McBookie Review
Please note: This bookmaker cannot be recommended by us at the moment. Please choose an alternative from our best sports betting sites.
While some bookmakers look for world domination, McBookie – launched in 2009 – focuses on its roots by aiming to be the “number one choice of punters looking to bet on Scottish sport”. References to Scottish culture are visible throughout the site, from the name, to the blue and white colouring and the fact that the sportsbook prioritises the Scottish Premier League ahead of the more widely-popular English Premier League. The site offers sports betting and casino products and is fully licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission.
🥇 mcbookie | mcbookie |
⭐Rating | 4.0 / 5.0 |
🎲 Total number of games | 250+ |
💻 Software provider | NextGen Gaming, Big Time Gaming |
🎁 Welcome Bonus | N.A. |
⚖️Regulation | UK Gambling Commission |
🏆 mcbookie | Play Here! |
Players these days have bountiful amounts of choice when picking a sportsbook or online casino. So, this McBookie review will put the site to the test in order to see if it’s actually any good by analyzing the site’s product offering, bonuses, promotions, payment options, customer case, security and mobile experience.
Overview of Our Experiences
The primary focus of McBookie is undoubtedly its sportsbook, with the site offering markets on more than 27 sports, including popular ones like football and horse racing, through to lesser known ones like Gaelic hurling, table tennis and Aussie rules. The main ‘Sports’ tab covers pre-match and outright betting, while you can find live markets under the ‘In Play’ tab.
A decent online casino with over 250 games can also be found at McBookie, made up of 213 slot titles, 35 instant win games and 17 table games. As yet, there are no live casino games. The site makes use of a small selection of trusted software providers, including Williams, Big Time Gaming and SG Interactive.
Company: | Star Racing Ltd |
Address: | 325-327 Old Shoreham Road, Hove, BN3 7GS |
Registration number: | 009177 |
Regulation/license: | UKGC |
Phone: | +356 9994 5112 |
eMail: | support@mcbookie.com |
Live Chat: | 24/7 |
McBookie is fully licensed and regulated by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, meaning that it can legally operate in Britain. The site also has a strong customer support network, with players able to get in touch with a representative immediately via live chat or via email for less pressing matters. Live chat is available on the site 24/7.
McBookie Check: Scam or Not?
Gaining a licence from the UK Gambling Commission is a legal requirement for any sports betting or casino company looking to operate in Britain. This regulatory body make sure sites like McBookie aren’t scams in order to protect players from untrustworthy operators. To earn this licence, the site has shown it can pay out winnings bets, promotes responsible gambling, doesn’t have criminal connections, protects player data and offers players a fair and transparent gaming experience.
The site only accepts payment via debit and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard and Maestro) or via Bank Transfer and Cheque, and therefore ensures a strong level of security around finances. McBookie also promotes responsible gambling, including links to GamCare, GambleAware and GamStop on its site, while any player disputes can be passed on to IBAS (Independent Betting Adjudication Service) to help resolve any issues that may arise.
Summary of the Offers from McBookie
McBookie provides a huge range of sports markets to its players, with a particular focus on Scottish sporting action. Players can bet on more than 25 sports, while there’s also more than 250 casino games available for anyone looking for a change of pace, including slots, table games and instant win games. Over the next few sections of this McBookie review, we’ll take a closer look at the products the operator offers.
Online Casino
While the McBookie casino section isn’t huge, it does offer a nice, well-rounded selection of games. There are more than 250 games available to play in total, comprising 17 table games, 35 instant win games and 213 video slots. Games on this casino are provided by the likes of SG Interactive, Big Time Gaming, NextGen Gaming and Williams, meaning you find some familiar titles in the range.
For traditional casino fans, amongst the 17 table games available, players can find all the classics, including four roulette games, nine blackjack variants, Hi Lo Gambler, as well as casino pokers games including Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’em.
