This review of the BetDSI sportsbook is my fourth installment in a sportsbooks review series! I’ve been testing sportsbooks around the world that cater U.S. players, and I am now putting out my reviews of what I think are the top five sportsbooks.
Depositing Money
BetDSI Deposit Options
BetDSI has the standard options for depositing money. The sign up bonus for the initial deposit is 20% (if you deposit $100 then you will get $20 in free play).
The list of options can be seen to the right and the limits vary between the options. If you choose to deposit with VISA then the minimum will be $99 and the maximum deposit is $999. This is certainly the option that I prefer as it is the easiest and you can avoid dealing with customer service as you get your money deposited.
Limits/Ease of depositing money: 9/10
Betting Interface
While BetDSI certainly doesn’t have the prettiest interface to look at, it is certainly usable and effective.
BetDSI User Interface: Step 1
Unlike most of the other sportsbooks, BetDSI doesn’t have a bet slip on the right side of the screen. Instead, they push you through a four-step process that begins with the user selection which sports they wish to bet. The second step takes the bettor to the pick selection screen where they can bet on the available spread, point total, or money line bets that are available.
BetDSI Bet Slip: Step 3
In step 3, the bettor can buy points on the spread and can place their wager (either by wager amount or win amount). Finally, once the continue button is hit, the user goes onto the last step where they simply need to confirm the bet. As I mentioned earlier, I am a little bit bothered that their isn’t a bet slip on the side of the screen. Typically, when I am betting, I like to place some bets and then have time to go back through some other games to see if there is anything else good on the board. While BetDSI doesn’t exactly give you this luxury, I think that the system is very sufficient for the everyday bettor.
The live betting set up is at BetDSI is very awesome! Obviously, live betting is only available for certain games, but they do cover all the major sporting events. In live betting, there is a bet slip nestled nicely on the right side of the screen. There is a filter that allows you to “accept no price changes”, “accept all price changes”, or “accept only price changes in your favor”. This is a nice addition as the lines in live betting change rather often. While I don’t cover live betting very much in my reviews, I can say that BetDSI has one of the top live betting platform out there.
Look and feel of the betting interface: 8/10
Odds/Bet Limits
There isn’t really too much to report here as BetDSI really is about par for the course. The $1 minimum bet is great, but is overall pretty standard across sportsbooks that we have reviewed. The odds on the games are rather standard as well. We rarely find any great deals, 10 cent lines, or anything else of the sort. However, the lines are always very fair.
Odds Prices and minimum bet limits: 8/10
Mobile Betting
BetDSI Mobile Site
One of the more frustrating things that we come across while reviewing sportsbook sites is the shakiness of their mobile platforms. We are very pleased to say that BetDSI breaks the mold here with a great mobile site.
The great thing about the BetDSI mobile platform is that it took it’s interface from the full web site and cleanly integrated it for smartphone use. The mobile site uses the same four-step process that we used while placing bets on a computer. In fact, this is the one sportsbook where we can say it may actually be easier to place a bet through your smartphone than on the actual web site.
Mobile Betting Platform: 10/10
Payouts
The cost of the payouts is one area that we really consider to be a weakness for BetDSI. Across the board, a user of the book will be paying for a method of withdrawal on practically every method except for MoneyGram. The easiest of the methods, at least for U.S. players is by paper check, but the fees on those vary starting at $20. If this is something that is of concern then we highly recommend Bovada which has an unmatched payout process in the industry.
Ease and price of payouts: 3/10
Pros/Cons
Pro: Unbelievable selection of sports and different bet types.
Pro: Has a very easy and straight forward interface which makes it easy to place bets.
Pro: Top notch mobile platform.
Pro: Very strong live betting interface.
Con: Not as easy as some of the other sportsbooks to withdraw money.
Con: The 20% initial deposit bonus is a bit weak, comparatively.
Pro: Since breaking off from Bookmaker there have been a variety of issues.
Updates
The original post for this review was done on June 3rd, 2013.
10/6/2013: BetDSI has dropped from my number-two rated sportsbook to Honorable Mention. I think that customer service is unfreiendly and the difficulty of payouts has lead me to downgrade this sportsbook.
6/2/2017: Since breaking off from Bookmaker.eu, there have been a variety of complaints about the sportsbook.
Conclusion
Though there are a variety of things about BetDSI that we really like, we simply can not recommend the sportsbook at this point. There have been some issues since breaking off from the Bookmaker brand. If and when they get their act together, then we will update this review.