, win, draw or win on each of the eight games, Sporting Index never once came out at the best price on the market.
However, from the 24 options, Sporting Index were joint-best on the market with others on six occasions, which I found to be very promising. When digging a little further, even when Sporting Index were not the best, they were offering close to it, so I really like the value that punters are getting here.
Below are full details from two of the games I covered in this test.
| Sporting Index Odds | Best Odds |
|---|---|
| AC Milan 11/10 | AC Milan 6/5 |
| Draw 5/2 | Draw 5/2 |
| Dortmund 5/2 | Dortmund 5/2 |
| Sporting Index Odds | Best Odds |
|---|---|
| Lazio 8/13 | Lazio 8/13 |
| Draw 3/1 | Draw 16/5 |
| Celtic 9/2 | Celtic 24/5 |
Promotions
I value regular promotions very highly when comparing bookmakers. They are a great way to gain additional value for your betting, after the free bets have been spent.
Promotions vary with each brand, they also vary by sport, so what is good for one person, won’t be good for the next, depending how you bet.
With that in mind, here’s the top promotions currently available with Sporting Index, which will hopefully be useful to quite a few punters.
Boost Your Acca by 75%
Let’s begin with the Sporting Index acca boost, where you can increase your winnings by as much as 75% when you land a winning acca. Given these bets are all about small stakes and big returns, this has the potential to be huge for some people.
The boost works on a sliding scale, the more selections in your bet, the bigger the boost. Three selections is the minimum required, which gives a 5% boost, all the way up to a 16-fold acca giving a 75% boost.
Now, to be honest, there’s probably not too many people out there throwing down regular 16-fold accas, so just to give you a more realistic view of the potential bonuses, a six fold pays a 20% bonus, eight fold 30% and 10-fold 40%, these are more like the regular bets that many punters will wager.
Max bonus per bet is £25,000, and the max bonus per day is £50,000, but other than that, there are no staking or odds requirements here, making this a promotion that all acca punters can get involved with. Don’t change how you bet, simply pick up a boost when you win and have three selections or more in there.
Lucky Double Odds
Get double the odds if you have just one winner on Lucky 15/31/63 bets on both horse racing and greyhounds. This is nice and simple, applying to any race covered on the site, with no minimums or maximums attached for things like stake, price of the selections or total bonus received.
It is one of the most popular multiple bets in racing, a tradition going back decades, and with Sporting Index you can double the odds if you have only one winner in your bet.
On a final note for this one, all selections in your bet need to run for the odds boost, if you have one winner and one non runner, you won’t receive the boost.
First Past The Post
Another for horse racing fans on Sporting Index is the first past the post payout. This pays out on both the original winner of the race, plus the newly promoted winner and is eligible on fixed odds bets for UK & Irish racing.
Sporting Index have put together a list of exemptions from this, which you can see below, these are the occasions when this will not be paid out.
- Selection taking wrong course.
- Selection carry incorrect weight or failing to “weigh in”.
- Any bet placed in-running after the official “off-time”.
- Forecast or Tricast bets.
- Void Race.
- Selection being given as winner incorrectly by the judge.
- Bet on “without Fav”, “insurance”, “place only” or any “derivative market”.
- UK Grand National.
- Antepost Bets.
2nd To A Rag Insurance
I love the name of this, but hate the feeling of finishing second to a long outsider that had no form in the book to win the race whatsoever.
But luckily, with this promotion, things aren’t all bad.
Back a horse that finishes second to a winner with an SP of 33/1 or bigger, and you will receive your money back as a free bet up to a maximum of £25.
This only applies to the first bet you place on a race, and must be a single, fixed odds bet to win, any further bets will not qualify.
The free bet you receive will be to the value of your stake, up to £25, and will be credited when the race is settled, and have a 28 day expiry attached to it.
Mobile App
It’s time to talk mobile betting, incredibly important when you think that we are now in a mobile age, and for many people, mobile access is the only way they will get onto the Sporting Index service.
You can access the site via your mobile, but the Sporting Index app, which is downloadable from both the Android Play Store and iOS Apple Store, is the best way to go.
First up the negative, and I think the app reminds me of the Sporting Index homepage. Which may sound fine, but if you remember, I described that as clustered and a little confusing, even for an experienced gambler, never mind someone betting for the first time.
My advice would be to get past that, and use the menu to find the sport you want to bet on. The app has a good menu system, and is quick when flicking between the options.
