Let’s start our 12Bet review off right with a little bit about the bookmaker. 12Bet UK was created in 2007 not long after its founding site 12Bet Asia was formed. Is 12Bet scam or is 12Bet legit? The company is owned by Pacific Sea Invests and has a UK license under the trading name Pacific Sea Marketing International Limited.
As well as a great sportsbook which is very popular in Asia and Europe, you’ll also find a 12Bet casino offering table and slot games from reputable brands such as Microgaming and Red Tiger.
When we first clicked on the 12Bet website, we admit, we weren’t expecting much. The website design is a little bland and the dark colour scheme does them no favours. But despite an underwhelming first impression you’ll find most of what you need on the home page. You’re prompted to register, deposit and bet for your sign up bonus, and can also find payment method details on the bottom of the screen. The site looks a little different from its competitors, too. While other bookmakers display their betting markets directly on the home page, you’ll have to click the 12Bet sports tab to see what’s in store.
While the home page may not be full of the feature their larger competitors often use, navigating 12Bet’s website is easy thanks to its clear division between sports betting and casino games. Click the Sports tab to find a left-hand menu of popular sports markets. Live events are displayed in the middle panel. From the sports page you can also access the registration page or login at the top of the screen if you have an existing account. For popular queries, heading to the bottom of the page offers you 12Bet contact details, betting terms and conditions and technical support.
The 12Bet registration process is simple. After clicking the ‘Join Now’ button you’ll enter your personal details including name, address and date of birth. Finally, a username and password and security question will need to be added to your account. Registration takes a couple of minutes, allowing you to place your first bet in no time at all.
Is 12Bet scam or is 12Bet legit when it comes to Bonuses? We were a little disappointed with the sign up bonus on the 12Bet site. While other bookmakers are offering 100%, 200% and even 300% matched bonuses, 12Bet’s deal gives a lower return. This is a shame, given the standard of other content available on the 12Bet website. There’s no doubt that adding a more lucrative bonus would attract a wider scope of customers, so it’s odd that their offering is so meagre. The bonus awards players with a bonus token of up to £35 once the player has deposited and wagered six bets with a minimum stake of £10.
If you’re a fan of casino games you’re in for an even more disappointing start to your betting experience. 12Bet offers no bonus for new or existing players who create a 12Bet login. If you want to know more about the casino experience at 12Bet, check out our casino review section where you’ll find one for the 12Bet website. Still on the hunt for bonuses? Take a look at our 138.com review and 32red review for a good choice of bonus offers.
We’ve already established there is just one 12Bet bonus code on their website, the £35 sign up deal, and details of how to get the offer can be found under the Promotions tab. The bonus is open to new players only, so if you’re a pre-existing player this isn’t the deal for you. You can also only take advantage of the sportsbook bonus if you make your deposits using either credit or debit card. Any other payment options are not accepted, restricting the bonus further.
While the promotional banner notes you’ll receive £35 as a sign up bonus, this is not strictly the case. The amount you will receive is the smallest stake over the six qualifying bets. That means if you place six bets of £10 you’ll receive £10 bonus. Place four bets of £20 and two bets of £15 and you’ll receive £15 back as an additional bet, etc. To receive £35 in bonuses, each of your 6 qualifying bets must be valued at £35. Odds must be 2.00 or higher to count, which is higher than the 1.50 of most bookmakers.
We have to admit, we felt like Sherlock Holmes searching for the 12Bet app. Their website yielded no information hinting at even a basic 12Bet app, but an internet search suggested one was available for both iOS and Android customers. Armed with this information we headed over to the Google Play Store, but alas, no 12Bet app could be found.
What we did find during our search, however, was a line on the 12Bet website explaining how to register on the mobile version of the site, suggesting this is the only mobile experience available to customers. The lack of clear information led us to wonder is 12Bet legit when it comes to the crunch?
Logging into the mobile site makes it clear it is a smaller, more concise version of the original website. There are still plenty of betting markets available for the average bettor, covering common sports. While an app would have been more aesthetically pleasing, the website still functioned well and offered a stress-free wagering experience.
Much like the rest of the 12Bet website, the mobile site is a disappointment for bonus fans. There are no mobile specific sign up deals, in fact, there are no other bonuses at all besides the sportsbook welcome offer. Compare a 12Bet review to a Ladbrokes or 1xBet review, and you’ll see just how different 12Bet’s approach to mobile deals is. These sites are jam-packed with mobile bonuses that provide their customers with a little bit extra. 12Bet offers the bare minimum.
The mobile site does offer live betting, however, which is prominently displayed and is available on the most popular of games such as football, horse racing and golf. Want to gamble on the go? Take a look at our other guides, including our 888sport review.
