looking for an online bookie...

IMVHO pearl betting in a class of their own...settling done really quick and Hilton does what ever he can to be accomodating...great site

If you are wanting an online site for horse racing specifically then Betxchange is certainly not one of the first choices.They obviously have nobody actively managing the site,so races are automatically closed @ the original carded off time,even if they are running 15 minutes late.There are many other options right now,with all having different strengths and weaknesses.fsconline(The fourie family) and hollywood offer an automatic stretch,as does lmbookmaker,so 1-1 is automatically 11-10.If you are taking 3 even money shots for example,you get 8.261 as opposed to 7-1.It may seem insignificant,but it all adds up.worldofsport probably has the best stretches(ie:often 12-10 offered when a horse is evens),but they don't put it up automaically as soon as the betting comes out.The also don't offer fixed place bets as many of the others do.Pearlbetting have small limits and the fixed place prices are particularly poor,so I'd give them a miss.bettingworld do their own prices,so there are bargains to be had in comparison to the other sites sometimes.

It's very hard to chose one over another as they all tend to have some merits,but personally I think hollywood is the best.They offer automatic stretches,there fixed place prices are good,they have open bets with a limit of R500 000(and I have heard they want to increase it to R1mill),and the site is actively managed so the races stay open right up until the race actually goes off unlike lmbookmaker and betxchange.

I'm a big loser with fsc @ this stage,so obviously I can still get what I like,but they lay 25 of a straight bet and 50 of a multiple,so for bigger players they are the best.lmbookmaker also lay a sizeable bet.betxhange clearly only doing the online site as a 'have-to',don't seem interested in maintaining it properly and like you say cut one's limits very quickly once you start winning from them.They only lay me 5000 of a dbl now,it's laughable.

Today I played Bettingworld, Fourie, Betxchange, World Of Sport, Interbet and Hollywood.

I would say that Betxchange was a division worst of the lot, bordering on completely useless in practice.

You can see Hollywood works hard at trying to please their customers. And this has been since they went online. If I were only allowed on account, it would be Hollywood. Best for combination of one-stop shopping and innovation and price.

Bettingworld won the best price battle, 80% of the time I would say. Their weakness is no open bets (duh) and limits are low. I would say they beat anybody on prices for multiples.

World Of Sport didn't seem to offer places, but occasionally have the best price.

Interbet are good for volume on the favourites. There prices are often good, sometimes terrible. Places are an embarrassment, they should get rid of it if they can't support it.

Fourie are new and looking good. Slick and on the ball. Big limits so they will get business, probably the wrong kind and then limits will start.

Thanks everyone for the info. I appreciate all that has been said and will use it wisely to make the right choice.

Hi Batman,

To follow up on your weekend queries, Hollywoodbets.net has a R10,000.00 limit on straight bets and a R30,000.00 limit on multiple bets. The rules now reflect this. However, increases to these limits will be readily considered on an individual basis: just ring the call centre on 08600-HOLLY (46559) for personal assistance.

Once again, thanks for your interest.

I was surprised to see someone claiming that Hollywood and LM offer automatic stretches on horse racing. And I see they really do.
Scotia, it shows your efforts are not in vain and this site has an impact, because about 5 months ago they certainly did not.
But a few points about why you should back with W of Sport:
If you fancy place betting, they pay 4 places in ordinary races with 16 or more runners, and although they don’t lay fixed odds places, the way they calculate the price for places is actually better than fixed odds.
Their deduction table on scratched horses is far superior e.g. 45% on an even money shot as opposed to 50%. Their deduction on Academic path yesterday (15/10) was 35% - other bookies 40%. This has a major impact on your “profits”(?)

I just wish their service on sport would improve rather than deteriorate – although advertising “in running betting”, it is almost non existent these days.

And lastly, perhaps it was only a slip of the finger, but 3 even money shots come to 7/1, not 8/1 (8 for one)

7-1 is correct yes.

Try Bethilo, cat - none of the irritations of the local sites.

“the foreign exchange act” – I have always wondered how someone that has won a prize in an overseas lottery gets the money, because this act also prohibits SA residents to participate in foreign lotteries using a credit card – but these lotteries and the facility to pay by credit card are widely advertised by newspapers and online SA sites.

Anyway, with a bit of lateral thinking getting the money back presents no problem.

Thanks for the invite cat, but I don’t need an idiot from Zambia, or anywhere else for that matter, to report me to anybody about anything.
My secrets on lateral thinking will have to remain just that until I know personally, which will probably never happen.

World of Sport most surely has the best odds. If you take a SP bet, you get paid on the better payout between SP and the Tote Win. e.g If your horse starts at 10/1 and pays R15 on the Tote, you get paid R15. If the tote payout is less than R10, then you get paid at odds of 10/1. There streches are also greater than all other bookies.. However the Sports Dept has some catching up to do.
Rather stick with BettingWorld for Sports Betting. Their sports range and prices are the most competitive around. They also offer alot of LIVE IN PLAY betting. I think there is great value with their golf betting on each days round, where they bet " Tie No Bet ".