GatoBet Review

While GatoBet certainly has plenty of potential, we recommend that punters steer clear of GatoBet for the time being as this betting site continues to grow and improve.

For those looking for a top-notch, feature-packed, UK betting site we recommend taking a look at our 888Sport review. Our expert reviewers examined 888 from every angle and saw that 888Sport is one of the best bookmakers out there. We definitely recommend signing up and trying them out for yourself. [select_bonuses object=”25″ bonus=”1212″]

GatoBet Welcome Bonus

GatoBet’s new customer offer is a mixed bag. New users who place a £10 real-money bet are rewarded with a £30 free bet. This is the type of generous welcome offer we normally see with the larger, better-established bookies.

However, the terms and conditions tied to the offer can make it extremely difficult for punters to redeem. In order to redeem any winnings from their £30 free bet, punters need to wager those winnings ten times over, and do so within 5 days from receiving the free bet.

In addition to that, punters are limited to only being able to redeem a maximum of £30 from their free bet winnings. And punters need to remember to input the bonus code when making their first deposit, and also need to avoid using Skrill for that first deposit.

Unfortunately, it’s more difficult if your free bet wins big. Let’s say you win £50 from your £30 free bet. In order to redeem the maximum of £30, you need to wager the £50 free bet winnings ten times over. You would need to place £500 in bets in 5 days to redeem £30.

While the welcome bonus looks attractive initially, GatoBet’s sign-up offer isn’t worthwhile. The terms and conditions place far too many restrictions on the punter, and the time limit for redeeming the bonus makes it extremely difficult to redeem.

Key Terms

• Minimum Deposit: £10
• Bonus Code: GATO
• Payment Method Restrictions: Skrill deposits are not eligible for this bonus
• Free Bet Value: £30, must be used on a single wager
• Free Bet Odds Restriction: Minimum odds of 1/1 (2.00)
• Maximum Redeemable Free Bet Winnings: £30
• Wagering Requirement: 10x free bet winnings
• Bets made toward the wagering requirement to receive the bonus cannot be cashed out.
• Any bonus and winnings will expire 5 days after being credited from the date and time the Free Bet credited to a player’s account. Failure to meet the wagering requirements in the allotted time limit will forfeit bonus funds and free bet winnings.

Promotions for Existing Customers

While GatoBet’s welcome bonus was underwhelming, all is not lost! GatoBet have a great selection of promotions for existing users! The seasonal and event-based nature of these promotions mean that we can’t get too specific. From what we’ve seen, though, the terms for their promotions are reasonable and fair.

GatoBet runs promotions and offers year-round, with many of them being based on large sports events like the UEFA Champions League. During our time reviewing GatoBet they were running 6 different sports betting promotions, not including the welcome offer.

The terms and conditions surrounding these promotions also seem much more reasonable than those that apply to their sign-up offer. Most of the offers we saw gave punters several weeks to meet wagering requirements.

Punters interested in signing up to GatoBet are likely to be able to benefit from added value like free bets, odds boosts, and deposit bonuses all year. This is definitely one thing GatoBet gets right.

Is GatoBet Safe?

Punters have nothing to worry about when it comes to GatoBet’s safety & security. For starters, they are licensed by both the UK Gambling Commission (Licence: 39335) and the Malta Gaming Authority (licence # MGA/B2C/231/2012).

This means that GatoBet needs to meet requirements set by not one, but two of the strictest licensing authorities in the world.

As you can see on their respective licence pages, neither the UKGC nor the MGA have had to issue GatoBet with any disciplinary action. Their spotless record is definitely something that should help punters see that GatoBet is secure and trustworthy.

At site level, GatoBet is protected by 128-bit SSL encryption, keeping data like your passwords and financial information you enter into the site safe from prying eyes and third parties.

GatoBet Deposits & Withdrawals

Punters have access to a decent array of payment options at GatoBet. It’s highly unlikely that any punters in the UK will have any issues with finding a way to make their deposits.

While credit cards are no longer allowed to be used on betting sites in the UK, GatoBet still support payment methods like debit cards, e-wallets, and bank transfers. One thing that will certainly make punters happy is that GatoBet accepts PayPal in the UK.

While making deposits is a breeze, how GatoBet handles withdrawals is a lot less exciting.

Withdrawal Limits and Times

As you can see in the table below, withdrawals at GatoBet (and all other ProgressPlay bookies) are far from quick. In addition to the withdrawal times listed in the table below, punters need to wait an additional 4 working days for pending and processing.

Even though PayPal transactions, for instance, are instant, making a PayPal withdrawal at GatoBet will still take between 7 and 11 business days (around two full weeks). This is much slower than what’s considered to be normal in the online betting industry, and we can’t imagine why ProgressPlay don’t find a way to speed this up.

GatoBet’s Withdrawal Fees

In addition to being extremely slow, GatoBet’s withdrawals are plagued by another issue. GatoBet charge £2.50 per withdrawal.