As well as a decent sized sportsbook, 12Bet also offer casino games to their players. The casino is broken down into four sections, ‘All Slots’, ‘Jackpots’, ‘Video Poker’ and ‘Table Games.’ As you would expect from a bookmaker with groundings in Asia, a lot of these games would be considered popular in the continent. Slot games such as Wu Xing, a Genesis Gaming product that combines the elements and ancient battles and Red Tiger’s Jade Charms sit alongside table games popular in Asia such as baccarat and mahjong.
Sadly, there is no casino specific bonus on the website, but you still have a chance to increase your bank balance with games of chance such as the Microgaming jackpot slots like King Cashalot and Mega Moolah. With 24 years of online gaming experience, Microgaming is a reliable brand, proving 12Bet trustworthy when it comes to providing dependable software.
Social media is key for any egaming brand, so it’s no surprise that 12Bet have embraced it. You’ll find a 12Bet UK twitter account online which is followed by just shy of 6,000 people. On Twitter, their social media manager runs competitions for their followers, promotes the latest sporting events and uses the opportunity to mention their odds. Similar content is also added to the 12Bet UK Facebook page. This has very few followers. You won’t be able to find customer support on social media, for that you’ll need to contact the website directly.
Payment options on the 12Bet website are fewer than some bookmakers, but still offer all the basics. If you are based in the UK you can make deposits using credit or debit card. The cards accepted are Maestro, Visa, Visa Electron and Mastercard. When using this payment option you’ll need to input your CVV number and may also be asked to complete a 3DSecure questionnaire to keep your card details safe. Deposits can also be made via Skrill and Neteller. Payments using all of these methods are instant if you are depositing to the account. Bear in mind that deposits made via Skrill (Moneybookers) are validated using your email address, so the email address registered on your 12Bet account must match the one used by your Skrill account to make a payment.
Transaction limits are displayed in US dollars on the 12Bet UK website. The minimum you can deposit using a credit or debit card is the sterling equivalent of $10, whereas Skrill and Neteller are $20 or larger. The maximum you can deposit in one transaction is $5,000.
When making a 12Bet withdrawal, the minimum you can withdraw is $10 and the maximum is the UK equivalent of $5,000. There are no charges for depositing or withdrawing funds, however, Anti-money laundering regulations require that ID is given to verify your identity before your payment is processed. This must be photographic ID such as a passport, driving licence or national ID card, partial credit/debit card details and proof of address via a utility bill or recent bank statement.
You can contact customer support in a number of ways. If you’re a UK resident you can get in touch via email. You’ll also find a separate email address for sending your verification documents to. There’s also an online email form if you prefer to send details this way. Bear in mind, though, that for complex queries it may be better to send from your direct email so you can check back on previous discussions.
You can also contact customer support via live chat. This is manned 24/7 so a response shouldn’t take long to get to you. Sadly, there is no telephone number for people who prefer to speak to customer support directly. We’re sure that the other options will be suitable for most queries, though. Finally, you’ll find an FAQ which will help with common queries such as minimum and maximum stakes, how to process a withdrawal and how to register at 12Bet.
While 12Bet have lots of site features, a VIP scheme isn’t one of them. They currently offer no VIP scheme to their casino or sportsbook players, so if this is something you’re specifically looking for in a betting site you may have to look elsewhere. Searching for a great VIP scheme? Have a look at our Betfair review.
Is 12Bet legit? The Operator is located in the British Virgin Islands and is powered by TGP Europe in the Isle of Man. As such, they are bound by British gambling regulations. They are licensed and regulated by both the UK Gambling Commission and the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, both of which have strong ethics and ensure that all websites under their jurisdiction are fair and offer gaming that is impartial.
What’s more, gambling operators under the UK Gambling Commission are required to offer dispute resolution by a third-party. In this case, this is completed by the Independent Betting Adjudication Services, giving peace of mind to UK players.
For those outside of the UK, their complaints should first be directed towards the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission for further help.
When placing bets online it’s important to keep an eye on your spending to ensure that you don’t get carried away. Gambling should always be seen as a hobby, never a way of making money. Even dead certs are prone to failure, so you should never bet more than you can afford to lose. A good way of spending within your limits is to set up deposit limits. 12Bet offers the chance to set a maximum spend limit on your daily, weekly or monthly deposits by contacting customer services. Every member of the 12Bet staff has been trained on social responsibility and responsible gambling and can help you with this query.
Staff are also there to help you should you find gambling is becoming a problem for you, They can help you self-exclude from the website and also offer advice on where to contact professional organisations for gambling support.
Lastly, the site verifies the age of all customers by completing identification checks to protect against underage gambling. All this factors definitely make 12Bet legit.
There are over 30 different sports on offer at 12Bet, which can only be bettered by their much larger competitors such as Ladbrokes and Betfair. The number of markets on each sport reflects its’ popularity. So football, for example, had the largest selection with thousands of bets available, including almost 200 live betting markets at the time of checking. You can expect to bet on the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League and Championship as well as football tournaments from 82 separate countries. In Europe, games can be bet on popular leagues such as the Bundesliga, La Liga and Ligue 1.
