StarSports Bet Review

Despite its longevity, Star Sports UK isn’t considered to be one of the big hitters in the UK online betting market. However, it is an established force and the majority of horse racing fans will be familiar with their product. Having originally formed in 1999, this well-regarded operator can boast over two decades of experiences in the industry.

Keep reading our Star Sports review to find out how you can sign up for an account and take advantage of their standout odds and claim a free £25 back-up bet. 

One of the best thing about UK bookmakers is that each individual operator offers something completely different. Whether it’s an alternative welcome offer or a set of unique features, each betting site will continually tweak its offering as it aims to entice punters to its product.

✔️ Star Sports Strengths

• Standout Odds – When it comes to placing bets, you simply want to ensure that they are getting decent value for money. Placing a bet and subsequently finding better odds elsewhere is hugely frustrating, so it’s good to know that with Star Sports, this rarely happens! Having used various odds comparison tools to verify their claim, we can confirm that Star Sports football and Star Sports cricket odds are above average around 90% of the time.
• Easy to Use Interface – Star Sports’ site is slick and easy to navigate. The colour scheme is aesthetically pleasing and easy on the eye. The app follows a similar theme, and this makes it much easier to navigate between markets. The mobile site rarely glitches in our experience and the site is laid out in a logical fashion.
• Informative Sports Blog – Although some bookmakers prefer to cram their site full of features, here at Mansion Bet, we always prefer to use sites who recruit experts and those who have plenty of knowledge to assist us with our betting. Star Sports’ blog is a great way of keeping across all of the latest developments in racing and with additional content across a variety of sports.

❌ Star Sports Weaknesses

• Lack of Live Streaming – Live streaming is always a good addition to any betting site, however, Star Sports do not currently offer any live streaming capabilities. The ability to follow the progress of your bet is fantastic and this is something that is sadly lacking from the Star Sports site.
• Low Number of Payment Methods – Every single UK punter will have different financial requirements and therefore, it’s always good to see an online bookmaker who offer a wide variety of payment methods. Sadly, Star Sports doesn’t fall into this category and with just VISA, Maestro, MasterCard and Bank Transfers currently listed, this limited list of payment methods is likely to deter some potential punters. 
• Limited Welcome Bonus – When you sign up for an account, you will receive a free £25 back-up bet on selected horse races (1m3f or above) if your chosen horse finishes outside of the places, yet within 10 lengths of the winner. It is a good way of compensating for a loser, however, it is only applicable to each-way bets.

Conclusion

Overall, there are far more positives than negatives when it comes to betting with Star Sports. Taking advantage of standout odds over a number of months is likely to outweigh the lack of welcome bonus and live streaming. 

As a horse racing fan, I knew plenty about Star Sports and had placed with them at a racecourse, however, I was yet to sample their online product. It goes without saying that I was extremely excited to get started.

The first thing that I noticed was that this site was extremely easy to navigate and incredibly simple to operate. The site is free from clutter and everything is laid out In a logical manner. Although this isn’t always a primary consideration when signing up to an online betting site, it does makes life much easier.

I also found it straightforward to download and install the app. The Star Sports app is available on both iOS and Android and was easy to locate In the App Store. I was able to install this within a matter of minutes and I enjoyed exploring the app as it largely mirrored the main desktop site, which I had become fairly accustomed to.

One of my favourite aspects of the Star Sports site is the sheer number of betting opportunities. There are thousands of markets across 30+ different sports and although the brand has been strongly associated with horse racing over the years, they still manage to appeal to fans of other sports such as football, tennis and boxing. Although I was left a little disappointed by the lack of depth when it came to in-play betting markets, I was pleased to find plenty of options I the A-Z betting menu.

Even as horse racing fan and punter, I was a little disappointed by the welcome offer, however, I found that there were a decent collection of ongoing promotions and additional offers on upcoming golf and tennis tournaments. This helped to offset the disappointment of not being able to claim the £25 back-up bet due to my horse failing to finish the race.

Arguably the biggest disappointment when it came to Star Sports UK was the lack of payment methods currently available. I often prefer to deposit using an e-wallet, however I wasn’t give this option and I was only able to select from a couple of different options including VISA and bank transfer. This could be significantly improved.

The customer support options are decent enough and although I didn’t encounter too many issues with using this site, I opted to test the live chat service. Although it took a couple of minutes to connect, I was pleased with the level of service and I found the operators to be professional throughout. There is also a dedicated email service and Star Sports also answer queries via social media too.

I enjoyed the range of features provided by Star Sports including Cash Out and bet builder, however, my personal highlight was the betting log which features previews of upcoming events as well as lengthy interviews with interesting people within the betting industry. If you’re searching for some expertise, then this is the ideal destination. It can be accessed via the home page and is called ‘’Star Sports Extra”. It’s a super addition which offers comprehensive analysis on many different sporting events.