It isn’t often that we see withdrawal fees anymore, and when combined with the infuriatingly glacial pace of GatoBet’s withdrawals, it’s a tough sell to prospective punters. We recommend that punters who sign up to GatoBet make large, infrequent withdrawals to avoid being charged the withdrawal fee multiple times.

The GatoBet Sports Betting Experience

Being on the ProgressPlay platform means that the GatoBet have all the same features as other bookies on the platform, like Ruby Bet. For starters, GatoBet cover a huge array of sports and tournaments. Of course, all the major sports like football and horse racing are available, as are more niche sports like darts and League of Legends.

In most cases, GatoBet also provides punters with tons of different betting markets. For example, there were more than 200 bets available on a Champions’ League match we used for the odds comparison below.

As is often the case, there tend to be fewer betting market options with more obscure sports and matches, though Gatobet still left us impressed. As you’ll see below, GatoBet’s live betting suite is particularly good.

Cash Out

GatoBet does indeed offer Cash Out. Punters can either cash out their bets fully or partially, but only on bets that are eligible for the feature. These are relatively easy to see, as any bet that can be cashed out is marked with a green “$” symbol.

When it comes to the biggest and most popular sports, like Football, then cash out is available on the vast majority of markets. However, the more niche the sport or market, the less likely you are to be able to cash out your bets.

For example, when we looked at eSports tournaments like the League of Legends Summer Championship or the Overwatch League, none of the bets were eligible for cash out.

Request a Bet

Much like other ProgressPlay bookies, GatoBet doesn’t have a feature built into their interface in order to request bets. However, when we asked customer care about this, we were informed that punters can submit requests during office hours via live chat.

There’s no guarantee that it will be added, but the customer service representatives forward these requests to their oddsmakers who then decide whether they will add the bet to the platform or not.

While this is much better than not taking any requests at all, the implementation could do with some refinement. If a punter happens to want to put a request in after office hours, they aren’t able to do so. There also isn’t any way to be notified about whether the requested bet will be run or not, and punters will just need to periodically check on the available markets for the match to stay informed.

Odds Comparison

When it comes to choosing a bookie, experienced punters know that the value of a sportsbook’s odds is paramount. As part of our review testing, we put GatoBet’s odds to the test against a bookie of similar size and age (Betiton), as well as one of the biggest online bookmakers in the industry (888Sport).

As you can see in the table above, GatoBet’s odds are pretty average. They provide better value than some of the bookies who are of a similar size and age, like Betiton. However, they struggle to keep up with the biggest bookmakers out there, like 888Sport.

The easiest way to illustrate the differences is to show you how this could affect your returns. For example, a £10 winning bet on Real Madrid would net you a return of £42 with GatoBet (your £10 stake and £32 profit). With 888Sport, that same winning bet would yield a return of £44 (£10 stake, and £34 profit). This isn’t a massive difference, but it’s clear that GatoBet are still playing catch-up with the titans of the online betting world.

User Interface

While ProgressPlay’s betting platform has its issues, the user interface is top-notch. It’s extremely easy to find what you’re looking for with the filters and search functionality. The best part of GatoBet’s user interface is that it displays lots of information without being confusing.

It’s extremely easy to look at the available betting markets, the stats, and the bet slip you’re building all at once. We found that this made it a lot easier to plan out our bets, and we saved a lot of time.

The Mobile Betting Experience

Gatobet’s website works just as well on a mobile device or tablet as it does on a laptop or desktop computer. While we prefer the desktop layout to take advantage of the fantastic user interface we mentioned above, we took GatoBet out and about with us and we didn’t experience any mobile-specific issues.

The one downside, however, is that GatoBet doesn’t have native smartphone apps for iOS or Android. The only way to access GatoBet is through your mobile device’s browser. This didn’t stop us from enjoying the GatoBet experience, but this is something punters should be aware of.

As far as sports betting goes, there aren’t any mobile-exclusive features or promotions, but punters can still do everything else they’d be able to do on a desktop or laptop computer. The site adapts well to different screen sizes, as we tested the site on a variety of smartphones and tablets.

Excellent Live Betting Suite

If there’s one thing that ProgressPlay bookies excel at, it’s live betting. It’s clear that in-play betting is essential to GatoBet as it’s the default landing spot when clicking over to their sportsbook.

Finding specific live matches is extremely easy. Just type a tournament name or team name into the search bar, or use their slick menu to find the sport, event, and match that you’re looking for.

Once you click on a particular match, you’re treated to a live match tracker, stats, as well as all the bets available to you at that point in the match. The odds refresh regularly (more on GatoBet’s odds above), keeping you as up-to-date as possible, and a fantastic variety of live betting markets in most matches.

Does GatoBet Feature Live Streams?

Unfortunately, while there is a live streaming feature at GatoBet, it wasn’t functioning during our review testing. When we asked customer care about this, we were eventually informed that live streaming had been disabled due to technical issues.

