Summary

As a massive sports betting fan, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't seen mixed reviews about PointsBet and their unique betting system. Still, seeing is believing, or betting is...something... So I was eager to test the sportsbook out to find out for myself. To get the low-down on this sportsbook I used their New Jersey site on my Android smartphone, although I will also cover the other states where it is currently live and whether there are any differences between them that you need to know about.

Why Should You Choose PointsBet?

PointsBet joined the US market back in 2019 and rapidly grew in popularity by cropping up across various states with legalized sports betting. The site itself is neatly put-together, with a no-fuss look and plenty of information to help you get started.

The most unusual thing about PointsBet is their unique use of PointsBetting wagers. Of course, they still offer the basic stuff: you can stick to traditional fixed odds wagers, with all of the markets and bet types that you’ll have seen elsewhere.

However, PointsBetting wagers are a new addition that appeal to those looking for more of a thrill. I should point out that the site describes this as a “high-risk, high-reward form of betting”. Basically, instead of placing a fixed stake at certain odds, your wins or losses are based on how right or wrong you are. The closer you are to the right result the more you win, but the further away you are the more you lose. You never know exactly how much you'll end up with until the whole event comes to an end.

PointsBet explains this while offering a calculator that breaks the system down for you. Here's a quick example:

• You bet $10 that the total points of the New York Knicks will be over 150 points.
• If we imagine the game ends at 160 points, high-level math skills determine that your bet has exceeded the predicted game score by 10 points (160 - 150 = 10, shockingly).
• As your bet is $10, you're looking at 10 X 10, or $100 profit.

A nice profit, but as you may have noticed, if the game ends below the bet at 140 points, this would be flipped and you'd be - 10 below the bet, which is a $100 loss.

It sounds a bit weird if you are used to traditional sports betting, but I was excited to give it a try. After so many years of placing standard-format bets, trying this approach that no other bookies seem to offer had me itching to get started.

For sports that they offer bets on, there's less of a bias towards the big games that we usually see on online sportsbooks. As PointsBet is an Australian company, I'm not sure if this is some kind of payback, but when I dug deeper I found enough NBA and NFL bets to keep even a diehard fan like me happy. I liked that the site led me into exploring other sports and discovering obscure games that I might not have seen otherwise.

Bonuses

As a new player on any site, I'm naturally going to look at the welcome bonuses to see if they're giving me anything good to play ball with. With PointsBet, the starting offer is for not one but two risk-free bets. The first part of this deal is that you get a refund of up to $500 given to you in free bets if you lose your first wager on fixed odds. This is the same offer I’ve seen plenty of times on other sites like FOX Bet and Unibet, but PointsBet goes further by giving you a refund of up to $1500 on your first PointsBetting Wager.

It is a great way to encourage us to try the PointsBetting approach, and it adds up to a neat bonus that is a bit stronger than what is offered by most rival sites. The free bets are also given to you within 24 hours, which is quicker than many other sportsbooks. The welcome offer has fairly standard T&Cs, with nothing there, in particular, to worry about.

As for their ongoing promotions for existing members, free bets and odds boosts are among the most common deals. Many of the deals are on NFL games, with soccer also included at the time of checking. I particularly like the parlay boosters they offer, as this is a way to place more interesting wagers, although they are more difficult to win. The boosters were all on specific outcomes that I wasn’t so sure about, but I guess it makes sense to check for them now and then.

Depositing and Withdrawing

The deposit methods offered by PointsBet are pretty standard, with no major surprises in terms of those that are included and those that are left out. A few more eWallets options like Skrill would be good, but the fact that there are a few cash options in some states helps to make up for that. The states with cash options are NJ, IA, and IL, so if you live anywhere else you will feel a bit limited in your options for depositing.

• PayPal
• PayNearMe
• Online banking
• ACH / eCheck
• Credit / Debit card (credit card not accepted in IA)
• Cash options (vary by state)

If you get your wagers right and win money, you can take it out a limited number of ways, as shown below. Again, it isn’t an extensive choice, but those people who live in NJ, IA, and IL have at least got a cash option to use.

