SI Sportsbook Review and Welcome Bonus: Sign Up and Earn $50 in Free Bets

Reviewed By Adam Thompson

Sports Betting. Daily Fantasy.

Published: Sep 09 · 8 min read

Updated: May 26th, 2022

A longtime favorite sports publication and media company, Sports Illustrated (SI) is now getting into the online sports betting space. After partnering with 888, the state of Colorado will be the first to experience the company's new sports betting product. 888 is a well-recognized organization in the online betting and gaming space, best known for its online casinos. 888 was founded in 1997 in Gibraltar and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

In coming to Colorado, those in the state will have another sportsbook to sink their teeth into!

How does a respected media outlet look in the online sports betting space?

The welcome offer at SI Online Sportsbook offers something safe and accessible for all players.

New players at SI Sportsbook in Colorado will earn $50 in free bets after making a wager of on a contest with -200 odds or better. You will have to deposit and wager at least $10, with no code required. Once your first wager settles Sports Illustrated will credit you with free bet tokens.

The welcome bonus at SI Sportsbook will automatically process once your first $10 wager settles. Note that you will not be required to use a promo code while depositing.

Bet tokens are a virtual currency that expire in seven days and do not carry over into your winnings. For example, if you have a $10 bet token, wager on a contest that is +110, and win, you would only receive $11 instead of the full $21.

A risk-free bet is a type of online betting promotional offer in which you can deposit and wager a certain amount of money and receive the funds back. However, you do not typically receive the funds back as cash, but rather as site credits.

Sports Illustrated Sportsbook Welcome Bonus

Perfect 10

Perfect 10 is a legal sports betting offer that is free to access. It's a contest in which you will choose the winner of 10 contests and have a chance to win up to $10,000. However, if you lose, you will receive $1 in free bets for every choice you get correct.

Three and Win

From Friday-Sunday (prime Broncos betting!), if you win a parlay with three legs or more, you'll earn an additional $20 in free bets. The wager on the parlay must be $25 or more and the combined odds must be +300 or higher.

Sports and Markets Available at Sports Illustrated Sportsbook

Since first allowing sports betting on May 1, 2020, the state of Colorado has allowed a mass influx of online sportsbooks. Currently, the state is home to more than 20 online sportsbooks. SI Sportsbook is currently only offered in Colorado and could be an excellent candidate to expand into some of the new states in which online sports betting is becoming legal or expanding more, such as Arizona, Oregon, or more states. The welcome offer at SI Sportsbook is currently only for those in Colorado since it is only operational in Colorado, but this could also be the welcome offer when the sportsbook expands as well.

After clicking "Join Now" in the upper right-hand corner of the page, the SI Sportsbook sign-up process is easy to complete and is done over two steps.

1. Email, password, email, security question, agree to terms of service.
2. Name, Date of birth, Address, Last four digits of your Social Security number

After this, SI Sportsbook will run its geolocation software to confirm you are in the state of Colorado. Geolocation software tracks your IP address. If you're physically in the state, you'll be able to begin making wagers!

Players in Colorado must be 21 years of age or older. Although SI Sportsbook is based in Colorado, you do not need to be a resident of the state, but simply located within the confines of the state after geolocation determines your location.

Even though it is a brand new sportsbook, the Sports Illustrated online sportsbook should continue to ensure there are as many methods to deposit and withdraw as possible. The more methods that are available open up more possibilities for new players. There are also some methods that are far more convenient than others that will make the process much easier. Below, we'll look at the methods currently offered, though this will likely expand in the future.

Deposits

• Credit/Debit Cards
• ACH
• Play+
• PayNearMe
• Instant Bank Transfer

Withdrawals

• ACH
• Play+ Card

The most notable method missing is PayPal, of course.

Of the deposits available, each method processes almost immediately for all five ways.

For withdrawals, the initial review process could take up to 24 hours. After this, the withdrawal methods take up to two days and up to three days for ACH and Play+ Card to process, respectively.

User Experience

The first thought that came to mind when we opened the SI Sportsbook app? First-class betting experience.

As far as sports wagering or sports gambling apps go, the SI mobile app is phenomenal — cutting edge, even.

This app is essentially a mirror image of the desktop platform. There are just a few differences.