As we’ve already covered in this Star Sports review, there are a few areas of weakness, however, my overall impression of Star Sports is favourable. There are plenty of sports betting opportunities and they often have standout odds on high-profile events. I’d happily recommend signing up for a Star Sports account to anyone who was searching for a straightforward online betting site.

Bonuses & Offers ⭐⭐⭐

The welcome offer is a little limited, however, there are plenty of regular offers which pop up from time to time. These relate to horse racing, golf, football and tennis. 

Betting Variety ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Star Sports is no longer primarily associated with horse and greyhound racing and they have significantly expanded the variety of markets that they offer. 

Banking Options ⭐⭐

This is one of the most disappointing aspects of the Star Sports site. They offer a very limited number of payment options with no e-wallets currently listed. 

Mobile experience ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

We found that it was extremely easy to download and install the iOS app. The app is slick and doesn’t tend to glitch. It mirrors the main desktop site and all of the fantastic features are still available. 

Payout Speed ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Once Star Sports have verified your documents, the payout speeds were fairly speedy. We received our winnings within 72 hours of withdrawing. 

Security ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Star Sports use the latest encryption technology to ensure that player details are stored safely and securely. They are also governed by the UK Gambling Commission. 

Software & Games ⭐⭐⭐

There is a decent variety of casino games available, however, we found that some of the newer releases have yet to be added to the site. 

Betting Experience ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Overall betting experience is a hugely positive one and there were far more positives than negatives. 

Customer Support ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Although it took a few minutes to connect, we found that the Star Sports live chat assistants were very helpful. They weren’t always the quickest at replying, however, the quality of information was key and all of our problems were resolved fairly efficiently. 

Yes, Star Sports is perfectly legal in the UK. They are fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and are a UK-based company who are based in East Sussex. 

The majority of online UK betting sites will offer some form of welcome bonus which is designed to entice potential punters to sign up for an account. These may vary and they could also potentially come as part of a package. They offer punters a terrific way to get started and we’ve highlighted Star Sports’ welcome bonus with details on how to claim a £25 free back-up bet.

➳ Star Sports Welcome Bonus 

Get a Free £25 Bet if Your Horse Finishes Out of the Places but Within 10 Lengths of the Winner 

➳ How to claim Star Sports Welcome Bonus

• Click the orange ’sign up’ button. This can be located on the top right hand side of the home page
• Here, you’ll be asked to submit your personal details including address, and DOB. You’ll also be required to create a username and password. Make sure that you use the bonus code MINDTHEGAP10
• Once the confirmation email arrives, click the verification link. You’ll redirected back to the home page.
• Deposit at least £10 and place an each-way bet on any race at a distance of 1m3f or greater.
• If your horse wins or places, you’ll receive your winnings. If your runner finishes out of the placings (within 10 lengths of the winner), you’ll be refunded up to £25 in free bets.
• This will credited to your account within 24 hours  

➳ Star Sports Welcome Bonus Terms and Conditions

Unfortunately, there are always a few terms and conditions which must be adhered to. If you want to qualify for Star Sports’ welcome bonus, then make sure you read the small print and ensure that you don’t miss out on this back-up bonus. 

New players must use the code MINDTHEGAP10 when they sign up for an account. 

Only available to new players. Applies to races which are run at a distance of 1m3f or further. Qualifying bets must be each-way bets and placed on selected horse races. Free bets will be paid out within 24 hours. 

• Cash Out
• Bet Builder
• Live Betting
• Standout/Competitive Odds
• Welcome Bonus
• Regular Promotions
• Online Casino
• Live Casino
• Informative Blog
• Virtual Racing and Sports
• eSports betting
• Accumulator betting
• Mobile App
• Responsible Gambling
• VISA/Maestro Payments
• Speedy sign-up process. 

Sports betting features are integral to the enjoyment of punting and these tend to vary between bookmakers. We’ve highlighted some of Star Sports’ best features ad looked at how they enhance the overall betting experience.

⤹ Star Sports Cash Out

Cash Out allows you to take full control of your own bet. With Cash Out, you no longer have to wait until the end of the match to collect your winnings. You can check the cash out value of your wager at any point by opening your betting slip on the right had side of the page. 

⤹ Star Sports Bet Builder

Bet Builder allows you to create your own bet on all major sporting events. You can pick from a variety of markets and adjust your bet accordingly throughout the building process.

There are loads of different markets to select from and it’s the ideal accompaniment to sitting and watching a live match 

Unfortunately Cash Out isn’t available I conjunction with bet builder 

⤹ Star Sports Free Bet

If you’re signing up for an account with Star Sports, you’ll be able to claim a free sports back-up bet of up to £25. 

This can be claimed if your chosen horse finishes outside of the places but within 10 lengths of the eventual winner. 