Withdrawal method	Expected time
Paypal	Up to two business days
Online banking	Up to two business days
ACH / eCheck	Up to two business days
Cash options	Up to 24 hours processing time

You might struggle to find much information about withdrawal limits on the Pointsbet site. This will vary depending on the payment method, but it's disappointing that cash withdrawals offer the fastest processing times, with other options going up to five days. Other sportsbooks will process them a lot quicker for you but to be fair, others are slower so this operator falls somewhere in the middle.

When you decide to join up, the process for doing so is as short as I had hoped it would be. I just had to fill in a few details, including the last four numbers of my SSN for verification purposes. A responsible gambling section allows you to set your own limits and self-exclude if you ever need to take a break.

I found this site easy to use and the experience was good but not remarkable. The main issue is with the banking methods, which are limited in number and with slower withdrawals than I would like to see. However, overall these complaints don’t stop it from being a good place for bettors to try.

The Mobile App

The PointsBet home page has links to the Google Play Store and the App Store, where you will find the apps to download. The app can be used in any state, and you just have to let it check your location so that you are authorized to play in the right state.

This mobile app is neatly laid-out, and that makes it easy to place any type of bet. I can’t really see any big differences from the desktop site. So you only need to decide whether the app suits your life better than going online at home. Betting apps always have mixed reviews, as a lot of people will use this chance to complain about a variety of issues. Yet, PointsBet has a good overall score for both Android and iOS, based on a large number of reviews.

Betting Options

The fact that you can place fixed odds bets or use their PointsBetting system immediately makes this a more varied sportsbook than most others. I worried that this might have made it more confusing, but the betting process is nice and straightforward. Look for the sport or the event you are interested in first of all, and then you will see all of the options open to you.

Once you are in the game, you will see a decent variety of markets. I went into an NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild, where I saw lots of bet types split into categories like wire to wire, totals, player goals, and the different periods. If you know more about hockey than me, you’re going to find some interesting ways to use your knowledge on these wagers.

I liked the quick parlay option, as this lets you build parlays with no delay. There is also a "Name a Bet" feature where you can request a specific bet, and PointsBet's traders will give you a price. Does this sound familiar? That's because this feature has taken inspiration from SkyBet's "RequestABet" feature that offers the exact same thing. Rising to immense popularity in the UK, SkyBet's feature allows players to request odds for all sorts of complex or alternate bets, letting bettors make use of their own insights to get official odds for accumulators and single bets in return. It's no wonder that this is something PointsBet wanted to build into their sportsbook.

Beyond that, the deals they have on the promotions page are interesting and you really should check out everything they have to offer. The likes of odds boosts are good at giving you extra value, so you don’t want to miss out on any of them.

Live betting is available, with the live streaming option letting you watch the action as it goes on. Partial cash-out is allowed, which isn’t something I’ve seen offered in many online sportsbooks, and it is easy to sort out too.

Odds Comparison

My point about PointsBet being a middling operator remains relevant. They compete well in some betting markets but not so much in others. If we look at their poorest areas, you won’t find a great deal of value on NFL spreads or any NHL matches. Hockey fans will definitely feel as though they have been frozen out when they see that this site has pretty poor odds for them.

What are the best sports and markets to bet on with this operator? They are competitive in the NBA but they're not leading by any margin. It's with NFL moneyline bets that I can see most value, and if you have enough knowledge of the teams in this league to make a parlay bet with boosted odds then the value is cranked up another notch.

What Other Betting Products Do They Offer?

PointsBet has introduced its casino product in a couple of states, and it looks like they're going to roll this out elsewhere whenever they can. Their casino has a good collection of table games, as well as slots and live dealers that are live-streamed onto the screen. Video poker is available in the online casino, but there is no sign of a dedicated poker tab or other products like daily fantasy leagues being added to the sportsbook.