AK Bets

AK Bets sister sites include Star Sports Bet, McBookie and NE Bet.
AK Bets (akbets.bet) is operated by Star Racing Limited of Star House, 255 Old Shoreham Road, Hove, BN3 7ED.

AK Bets Sister Sites

The AK Bets sister sites bear a strong resemblance to the sites on the Playbook Gaming Limited network, which is a little surprising because they belong to the Star Gaming Limited network. That makes us wonder whether there’s a connection between Playbook Gaming and Star Gaming Limited. That’s unlikely to be of interest to you, though, because you’re here to find out about the AK Bets sister sites and hopefully find somewhere new to do your sports betting. There are only a handful of AK Bets sister sites to run the rule over, but they all have their own merits – and they’re listed below.

Star Sports Bet

Star Sports Bet is the flagship of the Star Racing Limited platform. That much is obvious from the site’s name. It’s also a strange casino and betting site in terms of the way that it’s organised. If you go to starsportsbet.com, you’ll find a site full of sports news and analysis with no betting options. Go to starsports.bet, though, and you’ll find the widest and deepest sportsbook that you’ll come across at any of the AK Bets sister sites. We’re not sure why the brand is divided in this way, and can’t help but feel that it must play havoc with search engine results. That’s not our concern, though. The news that matters is that the Star Sports betting brand has been around since 2009 and claims to be the biggest luxury bookmaker in the UK. We’re not sure about that, but it certainly covers far more betting options than your average sports betting company and even allows wagers to be placed on political and other matters.

McBookie

McBookie isn’t the official iGaming or betting site of McDonald’s, as amusing an idea as that might be. Instead, it’s a sports betting company with Scottish roots, and has been around since 2009. That means it isn’t the longest-standing of the AK Bets sister sites, but it’s knocking on for fifteen years of experience, which means it must be getting something right. The brand’s Scottish origins are reflected not only in its name and the blue background of its homepage but also in the “about us” section of the website. Reference is made to betting on Andrew Murray to win Wimbledon, which isn’t as great a punt as it used to be, or betting on Scotland to win the FIFA World Cup, which would be lunacy. The motto of McBookie is “Always putting Scottish sport and Scottish punters first,” but we believe that the site won’t hold it against you if you’re not Scottish but still want to place a bet here.

NE Bet

NE Bet is the third and final member of the AK Bets sister sites family and is the most recently launched of all the iGaming sites on the Star Racing Limited network apart from AK Bets itself. According to the (very formal) information listed on the NE Bets “about us” page, the company was incorporated in 2018 and is privately owned. When it says “privately owned,” it’s not talking about Star Racing Limited. As is the case with all the AK Bets sister sites except Star Sports Bet itself, NE Bet is a white-label brand operated by Star Racing Limited in conjunction with a third-party entity. Telephone and text betting are also available under the NE Bet umbrella for players who don’t want to use the website, and the site’s focus appears to be horse racing. As for the question of why there’s an Illuminati-style eye in the middle of the NE Bet logo – your guess is as good as ours.

AK Bets News

23rd April 2024: When Betting Sites Ltd posted a review of AK Bets on the 22nd of April, it marked a significant nod to the platform’s burgeoning influence in the sports betting industry. The review unpacks the sportsbook’s comprehensive offerings, highlighting a sleek interface that ensures ease of navigation and a wide array of betting options, which stand out as particularly commendable features. This user-friendly approach is complemented by an efficient mobile app, available for Android users, facilitating betting on the go across more than 20 sports. A major draw for new users is the AK Bets sign-up offer, which incentivises potential punters with attractive welcome bonuses. If your first bet is a Lucky 15 bet on qualifying horse racing odds, your return will be boosted by 25%, up to a maximum of £100; the boosted returns will be paid in the form of a free bet which will be credited within 24 hours of qualifying.

