Coral Introduction
Coral bookmakers have almost 100 years of betting experience to fall back on and this has clearly been the backbone to their online success. Having already secured an established reputation on the high streets with its Coral betting shop enterprise, the brand has now firmly placed itself as a top online betting operator as well. The recent merger with Ladbrokes to create the Ladbrokes Coral Group in 2016 was seen by some as the making of the biggest betting operation in the world, especially when you consider the years of knowledge that has been gathered between the two brands. However, it’s not just big names and revenues that dictate the popularity of your brand. It’s the service that you give to your customers and Coral online certainly know a thing or two about that.
Specifications
- Number of sports 39
- Languages
- Deposit/withdrawal methods
- Statistics
- Tv broadcasting
- Average margin 5.9%
- Promo available
- Tax on winnings
- Number of available markets (max) 197
- Cashout available
- Support available
- License
- Bet limits
- Restricted countries for registration
- Currency GBP
- Results
- Online Casino
- Top Bets
The Coral betting platform is a fully licensed operation that has been approved by the UK and Gibraltar gaming authorities. In short, this means that your data is safe and the betting is fair and legal. You wouldn’t expect anything less from a business of this size due to that fact that they have far too much to lose. Coral online is an all-encompassing betting service that doesn’t just stop at sports betting, with Coral Casino and Coral Games also offering a huge collection of gaming titles to enjoy. If we focus in on the Coral sports section of the business then you instantly find a full range of markets and promotions to enjoy. All of the modern betting features are available with the Connect card and Coral mobile both acting as useful tools for today’s betting customer.
Pros and Cons
- Excellent in-play betting platform
- Good selection of promotions
- Expert horse racing coverage
- All-inclusive Coral Connect feature
- Ladbrokes merger offers great potential
- Phone lines not 24/7
- Sign-up bonus could be bigger
- No dedicated results section
- Statistics section lacking depth
- Slightly dated website design
It’s our aim in this review to pick out the best features of the Coral bookmaker site, so read on to find out all the details with our expert analysis and advice.
Coral Sportsbook
Number of Sports Markets
Customers are able to choose from over 30 different sports and it’s fair to say there is something to please all players, this also goes for anyone playing via the Coral betting app as well. All of the top sports are fully-detailed with the football options going right down into the regional leagues. Racing is one of their biggest strengths and so you can expect pretty much every racing event covered across the UK and Ireland, and further abroad when it comes to the major international meetings. The Olympics, eSports, movies, and politics are all available as well which gives people the option to have a little fun with their coral bet.
Coral Sports Statistics
The overall collection of statistics and betting data is basic and could definitely be improved. For quick stats, the pre-game in-play section actually offers a considerable amount of information compared to most competitors. Many of the big football events include percentages on over/under goals and latest form, plus you can view head-to-head results and of course, all the latest odds are listed underneath. It’s not the full stats centre that we were hoping for, but at least there is something to analyse before you put your money down.
Betting Markets and Odds Quality
Customers can expect up to a total of 197 betting markets available. A brand as big as Coral are fully aware of what the betting public want to bet on, therefore all the in-demand markets are available with plenty of extras as well. These include players outscoring opposition and results after a specific time period for football games, and there are plenty of handicap markets to be found in rugby and basketball as well.
In terms of the quality of odds at Coral online, there is great value to be found especially around the in-play markets where they regularly offer some the best odds across the top betting sites. In terms of pre-match odds then you can also find plenty of price boosts available on the top sporting fixtures, so you’ll need to keep an eye out for these a day or two before the event starts to catch the best possible odds.
Bet Limits
Your minimum stake varies on what style of bet you are trying to place, so you’ll need to keep an eye on the betting slip to find the minimum stake available. As for the maximum betting limits, this is all relative to the maximum payouts that are set for each sport. For example, we can see that the top football fixtures and racing events allow a maximum of £1,000,000 per bet, and then the amount drops for each sport like £250,000 for golf and £100,000 for tennis and rugby. Just be sure to keep an eye on maximum payouts for your individual Coral bets, we can imagine that suddenly finding out your winnings have been capped would be very frustrating.
Results
A dedicated results page is not available on the site and a quick check with support advised us to use a 3rd party website, so this is definitely something that is lacking in comparison to other betting sites. The only way to get some sort of results data is to check the in-play stats section to see if they have the latest form available, but it’s still quite basic information.
Betting Tools
Betting Tools
Live Streaming
Live streaming is another useful betting feature available to all full members and can be found under the ‘Live Stream’ tab in the main sports menu. This shows you a list of everything that is available to stream right now and also the upcoming streaming events. If you’re ever scrolling the site and see the ‘Watch Live’ icon then you’ll know the event is open for streaming. The only requirement is that your account is funded and you’re logged in with your Coral login details. Horse racing is huge on the site but you’ll still need to place a £1 bet or £0.50 each way wager to watch the race.
In-Play Schedule at Coral
The in-play schedule can be found from the main menu and will give you the full list of available events that are currently playing. The best part about the in-play page is the ease at which you can switch sport types and markets, the different sports are listed across the top of the desktop site with easy to find icons. Markets can be altered from the drop-down tab named ‘Change’, and this makes the whole in-play betting process quick and easy.
Sports Bonuses and Promotions
One of the strengths of Coralbookmakers is the promotions page and as soon as you start to scroll through the offers, you’ll realise that you are in good hands. There is something for the experienced betting veteran who knows exactly what they want from a bonus deal, and you’ll also find the simple offers that give casual weekend punters a little extra in their account. All of these promotions are available to the Coral betting app users as well, so betting and claiming deals on the go is very much possible. We’ve listed our favourite promotions and deals below:
Coral Bookmakers Sign-up £20 Bonus
All new players signing up can get a £20 free bonus from a single £5 deposit. You must use that first deposit to place a wager of at least 1.50 odds. As soon as you make the qualifying bet, you will receive 4 x £5 bets. Other small details in the Coral new customer offer include that you must make the qualifying bet within the 14-day window from first opening your account, and the free bets will disappear after the seven days, so be sure to use them.
