If you’ve heard about Xpressbet but aren’t sure if you should take the plunge, worry not – we’ve got you covered. This online horse racing emporium has posted significant growth in the United States over the last few years, and quite a few punters have taken notice – and for good reason. Since 2002 and its low-key launch, it’s become an industry mainstay, which stands for plenty in today’s hyper-competitive racebook market place.
If you’re looking for the latest scoop on their deals, promotions, odds, races, or even what the mobile experience is like, you’ve come to the right place. In the review below we’ll be sure to leave no stone unturned – even their banking and customer support options are scrutinized and evaluated.
If you want to know what Xpressbet is all about, we suggest you keep reading…
Best site to bet horse racing online
Bonuses and Promotions
When it comes to bonuses, racebook sites can give online casinos a run for their money these days. Every site has a bonus that they’re willing to offer players, and Xpressbet is no exception. Starting with the welcome bonus, there’s plenty to get stuck into when you make a deposit.
$100 Welcome Bonus
Upon signing up for an account, Xpressbet offer punters a pretty generous $100 welcome bonus. This is conditional, of course – a deposit of equal or greater size is required within the first 30 days of signing up. Effectively, it’s a matched first deposit bonus, so you likely know the drill already, just make sure you use the code “100BONUS” when you deposit.
What might be a touch frustrating is actually getting your hands on the full $100, as you’ll need to deposit and wager $500 to do so, all within 30 days of registering. Don’t get us wrong, it’s still a great deal, but we feel this piece of information is a little too tucked away in the terms and conditions for our liking.
When you receive the Xpressbet welcome bonus, it is doled out in increments of $20. This makes it easier to use them on various bets. Since they’re site credit and not actual cash, you can’t turn around with withdraw them into your bank account – they have to be wagered for actual cash. The welcome bonus has a 30-day expiry, so you’ll need to move quickly to use it. While there are no wagering requirements listed on the site that we could find, but we’re pretty sure there will be one attached somewhere, so it might be worth delving deep.
Looking further into the terms and conditions of the deal, it’s the usual fair. It can’t be withdrawn, but any winnings obtained from using it can be. If you use Xpressfund to make the deposit, you’ll get an additional $25 as a thank you. For more information on Xpressfund, see the dedicated section further in this review.
Xpressbet Rewards
Xpressbet treats its loyal customers well. There is a robust rewards program that gives points for each dollar you spend. These points can be redeemed for wagering credit, and the amount you get increases when you bet on specially promoted races. Certain days also give points for money spent. For example, you’ll get five wagering points for each placed bet when you do so on their customer appreciation day. We encourage you to keep an eye on Xpressbet’s website for all the bonuses that will happen later in the year, as the site is gearing up for a big 2020.
$50 Referral Bonus
Of course, Xpressbet handsomely rewards those who refer new paying customers to their website. For each friend you refer, you are given an additional $50 in bonuses. Keep in mind, though – that person has to wager $100 within 30 days of signing up in order for you to qualify. The referred friend must not have be suspended or banned, and they have to complete an Xpressbet Friend enrollment form, which can be found on Xpressbet’s website. This seems like a lot, but don’t forget that there is no limit on how many times this bonus can be claimed. It pays to bring friends to Xpressbet, as it can keep the bonuses in full flow.
Race Specific Promotions
Xpressbet really does push the boat out with its promotions, as it knows how to get punters excited about the races coming up. How they do this is actually pretty simple, they tie-in many promotions with the biggest horse racing events of the year, and even for some weekly meets. For example, the 1 Million Point Exacta Split for Santa Anita Park races like the La Canada Stakes and Las Cienegas Stakes. Or, the Stronach 5, where every Friday Xpressbet boosts the points on offer by 5x. Sometimes it’s the small details that show and that’s definitely the case with Xpressbet’s promotions offering.
Xpressbet Software
It’s evident upon logging onto Xpressbet’s website for the first time that they’ve invested quite a sum of money in making their platform look sleek and professional. Some horse racing sites invest so much stock into markets and promotions that they forget to make their website look decent. Xpressbet understands the importance of visual panache, and does not disappoint on that front.
The fresh-feeling customer experience is similarly robust. Signing up for an account only took a few minutes, and we were greeted with a robust array of different wagering options and choices. Regardless of your preference, there’s something for everybody here. Other horse racing sites, even some of the industry giants, could learn a thing or two from the Xpressbet UI – clean, simple and scrollable does the trick.
How to Navigate to Xpressbet
A feature that is relatively unique to Xpressbet is the wagering pad. There are three different ways to use this feature – Classic, Pro, and Wagerpage. The classic option is your safest bet if you’re new to horse racing and horse race betting. It provides an easy and accessible interface to place bets on tons of different horse races.
Once you feel comfortable with how things work, you might decide to move to the Pro option. It has lots of additional options, including a way to build and customize tickets without having to swap legs and finishing positions. It even allows you to place certain exotic wagers in just a click or two.
The Wagerpage is primarily for gathering information about different races, tracks, betting options, horses, and more. You can construct wagers and view different racecards all in one convenient app. This option is perfect for the data-crunchers out there.
If you aren’t sure which one is best for you, we encourage you to give them all a look.
Xpressbet Betting App
Every user that has signed up for Xpressbet’s website also has unfettered access to the mobile app as well. While some gambling websites lazily port their PC website to a mobile screen, Xpressbet has taken the time to create an interface specifically designed for your smartphone.
All of the normal features are available – deposit and withdrawals, live streaming, the wagering pad, and more. iOS and Android users can both download Xpressbet’s app for use, and your PC account is fully synced with the account you use on the PC as well. Just like the PC website, you have full access to more than 300 race tracks around the world.