The review suggests that AK Bets, although not yet a household name in the UK, is poised to pose significant competition to established big-league sportsbooks. The platform’s commitment to enhancing user experience through top-notch customer support and speedy transaction options further cements its potential to climb the ranks in the competitive sports betting market. The array of betting markets, competitive odds, and the general reliability of the service contribute to a solid foundation that could very well disrupt the betting landscape. In summary, AK Bets, with its industry-leading offerings and customer-centric approach, is quickly becoming a notable player in the sports betting field. As it continues to evolve and expand its services, it is only a matter of time before it secures a prominent position among the leading sportsbooks.

Can AK Bets Be Trusted?

★★★★★

AK Bets is a 3 Star trusted casino.

1. UKGC License	AK Bets is listed on UK Gambling Commission licence 9177, which belongs to Star Racing Limited.
2. UKGC Fines	In April 2023, Star Racing was fined, handed an official warning and had further conditions attached to its licence after a UKGC operating review identified breaches of licence conditions around AML measures, social responsibility and customer interaction. The sum of the fine was £594,000.
3. Customer Service	Contact is limited to email or X/Twitter, with no telephone assistance or live chat facilities.
4. Trustpilot Score	N/A – AK Bets hasn’t yet attracted enough reviews on Trustpilot to achieve a reliable rating.
5. Company Location	Star Racing Limited is based in Hove, England.
6. Visible T&C’s	Terms and conditions (or links to the same) are visible next to all promotions on the AK Bets homepage.
7. Social Media Presence	The AK Bets Twitter/X account is used to provide customer support. It doesn’t have a Facebook account.
8. Number of Sister Sites	There are three AK Bets sister sites on the Star Racing Limited platform, all of which are outlined above.
9. Games portfolio	AK Bets is a sports betting website, and should be assessed as such despite the fact that it also offers slots and casino games.
10. Gamstop links	While there’s a link and logo to GamStop in the footer of the AK Bets website, it’s so small that it might easily be missed.
Overall SCORE >	★★★★★ – 3/5 Stars

AK Bets Review 2024

AK Bets is a sports betting brand that’s come a long way in quite a short space of time. Its first incarnation was a mere pop-up on-course bookmaker at Killarney in July 2021. The brand’s owners lost money on its first day’s trade but stuck it out to take seventy-thousand on-course bets in its first year. So much growth followed in late 2022 that by the time 2023 began, the time had come to launch AK Bets as an online betting company. The owners of the AK Bets brand chose Star Racing Limited as the operator to partner with, so here we are. How good is the betting website they came up with together? Read on to find out.

AK Bets Welcome Promotions

This isn’t the most promising of stars. There aren’t any welcome promotions to tell you about at AK Bets. While that might surprise those of you who’ve never played at any of the AK Bets sister sites before, it’s less of a surprise to those who have. Welcome promotions aren’t common on this network. Nor are they common on the Playbook Gaming Limited platform, with which Star Racing Limited appears to share a lot of its intellectual property. The red carpet doesn’t get rolled out for you at AK Bets; if you decide to register and play here, it won’t be because you were seduced by a juicy sign-up bonus.

Other Promotions

While AK Bets doesn’t offer any welcome promotions, that’s not to say that it doesn’t offer any bonuses whatsoever. The AK Slots Club offers fifty free spins on selected online slots for every £250 spent on casino games, which some would say is a lot of spending for a very limited reward. The fact that there aren’t any wagering requirements attached to winnings generated by free spins might make it a little easier to bear for some players. The AK Bets casino also has access to the famous Pragmatic Play Drops and Wins games, which promise to pay out cash prizes all day, every day.

While those promotions and bonuses are undoubtedly nice to have, the issue is that they’re not connected to sports betting, and AK Bets is supposed to be a sports betting website. AK Bets doesn’t even seem to offer a best odds guarantee, which is something that can be banked on at most of the AK Bets sister sites. We’re all for iGaming sites expanding their horizons, but we can’t help but feel that if only a limited number of promotions are going to be offered at a sports betting site, they should focus on sports.

Pros and Cons of AK Bets

Pros:

AK Bets is obviously a fast-growing betting brand. Getting from a single on-track betting stall to a major iGaming network in the space of little more than eighteen months is impressive. The number of sports AK Bets covers is impressive, and the website is easy to use. It also comes as an app.

