Initially launched as a trailblazing operator in the spread betting niche back in 1992, Sporting Index expanded into the more mainstream fixed odds sports betting realm in 2019 to become one of the industry’s top overall bookmakers.
With over 30 years of experience to draw from, Sporting Index provide punters with an excellent all-round package complete with some of the most competitively priced odds around, outstanding customer service and a market-leading spread betting product.
Sporting Index is a spread betting specialist first and foremost, however, with extensive football and horse racing markets along with potentially profitable promos on offer, bettors with more traditional leanings are just as well catered for.
While getting to know the Sporting Index website more intimately for this review, it quickly became apparent why they rank as one of the most popular betting sites in the UK.
The combination of fixed odds and spread betting gives Sporting Index a unique feel and you get the sense that you’re about to experience something a bit different as soon as you check out their sign up offers.
Punters opening a new account with the intention of using Sporting Index for their fixed odds markets can currently avail of a standard “bet £10 get £20 in free bets” welcome bonus – a promo that anyone familiar with new customer betting offers will recognise.
Here, you’ll be rewarded with 2 x £10 free bets once you settle a qualifying bet of £10 on a market with odds of 1/1 (2.00) or greater. Once the free bets are deposited to your account, you’ll need to use them within 7 days and in two separate £10 transactions on two different markets.
If you’re a spread betting aficionado or a newbie with an interest in exploring the niche, you can avail of a second cashback welcome bonus with Sporting Index worth up to £300.
This is a fairly straightforward offer to digest – if you stake £300 or above on qualifying sports spread betting markets inside your first 28 days post registration, you’ll receive £300 in cash back to your account.
£300 is the maximum you can earn back inside that time frame, however, Sporting Index will match your spend inside the first 28 days with a cashback amount of equivalent value. For example, if you stake £150 in the first four weeks, you’ll get £150 cash back and so on.
It’s important to note that any cashback you earn from this offer is real cash and not a free bet. With spread betting, you can incur losses that exceed your stake, so you should familiarise yourself with the process and T&Cs before taking the plunge.
The Sporting Index sign up offer for spread betting is a fantastic incentive and one that should work well for newcomers to this type of gambling.
Sporting Index claims to have “regular promotions and offers for new and existing clients” and they do deliver on their assertions, particularly for regular football and horse racing bettors.
Existing customers can sink their teeth into an impressive variety of weekly promos including Acca Boost, First Past The Post, 2nd To a Rag Insurance, Spread Free Bets and Lucky Double Odds with Sporting Index.
Sporting Index’s main football promotion is their Acca Boost, which can increase your winnings by up to 100% if you’re lucky enough to get your multi-leg bet to land.
In this promo, the value of the acca boost increases with every leg added to your selection. Your acca must consist of at least three selections to qualify for the offer with a 5% winnings boost for a three-fold the promotion’s bottom rung.
The percentage value goes up in increments, though you’ll need to include a massive 20 individual legs in your acca to qualify for the maximum 100% boost. You can pick from the most popular football markets like match odds, total goals and both teams to score to fill out your docket, however.
The maximum bonus per bet that you can receive is capped at £25,000 and you can’t include any selections at odds of less than 1/10, which is flexible enough to allow the inclusion of the vast majority of outcomes from any individual fixture.
Similar offers are relatively easy to find on other football betting sites, but Sporting Index does an excellent job of rivalling their competitors here.
In the fixed-odds realm, existing customers have a trio of horse racing promotions to get enthusiastic about, more than you'll find on a lot of horse racing betting sites.
Sporting Index’s “First Past The Post” promo works as a sort of safety net that will allow you to recoup winnings on a horse that finishes first and is later demoted for causing interference.
The "2nd To a Rag Insurance” promotion gives punters the chance to get their stake back in horse racing free bets up to maximum value of £25 if their horse finishes second to a winner with a starting price of 33/1 or greater.
In addition, Sporting Index’s Lucky Double Odds promo allows punters to double the odds of a winning section if their Lucky 15, Lucky 31 or Lucky 63 settles with only one winner.
All three of those unique horse racing offers have their own set of terms and conditions and though there is nothing out of the ordinary within, it’s always advisable to give them a thorough read through.
Sporting Index have other betting offers in their stable of promos to suit both spread and standard fixed odds bettors, so you’re always likely to find something to suit your palate.
Spread betting regulars for instance, can take advantage of the Spread-Free Bets promotion. Here, punters can avail of an extra spread bet once they place three sports spread bets on qualifying markets. Bettors claim this offer as many times as they want once the qualifying criteria are fulfilled.
Here’s how it works: If you were to place three football spread bets on Saturday with stakes of £20, £10 and £20, then you would qualify to place a fourth bet at the mid-point of the spread up to a stake size of £10.
