PlayUp and WinnersBet are two of the newer bookmakers to enter the Australian betting scene, and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. In this detailed review, we take a look at some of the key metrics that go into a good bookmaker – includeng betting odds, sports coverage, and availability of live betting and live streaming – to help you to decide which one might be better for you.
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Don’t have time to read about each metric in detail? Check out our summary of results below!
When you first choose to join a new bookmaker, the sign-up process is one of the major contributors to your first impression. Generally it’s a fairly straightforward process, but if bookies mess this up and make it an overly complicated process, then many potential customers will walk right out the door.
PlayUp: No complaints here. Signing up to PlayUp is as easy as with any other bookie. A big ‘Join Now’ banner sits in the top right-hand corner of the page, and clicking on it gets you started on a quick and easy process which just requires the most basic of details. Verifying your account is also pretty simple, with PlayUp offering a number of ways to do it.
WinnersBet: As one of the newest bookies on the market, WinnersBet would want to make sure that their sign-up process is as easy and efficient as possible, because all of their new customers will have to go through it. Fortunately, it is – like on PlayUp, a large ‘Join’ banner in the top right-hand corner of the page is easy to locate, and the process itself is quick and easy
There’s not really anything to separate these two companies here. Both of their respective sign-up processes are easy to find, and take under a minute to complete. The verification process for both is also relatively simple, so this match-up starts off with a tie.
Added features can be the difference between a punter choosing one bookmaker or another. While the other sections like betting odds and sports coverage might be more important, nice additional features can prove the cherry on top that sway you in favour of using one bookmaker.
PlayUp: PlayUp’s most notable additional feature is their personal PlayUp client manager. This basically gives you a personalised manager who you can easily contact to ask questions and who will keep you up to date with any forthcoming deals. It can be useful, though it is a little contrived given the customer service takes care of itself and the rest is essentially just marketing.
WinnersBet: WinnersBet offers punters the best tote on all Australian gallops, which is a nice feature that many sites provide. Basically this means you get the best odds of the three Australian totes, which can only be a good thing.
Neither of these two company’s additional features really jump off the page as particularly unique or useful, but we’ll give the nod to Winnersbet very slightly, if only because PlayUp’s client manager provides a little bit less than what it might initially suggest.
How much a bookmaker’s coverage of different sports matters to you depends a little on what you like to bet on. If you’re someone who just bets head-to-head on AFL games then you’ll find the markets you need with every agency, but if you like to dig a little deeper or bet on more obscure sports and leagues, then sports coverage is extremely important.
PlayUp: PlayUp’s coverage of sports is continually improving, and though they certainly aren’t an industry leader in the area, they have an acceptable range of markets. In terms of which sports they cover, they actually perform very well, with everything from NBA through to things like futsal on offer. Within individual leagues their range of markets is improving, but they still have a little work to do in that regard.
WinnersBet: As with many new bookmakers, WinnersBet don’t exactly have the most comprehensive range of markets on offer. They position themselves as a racing-based bookmaker so their markets in that realm are solid, but in terms of sports they are fairly limited in terms of both what sports they offer, as well as the markets within individual matches.
This one is pretty straightforward. PlayUp doesn’t rival some of the biggest bookmakers in Australia for their list of available markets but they nonetheless perform fairly well here, while WinnersBet is still a developing agency and has a suitably smaller range of markets as a result. An easy win to PlayUp.
|Betting odds are perhaps the most important individual feature of any betting agency. The difference from market to market isn’t typically huge, but bookmakers already build a margin into their odds and if you find the bookmaker with the best value more often than not, you can all but nullify this margin.
PlayUp: PlayUp’s odds are generally fairly reasonable. They sit in around the industry average, meaning while you probably won’t find the best odds with them, the odds you do get will be better than a lot of their competitors, including their opponent in this head-to-head battle.