• Scaling on the app for the smaller screen
• The menu along the bottom of the app with links to the home page, live betting options, your bet feed, and promotions.
• Collapsible menu in the upper left-hand corner that is identical to the menu on the left-hand side of the desktop platform.

The app runs smoothly and there is absolutely no lag. All of the buttons are responsive. This is a must-download.

• iOS: Players can download directly from the Apple App Store
• Android: Players can download directly from the Google Play Store.

Live Betting

This sports gambling feature allows for players to wager on games that are actively in progress. The odds rapidly change as the game continues.

Players can wager on events happening in the later future. For example, you can wager on the Denver Broncos to win the Super Bowl or even to win the AFC West.

Cash Out lets players bail on wagers early. It is usually done in relation to your wager losing and therefore, you can salvage a portion of the money and live to wager on the Broncos the following week, for example.

• Moneyline
• Spread
• Totals
• Parlay
• Teasers
• Futures
• Round Robin
• Alternate Lines

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cricket
• Darts
• eSports
• Football
• Golf
• Handball
• Hockey
• MMA
• Motor Racing
• Rugby League
• Rugby Union
• Soccer
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Volleyball

• NFL Games
• NFL Super Bowl Winner
• NFL Division Winners
• MLB Regular Season
• NCAA Football

• Denver Broncos NFL Season Games
• World Series
• Super Bowl

Safety and Security

When it comes to safety and security, all online sportsbooks are licensed and regulated by their respective state's regulating body. However, other sportsbooks don't necessarily have the same infrastructure as it pertains to ownership, or in the case of SI Sportsbook, a partnership of 888 and Authentic Brands delivering high-quality patented software to ensure an experience and marketing capabilities unlike any other.

While 888 may not be known to many, as mentioned, the company has been in business for over two decades and has slowly trickled into the United States online gaming space over the last few years. SI has been around for decades and is a trustworthy brand and incredibly well-known. Other online sportsbooks may have brand recognition in the sportsbook space, but those sportsbooks don't have a legacy like SI behind them.

The promotions at SI are definitely more so catered to new/casual players/limited gambling/gaming experience. While these offers may lack in terms of monetary incentives, it definitely offers a level of accessibility that other sportsbooks may sometimes overlook.

Without PayPal, SI is definitely behind the eight-ball. However, this can be added in the near future.

With an FAQ section and email/ticket system, SI is missing the No. 1 method of customer support—live chat. This is still a new sportsbook so this can also be added in the future, but live chat is definitely the best method of customer support.

Responsible Gaming is a section found in all online sportsbooks that provides information and resources involving gambling addiction.

On the SI Responsible Gaming page, players will find information related to potential risks involving gambling, contact information to both local and national organizations for online gambling, ways to prevent addiction, and also limits you can set on yourself.

These limits are done through SI Sportsbook and include time limits, wager limits, and deposit limits.

Players can also self-exclude themselves from the platform for upward of five years.

After first being published in August 1954, Sports Illustrated has become a larger-than-life entity within the sports landscape. While it may just be a magazine, the Sports Illustrated name is part of a trusted brand, delivering awards of their own, their swimsuit issues, and is the first magazine to win the National Magazine Award for "General Excellence" twice.

Sports Illustrated fans have always known the brand as an innovator throughout its history, whether it's for color photos, scouting reports, in-depth analysis reports on sports news, and more.

After purchasing Sports Illustrated in May 2019, Authentic Brands Group has been looking for innovative and new ideas to extend the already powerful Sports Illustrated brand name. What better way than taking the "Sports" and turning that into sports betting!

The partnership between Authentic Brands and 888 came to fruition in June, with 888 offerings its elite-level proprietary technology to help bring SI Sportsbook to life.

One piece of the partnership was that Authentic Brands would receive an equity offering in the form of a "minority passive interest in the 888 group company holding certain of its U.S. licensed B2C activity," per NewsnReleases.

Sports Illustrated's betting platform belongs on a shortlist of the very best online sportsbooks. The app and desktop version both offer an outstanding experience. And aside from currently restrictive wagering options — no PayPal — and the absence of a live chat feature, this sportsbook scores high marks across the board.

Social:
Available Hours:	6AM - 10PM MST
Phone:	+1 833 451 8003