Hollywoodbets UK Review - Is it Safe or a Scam? (December 2023)

Are the Hollywoodbets Welcome Bonus Offers Worth Claiming?

With more competition than ever among sports betting sites, like all other companies in the sector Hollywoodbets works hard to attract new customers through special sign-up betting offers.

However, the headline Hollywoodbets welcome bonus is not particularly generous right now. At the moment, Hollywoodbets is offering new customers £10 back as a free bet if their first wager on the site loses. However, we have an exclusive signup bonus for BettingLounge visitors which is up to £30 back as free bets and 20 no wagering free spins.

Hollywoodbets does have an exclusive app bonus, which is unusual for the industry. Due to the fact, that Hollywoodbets is trying to push players to download its mobile betting app - more information on that later - the site is offering a bigger welcome bonus to those who join it.

Signing up for a Hollywoodbets account via the app will give new customers £20 back as free bets if their first and second bets lose. This is twice as good as the original welcome bonus, so anyone who is thinking about joining Hollywoodbets should do so via the app.

On the casino side at Hollywoodbets, new users who sign up through the app can get 100 free spins to use on the John Hunter slot games if they stake £10. Spins are worth 10p each.

Promotions for Existing Customers

Horse racing betting fans will be particularly pleased with the range of deals and offers that are up for grabs at Hollywoodbets. Best odds guaranteed is in place, so those who back a winning horse might get a surprise when they check their account balance as more profit might be given out.

Not only does the Hollywoodbets best odds guaranteed deal cover UK and Irish horse racing, but South African meetings are covered too. This is a nod to the site's SA heritage.

As well as best odds guaranteed, Hollywoodbets has a first-past-the-post offer in place. If you back a horse that wins a race but is later disqualified, the bookmaker pays out anyway.

An acca bonus is offered at Hollywoodbets too, with an improved profit of up to 75% given out depending on how many legs are included in a selection. Furthermore, there is also a form of acca insurance in play at Hollywoodbets too. Sports fans who have at least five selections in their acca can get a refund if just one leg lets them down. And it gets better! Including 12 or more selections means that if just one loses, Hollywoodbets will pay out 5x the stake as a free bet, capped at £50. That is much better than most bookies will offer.

One thing to note about the acca insurance offer at Hollywoodbets is that it does not kick in automatically. Customers who want to get their refund will have to contact the customer service team at support@hollywoodbets.co.uk with 'Acca Insurance' in the title and include details such as the player's account number and the transaction ID, which is a bit of a faff.

Casino promotions at Hollywoodbets include a 10% cashback refund on losses from slots. Free spins on new casino games at Hollywoodbets are often available to claim here as well.

Hollywoodbets.co.uk Sports Review

Hollywoodbets is a new online betting site in the UK market, launching in mid-2020, but, the company behind Hollywoodbets has 20+ years of experience in the industry. The company first started as a single betting shop in South Africa, eventually expanding to 80+ stores and a dominant online presence in South Africa.

It is refreshing to see that Hollywoodbets is not launched as a white label solution like most new betting sites this year, and has its own UK gambling licence under the licensee name "Hollywoodbets International UK Limited".

It is still too early to judge the trustworthiness of Hollywoodbets, but, it is encouraging to see a "new" bookmaker enter the UK market with 20+ years of experience, 5000+ employees, and their licence, instead of the 10+ white label solutions we have seen launch in 2020 that have already racked up plenty of 1-star player reviews.

Sports, Markets & Betting Odds

You can immediately tell that Hollywoodbets have decades of experience in the industry with a wide range of sports available straight from launch, including horse racing and greyhounds, which is rare for new bookies.

On top of the popular sports, you will also find a great depth of niche sports including esports, table tennis and ice hockey to name a few. Top esports such as CS:GO, Call of Duty, Rocket League and Dota 2 are among those available to bet on.