WinnersBet: Another common feature of new bookmakers is that their odds aren’t as good as competitors, and WinnersBet certainly lives up to that. Their odds for sports markets are closer to the worst in the industry than the best, though if you like to bet on racing then it’s worth knowing that they perform a little better there.
This one isn’t particularly close either. PlayUp has comfortably the better odds of these two bookmakers across most sporting events, and while there are some bookmakers with still better odds, if you’re tossing up between these two then you’ll almost certainly find superior value with PlayUp.
|More and more, Australian punters are choosing to bet on live events, rather than doing so prior to an event beginning. The major advantage to this is obviously the ability to watch how a game or race is unfolding before placing your bet, but odds rapidly fluctuate so it’s important that bookmakers offer a functional live betting platform.
PlayUp: PlayUp has a decent live betting platform, with a solid number of events available for betting on after they have begun. The major problem we had with their system is that the live odds aren’t available directly on the website. Calling up to place a live bet is normal and a requirement for every Australian betting agency, but having to ask on the phone for the odds slows down the process considerably.
WinnersBet: WinnersBet unfortunately do not offer live betting in any form at this point in time. Given they are still a relatively new company this is understandable and there’s some chance they’ll add it to their repertoire in the future, but they haven’t yet given any indication of that
PlayUp’s live betting platform might not be perfect, but at least they have one. They could improve by making the odds more easily accessible to punters to put them on par with the best live betting platforms in the industry, but compared to WinnersBet they are clearly on top here.
Like live betting, live streaming is a feature of betting which has developed significantly in recent years. What would once have seemed like an implausible element of a bookmaker is now commonplace, and virtually all of the major bookmakers offer streaming of at least some live events. Have our two bookies joined the party?
PlayUp: PlayUp has not yet added any live streaming to its platform, which is perhaps unsurprising given that they are a relatively new bookmaker. They are rapidly growing in popularity and most other metrics on this list though, so it wouldn’t surprise to see them branch out into this field in the near future. As yet, however, they have given no indication of when.
WinnersBet: WinnersBet is much the same as PlayUp in this category: they don’t yet offer any form of live streaming. If being a new company can be used as an excuse for PlayUp then it certainly can for WinnersBet too, as they are as new as anyone on the market, so perhaps there’s some scope for them to develop a live streaming platform in the future if they continue to grow.
It’s tough to give out any points for this one given that neither offers anything in the way of a live streaming platform. We’ll have to call this one a draw, and split the points across the two bookies.
Mobile app falls into a similar category to live streaming in that, a few short years ago, it was virtually heard of, but nowadays it’s commonplace. Many bookmakers have apps which can often be even easier to use than the actual website, and the ability to easily place a bet on the go can be a major attraction for many punters.
PlayUp: Given the quality of the PlayUp website it’s no surprise that they have a suitably functional mobile app. Available for iOS and Android, the app offers all the same features as the website, generally loads quickly and is a good example of one of those aforementioned occasions on which using it can be even more efficient than getting out the computer and using the website.
WinnersBet: This is unfortunately an area in which WinnersBet falls significantly behind most of its rivals; they don’t yet offer a mobile app. Given they’re still a new company that’s understandable, but for the time being, if you are somebody who likes to punt on your mobile you’ll have to either head to the mobile website, or use another bookmaker.
No contest here. PlayUp’s mobile app is fast, efficient and intuitive, positioning them as one of the industry leaders in this regard. In contrast, WinnersBet is one of the few bookies who don’t yet offer any mobile app, and as a result they lose this round comfortably.
If you’re someone who likes to deposit and withdraw using the most common methods, like debit/credit card, then this section won’t be all that important to you. If you are a user of one of the many new ewallets or other more obscure payment methods which have popped up in recent years, however, the range of choices offered by a bookie can have a huge say on whether or not you decide to use them.
PlayUp: PlayUp is pretty much in line with most of their competitors in terms of how many payment methods they offer. The likes of debit/credit card and bank transfer – staples of virtually every bookmaker – are easily found, while there are also a few lesser-known methods too, all of which you can find below.
