- Good live betting section
- Great variety of markets
- App for iOS and Android
Bethard is one of the most thriving Bookmakers of the moment. A relatively new bookie that aims to settle in Europe in 2020, the year in which it expects to receive licenses in the main markets of the old continent. In the Philippines, it has had licenses from the AGCO for a long time, and we can now enjoy this bookmaker based in Malta, which also has a wide catalog of slots and several live roulette wheels.
Table of contents
The name itself is quite revealing, and the closed fist icon confirms its commitment to an aggressive campaign to make itself known. And if we talk about aggression, we have to talk about its great ambassador, who is none other than Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish footballer, one of the toughest and most controversial forwards, with a past in teams like Barcelona, Milan, Juve, Inter, PSG or Manchester United, is the image with which Bethard wants to make itself known.
What does Bethard offer us?
With this cover letter, we are very interested in discovering what Bethard can offer Philippines and seeing if it lives up to our expectations. Although, like in most bookies, the sports and live betting sections are differentiated, if we click on the first one, what appears in the center of the screen are the live markets - a section that isn't too shabby.
The layout of the page is similar to other betting sites like Luckia, making navigation really simple and intuitive. They have chosen a base of black and grey tones with yellow and white details, making the reading experience comfortable for the user. Sports are perfectly organized on the left side, and by clicking on any of them, we can access different events and markets.
Bethard has top-notch providers, which results in a good range of sports and markets to bet on, both in the live betting section and for prematch users. However, the language is different from what most bookies offer, which can cause some confusion for inexperienced users. For example, instead of handicap, there are times when the term "spread" appears; instead of "less than 2.5 goals" the market is "under 2.5 goals" ... Literal translations like "Liga de Rugby" or "Liga Rugby" should be improved.
Aside from that, we have a fairly comprehensive betting house. We even have an app to play from our mobile devices - which also includes a casino -, a good selection of payment methods although there is some notable absence or a 24-hour customer service chat. As a curiosity, we will say that when selecting a bet, the coupon appears on the right side of the screen but at the bottom margin, a yellow bar is activated indicating the selections and taking Philippines to the coupon if we click on it.
Sports and markets
Bethard offers more than 20 sports, including the most popular ones (football, basketball, tennis) and others like Muay Thai or cricket that could be considered exotic. We can also bet on eSports, and in the sports section we find the "Specials" title with bets on politics or British television programs, such as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year or 'Dancing on Ice'. However, be careful with the name of some sports like rugby or speedway, which appears as "Track Racing".
Regarding the available markets, we really can't complain. For example, in any La Liga match we find more than 110 bets, including team goals, handicaps and Asian totals, fouls, offsides or even shots on target. However, corner or card betting does not appear. In tennis, we approach 30 markets per match, in an NBA or Euroleague basketball match, we easily exceed 50, in American football you can find up to 100 options in a match...
Dues
The main page of Bethard highlights "sports with high odds" such as La Liga, ATP tournaments, and eSports, and it is true that their odds are usually a bit higher than what the competition offers. However, this does not necessarily mean that they are always the best, although it must be recognized that in three key sports such as La Liga, ATP or the thriving eSports, they offer excellent odds. In other areas such as the NBA or Champions League, they are slightly weaker, but overall we are talking about odds that are average and can go up or down a few cents compared to the competition depending on the event.
Live section (live betting)
If we click on Live Betting, we will go directly to Bethard's live section, where events are ordered by sport. This way, we can easily access the sport that interests Philippines and find the event we are looking for much quicker. Sports such as football, tennis, basketball, ice hockey or volleyball are just some examples of what we can find in this section. Depending on the event, the number of available bets will be higher - the Champions League is not the same as the Kazakh volleyball league. We have a good variety of markets, which update quickly, and ample statistical information.
Accepted payment methods
Bethard allows Philippines to make deposits using Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards, the Neteller, Skrill, and MuchBetter e-wallets, or through our bank account via Trustly, not to mention PaySafeCard. Whatever method we use for deposit, the name of the account holder must match the name of the gaming account holder, or the deposit will be cancelled.
When requesting a withdrawal, it must be made to the same account the funds originated from, and will only be processed to cards, bank accounts or electronic wallets in the name of the user. Although there is a minimum amount to withdraw, if you request a withdrawal below that amount, Bethard authorize it with the prior charging of what they call a "discretionary fee" - a commission - which depends on the withdrawal method. To expedite the process, you should provide all the information requested.
How to register and deposit at Bethard?
To register on Bethard, we just need to go to their website and click on "Create an account", the green button that appears in the upper right corner. Fill out the form that appears with your personal and user information, choose a password. You can start playing now, although you will need to make your first deposit before you can have funds.
