VicBet is an experienced bookmaker with plenty of fans, and a focus on horse racing. But where a focus on horse racing for some other bookmakers means just that, in the case of VicBet, a focus on horse racing means that is the only thing that they offer. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for all punters, but it does limit them somewhat and will deter plenty of punters from trying them out.
There are no sports betting markets available here; none, nada, zip. So if you’re hoping to be able to find at least basic markets on major footy games, unfortunately you’ll be disappointed. If, however, you only ever bet on horse racing, or if you’re happy to do your sports betting elsewhere and just use VicBet racing markets, then you’ll likely be pretty happy with what’s on offer.
The VicBet bookmaker makes it easy to bet on horse racing – not surprising, given that is the only thing you’ll find on their sites. Their range of markets is comprehensive, covering all Australian meets as well as plenty of overseas ones.
Within each race, you’ll have all of the standard markets like win and place, plus a host of exotics like trifecta, quinella and quadrella to choose from too. You can also find a handful of other markets, like favourite vs the field, or individual horses head to head.
The odds are decent enough – not industry leading but competitive – and in a touch that I appreciate, they tell you the margin at the bottom of the page. The margin refers to the total percentage win chance that the odds of each horse adds up to, and reflects how much money the bookies take from each race (with a higher % margin meaning worse odds).
While the website is for the most part easy to use, VicBet could improve the individual race pages a little bit. The form for each horse, which every bookmaker has and which shows a runner’s past performance in certain conditions and situations, is available, but to access it you need to click on ‘Form Guide’ which then opens a pop up window. On most other bookies, this info is available on the regular page underneath the horse’s name, which is a bit more user friendly in my view.
Overall, however, the horse racing platform is relatively well-conceived. Courtesy of a quality website, it’s also easy to find what you’re looking for, though the overall betting experience could be improved by the presence of an app.
VicBet does have a mobile site which you can use on your mobile device, but an app would certainly be easier. Apparently it’s coming soon though, so keep an eye out for that.
Another strength of VicBet’s is their customer support platform. This is about as comprehensive as it gets, with a phone number, email address and live chat (many bookies will have just two of these). Live chat is comfortably my preferred method of getting into contact with a bookie, though many don’t offer it. VicBet does, and even better makes it available 24/7, so this is a big tick in their favour.
Because they only offer racing markets (thoroughbreds, harness), VicBet will always be a relatively limited bookmaker. They do, however, do what they do relatively well, and with the inclusion of a mobile VicBet app and a couple of slight changes to the race pages, they could be one of the better bookies to use for horse racing.