The free bet will be paid within 24 hours of the race being settled.

StarSports isn’t a particularly flashy or gimmicky sports betting site and they pride themselves on offering a comprehensive database of betting options for punters.

Star Sports Horse Racing

Horse racing remains one of the most popular sports in the UK and it is particularly prominent during major festivals such as Royal Ascot and Cheltenham.

Star Sports have markets on all UK and Irish meetings ad these sit alongside racing from South Africa, France, Germany and the USA. There are additional markets from Australia and Japan.

There are daily specials available across a range of different meetings and Quick Picks allows punters to briefly browse all of the upcoming races, enabling them to make speedy selections.

There are also plenty of ante-post markets for upcoming major evets from around the world including the Pegasus World Cup and the Kentucky Derby.

Star Sports Football

When it comes to betting on football, Star Sports players are spoilt for choice. There are daily markets available on upcoming matches with punters able to select from various leagues and competitions or simply specify by type of bet.

There are also a number of outright markets priced up for competitions such as Premier League, Championship as well as upcoming international tournaments.

Star Sports Greyhound Racing 

Having started life as a racing-specific bookmaker, Star Sports understandably takes both horse racing and greyhound racing extremely seriously. 

Every UK meeting as well as the majority of Irish races are priced up on a daily basis. There are greyhound-specific offers relating to the morning cards and a handful of ante-post markets are available throughout the year.

Star Sports Sponsorship Deals

Star Sports UK sponsors a number of races and UK race meetings throughout the course of the season. However, their most high-profile sponsorship deal is the UK Greyhound Derby. This takes place each summer, however, Star Sports bet also sponsor all of the preceding heats ad qualification races. 

As we’ve previously highlighted in our Star Sports review, every UK punter will have different requirements when it comes to placing bets. Thankfully, Star Sports offer a range of different sports betting markets and types of bet. We’ve picked out a few of the most popular options.

Star Sports Betting Markets:

☆ Ante-Post/Outright 

One of the most commonly heard sentences in workplaces and pubs ahead of a major tournaments or prior to the start of the new premier League season is ‘so who’s going to win then?’ 

Outright markets give you the opportunity to put your money where your mouth is. There are a wide variety of ante-post markets available across an array of different sports. It is also possible to wager on the ante-post markets for the Cheltenham Festival all-year round.

☆ In-Play Betting

If you’ve missed kick-off, or you cannot find a pre-match bet, then waiting until a match has goes live in-play could be a smart approach. Although this section of their site could potentially be expanded, Star Sports still have live betting markets o all major sporting evets with additional markets being added throughout the contest. This allows putters to get involved at any stage.

Star Sports Types of Bets Available

☆ Accumulators 

If you’re dreaming of winning a significant sum of money, the why not place a weekend accumulator? Star Sports make it exceptionally straightforward to create an accumulator. Simply add each selection into your betting slip (this will appear on the right had side of the home page)

Once you’re happy with your selections, you can place your accumulator and cash out at any stage. 

☆ Bet Builders 

As we’ve previously highlighted in this Star Sports review, bet builders are a great way of adding multiple markets to a single bet and they’re ideal if you’re following the progress of a match on TV or from the stadium itself.

You can add as many selections as you like and bet builders also allow you to pick from multiple markets.

The Star Sports mobile betting app is one of the best on the market. It is easy to download and install and is compatible with both iOS and Android devices.

The app mirrors the main desktop site and as a result, it feels extremely familiar to those of us who are familiar with using Star Sports on laptops or computers.

It is possible to sign up for an account, make a deposit and withdraw your winnings using this excellent mobile app. If you don’t wish to use up the memory on your device, you can also access the mobile betting site by using your preferred mobile browser. 

Our Star Sports review has previously detailed the welcome bonus of up to £25, however, there are also a number of other ongoing promotions and offers currently available.

Star Sports do not have a dedicated betting offers page, however, the majority of offers are listed across the top of the home page. 

The Two Good offer is fairly unanimous across the industry, however, it’s hugely popular with football fans and is a great way of receiving a payout before the game has concluded.

If your greyhound is beaten by a head in any race at the selected morning meeting, then you’ll receive up to £50 back I free bets. 

The majority of these offers follow a similar theme with tennis players beaten in a final set tie-break also subject to refunds whereas golfers who are leading first or second rounds at selected tournaments, yet fail to clinch success, will trigger a 50% refund for punters who have backed them in the tournament outright market. 

Those who wish to take a break from placing sports wagers can access Star Sports’ online casino. This can be accessed via the home page and is equally as aesthetically-pleasing as the online sports site.

Star Sports bet have teamed up with a rage of top providers such as Pragmatic and Evolution. This has resulted in an exhaustive list of popular games and titles with new releases added from time to time.