The instant win games, meanwhile, include an abundance of online scratchcard games (most of which are provided by NextGen Gaming), including Wild Rush Scratch, Medusa Scratch, Foxin’ Wins Scratch and the Robin Hood Scratch, amongst many others. As the name suggests, all of these games provide players with an opportunity to win prizes instantly.
The vast majority of games in the online casino are video slots, with 213 available to play at McBookie. Here you’ll find some of the most popular slot titles in the world, including Bonanza Megaways, the Zeus series, Rainbow Riches and Book of Gods, as well as some franchises that have been used to create fun themes, such as Monopoly, Subbuteo, King Kong and the Mask. As yet, McBookie doesn’t offer any live casino games to its players.
Sports Betting
In many ways, McBookie is like lots of other online sports betting sites out there: offering markets on dozens of major sports, with plenty of odds and bet types on each event. It’s unique selling point, though, is that prioritises Scottish sports ahead of all others. This means that when you click on the football tab, for example, you’ll be presented with the latest Scottish Premier League odds, unlike most other bookmakers which would lead with the English Premier League. Of course, players are still able bet on English and other international leagues, it’s just that you’ll have to root through the site a little more to find them. Indeed, McBookie actually lists the “Scotland Reserve League 2” ahead of the Premier League.
Even with the “Scottish-first” approach, the sportsbook is very well organised and easy to navigate. A full list of sports can be found down the left side of the page, with the upcoming sports featured on the main sports page, with priority typically given to the latest horse racing and football action.
Poker
While McBookie doesn’t offer a player-to-player poker client, there are a couple of casino poker games for players to try out, including Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Three Card Poker, both of which are available to play on both mobile and desktop devices.
McBookie Bonus: Check Out the Offer (Scottish Residents Only)
For those entering the site from the England, Wales or Northern Ireland, players may be disappointed to see no McBookie bonus for new players. However, McBookie does provide access to the “Tartan Club”, which provides players with a £5 bonus if they spend £30 in a week, but only to Scottish residents. This is a controversial move, but an entertaining one and really shows the site’s commitment to Scottish customers.
For those lucky enough to reside in Scotland and get access to the Tartan Club, they must spentd at least £30 on bets in a week (all at odds of at least evens) in order to get a free £5 bet. This promo runs from Monday to Sunday, with bonus funds awarded the following Monday at 5pm and are valid for seven days. Qualifying bets for the offer must be single, each-ways or accumulators.
Deposit Bonus: | N.A. |
Bonus Condition: | N.A. |
Validity: | N.A. |
Other promotions: | N.A. |
There is one offer for non-Scottish players, though: Coupon Buster. This is a cashback offer in which if your football accumulator is let down by just one team, you’ll get your bet refunded as a bonus up to £25. The minimum stake to qualify for this offer is £5, while bonuses will be awarded on the day following the completion of your bet. This offer is available only on pre-match accumulators and not on in-play markets.
Other than that, promotions at McBookie are limited, with no casino bonuses currently available to players, regardless of whether you’re Scottish or not. The site used to provide more promotions when it was part of the BetVictor group, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll return with more offers in the future. To find out about operators with great deals, read our guide to the best offers.
Deposit and Payout on the Site
Payment methods are very limited at McBookie, with this site only accepting payments from players via MasterCard, Visa, Maestro, Bank Transfer or a good old cheque. Players can deposit on the site by clicking on the ‘Account’ section and then clicking ‘Top Up’. The minimum deposit amount is set at a satisfyingly low £5. Sadly, PayPal isn’t currently a permitted payment option on this site.
Payment Options at McBookie | |
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Deposit options: | Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Bank Transfer, Cheque |
Minimum deposit: | £5 |
Fees: | N/A |
Accepted currency: | GBP, EUR |
Payout options: | VISA, MasterCard, Maestro, Bank Transfer, Cheque |
Withdrawals are expected to be made via the same method you deposited. Impressively, there are no upper or lower limits for withdrawing funds, but if you would like to withdraw over £20,000, you should contact the company to discuss how best to withdraw the funds, as they may need to be staggered into multiple payments. Withdrawals are processed in between two and five days at McBookie, before being handed over to your relevant payment provider.