Cons:

While the sportsbook is excellent, the way it’s presented is a little barebones. The lack of promotions at AK Bets seriously hurts the standing of the site when compared to other, larger betting sites, and the lack of real-time customer support is likely to be an issue for some players.

Top Games at AK Bets

We’ve talked about the fact that AK Bets has casino promotions to offer, so you already know that it has a casino section full of top slots from great providers. They aren’t the focus of AK Bets, though. When you load the AK Bets website, the first thing you see is a list of odds for the next horse racing event on the schedule. As such, the “top games” at AK Bets are the sporting fixtures and events that the site offers odds on.

The full A-Z of sports offered at AK Bets isn’t as extensive as the one you’ll find at, for example, Star Sports Bet, but that’s to be expected when Star Sports Bet is the premier betting site on the network. Unless you’re looking for especially niche sports, the event or match you’re looking to place a wager on will be covered. Special betting events or highlighted upcoming fixtures are listed on a scrolling banner at the top of the AK Bets homepage, so that’s worth paying attention to you when you first land.

Withdrawal Processing & Support

Being a Star Sports Limited betting website means that AK Bets is limited by the same constraints that apply to the AK Bets sister sites. That means withdrawals can only be paid out via debit card or bank transfer, with no e-wallet support or support for alternative electronic banking services like Trustly. Withdrawals to debit cards are quoted as taking between two and five business days to complete. Bank transfer withdrawals presumably take even longer. The short version is that you’re not going to get a same-day withdrawal from AK Bets.

Customer Services & Licensing

AK Bets suggests that players go to Twitter/X and tweet@AKBets87 for customer support, as that’s apparently the fastest way of getting a reply. If you don’t have Twitter or simply don’t want to do that, you can send an email to [email protected]. The lack of telephone support or a live chat service is likely to be a further frustration for players who are unhappy about long waits for withdrawals.

The UK Gambling Commission licence 9177 covers AK Bets and belongs to Star Racing Limited. The licence is far from spotless, though. The company was fined more than half a million pounds by the UK Gambling Commission in April 2023. Further information about the fine can be found in the table provided above.

AK Bets – The Verdict

AK Bets is clearly an ambitious brand. It wouldn’t have made it from trackside to the internet in less than two years if it wasn’t. However, it’s going to have to do better if it ever wants to compete with the biggest names in the UK sports betting scene. Withdrawals are too slow, customer support isn’t comprehensive enough, and there aren’t any promotions to give something back to loyal customers with. We appreciate that the brand is still growing, though, and we’ll hopeful that AK Bets will be able to improve on all these things given time.

What are players saying about AK Bets?

Here are our condensed / reader’s digest summaries of player reviews of AK Bets.

• 09-Jul-2023 by Connor:
  Warning: AK Bets will let you win a few times, then refuse to pay you. They’ll close contact channels and block you on Twitter to prevent having to pay out. Beware. – source: TrustPilot
• 17-Jun-2023 by Steven:
  AK Bets are charlatans. They never offer free bets and only allow betting on favourites. Stay away; better companies are out there. – source: TrustPilot
• 25-May-2023 by Noor:
  This site is poor, covering only a few sports and markets. They’ll suspend your account without notice and hold your funds. Their withdrawal process is a lie, and their customer service is terrible. – source: TrustPilot
• 16-May-2023 by Abdul:
  I’d give AK Bets a minus rating if I could. They’ll suspend your account once you win, and their investigation goes on forever. They’re holding my funds for no reason, and I’m taking them to court. – source: TrustPilot
• 10-May-2023 by Scott:
  Don’t waste your time signing up. If you win your first few bets, your account will be limited to next to nothing. – source: TrustPilot
• 04-Apr-2023 by Bill:
  AK Bets started off well but started refusing bets after a few wins. It was okay until I won, but now I have to leave them. It’s a shame; otherwise, it would have been 5 stars. – source: TrustPilot