Not quite sold on the Xpressbet mobile app just yet? Don’t worry, you can still bet here on the go, you just need to use a mobile browser to access the site instead.
Major Races Covered by Xpressbet
Xpressbet doesn’t lack for variety when it comes to horse race betting. There are a grand total of more than 300 tracks covered from six different countries around the world, and at any given time at least a few of these tracks are hosting a race.
You’re given the choice to bet on quarter horse, thoroughbred, and harness races. With so much variety and choice, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there is tons of information available on all the different races. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, so we encourage you to ease yourself in slowly.
Whenever a race is imminent, Xpressbet lets you know when the action is set to happen, so you can place your bets and watch the race unfurl. There are lots of options to filter tracks down by time, country of origin, race type, and more. These races are meticulously organized by post time, and the next races set to begin are placed at the very top of the screen for maximum visibility. If you select a track, you’ll be shown a live stream feed complete with betting odds and past race results.
If that wasn’t enough, making your wagers is simple enough too. On the left, there’s a large yellow button that is labeled “Wager.” Once you know what track you want to bet on, click it and you’ll be taken to a dedicated window where you can place your bet.
Great news! American punters have access to all of the UK’s most significant horse races. Xpressbet covers the five major races (Goodwill Festival, Grand National, Cheltenham Festival), as well as dozens of smaller but still exciting races. Some bookmakers might overlook the UK racing scene, but not Xpressbet, as they’re committed to bringing it to their members.
Odds at Xpressbet
As you’ve already seen, customers are able to bet on quarter horses, thoroughbreds, and harness racing at hundreds of tracks across the globe. There are tons of American and Canadian options, and you can also find tracks in France, New Zealand, and Australia as well. There are a limited number of UK- based options due to the large number of tracks that are currently in operation. Each track that can be bet upon comes with a wide range of different betting options and styles. Xpressbet lets you place standard wagers, as well as various kinds of exotic bets such as supertrifectas, picks 3-6, and multi-leg bets.
Before writing this review, we perused through some of Xpressbet’s various horse racing odds to get a feel for the website’s experience, and boy were we not disappointed. Unlike some of its competitors, Xpressbet offered competitive odds on some of the most popular horse races and tracks around the world. We saw particularly strong value on the race cards at Miami Valley and Santa Anita, and other locations produced quite favorable odds as well. To be fair, the odds weren’t always ahead of the competition, but for the most part the spread of odds was quite favorable.
What’s Great About Xpressbet
As we mentioned earlier, Xpressbet offers three different versions of their Wagerpad software – something that is an absolute plus point of betting here. Each kind of horse racing fan will find something that suits their taste, and from there they can wager on hundreds of different race tracks.
Xpressbet makes it easy to place wagers, but it also offers full live streaming of every race as it happens, which means that you can watch the action unfurl in real-time. All streams are in HD, and free replays are provided so as to enhance the bettor’s experience.
In case you were wondering, mobile betting is fully supported and makes this brand a real standout option. Specifically, when it comes to Android. Android users are probably aware of how little support their format gets from online gambling websites, so knowing that you’re supported should prove to you why Xpressbet is the best site for you.
What Can be Improved at Xpressbet
There is one major drawback at Xpressbet and that can be found within the site’s customer service, generally it’s very good, but the lack of live chat is a big problem. In 2020, nearly every major sportsbook has a live chat function, and there is a reason for this. Punters demand instant customer support and Xpressbet just can’t deliver that. If Xpressbet wants to take the next step it needs to add this feature sooner rather than later.
Banking
Xpressbet uses its own proprietary money managing service, Xpressfund. It was designed to be integrated dirctly into Xpressbet’s website, allowing for a safe, secure, and fast way of depositing and withdrawing your funds. Xpressbet allows you to use a wide variety of different services. Among them are PayPal, PayNearMe, checks, credit and debit cards, wire transfers, and Money Paks, although these aren’t the only ways to go about it. Bear in mind that not all of these methods are free – debit cards and wire transfers require a $5 service fee for use.
There are restrictions placed on some of the other methods as well. Wire transfers can only be performed when you’re depositing at least $250. If you’re withdrawing money, there are no fees required. If you’ve already made an Xpressbet deposit, you can directly link your bank account so that withdrawn funds are deposited directly into your account.
Customer Support
The hallmark of a good bookmaker – online or offline – is its willingness to support its customers when things go wrong. Sometimes, the way they treat customers during difficult times says more about them than anything else. Xpressbet offers a full staff of professional customer support representatives who are always on standby to offer you aid and information when it is needed.
At time of writing, Xpressbet offers all of its customers the option of sending an email or calling by the phone. Regrettably, live chat is not yet available, although there are plans to add it in the future apparently. We recommend looking at the FAQ section before contacting the team, since it’s quite likely that your question has been asked by other people in the past. You’ll find answers to questions on hardware requirements, banking, the rewards program, signups, and more.
If you need to contact Xpressbet’s customer support team, they can be contacted between 10:30am to 11:00pm EST (GMT -5). If you email them within this range, you also have a good chance of receiving a prompt reply. Xpressbet maintains a high level of security and discretion in all of its dealings, so you can trust that your sensitive financial information is kept safe and secure. All dealings are processed using encryption software that adheres to United States federal law. Your funds are held in a secured FDIC-insured bank, and Xpressbet does not use your money for anything – it will always be there when you want it.
The Bottom Line on Xpressbet
Xpressbet is a stellar offering when it comes to being an American racebook, as it pulls no punches when it comes to coverage. You’ll find that races from around the world are covered, with the UI being one of the more innovative we’ve seen in recent times. We’re also impressed by the bonus of offer, as the chance to get your hands on an extra $100 right out of the gate is a really nice touch.
Overall, Xpressbet is a really good racebook that’s certainly worth taking a look at.