There is a £500,000 cap on any prizes that can be won on sports in a single day at McBookie, although the maximum pay out on major football bets is £100,000. Maximum pay outs on lesser known events and sports can be lower, with the full list shown in the site’s terms and conditions. You’ll also be alerted on the bet slip if your bet is likely to be capped.
Security and Regulation
Players can rest assured that we have found during our McBookie review that it is a safe and trustworthy sportsbook and online casino due to the fact that it is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. To get this licence, McBookie has had to prove that is a fair and responsible operator, one that separates player funds from operational costs, can pay out all winning bets, protects player data, has no connections to crime, doesn’t target vulnerable players and doesn’t manipulate the outcome of casino games.
All of the McBookie casino games, regardless of software providers, make use of random number generators (RNGs) in order to determine the result. This means that neither the site nor the provider can control the result of any single spin, and therefore provides players with a truly random and fair result on all games.
128-bit SSL technology is used on the site to protect player data from hackers by encrypting all information so that it can’t be read by third parties. For any disputes with the site, players can contact Independent Betting Adjudication Services (IBAS) who will provide an impartial solution to any dispute, which McBookie is required to follow.
Customer Support
McBookie provides customer support to players 24/7, with users able to get in touch with the site quickly and easily using the live chat function by clicking on the green ‘Help’ tab in the bottom corner of the site. Representatives tend to be knowledgeable and respond quickly to any questions you may have, while players can also look up information about the site in the FAQ section which is linked next the account section. For less urgent matters, players can also contact the company via email and expect a response within 24 hours.
Usability of the Online Casino
While McBookie is an attractive and well laid out sportsbook and casino, the casino section can be quite slow to load, especially when opening games. However, this is only a mild problem and shouldn’t deter players from a site that provides an otherwise excellent user interface.
Casino players can find their favourite games by using the search bar or by filtering games into the table games, slots and instant win categories and sorting them by recommended or top-rated titles, or by listing them in alphabetical order.
The sportsbook is superbly designed, with all the available sports listed down the left-hand side of the page. Upcoming horse racing and football events are generally found on the main sport page, with players easily able to switch between events and sports. A separate ‘In Play’ section can be selected at the top of the page, leading you to the latest live events, making it very easy to bet on.
McBookie App: Mobile Betting Experience
An excellent McBookie app for sports markets is available for players to download for free on their iOS or Android device. This provides players a native app in which they can manage all of their bets and keep a tab on the latest odds without having to use their browser. Unfortunately, the site hasn’t yet produced a mobile casino app to go alongside its sports products.
However, if you don’t want to download the app, players can also enjoy a solid gaming experience using the fully-responsive McBookie website through their browser. By using the mobile site, players can also use most of the casino games, with a small phone icon marking which games are available on all devices.
Conclusion: Scotland’s No.1 Online Sports Betting Site
If you’re Scottish, you’ll surely love McBookie – especially with the £5 Tartan Army bet club bonus that is available only to residents in Scotland. What’s more, the site prioritises Scottish sports action above all others. For those not in Scotland, the site is still very good, although there is a real lack of bonuses available, with the only promotion currently being the Coupon Buster which acts as football accumulator insurance if your bet is let down by just one selection.
The sportsbook has been excellently designed and looks fantastic. It works well across all devices and is also very safe to use, thanks to its UKGC licence. The online casino could do with a little work as it is rather small in selection and when we carried out our McBookie review, it was a little slow at times, but that shouldn’t take away from the excellent sports betting product it provides. Check out some other great sites here if this operator just doesn’t do it for you.
Enjoy gambling responsibly. Set limits on time and money spent, and never gamble more than you can afford to lose. Remember, gambling is for entertainment, not a way to solve financial problems. If you feel your gambling habits are becoming a concern, seek help from organisations like BeGambleAware or GamCare.
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