138.com is one of the biggest online betting sites in the Asian Market, and they launched a casino product in the UK in 2010. They have managed to make a big splash in the European gaming industry, and recently they launched a sportsbook for UK customers.138.com’s main base is in the Philippines and they are licensed by the Isle Of Man Gambling Supervising Commission. In this review you will learn all that is good, and bad, about 138.com. So, if you are considering opening an account this 138.com review makes for essential reading.
The first thing that catches the eye of punters looking for a new betting site is the sign up offer. Some bookies have much better sign up bonuses than others, and it is always important to check the wagering requirements. A lot of sign up offers require customers to meet a lot of parameters to qualify, and we believe the less conditions that apply, the better. 138.com don't currently have any sign up offer available, though.
We can't help but be disappointed at the lack of a sign up offer, new customer free bets, or no deposit bonus. However, if we're going to be realistic, the welcome offer is only one small part of the online bookie experience, so we're not going to write 138.com off just because of that. Realistically speaking, things like odds, safety & security, customer care, and the mobile betting experience are all way more important when looking for a new bookmaker to call home.
One of the perks of opening an account with any bookie is having the chance to take advantage of promotions for existing customers. If you open an account with 138.com you will be able to avail of some decent promotions. Below you will find some an example of a promotions for existing customers currently available on the 138.com sportsbook.
Betting on the horses is hugely popular in the UK and if you are hoping to turn a profit you need to always find the best price. It can be incredibly frustrating if you back a horse at 5/1 that wins at 10/1 and you miss out on the bigger odds. If you had backed that horse with 138.com, you would have got the 10/1 thanks to their best odds guaranteed policy. Single and combo bets qualify but ante-post bets do not. Available on bets placed at 12.00 or later on the day of the race. Check 138.com for full details.
If you are considering opening an account with a new bookmaker it is imperative that you know they can be trusted. When you sign up you have to part with sensitive personal and financial information, and we are happy to report that as far as we can tell, 138.com is definitely a bookmaker you can trust. They abide by data protection laws and you can find out some of the security measures they implement below.
Another important part of customer service is promoting a safe gambling environment. At Sportsbetting24 we place huge importance on whether or not the betting site we are reviewing takes the promotion of responsible gambling as seriously as we do. We were impressed by 138.com in this department. You can check out the extensive responsible gambling resources and tools on offer at 138.com below.
138.com Responsible Gambling Tools And Resources
There is not much point in signing up with a bookmaker unless you can easily deposit and withdraw cash. These days there are a huge amount of E-Wallets that are proving popular with punters, but only a couple can be used to deposit to and withdraw funds from your 138.com account. This is an area where 138.com certainly have room to improve and you can find out the available payment options in the handy table below.
Payment Method* |
Limit Per Transaction |
Withdrawal Times |
Visa Credit/Debit Card |
Min: £10 Max: £5k |
1-3 Days |
Mastercard Credit/Debit Card |
Min: £10 Max: £5k |
1-3 Days |
Skrill |
Min: £10 Max: £5k |
Instant |
Neteller |
Min: £10 Max: £5k |
Not available |
One good indication of the quality of an online betting site is the range of sports and markets they have available. 138.com cover a good selection of sports and they have a decent amount of markets for punters to play on. 138.com concentrate specifically on sports, so if you are a fan of betting on novelty markets or politics then this isn’t the bookmaker for you. Check out all the sports on offer from 138.com in the list below.
Most major UK bookies now offer their customers the option of cashing out certain bets early. This can be a very useful tool for both single and acca bets, and it can save you the heartache of a late bad beat.
With 138.com Cash Out is available on a wide range of sports and you can easily find out which markets qualify for Cash Out as they are highlighted by a £ sign. Cash out is available on selected markets only, check the 138.com terms and conditions for full details.
Some mainstream UK bookmakers have tailor-made apps available for iOS and Android devices, and 138.com is no exception! They've released apps for both iOS and Android, as well as having a fully mobile-compatible site for any other kind of mobile device you might be using.
Both the Android and the iOS 138.com apps are just as fully featured as the desktop site, and users get a handy icon on their home screen or app drawer for easy access. When it comes to online betting sites, the real test for me is whether I can enjoy myself as much while queuing for coffee in the morning as I can on the sofa at home, and 138.com delivers!
Using the 138.com Web App couldn’t be any easier, simply visit 138.com on your mobile device, make sure location settings are turned on and start betting! The same colour scheme and design is used as for the 138.com desktop site and this helps the Web App feel familiar.
The Web App is well laid out and the large tabs and easy to see menus make it very simple to navigate. You can bet on all the same sports markets as on the desktop site. You can also access live betting markets on the 138.com Web App so you can bet in-play at any time, anywhere!
Betting in play has become hugely popular with punters and it is no surprise really. Shrewd judges can often get some brilliant value when betting in-play on live events. If you fancy a team strongly to get a win and they fall behind early, you will get much better odds in the live betting market than you would have in the pre match market.
We were very impressed by the huge amount of markets that 138.com have available for in-play betting. They cover a nice range of sports too, and when we were writing this review they had live betting markets for football, tennis, golf, cricket, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball and handball.
Accessing the 138.com live betting markets is easy. On the landing page on the top left hand side the ‘In Play’ button can be found just below the ‘Quick Links’ section. Selected in-play bets qualify for early cash out, so keep an eye out for the £ sign to see if your wager can be cashed out early. Unfortunately, 138.com do not have live sports streaming available right now.
When we were writing this 138.com review we couldn’t find any evidence of a VIP rewards scheme on their site. Lots of bookies love to reward customer loyalty. One of the main ways they do this is by running VIP programs where you earn points by placing bets. It is a big disappointment that 138.com do not have a VIP rewards program and hopefully they remedy the situation in the future.
Here at Sportsbetting24 we think it is massively important that betting sites look after their customers. It should be easy to get in touch with any queries or questions and 138.com have representatives available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via their live chat option. You can also email 138.com but there are no phone numbers displayed on their website. You can find out exactly how to get in touch with 138.com below.
138.com are mainly focussed on UK and Northern Europe markets, but they do not accept players from a huge amount of countries in Europe and around the world. Irish punters cannot use 138.com for example, and you can find out exactly which territories are restricted from joining 138.com below.
As the above review shows, there are positives and negatives when it comes to betting with 138.com. There is certainly room for improvement on some aspects of the site, including the range of payment options, the large number of restricted territories and the lack of live streaming of sports. Their customer service could be better too.
However, on the plus side we were impressed by the range of sports available with 138.com and also the depth of markets. They had a couple of cool promotions available and not many wagering requirements apply to their sign up offer. Their privacy policy suggests that 138.com can be trusted to keep your information safe, so if you are thinking about opening an account with 138.com, we say go for it!
138.com Review Overview | |
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Evaluation: | 4 |
Number of Bonuses: | 1 |
Number of Withdrawal Options: | 5 |
Number of Deposit Options: | 6 |
Number of Currencies: | 2 |
Number of Languages: | 2 |
Number of Sports: | 24 |
Number of Casino Games: | 12 |
Mobile Betting: | Yes |
Live Betting: | Yes |
Number of Excluded Countries: | 97 |
Number of Licenses: | 2 |