The girl is back in town, the girl is back… actually by the pool in Cyprus, where already some holidaymakers from Blighty are displeased about my presence and nerdy bookie talk!
One of Lucy’s favourite bookies today – Pinnacle Sports!
Enjoy the review, feedback always welcome. :)
NatLou xoxo
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1. Aesthetics & Navigation
Like a paradise bird, the first impression one gets of Pinnacle Sport‘s site are the different orange, blue and green colours, not too bright but with a touch of pastel for the tabs and fonts! The layout is straightforward, no itzy glitzy bits that blind you like Vader’s lightsabre or worse!
The main navigation bar on top is simple without any fuzz and this site, unlike many others, offers what you want – all kinds of different bets, and not only sports. Pinnacle supports 15 different languages and has got, without any doubt, a worldwide audience of punters. On the left hand side, you have the various betting markets, and all offers are listed and can be clicked through via a tree bar. Scroll down and you’ll see the offers of the day for various sports events. The layout is plain, simplistic and informative, without any clutter, and amazingly refreshing indeed. This bookie is located in the Dutch Antilles where they make Blue Curacao (yummy cocktail incense!). They have had an online presence since 1998, and according to industry reviews and generally received wisdom, operate on the lowest margins of any bookmaker.
Aesthetics Score out of 10 – 7.
2. Services
Sports – Pinnacle have got literally all kinds of sports on offer that an international punter could dream of! However, the one major exception (that Lucy won’t be happy with!) is that they don’t offer stuff for our four-legged friends (with or without the dwarfish jockeys on top), but rather a range of exotic sports and betting options. This includes, and I am not pulling your leg… E-Games! Yes, you can bet on the winners etc. of International Starcraft 2 video game tourneys! Pinnacle also offers footie (they call it soccer on their site), American Football, Aussie Rules, Rugby, Beach Volleyball, Martial Arts, the lot. If you fancy predicting who is going to win the Eurovision or X-Factor, feel free to do so and squander a few bob on those.
More generally, Pinnacle also famously make a huge play of never closing anyone’s account – click here and scroll down to paragraph 7 for Lucy’s glowing mention of them – and see here for Pinnacle’s own glowing mention of themselves and their policy on this matter!
Live-Sports-Betting – The major events of the day are shown on the main page; scheduled events that offer the opportunity to bet in play can be found navigating through the tree bar on the left. A live ticker or similar is not available. Perhaps a bit too simplistic for my taste, but that’s perception after all, isn’t it?
Casino – Various Casino games are offered for real money and just for fun. Not my cuppa, but some punters might bridge the waiting period between sports events with a round of roulette or blackjack.
Betting Articles – A collection of betting articles about systems and reviews of major sports events. It seems customized for our friends across the Pond… unless you fancy MLB, NBA and Yanks and Canucks using their hockey sticks for a nice beat-up on the ice.
Services Score out of 10 – 8.
3. Payment Methods
As a truly international bookie, Pinnacle offer a range of deposit and withdrawal methods – Bank Wire Transfer, Skrill (ex-Moneybookers), ClickAndBuy, NETELLER, Credit Card, NETELLER (1-PAY), Delta Debit Cards, POLi, EntroPay, Virtual Card, Przelewy24, Instant Bank Transfers, Sofortüberweisung, Maestro/Switch Debit Cards, Visa Electron, Moneta and WebMoney…. what a list!
Payment Score out of 10 – 9.
4. Offers
Pinnacle Sports offers a bonus that’s not really a bonus. Instead of a sign up or reload bonuses, Pinnacle Sports was the first sportsbook to introduce what’s called a reduced margin pricing model (they also call it reduced “juice”, but why…?). A saving like that would compute into a 10% bonus, but it should pay off in the long term.
I think this is consistent with the idea of Pinnacle as a no-frills, almost industrial bookie.
Offers Score out of 10 – 7.
5. Summary
Pinnacle Sports offers a good coverage of all possible sports events, fantastic odds and reduced juice thingy. In case you’re serious about sports betting (excluding the horse and greyhound races) then you’ll know that their offers are hard to top. Live-bet offers however are a bit meagre. On the plus side though, you have to love their “winners are welcome” philosophy.
Summary Score out of 10 – 8.
Thanks again Nathalie, you’re as thorough as ever!
For me, the only real sticking point with Pinnacle is the silly nonsense with not doing horse racing! I am a huge fan of their no-frills/high-value approach though. They are a total breath of fresh air.
I know you’re still toasting by the pool sweetie, and I will be back with you in Larnaca soon! Plus it is actually quite sunny, for once, here in the UK!…. Well, sort of similar to Cyprus anyway
Lx
Is Pinnacle down? Can’t connect !
Can’t connect either. Very unusual. X