JustBet is a run-of-the-mill sportsbook that is still trying to figure out the online world. Overall, the book is good but it’s hard to laud them for anything in particular.

For new school bettors, they’ll find a slow, out-of-date website that is sometimes down for prolonged periods of time. For old school bettors, they’ll find a sportsbook that doesn’t have phone service 24/7/365 like almost every other sportsbook on the net.

They are a secure book, they have decent bonuses and you won’t get shenanigans here, but considering their best quality is something we expect standing at any place we bet, this sportsbook can’t be described as any better than just a recreational spot.

1. Who Bets Here

This sportsbook is strictly for the recreational players. Their lines are generally slower to come up in comparison to the industry norm, their website lags and their phone service is open around the clock. If you’re look for the early edges, you won’t find them here.

And while the sharps stay away, this is a decent spot for recreational players. If you’re just looking to place a bet an hour before game time and not worry about the safety of your money when you request a withdrawal, JustBet is fine for that.

Depositing
Western Union (fees covered on $100 or more)
Moneygram (fees covered on $100 or more)
Credit Card
Cashier’s Cheque
Bank Wire ($90 per bank wire)
Paste and Pay

Withdrawing
Moneygram
Cashier’s Cheque (one free per calendar month but minimum of cheque amount is $300)
Bank Wire ($90 fee - $3000 minimum withdrawal)

2. Customer Service

It’s hard to argue with JustBet’s customer service – that is one thing they do well. Their staff is knowledgeable and the live chat has its typical slow-but-decent usefulness.

The real knock here is the fact that you can’t contact this sportsbook whenever you want. Unlike the best books on the net, JustBet is only open from 10:00 AM ET – 2:00 AM on Monday – Friday, and just 8:00 AM ET – 2:00 AM ET on the weekends.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal but you have to dock points because their hours of contact are below the industry standard.

Methods of Contact
Phone
E-mail
Live chat

3. Placing A Bet

Place a bet at JustBet is a rather easily process but it is a bit painful given the lag on their website.

Once you log in, you select the sport you want to wager on, which will present the list of lines for that area. Each line will have a box next to it, which you fill in with the amount you want to win. Oddly enough, you aren’t even given the choice whether you want to risk the amount or win the amount listed in the box, which can be annoying for bettors who base their bet amounts on what they lay and not what they expect to win.

Beyond that, you click continue, throw in your password and confirm. There’s nothing complicated here but the system is sluggish.

Methods of Betting
Internet
Phone

4. Variety

When we talk about variety, for a good sportsbook the conversation is whether or not they have live betting – or how much they have. Put it this way, JustBet is probably a good five years away from having a fully functional live betting platform.

JustBet is extremely limited in variety. To say this place is meat and potatoes is to say that they have a thin slice of roast beef and four French Fries.

JustBet will carry the main lines for the major sports and the sport specific futures to win the championship. That’s about it. When you log in, you might think you’ve made a mistake when you only see a total of five to 10 sections but that is the norm.

To give you an example, in late November, which is one of the busiest sports months, we found the following at a midnight on a Sunday:
NFL lines (and first halves)
Mens Tennis
College Basketball Futures (to win championship)
NBA Futures (to win Championship)
NHL Futures (to win Championship)
World Cup Futures (to win World Cup)
World Cup Props (Specific teams to qualify)

In total, we are talking about maybe 20 – 30 betting lines. Ouch. Some sportsbooks have nearly 20 sections whereas they barely had more lines.

This is a place to literally bet the main lines. If you’re looking for exotics, if you’re looking for good futures, if you’re looking for live betting or if you’re looking for more than the major sports, you won’t find it here.

Limits
NFL Games: $1,000
NBA Games: $1,000
NHL Games: $1,000
MLB Games: $1,000

5. VIP Program/Loyalty Program

JustBet does not have a VIP or Loyalty program at this time.

6. Bonus & Rebate Program

One good thing about JustBet is their bonus program, which isn’t the best in the business but it does present some choices.

You can start with a big 45% free play bonus, which is a big amount but keep in mind that that is a free play bonus and not a cash bonus. The other downside to it is that an eight-time rollover is attached, which is significantly higher than the industry standard for rollovers.

If you don’t want the big free play, you do have the option to get 10% cash back twice a year (at two set dates). The bettor’s insurance a good, fairly unique feature but keep in mind that you have to bet at least 40 of the 52 weeks out of the year to qualify.

Lastly, on re-ups you get a 15% free play deposit with a four-time rollover attached.

7. Website & Usability

When it comes to betting websites, JustBet is in the lower tier. When you first fill in your username and password to login, the takes a good five to 10 seconds before you hit the logged in state. In this day and age, that is slow. The best part is if you are inactive for a period of time doing research or answering a phone call (as little as five minutes when we tested), your session expires and you get logged out.

When you log in, you’re presented with a very basic screen with checkboxes. It’s fairly easy to use as you click on the selections you want, enter bet amounts and confirm.

While the usability is simple, again it’s worth emphasizing that the site is very slow. Ron Dayne slow.

Clicking on a selection may take up to five seconds until you are on the next page – five seconds before you even see a response from your browser. This was tested with several different browser using high speed internet, so this is clearly a problem across the board.

Beyond the fact that the action betting engine is slow, the main page is out of date. We found a “today’s matchups online” link taking you to a World Series preview nearly a month after the World Series was completed.

Overall, this site could use a serious overhaul. It’s fairly clear that there just wasn’t much care put into developing it and there hasn’t been much upgrading since.

8. Reputation

JustBet’s reputation is mixed as many new school bettors have been frustrated and developed a negative opinion where as old school recreational players don’t really have a problem with it.

They are a secure book and rarely play games with people’s money, which is why they hold a decent reputation. But they just don’t wow you in any particular way, which is why their brand has just been hidden in the middle of the pack.