It’s no doubt that such a wide sporting selection had a positive effect on our 12Bet ratings. As well as a healthy dose of football markets available, we also found a great number of UK and Irish and international horse racing bets during our 12Bet sportsbook review. Horse racing bets are categorised into three sections; today’s bets, tomorrow’s bets and future bets. This is particularly handy if you’re placing a wager on a popular horse racing event such as the Grand National or Cheltenham Gold Cup.
But while these popular sports are common on most bookmaker’s sites, 12Bet also have a range of less-common events. If you’re a fan of MMA you’ll find Bellator and UFC events. If you like the action of Irish sport, you’ll find Gaelic football and hurling. Continuing the distinctly international flavour to the website is futsal, with wagers available on Brazilian, Czech, Polish, Portuguese and Scottish competitions.
12Bet offers nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to betting options. Like other bookmakers, you can place single, each way and accumulator bets on a wealth of betting markets. You can also place multi-line wagers such as Trixies, Heinz and Canadian bets to increase the return value of your bets.
While we can’t sing the praises of the bookmaker’s odds in our 12Bet ratings, it would be unfair to criticise them either. You see, 12Bet, like most of their competitors offer similar odds on most markets. You may find a slight fluctuation here or there, particularly when it comes to the ever-changing markets of live betting, but on the whole there is very little difference between them.
The odds can be displayed on the 12Bet website in two ways. You can choose decimal odds, which are commonly used in Europe (1.50, 2.50, etc), and fractional odds (2/1, 4/1, 5/2, etc) which are more common in the UK. Which type of odds you choose are up to you. You can toggle between the two at the top of the 12Bet website.
12Bet originated as an Asian bookmaker, so it’s no surprise that they specialise in the Asian Handicap system. This is where you may find they have the advantage over other bookmakers, so be sure to check out their football odds to see if you can scrape an edge.
At least in terms of the sportsbook section, 12Bet has a minimum betting limit of £0.05 or currency equivalent for single selections and a £0.10 or currency equivalent limit for combo bets. You will need to keep an eye on your specific maximum bets as it varies from betting types to what sport you are wagering on.
While 12Bet may not have the largest live betting selection available, it is readily available under the sports tab. Once on the live betting screen you can choose from an overview or event view to monitor live bets. You can bet on many of the sports offered at 12Bet. We found games of football, darts, tennis, table tennis, baseball, basketball, cricket, esports, ice hockey, motor racing and volleyball represented on the bookmaker’s site. At the time of looking there were just under 100 different live games available on a range of international markets. Football made up the largest selection of these bets by far.
As well as live betting, you can also take a look at the live schedule for the upcoming week so you can plan your bets well in advance. You’ll also find a results tab so you can keep track of already finished sporting events and monitor your favourite team’s form.
While the live content on the 12Bet website is great, we can’t say the same for live streaming. The bookmaker offers no live streaming content to their players, which is a huge disappointment, and one that puts them on the back foot when compared to larger bookmakers.
As it stands, we believe 12Bet have put together a quality sportsbook for their punters to take advantage of. The betting markets are fairly diverse, the amount of sports to bet on are ample and the odds are competitive. Furthermore, the in-play betting is efficient and unproblematic. While it is disappointing that there is no live streaming, 12Bet still offers an excellent sports betting service.
We’ve reached the end of our 12Bet review and tried to find an answer to the question: “Is 12Bet scam or legit?”. The bookmaker scored a reasonable 70 out of 100 in our ratings. So what did they do to earn this result? Well, it’s safe to say that 12Bet is a mixed bag when it comes to their site features. While some aspects were unbelievably good, like their dedication to helping problem gambling and their wide selection of betting markets at reasonable odds, there are many aspects that they could improve upon. Their lack of VIP scheme and bonuses put them far below their competitors when it comes to offering players extra for their money, and while they do offer live betting, there is no live streaming. All in all, the website has gained an average score, which reflects their standing in the wider betting community.
As mentioned above, it is 12Bet’s betting markets that are really their crowning glory. We were impressed to find over 30 different sports with many of these available on live betting markets too. This was somewhat let down by their average odds, but, many other bookmakers also suffer from the same problem. We think if they improve their live betting section, and engage with punters by offering additional bonuses for existing customers, this would be a bookmaker that’s really going places. Need more? Start by heading over to our Bet-at-home review for another comparison.
Users must be 18+. If you are having trouble with gambling then help and advice can be found at begambleaware.org. Please Play Responsibly.
This site is using Cloudflare and adheres to the Google Safe Browsing Program. We adapted Google's Privacy Guidelines to keep your data safe at all times.
