Most football, rugby and tennis fans enjoy the occasional flutter as a means of injecting some additional excitement into their chosen sport and of backing their favourite team. It’s no different in Greece, a country that’s football mad, and also mad about any other sport or match on which there’s money resting. Goalbet isn’t exclusively for the Greek market, but that’s its default language and that’s who its marketing efforts are focused on. Bettors from other nations are also welcome to sign up however for the site is available in English too plus many other languages.
There are no surprises in terms of the layout of the site, one which favours football, the English Premiership and other major European leagues especially, but which also has room for numerous other sports including rugby, moto racing, boxing, basketball and baseball. There’s no obligation to wager on sports either incidentally; if you’re more interested in betting on the outcome of the Eurovision Song Contest, you can do just that at Goalbet, which accepts various special bets.
Goalbet is a truly international operation, for the company who operate it, GLB GMBH EOOD, to give them their punchy and capitalised name in full, are based in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. They hold a gaming license issued in Curacao however. As experienced online gamblers will know, Curacao is the go-to territory for operators seeking a license by the easiest means possible. The Caribbean territory is prized for its extremely lax licensing that allows pretty much anyone who wishes to obtain an online gaming license.
This shouldn’t be taken as evidence that Goalbet isn’t above board however, for a great many operators have done the same, paying the requisite fee to the Curacao government in order to obtain a license. After signing up at Goalbet, you can get hold of customer support by live chat or email. There’s also a help section that contains an FAQ. The site was established in 2009 in Austria, providing further evidence of what a multinational operation Goalbet is. Its About section speaks about the up-to-date software the site uses and the security of its site. Payments are encrypted and data is transferred via SSL.
Judging by the payment provider logos that are displayed in the site’s footer, it would appear to be the case that you can deposit funds into your Goalbet account using a range of methods. Take your pick from MoneySafe, Paykasa, Viva, Paysafecard, Skrill, Neteller, MasterCard and Visa. There doesn’t seem to be a page that details deposit and withdrawal options, or at least nothing that you can view without being logged in, so it’s hard to say for certain what the minimum deposit/withdrawal amounts are or how long it takes for funds to clear.
There is no promotions page at Goalbet, so it’s safe to assume that there either aren’t any or that these at least aren’t a major part of the site’s business model. Going by the images that appear on the homepage, it may be the case that there’s some kind of offer on parlay bets, presumably one which offers you enhanced odds that rise with the more games you add to your accumulator. Goalbet boasts of offering highly competitive odds and to be among the leading online bookmakers in Europe. These claims can be taken with a pinch of salt, but are worth noting at least.
There are all kinds of bet types that can be placed at Goalbet, as well as the sister sites its Austrian owners run, all of which are essentially clones save for a few cosmetic refinements. Bet in-play on such variables as goal/no goal, score/no score, total number of goals, handicap betting and much more. Pick a sport, pick a league, pick a continent and pick a country and the odds are that Goalbet will be able to offer you odds on it. Domestic and national football tournaments are prominently covered along with Formula 1, skiing, horse racing and American sports.
Just like the other sportsbooks operated by this company, Goalbet has a complete casino attached to it. But just like its sister sites, the layout isn’t particularly intuitive. What this means in practice is that by default the games page shows only titles by one developer, Zeus. As a consequence, it’s easy to look at the page and be dismayed by the lack of options, particularly when it comes to table games. Zeus’ slots aren’t the greatest either. Thankfully, this is just a small selection of the games that are actually available here. Click on the tabs at the top of the page to view the wares available from other developers.
In addition to Zeus, Goalbet has games by Endorphina, Microgaming, TVBet, NYX and EGT. There are also virtual sports that can be played such as football and horse racing and a live casino staffed by real dealers. You know the sort; gameshow host smiles, piercing eyes and smouldering good looks. In terms of slots, some of the best games to be had are those by Endorphina. Titles include Fairy Tale, Gems & Stones, Jetsetter, Fresh Fruits, Ice Pirates and Minotaur. Microgaming have also got some fine slots to amuse yourself with, games such as Bars and Stripes, Big Kahuna, Chain Mail, Hellboy and Fat Lady Sings.
Goalbet is a reasonable sportsbook and casino, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it can probably be classed as slightly below average. It works and there’s a good selection of games to be found here and bets to be placed, but there are other sites on the web that do all this better. There can be no faulting the range of sporting events that are covered and the bet types that can be enjoyed. Although not as user-friendly as some, the sportsbook works, especially on desktop, and it does everything that can reasonably be asked of it. Mobile players won’t fare quite as well, but should still be able to access the site and to place bets via their smartphone.
Among the numerous areas in which Goalbet could use some work is when it comes to promotions. There really isn’t a whole lot going on here save for a 30% parlay bonus it would seem. It would also be helpful if the site’s operators were to provide more information about deposits and withdrawals. Gambling – whether betting on sports of spinning slots – is meant to be fun and yet Goalbet doesn’t feel like a fun-filled place. There’s no sense of community here and nothing that would convince you to go out of your way to sign up here. It’s handy that the site is available in a whole bunch of languages and some of the slots are excellent, but that’s about as good as it gets.
Up to $50