For example, two moves, firstly into football and then into European football, and you are given the biggest European games coming up straight away, the Champions League in my case when I was testing.
If it’s horse racing you want, one move into the horse racing section and you are presented with the next races off and a list of the UK & Irish race meetings straight away.
What Sporting Index have done here is put the biggest events right at the top, as soon as you enter a particular sport on the site. If you want something more niche, for example Australian racing, then you have to scroll a little, but everything is marked up nicely with headers and split into sections, so there’s no danger of confusing your Newcastle (UK) with your Newcastle (AUS).
If you are building a multiple bet, then as you choose your selections, they will go into the betslip, but keep out of the way, so you can add more.
When finished, you have the option to decide what type of bet you would like to place from a list, enter your stake into the box and then press to bet and place the wager.
Very much like the desktop version of the site, I am not a fan of the initial view on the Sporting Index app, but as you go through the different sports and events, things become a lot more clear and easier to understand.
Spread Betting
This review is focused on the fixed odds betting side of Sporting Index, but they do also offer spread betting, and this is how they were initially founded.
Spread betting is not for everyone, and could involve you losing a lot more than your stake money. In very basic terms, you buy or sell something to happen, the more it wins, the more you win, the more it loses, the more you lose.
Just like with fixed odds betting, if you go into the site and are choosing to view spread betting markets, this will be remembered next time, so you will see all of this straight away, meaning you can pretty much avoid the fixed odds if you want to.
There are not too many spread betting services around and Sporting Index have been in the market since 1992, making them one of the more popular choices.
If you are interested in spread betting, then Sporting Index have a dedicated welcome offer for this. You can claim up to £300 in cash back on your bets placed in the first 28 days with them, across qualifying markets.
Customer Support
There’s a range of ways to contact the customer support team, and on the Sporting Index contact us page, you’ll see everything from a phone number for the trading team and customer service team, to an email address and the physical address of their office.
Opening times for the customer support team are 7:30am-10:00pm Monday to Saturday and then 8:30am-10:00pm on Sunday.
You will also see a live chat box on the site, and I gave this a test to see what the response time was like.
I contacted the team via live chat at 4:00pm on a Monday, so what would be a quiet period for them.
After typing my question into the chat box, I was instantly greeted with an automated reply, telling me someone would be online to answer shortly.
After 18 seconds, a member of the team joined the chat, and after 52 seconds, I had an answer to my question.
I then went on to ask a further point about the same issue, which was clarified for me, and I left the chat, thanking them for the response.
This was incredibly quick, and while the wait time may be longer during busier periods, it is a great way to get quick help and advice.
Deposits
If there is an area of the site where Sporting Index are limited, then it is certainly with the deposit and withdrawal options they offer.
They do not offer the use of any third party payment options, such as e-wallets, everything has to be done by you, and by your bank.
This means, the only instant way of getting funds into your fixed odds betting account is via a debit card. Both Visa and MasterCard debit cards are excepted.
If you need an alternative, you can send a bank transfer, or even a cheque, but these do take time, two working days for a bank transfer and a variable time for a cheque, depending on postal times and the time it takes to cash.
For those spread betting, you can use the above methods, or payment via direct debit or credit card, to pay off any outstanding negative balance on your account.
Withdrawals
The same applies when it comes to withdrawals, and everything you take out must go back onto the card associated with the payments in.
Withdrawing cash back to your debit card is the best option here and if your bank allows instant withdrawals, then this will be back with you within two hours. More and more banks are now allowing these, but not all yet. If not, expect it to take 2-5 working days.
Cheques, bank transfers and direct debit returns are also available, if this is the best method for you.
The final withdrawal point to touch on is the limits around taking cash out.
The minimum withdrawal amount by any method is £50, and that is disappointing to see. The only exception to this is if you have less than this in your account, and are withdrawing the full amount, eg a £30 balance and you want to withdraw it all, this is allowed.
In terms of other limits, the maximum withdrawal onto a Visa debit card if £25,000, and the maximum on a MasterCard is £2,500. However, these are per transaction, and you can make multiple transactions per day.
I don’t like the fact you are forced with withdraw all funds, if it’s £50 or less, this is something that will affect smaller punters on the site, rather than all, but still a negative for some.
Conclusion
I’ve covered the important topics on Sporting Index and what they offer to players. Overall, I am happy with their service, and while there are some minor details that could be improved on, there is also a lot to like.
If you are looking to sign up to an account with them, then check out the offer below to get started.