You can tell that Sporting Index have invested a lot of resources into building their in-play betting platform and the feature-rich product they’ve constructed for live bettors is right up there with the best I’ve encountered.
The breadth of markets included for the in-play sports that Sporting Index cover is impressively diverse, while navigation to the live betting section is a cinch with sections well-labelled and direction of flow smooth.
Sporting Index’ are one of the betting sites with cash out as part of their in-play service, along with match stats which are updated in real time, though their live streaming coverage is what really stands them apart from other in-play betting sites with live streaming.
I found a wide array of football, cricket, tennis, horse racing, greyhound racing and Esports betting events in Sporting Index’s superb live streaming catalogue and being able to place in-play bets while watching the action as it happens is a major plus point.
Sporting Index’s top-quality bet builder platform hits plenty of the right notes and the sleekness of the layout and ease of use combine to make it one of the best bet builder sites I’ve encountered.
The colour scheme and layout of the bet builder section makes it easy to consume a ton of information at once and Sporting Index do an excellent job of keeping things clean and uncluttered.
Selections are added to a floating betslip box at the bottom of the screen as you click through your picks, with your overall bet builder odds updated accordingly as you go.
Sporting Index don’t offer the same depth of bet builder markets as some of their competitors however, which is a slight drawback. Bettors can find a greater variety of player markets for football fixtures elsewhere for instance, so that could be something to keep in mind.
Sporting Index have dedicated mobile app for both Google Play and Apple Store users to enjoy. The app is free, beautifully constructed and is a very slick adaptation of their desktop offering, allowing punters to enjoy all of Sporting Index’s features and functionality on the go.
The addition of touch and face ID security measures is a nice addition and once you’re inside, you can glide through different pages, markets and options very smoothly.
The best betting apps in the industry make mobile punting a seamless process, giving users the same top-tier experience they’d expect to encounter with a desktop version of a sportsbook and Sporting Index’s mobile app, which has earned high reviews from numerous happy customers, ticks all the right boxes in that regard.
Sporting Index are committed to providing excellent customer service and they have made it their mission to give bettors the right support and easy access to help if and when it’s required.
Links to their various help pages can be found at the bottom of the left-hand menu, where Help & Support and Contact Us options are clearly marked and easy to locate.
The Help & Support page is a treasure trove of useful FAQs but if you can’t find an answer to your query there, you can reach out to Sporting Index directly via their email address and phone numbers underneath.
There is a live chat function to utilise too, which performed well when I put it through its paces in terms of response time and professionalism. You can also reach out to Sporting Index through their social media channels if you prefer.
Sporting Index say their customer support opening hours are from 7:30 am 10:00 pm, seven days a week, so we can only assume that those hours apply across the board for their email, live chat and phone services.
As a dual-regulated company with licences for both fixed odds and spread betting, Sporting Index say they are committed to providing safe and responsible gambling within a regulated environment and to ensure its customers have an enjoyable gambling experience.
They have a page dedicated to the topic labelled “safer gambling” which can be found in the footer at the bottom of every page you visit onsite.
Inside, links to informative sections covering safer gambling topics like deposit limits, timeouts, self-exclusion, maintaining control and filtering systems.
There are also direct links to professional services like GamStop and the National Gambling Helpline, both of which are excellent resources for anyone who thinks they might need help.
Spread betting is Sporting Index’s flagship product and they excel at providing a complete package for bettors in that niche, however, they are much more than just a spread-betting specialist.
With innovative promotions for existing customers, a top-class live streaming service, competitive odds, a slick mobile app and strong bet builder platform, Sporting Index also manage to set a high bar for their fixed odds sportsbook offering.
The only area where they lag behind other online bookmakers is with their payment options, which are very limited, and those looking for PayPal betting sites may want to look elsewhere. Punters keen on fast withdrawal betting sites may be disappointed too with a £25 charge for same-day withdrawals.
Overall, Sporting Index is a strong all-round performer and is certain to appeal to new and seasoned bettors in both the spread and fixed odds betting arenas.
UK punters can deposit and withdraw to and from their Sporting Index account by debit card, cheque, or bank transfer. They currently don't accept payments from any ewallet providers, while they don't fit into low deposit betting sites bracket.
Sporting Index does not have a VIP program currently, but there is a range of betting promotions available to all customers.
Customer support at Sporting Index is available until 10 pm every night. Lines open at 7:30 am Monday to Saturday, and at 8:30 am on Sundays.
The minimum withdrawal amount, regardless of your chosen payment method at Sporting Index, is £10.
Yes, Sporting Index is fully mobile compatible. There are Android and iPhone apps available from the respective app stores.
Sporting Index is a safe, trusted betting site. They are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, and the site is regulated.
Punters can earn free bets on both fixed odds and spread betting through Sporting Index. There's a good selection of horse racing offers available and when the big events roll around, we'd expect to Cheltenham free bets and Grand National promotions appear,