Virgin Bet bookmaker review | Bet £10 Get £20

By James Walters

Virgin Bet is a relative newcomer after the site launched in 2019 but they’re keeping things simple as they aim to close the gap on their UK rivals. Virgin founder Richard Branson clearly knows his stuff when it comes to business and his company has now ventured into the sports betting world.

Key information

What is Virgin Bet all about?

Bonuses

Virgin Bet’s welcome offer for new customers of bet £10 and get £20 in free bets is solid.

Your first single bet can be on any sport but the odds must be 1/2 (1.5) or greater and regardless of whether it wins or loses, you’ll get two £10 free bets.

There is also a chance to get a free Bet Builder for a specified game every weekend. The free bet will be within the range of £1-£20 but it seems most people will get a single-figured free bet.

Available sports

Virgin Bet has a decent selection of markets on numerous sports and their odds seem okay. When you go on their homepage, it’s initially geared towards football and the biggest competitions such as the Premier League or the Champions League, however, they offer much more than that.

You can place bets on almost any sport from horse racing to chess if that takes your fancy!

The book also boast a solid in-play section, with a tab on the left side of the screen drawing your attention. There’s a white number in a red circle to show the number of markets available for live betting.

Virgin Bet covers American sports, such as NFL, NBA and MLB. However, if you’re new to sports betting and you navigate to their NBA tab for example, you’re greeted with handicap odds, which can be slightly overwhelming compared to simple win markets.

You can also bet on virtual sports and esports, with Virgin Bet offering markets on League of Legends, Valorant, Dota 2 and Starcraft.

User experience and interface

It seems that Virgin Bet wants the look and feel of their site to be simple. Like most bookmakers, the colourful stuff tops the page, such as bonuses, boosts and upcoming sporting events. There is then a tab on the left with a list of sports they offer markets on.

However, the banners at the top of the page change every five seconds or so, which seems slightly excessive and a little distracting if you’re looking for a certain event or market. 

Overall, it appears the site works well and their feature of putting the television channel of each football game on the list of odds is handy. However, it’s worth noting that on Bet Builders, you can’t see the individual price of each selection, it only gives you the total price. It’s impossible to work out if each pick is good value or not.

Mobile and app compatibility

Virgin Bet’s desktop and mobile websites are very similar apart from the list of sports markets available moving from the left hand side on desktop to the middle of the homepage on mobile.

They’ve put their offers and price boosts at the top of the page to entice bettors, with odds for individual events further down. However, it’s firmly focused on football on the homepage.

Their mobile app, which is available on iOS, Android and Google Play, is effective and very similar to the website. The Virgin Bet app has an average rating of 4.7/5 (12.7k reviews) on the Apple App Store and 4.2/5 (5k reviews) on the Google Play Store.

VIP programmes and loyalty rewards

Virgin Bet boasts a weekly acca rewards offer which gives you a free £5 acca bet every week if you place four £5+ accas (with four or more selections at odds of 2/1 (3.00) or greater) between Monday and Sunday.

They also have a free to play football game called Fives. You reveal a player every day from Monday-Friday and if your players score on the weekend, you can win up to £50 per goal. A wheel reveals your goal bonus from 10p to £50.

Pros and cons of Virgin Bet

Diving deeper into Virgin Bet

Licensing

Virgin Bet is under the regulation of the British Gambling Commission. Their headquarters are in Gibraltar and they’re under the LiveScore Group umbrella. Additionally, Virgin Bet is covered by eCOGRA and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), meaning their site has been tested and certified for fairness.

Payment methods

Compared to other big bookmakers in the UK, Virgin Bet’s deposit and withdrawal methods are limited.

You can deposit funds through Visa, Mastercard and Paypal. The minimum deposit for the first two options is £5, however, you have to put £30 into your betting account if you’re using Paypal. You also can’t deposit money into your betting account via a credit card.

In terms of withdrawals, Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and bank transfers are the options available.

Security and fairness

Virgin Bet claims to use encryption technology to protect your personal and financial data. They say they operate with full transparency and commitment to fair play on their sportsbook and casino sites.

They also say all of their game outcomes are determined by a random number generator to ensure fair play. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing the game longer than someone else, it’s down to chance.

Virgin Bet customer service protocols are visible on their website, while they have a ‘help and FAQs’ tab at the bottom of their homepage. They have a live chat available, a phone number, an email address and a postal address for complaints.

Responsible gambling measures

Virgin Bet’s responsible gambling tools sit at the bottom of their homepage. There are links to Gamble Aware, the National Gambling Helpline and GamStop. Deposit limits can be set on betting accounts to limit losses, while there are also time out and reality check features.

FIRST rating

4.1/5 stars

Payment methods available at Virgin Bet

FAQs

Is Virgin Bet legit?

Yes, Virgin Bet is a legitimate sportsbook. They’re relatively new on the scene compared to a lot of their rivals but they’re trying to catch up as quickly as possible.

How can I contact customer support at Virgin Bet?

You can speak to Virgin Bet’s customer service team via their live chat, while you can also contact them via phone and post. The customer service email is [email protected].

How do I reset my password at Virgin Bet?

Resetting your password on Virgin Bet is easy. Click on your icon on the top right hand of the screen then head to ‘Profile’ and click 'Account details’. Scroll down and you can update your password.

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