Sports available:

• Football
• Horse racing
• Greyhounds
• Tennis
• Table tennis
• Ice Hockey
• Basketball
• MMA
• Badminton
• Baseball
• American Football
• Aussie Rules
• Auto Racing
• Boxing
• Esports
• Cricket
• Cycling
• Darts
• Formula 1
• Gaelic football
• Golf
• Hurling
• Motorbikes
• Nascar
• Rugby League/Union
• Snooker
• Virtual sports

In terms of the betting markets, Hollywoodbets offers over 300+ different markets for popular football events, which is much higher than average. You will find a wide range of markets across the sportsbook including totals, handicaps, corners, cards, shots and more.

While the Premier League is always going to be the main focus for a big bet on the beautiful game for sports fans in the UK, Hollywoodbets also covers leagues, cups and competitions from every corner of the planet as well.

As is the case with most top UK sports betting sites these days, there is a bet builder tool in place at Hollywoodbets so that its users can create their same-game acca. However, you will need to log in before starting a bet builder.

As for the betting margins, Hollywoodbets averaged a respectable 6.56% in our tests, but, it is fairly higher than the best UK bookies that offer margins of 2% and lower.

Hollywoodbets has its statistics section as part of the sports betting offering on the site. This is a data goldmine for anyone who enjoys crunching the numbers while they try to pick out a winning wager.

The Hollywoodbets statistics section is a highly impressive resource. For a typical big game in the Premier League, users who go here can check out a detailed head-to-head record of the two teams in question, as well as various data on the sides.

Hollywoodbets Casino Games

There are well over 2,500 different casino games to try at Hollywoodbets, with players likely to be impressed by the wide selection. Slots make up the vast majority of those games, of course, but there are plenty of good table games too, and a strong live dealer area as well.

The Hollywoodbets casino allows customers to simply filter through the selection. It is possible to view only the video slots, or check out which top Slingo titles are being offered. 

Searching by provider works well and is a great option for those who particularly enjoy playing Pragmatic Play games, for example. There are around 20 different providers signed up to the Hollywoodbets casino and more are joining. A new games area is updated on a regular basis so there is always something fresh to test out on the Hollywoodbets casino.

Progressive jackpot titles will be some of the most popular to play at the Hollywoodbets UK site. There are about 40 linked slots in this area, sharing a massive top jackpot prize. The biggest amount that has ever been won on an online progressive jackpot is £13,213,838.68, so there are extraordinary sums of money on the table in these progressive slots sometimes.

Table games are neglected by many online casinos these days. But Hollywoodbets has worked hard to offer dozens of table games, giving customers a good amount of choice. Variations of casino classics like roulette and blackjack are dominant within the table games section but there are also games such as Hi-Lo and Dragon Tiger to give a go here as well.

Players who prefer a livelier setting at the casino should head to the live department on the Hollywoodbets UK site, with an array of tables at which it is possible to grab a virtual seat. 

Live roulette is probably the top game to go for at the Hollywoodbets casino, but those who prefer to try their luck with blackjack are covered by tables with various stake sizes too. A handful of live poker tables are available to join too, while there are live dealer games that have been created based on game shows such as Deal Or No Deal and Monopoly to play.

Casino tournaments are something that certainly catches the eye at the Hollywoodbets casino. These tend to be pegged around certain events or times of year. As an example, at the time of writing there was a Halloween-themed casino tournament at Hollywoodbets UK. Players had to try their luck on a variety of Halloween casino games to be in with a chance of scooping a share of the prize pool, which stood at a pretty impressive total of £3,000.

Something a bit different from the norm at the Hollywoodbets casino is the BetGames area. These live dealer fixed-odds betting games are designed in order to be legal in nations where the rules regarding betting are more complicated than those in place in the UK. An example of a leading title in the BetGames area at Hollywoodbets is Bet On Poker, a game that mimics Texas Hold 'em but with a subtle twist to provide a different gaming experience.

The Hollywoodbets casino is not quite as slick as some of the biggest and best casino sites in the UK, but games work well no matter the screen size and there are decent promotions.

Hollywoodbets Mobile App

Hollywoodbets is pushing its mobile app for iOS and Android hard, putting a special app-only welcome bonus up for grabs for those who download the software to their devices and join.