Players can also filter the games by the date of release, popular games or table games. The site also features ‘Drop and Win’, ‘Megaways’, Slingo as well as Scratchcards.

Although there are fewer table games than slots, there should still be enough variety to keep the majority of players satisfied.

There are several versions of blackjack and roulette listed alongside a handful of poker games. The Live Casino has 30+ games with live dealers offering a realistic snapshot into visiting a land-based casino.

Although there is no notable welcome bonus available to casino users, they do offer players the chance to join the ‘Casino Club’ which is ideal for high rollers, however, the majority of casual players are unlikely to wager £500+ per week In order to trigger 100 free spins.

The Star Sports casino is fully licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and players can deposit using VISA, MasterCard or Maestro.

Although there are far better casino sites available online, Star Sports have put together a solid and dependable area in which sports fan can pick from 300+ games. However, they could benefit from expanding their collection going forward.

Throughout this Star Sports review, we found plenty of positives, however, the lack of baking options is the one major negative.

Unfortunately, Star Sports only currently accept deposits and withdrawals using VISA, MasterCard or Maestro. UK punters can also fund their accounts via bank transfer, however, the lack of e-wallets and pre-payment cards is disappointing. With some of their peers also introducing payments via Apple Pay and Google Pay, we found it extremely frustrating that we weren’t able to top up our betting balance using alternative methods.

The minimum deposit for each of these available methods is set at £10. On the plus side, making a deposit is straightforward and takes less than five minutes.

If you encounter an issue, you’ll undoubtedly be keen to seek assistance. Thankfully, Star Sports have a number of ways to get in touch. The live chat is the quickest way to speak to an operator directly and this can be accessed along the top left had side of the page. We found that the customer service agents were extremely knowledgeable and they were successful I answered all of our queries. However, the live chat can get busy, so you may have to wait a few minutes to connect.

Alternatively, there is a telephone number and an email address which can be used to contact Star Sports directly.

Star Sports have a succinct FAQ section on their site which contains useful information about general issues and they have also been known to answer questions on their social media pages.

Having almost completed our Star Sports review, you’ll hopefully be keen to sign up for an account and claim your free £25 back-up bet. We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to getting started.

➱ How to open an account with Star Sports

Opening an account with Star Sports is incredibly straightforward and it takes just a matter of minutes to get up and running. You can sign up for an account using either the desktop site or mobile app.

You will be asked to submit personal details and await the verification email before you get can get started and make your initial deposit.

• Visit starsports.bet and click the yellow ‘sign up’ button on the right hand side of the home page.
• Follow each of the steps and submit your personal details including name and home address. 
• Create a username and memorable password
• Don’t forget to use the code MINDTHEGAP10 when prompted.
• Await email confirmation. Click the verification link to finalise your registration.

➱ How to Place a Bet with Star Sports

In order to claim your free back-up bet, you’ll need to make an initial deposit of at least £10 and place a qualifying bet.  

• Browse the various markets by using the A-Z menu or by selecting from the quick links at the top of the page.
• Once you’ve found your chosen bet, click on the odds and these will be added to your betting slip.
• If you fancy an accumulator, continue to add selections to your betting slip until you are satisfied with your bet.
• The betting slip will appear on the right hand side of the page. This is where you can check the details of your bet and then add your stake.   
• Once you are satisfied, click ‘Place bet’ and this will be confirmed within a second or two. 

➱ How to Make a Deposit with Star Sports

In order to place a bet with Star Sports, you’ll need to make an initial deposit of at least £10 and ensure that you have a positive balance

• Log in to your Star Sports account and click on the yellow balance icon on the left hand side of the home page.
• Click on ‘Deposit’ and here you can add your preferred stake
• Once you are happy with this, click ‘confirm deposit’. This will be added to your account immediately.

➱ How to Withdraw Money from Star Sports

If you’ve struck lucky and managed to find a few winners, then you’ll be keen to withdraw your winnings. It’s extremely straightforward to collect your money.   

• Click on the yellow balance icon and then ‘withdraw’
• Confirm the amount that you’d like to withdraw and your preferred payment option (typically the same method that was used for depositing)
• Check the details and click on ‘make withdrawal’
• If it is your first time withdrawing, you will be asked for additional documentation before receiving your winnings.
• Once this has been verified, you will receive your winnings within 3-5 working days.

➱ How to Claim Your Free £25 Back-Up Bet

Once you’ve signed up for an account, you’ll be eligible to claim Star Sports’ free £25 back-up bet.   

• Sign up for an account using the code MINDTHEGAP10 when prompted.
• Click on the balance icon and make a deposit of at least £10.
• Place a bet of up to £25 on selected UK or Irish races (1m 3f or longer)
• If your horse finishes out of the places and is beaten by less than 10 lengths, then your stake will be refunded within 24 hours.