Coral Acca+
The Acca+ promotion is available to all customers and offers a free bet on your first winning accumulator of the day, basically, 10% of your winnings up to £100. You’ll need to satisfy a couple of requirements first and this includes having three or more selections in the acca, each selection must be at least 1.10 odds, and the overall odds must be at least 2.50. If you can meet those requirements and your bet comes in, you’ll get a 10% boost in the shape of a free bet credit.
Racing Prices – Best Guaranteed
Coral bookmakers and horse racing is the perfect combination for many punters. The expert tips available across the site and in-depth coverage make it a great place for racing fans to place their bets. The added benefit is that the bookie also runs their ‘best price guaranteed’ deal each and every day. This means that you’ll always get the best price no matter how the odds change.
Coral Bet and Get Club
If your budget allows bets of at least £25 a week then this deal is for you. Simply wager at least £25 from Monday through to Saturday with odds of 1.50 or more to get your hands on a free £5 bet on Sunday. The fact that you have a week to make the £25 total makes this deal more than achievable for regular punters. Just remember to opt-in to ensure all of your wagering counts and make sure to use your bonus within seven days.
Smart Boosts and #YourCall Specials
Two great promotions running daily on the site are the Smart Boosts and #YourCall specials. Smart Boosts give you enhanced odds on a variety of markets so always be on the lookout for these daily price offers, you’ll find many of them on the bigger events a day or two before they start. The #YourCall specials involve you tweeting your proposed bet and the twitter support team will then get back to you with a price, if you like the odds, you can bet on it.
Cashout
The ‘cashout’ option is a simple tool but gives the punter full control over their bet. For example, if you don’t feel as though your bet or one of your acca selections is going to come through, then you have the chance to hit that ‘Cashout’ button to take the current profits. Combined with the in-play stats and/or the available live event stream, you can make an informed decision on whether you should take the money and run, or wait it out and hope your bet comes through as a winner.
Banking
Depositing money into your Coral bookies account and withdrawing any winnings is made easy through the dedicated banking section found in the ‘Coral My Account’ section of the site. Credit cards, debit cards, and the popular e-wallets are all available to use. There is also a very reasonable minimum deposit limit of £5 for all of these except the PayPal options which is £10. The maximum deposit is set at £37,500 for Neteller while the Visa options allow up to £20,000 per transaction. Withdrawals are again nice and easy and you only need to wait up to five working days to receive your funds, which is about average for most operators these days. If you’re looking for quicker withdrawals then the e-wallet options often take no more than a few hours to process.
The Coral Connect card gives customers a smooth banking process between the online site and the offline betting shops. For example, select a Coral bet online using the card and if you manage to get a winner, use the same card at the shop and instantly withdraw your winnings. You can wager online and transfer the money in your pocket within the hour if you live nearby to a Coral shop! Use the handy Coral shop locator on the site to find the nearest one to you.
If you’ve got a stack of winnings in your account then you don’t need to worry about the taxman. Many new Coral gaming customers are unsure whether to declare their winnings or not, but this is not necessary for UK customers. It’s always best to check your local tax rules if you live elsewhere though.
Customer service
You shouldn’t need to worry too much about things going wrong when using the Coral betting site, but it’s always good to know that there is someone on hand if you need help. The live chat is open 24/7 and the telephone options are open from 8 am to 10 pm. You can also check the FAQ section and search for the solution to your problem there, for example, if you have Coral Connect login issues or any coralbet questions. We found the FAQ to be well-detailed and it includes a lot of answers to many of the common questions asked at betting sites.
The email route is also an option if you’re not in any rush, plus the Twitter handle @coralhelp is always up and running if you prefer social media interaction. Either way, we found that once you get through to a member of the customer support team, you’ll get a solution fairly quickly to most of your problems. As we said, the site has a useful FAQ and not much goes wrong nowadays anyway, but it’s always good to know that help is on hand.
Conclusion
Coral bookmakers have always been a popular betting brand amongst the UK and Irish public, and all those years on the high street has led to the brand logo being instantly recognisable online. Popular TV adverts and regular advertising slots at all of the big sporting events help to keep the brand in front of everyone’s mind, and this is exactly what they need to keep punters returning and coming through the online doors for the first time. Extra betting options like Coral Casino go a long way in giving customers variety but the biggest product is their sports betting platform. The in-play options offer some of the best odds around and this helps to spread the word that betting with Coral will earn you bigger winnings, and it’s here that we can quote their phrase, “Don’t bet silly, bet savvy!” – and we have to agree with them when the in-play Coral bet options are involved.
The Connect Card is a really useful banking feature for customers, so be sure to check the ‘Coral My Account’ section for more information about signing up. Banking only gets you so far though and it’s the actual experience of betting that we care about here. The Coral mobile options are up to speed with the demands of a modern-day punter and you can place and track your bets wherever you go. Simply use your Coral login details via the browser or app and you’ll get a fully-optimised mobile experience. If we look at the overall site, we can only find a couple of small improvements to be made. It could do with a redesign for easier navigation and a dedicated stats and results section would also be a welcome addition. However, looking at the positives, it’s the in-play betting and promotions that really stand out and the whole Ladbrokes merger can only be a positive for the company and its customers. For us, Coral has long been a popular betting company and they look like staying that way for a long time to come.