The Hollywoodbets app has all the same sports and markets to bet on as the main desktop site, so customers will not be missing out on anything if they opt to log in on a small screen.

It is even possible to watch live horse racing live streams through the Hollywoodbets app, which is ideal for those who want to place a bet on the big race of the day, and then watch it.

The Hollywoodbets iOS app can be found by searching for the betting site on the App Store. At the time of writing, it has not proven particularly popular, which perhaps helps to explain why the site is offering a special welcome bonus to app users. There have been fewer than a dozen reviews of the Hollywoodbets app on the App Store and it is rated just 2.4/5 stars which is quite low compared to the top betting apps in the UK.

Over on Android, the Hollywoodbets app does not seem to be available to download directly from Google Play. This is quite a large problem as most sports fans in the UK will not want to have to mess about with APK files and install a betting app themselves.

Not being listed on Google Play could be considered to be something of a red flag for Hollywoodbets, but the South African company may be still working on taking this very necessary step.

New customers can follow our step-by-step guide to depositing Hollywoodbets: 

All deposits made at Hollywoodbets should appear in your account balance instantaneously. There are never fees to be charged on deposits made into Hollywoodbets accounts either.

Sports fans who win a wager or two at Hollywoodbets will want to withdraw their winnings.

The process to do so is quick and easy to follow, with our guide making it straightforward: 

Live chat is likely to be the main way that UK customers access help at Hollywoodbets. The good news is that live chat is available around the clock here, which is not always the case at sports betting sites in the UK. On mobile, the live chat button is in the bottom-left corner. Initially, users will go through the options available with a bot that can be very useful indeed.

Email support is also offered by Hollywoodbets, but this is not available around the clock. Hollywoodbets provides customer service by email between the hours of 7am-11pm. To get in touch with the Hollywoodbets customer support team, email support@hollywoodbets.com.

There is not any telephone customer service available for Hollywoodbets users in the UK at present. Many UK betting sites no longer offer customer service via the telephone.

It is also possible to write to Hollywoodbets by post, though replies via snail mail are likely to be quite slow as a result. The address to do so is Hollywoodbets International UK Limited - PO Box 227, 3rd floor Peveril Buildings, Peveril Square, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1RZ.

Responsible Gambling Tools At Hollywoodbets

At BettingLounge.co.uk, we place utmost importance on responsible gambling. Our team meticulously assesses the responsible gambling tools and policies of each operator to ensure a safe and accountable betting environment.

As part of its responsible gaming policy, Hollywoodbets encourages its UK customers to gamble only "for fun and within your means". To help out with this, Hollywoodbets provides several top tips for betting sensibly on its site, including treating betting as a form of entertainment, rather than as a way to make a significant amount of real money.

Hollywoodbets allows users to set deposit limits, which can be done within the "My Profile" section under "Limits". Those who want to set a Hollywoodbets deposit limit can also do so by contacting the compliance team by email (compliance@hollywoodbets.co.uk) or live chat.

For the higher deposit levels, Hollywoodbets may ask for the source of wealth documents like:

• Bank statements from within the last three months
• Latest salary slip
• Evidence of other income or accounts where funds are available

When requesting an increase to a deposit limit at Hollywoodbets, there is a 24-hour period before the change will go through. Additional verification checks may be needed as well.

As well as deposit limits, a Hollywoodbets bet limit amount can be set per single bet, per day, week or month to help sports fans in the UK stay in control of their spending.

It is also possible to set up a Reality Check on your account. This can produce a pop-up reminding you of your browsing time for a time frame between 10 minutes to four hours.

Hollywoodbets users can also take a time out for a period of either a day, a week, four months or six weeks. All marketing and promotional emails from Hollywoodbets will not be sent to the user taking a time out for the chosen duration. Timeouts cannot be cancelled.

Those who want to take a permanent break from their Hollywoodbets account can also use the site's self-exclusion option, which will prevent them from placing any further bets. For self-exclusion at Hollywoodbets, go to the menu option "My Profile" then tap on "Self-Exclusion".