Unfortunately, GatoBet were not able to tell us when live streaming would be available again. We were also informed that there was no information regarding a schedule for live streamed matches. There is currently no way to tell which matches will stream live in advance.

While we’re sure that GatoBet will eventually offer live streaming again, it isn’t available at the time of writing, and GatoBet weren’t able to tell us when it would be available.

VIP Club

GatoBet features the same VIP program as other ProgressPlay bookies and casinos. This is a points-based system with 5 different VIP levels. Which level you are depends on how many VIP points you’ve managed to accumulate, as is common in the online betting industry.

One of the most interesting features of the VIP Club is that punters have the ability to convert VIP points to cash, which directly rewards punters for loyalty. How many points can be converted will depend on your VIP level, as there are different caps in place, all of which seem reasonable.

How do I earn VIP points at GatoBet?

As one would expect, you earn VIP points by wagering at GatoBet. Though their VIP page only mentions that wagering on casino games counts towards earning VIP points, we confirmed with customer care that placing sports bets also earns you VIP points.

Every £16 wagered is 1 VIP point, and in order to increase your VIP level, you need to meet certain VIP point minimums. Every user starts at the Bronze level, and as you wager more and earn more VIP points, you get closer to levelling up. Here are the point requirements for each level of GatoBet’s VIP program:

• Bronze: 0 VIP points
• Silver: 500+ VIP points
• Gold: 1,000+ VIP points
• Platinum: 5,000+ VIP points
• Diamond: 10,000+ VIP points

How does the VIP Club reward punters?

As you’d expect from a multi-levelled system like GatoBet’s, each VIP level gets more benefits as they go up. Moving from Bronze to Silver, for example, means that you get all the benefits of the Bronze level, as well as the added benefits of the Silver level.

As we mentioned above, one of the biggest benefits of GatoBet’s VIP club is the ability to convert VIP points to cash. Every 100 VIP points can be exchanged to £1. The limits on how many points can be converted in a single are high enough that it’s almost impossible for you to need to convert more than you’re able to, as you’d be promoted to the next VIP level and your limit would go up again.

The only real difference between the Bronze and Silver levels are the amount of points you can convert in a single day, with 500 being the cap for Bronze and 2,000 for Silver. The benefits get interesting from the Gold level.

Customer Service at GatoBet

GatoBet’s customer service is decent, though not spectacular. For starters, live chat is available, though not between 00:01 and 07:59 GMT, so late night bettors will need to wait until the following day for support.

GatoBet does have an FAQ page, though this only caters to their online casino players, and it doesn’t go into very much detail. This, coupled with the lack of telephone support, means that punters can only address their issues via live chat or email.

Our Live Chat Experience at GatoBet

During our review testing we used GatoBet’s live chat feature a number of times in order to get more information, as well as to test the customer service experience. We found that the customer support agents we spoke with were polite and friendly, and had no issues there.

In order to get more information about GatoBet’s live streaming service mentioned above, we needed to wait for the customer support agent to get further information from another department. This took approximately 80 minutes.

While the customer support agents themselves are not at fault here, and they offered to email us a response in order to avoid having to wait, this should have been information that was already accessible to the customer service representatives. GatoBet’s customer care experience needs improving. The agents seem limited in their abilities to answer questions with the resources they have access to.

GatoBet Contact Information

• Live Chat: Available 08:00 – 00:00 GMT, 7 days a week
• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: Available to Platinum VIP members and above
• FAQ: Only for casino players

A Global British Brand

GatoBet is an international bookie who are available in a lot of countries across the globe. It’s still pretty clear to see, though, that GatoBet try to cater to UK punters.

Not only do GatoBet feature the UK’s most popular payment method, PayPal, but they run bets on all of Britain’s most popular sports. Whether you want to have a bet on British football, horse racing, rugby, or even darts, GatoBet has you covered.

That being said, some of their issues might put some bettors off. Their slow withdrawals, antiquated withdrawal fees, and substandard welcome bonus can hardly be ignored. GatoBet can’t compete with 888sport or Betfair in these areas, but there’s still plenty of value to be found at this UK-oriented betting site.

GatoBet Review: Final Thoughts

Our GatoBet review has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs. One question remains: who is GatoBet best suited for?

If you’re a punter in the UK who loves live betting and regular promotions, then GatoBet is probably a decent option for you. Their odds are decent, if a little behind the biggest bookies in the business. The live betting suite is top-notch, and will get even better once live streams are up and running again.

GatoBet are still relatively new to the online betting world, and they have areas they need to work on, like their slow and expensive withdrawals. However, given time, we wouldn’t be surprised to see GatoBet compete with bigger and bolder bookies.

Pros

• PayPal accepted
• Great live betting suite
• Decent promotions for existing users
• Great VIP club
• Fantastic User Interface

Cons

• £2.50 fee charged for every withdrawal
• Slow withdrawals
• Live streaming isn’t working
• Welcome offer has unreasonable terms