McBookie

McBookie UK Review (2024)

McBookie has been operational for well over a decade, but the profile of this Scottish-themed online betting site - which offers slots, virtuals and a live casino - is not very high at all. Recently sold off by the site's previous owners, Canadian sports gaming company FansUnite, for £3.2 million to an unnamed buyer, McBookie may now be heading for a more exciting period, though.

First up is the McBookie welcome offer, which is only available to people living in Scotland. Signing up for an account and placing a £5 bet at minimum odds of evens - or opting to put on a four-fold or larger accumulator, will see all new customers awarded a total of £20 in free bets. Sadly, McBookie does not have much else to offer when it comes to deals and betting bonuses, though horse racing fans will enjoy the fact that Best Odds Guaranteed is in place on the site.

McBookie's main promotion is the Tartan Club, which was launched in the summer of 2020 as the site's primary rewards scheme for existing customers. Membership of the Tartan Club is invite-only, with McBookie customers advised to use their account as normal if they want to be given the chance to sign up. Tartan Club members at the McBookie site get access to a range of solid betting bonuses such as a £5 free sport bet if they place £30 in qualifying wagers, while for some races stakes are returned as a free bet in the event of a horse finishing in second place.

Something else missing from McBookie is live streaming. This will not be a surprise as it is quite a small UK betting site, but it does mean those who want to be able to watch live action such as UK and Irish horse racing via their betting account will need to go elsewhere in order to do so.

The list of sports at McBookie is topped by football and horse racing, though there are better alternatives for the sport of kings. There is also the chance to place wagers on a range of more minor sports such as badminton, table tennis and volleyball. Also included in McBookie's sports to bet on is esports, although at the time of writing our full review of McBookie, the site did lack any actually available markets in that particular department.

When it comes to football betting, Scottish football naturally tops the list of things to bet on. With McBookie offering a uniquely Scottish slant on sports betting, the site is a great place to bet on matches taking place in the Scottish Premiership, as well as the country's other top cups and leagues.

Indeed, McBookie has long been a key sponsor of junior football in Scotland as well. Various specials are offered for top matches at McBookie and the site has a bet builder too. For football in particular, the odds on offer at the McBookie betting site provide fairly good value. For competitions outside of Scotland, though, you might want to turn to our recommendations for football betting.

When it comes to virtual sports, McBookie offers a decent range of options to customers. There is the chance to bet on virtual football, virtual dog racing and virtual horse racing, as well as virtual NASCAR, virtual basketball and more. Virtual golf is even offered at McBookie as well.

McBookie is a solid sports site for Scottish sports fans, but to get full value out of an account here customers will need to be invited to the Tartan Club rewards scheme. Otherwise, a lack of betting bonuses and no live streaming stand out as the significant issues for this online bookie, while the live in-play betting lacks data and statistics to help its users to decide what to bet on.

McBookie Customer Support Options

As with most major betting sites these days, the list of McBookie customer support options is topped by live chat. During our research for this full review of McBookie, we used the live chat service to get in touch with customer service. We were placed in a queue but almost got connected to an agent, who was able to answer our simple query, albeit after a few minutes.

Email telephone support can also be found at McBookie. Any users who would prefer to drop the customer service department a line can send a message to [email protected].

Furthermore, the McBookie customer support options also include help via social media. The site's Twitter account - which is @McBookie - is very active with requests also being taken.

But the first place to start when contacting McBookie customer support might be to head to the betting site's frequently asked questions area, or FAQ for short. In the FAQ, customers can find details like about which McBookie payment methods there are and how to make a complaint.

McBookie Payment Methods

Many of the UK's smaller online betting sites are unable to provide a comprehensive list of online banking options and this is also the case at McBookie. Unfortunately, the list of the McBookie payment methods that can be used to make deposits and withdrawals is quite small.

Debit cards from Mastercard, Visa and Maestro can all be used. As with all other online betting companies in the UK, McBookie is no longer allowed to take payments via a credit card. Aside from debit cards, most UK online bookmakers now take deposits via e-wallets. McBookie does not offer this option, though, so anyone who prefers to use an option such as Skrill or PayPal, making the most of benefits such as faster payouts, will, unfortunately, be left disappointed here.

Mobile users will also feel it is a shame that neither Apple Pay nor Google Pay has been added to the list of McBookie payment methods, even though the site does have both an iOS betting app and an Android betting app that can be downloaded onto a variety of top mobile devices.

Cryptocurrency is not accepted at McBookie either, so those who like using Bitcoin and other leading crypto options for online betting will have to choose a different online bookie to use.

The clearance time of a withdrawal out of an account at McBookie is likely to take between two and five working days. It can therefore be quite a lengthy wait for users to receive their funds, especially as with no e-wallets able to be used there are no faster options than debit cards.

As part of a process called Know Your Customer, McBookie will also be required to verify the identity of anyone who signs up for an online betting account on the site too. Customer ages should be verified automatically when a user makes their first deposit, but it may be necessary to provide ID documents such as a bank statement with an address displayed on the site as well.

Who owns McBookie?

The ownership of the Scottish-themed UK betting site McBookie has recently changed, with the Canadian sports gaming company FansUnite selling up to an unnamed investor in May 2023. The McBookie directors Paul Petrie and Damian Walker remain in charge after the £3.2m deal.

What is the best odds guaranteed on McBookie?

Best Odds Guaranteed - or just BOG for short - is a horse racing promotion that many of the top online sports betting sites in the UK offer, with McBookie among them. BOG means that users are guaranteed to be paid out on their horse racing bets at the top price offered on the market.

Does McBookie have a signup offer?

Yes, but the McBookie welcome offer can only be claimed by sports fans living in Scotland. New customers who sign up here and place a £5 bet at minimum odds of evens - or opt to put on a four-fold bet or greater - will be awarded £20 worth of free bets in their account within 24 hours.