WinnersBet: WinnersBet doesn’t offer nearly the same range of payment methods as PlayUp, or indeed most of their competitors. If you use debit/credit card that won’t be a problem as they’ve got that one, but that aside there is only POLi, EFT Notification and EFT Withdrawal.
| PlayUp | WinnersBet | |
| Credit/Debit Card | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bank Transfer | ✓ | ✘ |
| POLi | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paysafecard | ✓ | ✘ |
| BPAY | ✓ | ✘ |
| EFT | ✓ | ✓ |
Another easy win to PlayUp. They’ve got more than enough payment methods to cater for most punters, in contrast to WinnersBet who only have a select few choices.
It’s not uncommon to need to contact your bookmaker for a variety of reasons, be it a query about a bet, your account or something else entirely. As a result it’s pivotal that they are easily contactable and able to help when you do get in touch, so let’s see how these two fare in this area.
PlayUp: No complains here – the customer service available with PlayUp is very good. They have an easily accessible live chat option, while a phone number is also simple to find, and both of these are available all day, every day. There is also an email address if you prefer to contact them in this way, and in our experience they were extremely willing and able to help across all three contact methods.
WinnersBet: For a new company, WinnersBet also do a fairly good job of ensuring they have a decent customer support service. As with PlayUp, a live chat feature is available via a bubble in the bottom left corner of your home page, and this is the easiest way to get in touch. They also have an email address you can try, though at this point there is no phone number you can reach.
WinnersBet gets a little closer here, but while their customer service is reasonable enough, it doesn’t compare to that of PlayUp. PlayUp’s is available 24/7 and they also have a phone number, something which WinnersBet is at this point lacking.
From start to finish, this section refers to how straightforward your experience is with the organisation. Judging that obviously includes a lot of the sections discussed above, but most important here is the actual website – does it make for a seamless betting experience, or does it lag and cause continual frustrations?
PlayUp: The PlayUp website is elite, one of the best in the business. It’s fast, intuitive and loads very quickly, and as a result the overall user experience with this organisation is a very good one.
WinnersBet: WinnersBet have also made sure they’ve created a simple and high-quality website. While there have been reasons for criticisms elsewhere throughout the course of this review, this certainly isn’t one of them – the website is easy to navigate, aesthetically pleasing (particularly if you’re a Lakers fan!) and loads quickly.
This one is too hard to separate. Both of the websites of these two bookmakers are very good – each of them is straightforward, unlike the clunky sites that some competitors put together, and importantly they both load very quickly. We’ll call this one a tie.
It’s safe to say that this battle was a little one-sided. PlayUp is a relative newcomer to the Australian betting industry, but they have rapidly established themselves as a very user-friendly organisation. They are still unable to compete with the biggest, most experienced companies for range of markets or odds, but they are satisfactory in these areas and perform well on most of the above sections.
WinnersBet, in contrast, is just starting out, and it shows. They lack many of the important elements of a good bookmaker, though in fairness to them they do have a good starting base in terms of a solid website and reasonable customer service. For now they lag a little behind, but they will no doubt continue to develop in the years to come.
If you found this comparison useful or interesting, we’ve got plenty more similar pieces for you. Aside from comparisons like this, we’ve also done a range of reviews, so check out this piece on international betting giant Bet365 or this one on another major bookmaker in Unibet to get a feel for which is right for you
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My name is Mike and I am a sports writer from Sydney, Australia with experience writing about a variety of differing sports. I have a particular passion for all things basketball, but I am always happy to cover anything and everything as is my love for sport!
Which Australian-owned bookmaker is best? Read on to find out!
Which Australian-owned bookmaker is best? Read on to find out!
Which Australian-owned bookmaker is best? Read on to find out!
Which Australian-owned bookmaker is best? Read on to find out!
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