Coral Sportsbook Review
Coral is one of the most famous bookmakers of all time and still one of the market leaders. Not only does the operator offer an extensive online presence, including an online sportsbook, casino, poker, bingo, and more options – they have an extensive land-based network, with over 1800 shops in the United Kingdom.
Coral was originally established in 1926, by Joe Coral. The operation was relatively small until Coral took advantage of new legislation legalizing betting and he opened his first licensed betting office in 1961. From there, things expanded in the 1970s, with Coral becoming one of the largest bookmakers in the United Kingdom. In January 1981, Coral was acquired by Bass plc, but the company still kept the Coral brand.
Ladbrokes acquired Coral from the brew masters at Bass in 1997. However, the purchase triggered a review from the UK Monopolies and Mergers Commission, which deemed that Ladbrokes would have to sell Coral in September 1998.
Best Betting Site Alternatives To Coral Sportsbook
The Coral Group was sold in a management-led buyout by Morgan Grenfell Private Equity in February 1999. The firm also acquired Eurobet, an online gambling site, and the group changed their name to Coral Eurobet. The company once again merged with Ladbrokes in July 2015, but the paperwork is still being finalized. The plan is for the merger to be completed sometime in 2016, with current Ladbrokes CEO, Jim Mullen, to become chief executive officer of the new partnership, Ladbrokes Coral.
Currently, Coral is headquartered in Nottingham, England, but also have offices in Stratford, London, and Woking. Although, much of their business was moved to Gibraltar in 2011. Coral is licensed and regulated in Gibraltar, where they hold a license in good standing with the Gibraltar Gaming Commission. They also hold a license granted to by the UK Gambling Commission.
Coral’s list of countries is smaller than many operators of their size. Most notably, they don’t accept residents from Australia, the United States, France, Italy, and Spain. Most of their business comes from the United Kingdom and Ireland.
A Personal Opinion on Coral Sportsbook
What We Like About Coral
It’s tough to find much fault with a bookie who has been operating in some form for over 90 years. They must be doing something right. While that doesn’t mean they’re infallible, for the most part, Coral’s reputation is well deserved.
They’re rated highly at about just every sportsbook review site online. Although the operator does receive the occasional complaint, most of which they handle in-house, unlike some sportsbook in grey markets, which employ third-party mediators.
The bottom line with Coral is that they are a safe option, that offers competitive odds for much of their markets, including in-play wagering. They’re not elite in any category but are in the upper echelon of bookmakers when it comes to just about every category.
Their betting limits are also enormous. For the most part, punters won’t have to worry if they want to plop down six figures or more on the main markets. Competitive pricing with high betting limits is a heck of a combination.
What We Don’t Like About Coral
One of the biggest complaints about bookmakers who garner most of their business from the United Kingdom is that their markets too UK focused. Coral falls into this category somewhat. Their list of sports offered is gigantic, but the matches with the largest number of markets are typically heavily bet by those from the United Kingdom.
This isn’t a drawback if you’re from those areas. In fact, it’s probably a smart business move on the part of Coral. They’re only catering to their clientele. However, if you’re looking for more mainland Europe, Eastern European, or international markets, it may be worth going somewhere else.
Far and away, most complaints relating to Coral online have to do with their “know their customer” (KYC) policies. Many customers seem to find this process particularly arduous at Coral, compared to other bookmakers, which can delay payout requests.
Most of their complaints at SBR surround this aspect or issues with support. To be fair, this a relatively common complaint about most bookmakers if you read customer feedback around the web. It’s unclear if their KYC policies are truly more strenuous or slower than other operators.
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Coral Betting Site – Deposits and Withdrawals
Cashier Options
Coral accepts Euros, Pound Sterling, and the United States Dollars. They don’t offer every method online as a cashier option like some bookmakers, but all of their available choices are instant, free, and available to pretty 90% or more of their clients.
The most common choice for players will be to deposit through credit or debit card or e-wallet. They accept deposits instantly from MasterCard and Visa and support all three of the biggest e-wallets in Skrill, Neteller, and PayPal.
Same Methods for Withdrawal
All of these methods are provided for withdrawals. Players will have to wait 3-5 days for payouts back to credit or debit cards. However, this is quite fast since transfers back to cards of any type take several business days due to credit card regulations. Processing times for e-wallets will be the fastest. Coral processes these daily and customers rarely have to wait longer than a business day. Some report receiving their withdrawals in just a few hours.
Coral Review – Sportsbook Bonuses
£20 Free Bet Offer
Coral provides new customers from the United Kingdom or Ireland with a 100% free bet offer worth up to £20. Customers must open a new account at Coral’s sportsbook to be eligible for the free bet offer. They cannot have opened an account previously under Coral’s poker room, casino or other gambling options.
The bonus will be credited to bettors in the form of free bets after they place the qualifying offer. Players must deposit within 14 days after creating their account to qualify for this promotion. Free bet tokens expire after 7 days.
Coral Review Highlights
Interface and Markets
Coral has upgraded and put a lot of time into their betting software in recent years, and it shows. It’s not quite elite, but as far as speed and function, it beats the vast majority of online bookmakers.
As far as markets, there isn’t a lot they don’t have. As mentioned above, the real depth of their markets comes when we look at the UK or Irish sports. Their pre-match and in-play markets for football are some of the best around. Fans of live betting will love the betting options and competitive odds available.
Coral provides a considerable list of regularly updated promotions for punters. Although the maximum amount players can gain from these is relatively small, they do seem to add real for value for customers.
Massive Wagering Limits
Coral’s maximum payouts are listed clearly on their site. They have some of the highest maximum payouts online for football markets. They’re easily one of the best options available when you consider their large number of markets and small margins coupled with betting limits for punters large and small.
Any top flight league in Western Europe and most internationals has a maximum win of £1 million. Second tier leagues have a max payout of £250,000. Other leagues around the world (and they have a lot of them) are capped at £50,000. Punters will see a noticeable drop-off after that. Their North American limits are much lower than we expected. Professional sports in the United States, including MLB, NBA, and NFL contests have a max payout of £100,000.
Coral Sportsbook Support
Coral’s support has seen some mixed reviews from customers. Our experience with them has been positive in limited interactions, however. They operate from 7 am to 11 pm, Monday through Sunday.
They’re one of the few bookmakers that will schedule a call back with players if they them their home phone number, which is a much nice time than waiting on hold. Live chat and email support are also available. Coral also has one of the best FAQ we’ve seen from a bookmaker in quite some time. Almost all of the run of the mill issues clearly explained there, so punters may not have to bother contacting support.
Elite UK and Irish Online Sportsbook Option
Coral is a bookmaker that punters need to try if they’re heavily into betting UK and Irish sports, especially if they’re a fan of live betting. Heck, they’re a decent option no matter where you are from due to the free bet offer and competitive odds. They also process withdrawals faster than most bookies and have been operating for nearly a century.