Like in other betting houses, to make a deposit in Bethard we have to log in and go to our user profile, from where we can complete the deposit. All you have to do is select the payment method, which will redirect you to the specific screen for each method. From there, you just have to follow the steps and meet the minimum deposit requirements to have the balance available in your account to play.
bethard's app
Bethard has made a grand entry into Philippines, and we can download its mobile application on our iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. For iOS devices, we can directly download the app from the App Store, while Android users will have to go to bethard.com/app, download the .apk file there, and install it on their device. With the Bethard app, you can place bets using their odds, manage our funds, cash out bets, or play at their casino.
Security
The arrival of a semi-unknown operator always causes some suspicion among the most fearful players, but there is no need to worry. Bethard is a 100% secure betting house, as evidenced by the different licenses granted by the AGCO to operate in Philippines. On their website, both licenses and logos of Self-exclusion, Responsible Gambling, +18 or Safe Play are displayed, so there is nothing to fear in this regard.
If we look at the terms and conditions of Bethard, we see that they take the necessary measures to combat money laundering or fraud in gaming. That's why it's so important for the account holder's name to match the name on the deposit account or the account where the winnings will be transferred. This is the best way to ensure that you are the one receiving the money. It's also important to verify your account for security purposes.
Customer Support
At all times, in the bottom right corner, we have the chat icon that we can open to send our questions to the Bethard team. It works even without being registered, so if you have any questions before signing up, you can consult them. The other option to contact Bethard is through the email [email protected], two methods available 24 hours a day from Monday to Sunday.
There is no customer service phone number, which is a disadvantage for this betting company. However, we did find a section of frequently asked questions that can be opened by clicking on "help" with the traditional question-answer format on issues related to account management, funds, password change, etc. It is always interesting to review the FAQs before directly contacting the betting company.
Bethard: Opinions and conclusion
Bethard has made a strong entry into the Spanish market. They provide an excellent range of sports, events, and pre-match and live markets for players, with the added benefit of offering great odds in three key markets: the Spanish football league La Liga, ATP tournaments, and eSports. While these are the most popular markets, it is possible that others such as the NBA be somewhat overlooked.
Beyond the odds and the variety of markets, it is worth noting that a young company like this one already has a complete application or a live betting section where it offers much more statistical information than other more renowned bookmakers. Thus, the offer is excellent but we see that there is still some gap in what surrounds the bets, starting with the website. We can understand the use of spread instead of handicap or under instead of low, even that in the same event there are markets in Spanish and English, but the shoddy translations of the name of some sports such as rugby or speedway are noticeable, and not in a good way.
Also striking is the absence of PayPal among the payment methods, which is a key tool in the rise of online commerce and gaming. Another thing we miss is a customer service phone number, which is compensated for by the chat. These are small details that, if polished, will make Bethard stand out. Nevertheless, we are facing a betting company with an interesting future ahead... as could not be otherwise with Ibra at the helm.
A betting house that comes in strong, with its own app and an excellent live betting section to play big.
- Great live betting section
- Wide variety of markets
- iOS and Android app
- Does not allow deposit via PayPal
- There is no customer service phone number available
Be careful not to register. When you want to withdraw money, they will ask for your ID and a selfie holding the ID and they will always reject it with excuses of poor quality, when it's actually clear, just to prevent you from withdrawing. Possible scam? Possible fraud?
August 2020. Well, in the end I was able to withdraw funds without having to wait for two months, just by clearing the bonus. Withdrawing the funds was quite an odyssey. I deposited with a credit card and requested the withdrawal using the same method. I waited and nothing happened. Two days later, I logged into the site and saw that I still had balance in my account. I had gone through the verification process as soon as I registered and there weren't any issues in that regard. I contacted them and they told me that I could only withdraw using "Trustly", a method that they claimed would take only a moment to receive the funds into your account. In my case, that moment translated into another 96 hours. As I started to get suspicious, I took screenshots of all the chat conversations (which, by the way, they were not able to write a single word in Spanish and everything was in English, which is why I am going to file a complaint to the DGOJ). Anyway, the point is that I have already made the withdrawal, but honestly it will be the last time. Be very careful with this platform.
July 2020. Very bad experience with this bookmaker. I've been here for almost a month and to begin with it didn't give me the option to log in with skrill even though it did so. they advertise it; I entered $100 and to get the bonus of another $100 you have to bet $800 at minimum odds of 1.80 and without cashing out on the bets you make; the term is two months to achieve it; the cash out is available. It is randomly available...sometimes it is. and other times you have to find your life to trade; today, in a football game and with 15 minutes left to finish, they have withdrawn that game from the market, with which I have not been able to do anything and the result has been slapped by the user; I went to withdraw the funds and it won't let me because it says I have an active bonus, even though I'm making a profit, it won't even allow me to withdraw the initial $100; until the two months are up you cannot withdraw a penny; I have gone to contact customer service and the chat does not work, despite the fact that they advertise 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; After a lot of insisting I manage to speak with the customer service by chat...in English with the hassle of having to be with the translator involved and they confirm that I have to wait for the term to finish the bonus to make any withdrawal.
In short, the page is very nice, many games and such, but some dogs
You can find great odds at this betting company.