SpreadEx Review

Clean, intuitive site

The SpreadEx site has been designed to offer a simple, clear layout. It is based around three columns, with the sports list located on the left, live and forthcoming events in the centre of the page, and the betting slip on the right, along with other relevant information. Navigating between the fixed odds and spread betting elements of the site is easy by simply clicking on the sport you are interested in and then choosing the relevant option from a menu bar above the list of games. There is also a handy search bar on the left of the SpreadEx home page, which makes it easy to find the bet you’re looking for, along with useful tools such as the ability to switch between fractional and decimal odds and a statistics resource which can offer valuable information on the event you are planning to bet in. Overall, we can’t praise the layout of the site highly enough, and considering the depth of betting service that SpreadEx offers, they have managed to make a site that is attractive to look at and easy to use, no matter what your level of experience.

SpreadEx sign-up

Joining SpreadEx as a new player is a relatively simple process that takes around three minutes. You simply have to click on the ‘Apply Now’ option on the site’s menu tab, or go straight to the online application form, which you can access via a link in the site’s help menu. You will be required to complete the form in order to register, by confirming your name, address, employment and banking details, and once the form has been filled in, there is a fast approval turnaround, usually within 24 hours. SpreadEx also go to great lengths to inform punters who are new to spread betting about the risks involved, and it is a good idea to read all of the information they provide for your own education.

Fully Licensed Operator

As one of the older betting operators in the industry, SpreadEx has been able to build up a reputation as a reliable company, and this is underlined by its dual licenses. As a spread betting operator, it is required to hold a licence with the Financial Conduct Authority, and for its fixed odds sports betting business, it is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, one of the world’s most reputable and stringent betting authorities. Full details of the licenses are displayed on the SpreadEx site, and as part of their requirements under the terms of their licensing, they take their responsibility to safe gambling seriously, providing links to gambling awareness organisations and regular reminders to players about the risks, particularly with spread betting.

Innovative Bonus Deal

Punters are used to being enticed by sportsbooks that offer Free Bets or Bonus Match deals in return for signing up, but SpreadEx have taken a different approach with a novel but interesting Welcome Offer that certainly stands out from the competition. New clients are given the opportunity to win an iPad in return for staking bets in certain markets. There are two types of iPad available, and the staking requirements for each are £300 and £500. The bonus can only be activated by betting on certain markets, but the range of qualifying markets is wide so shouldn’t be difficult for most punters. Qualifying bets also need to be made within 28 days of opening an account, but once this has been done, claiming your iPad can be done easily with a call or email to the company. In addition, spread bettors can take advantage of another useful promotion. If you place three sports bets within the space of ten minutes, your fourth bet will be free. This is a useful promotion that will be welcomed by most regular sports bettors.

Reasonable Range of Markets

SpreadEx go big on horse racing and football, and these are the sports in which their range of markets is most impressive. For example, when it comes to horse racing, you can place bets on everything from winning distances to the saddle cloth number of the winner. There is a similar depth of market for football, although, as with horse racing, spread betting punters have more options when it comes to markets than fixed odds punters. Still, all of the main markets will be covered, and the average sports punter will find that there is more than enough to choose from in terms of betting options.

Modest Number of Sports

One area in which SpreadEx could possibly improve is in the range of sports they cover. Their total of 19 sports isn’t bad by any means, but compared to some of their sportsbook rivals, which offer coverage of up to 40 sports in some cases, they do fall short. That said, all of the main sports in the UK and Western Europe are covered, so as with their market selection, the average punter will find all that the need on the SpreadEx site, and the quality of the betting service offered makes up for any lack of range in the sports available.

Quick and Easy Betting Process

In keeping with the punter-friendly nature of the site, making a fixed odds sports bet at SpreadEx is simple. All you have to do is click on the sport you’re interested in, find the right market and click on your selection to add it to your betting slip. From there you will be able to tweak your bet by altering your stake, opting to make it an each-way bet or adding it to another bet to form an accumulator, then press Bet Now to make your bet. The process of making spread bets is handled differently and is beyond the scope of this review, but it is worth noting that with two decades of experience in spread betting, this is a company that has had plenty of time to streamline and optimise their spread betting process, and they also offer full and detailed instructions on how to make spread bets, which newcomers in particular are advised to read carefully before risking any money.

Dynamic Live Betting Service

Live betting is an important part of any site’s appeal and SpreadEx perform strongly in this department. They offer a wide variety of live markets in many sports, from football and basketball to ice hockey, snooker and darts. The Live Betting section is easy to locate via the dedicated tab at the top of the home page, and as a bonus for live betting fans, there are live updated stats during an event, helping users to make informed betting decisions.

Professional Banking

SpreadEx take a conservative approach to the banking methods they accept, and at present, punters are restricted to familiar methods such as Credit and Debit Cards, Bank Transfer, Direct Debit and MasterCard. The good news is that SpreadEx do not charge a fee for transactions made using Debit or Credit Cards or Bank Transfers. There is a minimum withdrawal of £50 and a maximum of £25,000, and the site reserves the right to impose a transaction fee of £1 for any transaction less than £50, underlining its reputation as an operator aimed at bigger staking punters.

High Quality Mobile Betting

SpreadEx launched its mobile offering in December 2010, with a mobile optimised website that loads automatically when you visit the site using a mobile device. The mobile platform runs smoothly and responsively, offering all of the facilities that you will find with the desktop version, and there is also an app that is available for Android and iOS users, which provides a similar quality of service and access to all of the Spreadex markets.

Financial Industry Standard Security

Being licensed as an operator in the financial industry as well as a sportsbook site means that SpreadEx is required to implement higher standards of security than you will find with some sportsbooks, and all transactions are handled with state-of-the-art encryption technology. In addition, the terms of its licenses require the site to adhere to all of the latest guidelines on Data Protection, including the recently implement EU rules, so any SpreadEx user can have the peace of mind of knowing that this is one of the most secure sites in the industry.

Accessible Customer Support

There are few sites in the online betting industry that offer a more accessible or helpful customer support service. Their well-trained and friendly operators can be contacted via Freephone, Landline or Overseas telephone calls, email or even in writing, and the service is available to answer queries and solve problems on a 24/7 basis. The site also offers a thoroughly detailed help section that covers everything from Account Queries to Technical Issues, along with a glossary of betting terminology.