Betstar shutters virtual doors – moves customers to Ladbrokes
Betstar.com.au was founded by Alan Eskander in Australia, however was sold to Ladbrokes Coral in 2014, and eventually customers were merged into the Ladbrokes.com.au URL in February 2023. This means the Betstar bookmaker now has a sign up directing customers to Ladbrokes, where their accounts have been migrated. Ladbrokes.com.au parent company is now Entain, which is one of the largest gambling companies in the world.
Betstar.com.au review
Editors note: We have left the Betstar.com.au review up for historical purposes.
Betstar might not be one of the most well-known online bookmakers in the Australian gambling scene, but they provide a great service to many punters. Betstar has been online since 2007 and is based out of Darwin in the Northern Territory. Our Betstar review will teach you everything you need to know about this well-established Australia betting site, that is owned by the same group as Ladbrokes and Neds.
Betstar sign-up offer for new customers
Unfortunately Betstar does not have a sign-up free bet or bonus offer available in 2022, because of local laws which essentially outlaw this type of promotion. This lack of Betstar free bet is unlikely to change in the immediate future, given Australia’s strict stance on sign-up offers.
While this no longer available, in the past Betstar have had sign-up bonus offers available; the most recent one was a matched $100 sign-up offer. This excluded punters in NSW, VIC, WA and SA.
To take advantage of this New Customer Bonus Bet it was a simple process taking two minutes to open a new Betstar account and quote the exclusive promotional code BS_WELCOMEOFFER. The Australian Gambling List will keep you up to date when there is movement on the bookmaker free bet promotions that become available. It requires a change in laws for these to become active again.
Betstar sports betting review
Betstar has a huge selection of sports both in Australia and overseas to wager on, including all of the mainstays of the Aussie landscape such as the AFL, NRL and A-League. These Australian-based leagues have great emphasis placed on them and you will find more markets based off these competitions than any others.
Betstar also covers international sports extensively with competitions such as the NBA and NFL front and centre when they are in-season. These competitions generally have as many markets as popular Aussie sports, even though they are US-based. It’s a similar story for popular football leagues such as the EPL (in England) and the La Liga (in Spain) with Australians betting on these competitions extensively.
It’s undoubtedly true that Betstar has a similar vibe to parent company Ladbrokes these days, with even their betting apps employing the same software. This is not necessarily a bad thing, with Ladbrokes one of the top betting sites in Australia. However it does mean that they not have that much of a point of difference to Ladbrokes any more – including their odds which in our experiences exactly mirror each other.
The odds at Betstar are competitive with other betting companies, with three out of four races we checked against Sportsbet and Ladbrokes coming out ahead. They are also known for taking on bigger punters, which is something that can’t be said about some of their competitors.
Betstar mobile betting review
Mobile betting is available with Betstar apps for iOS, Apple Watch and Android devices so whatever your platform, they make it easy to enjoy the experience of betting online with one of the country’s top bookmakers.
Betstar’s mobile betting is as you would expect for a site that is in the same stable as Ladbrokes — outstanding. While writing our Betstar mobile review, we found that everything you would find on their desktop website you can access via smartphones and tablets.
The navigation on Betstar mobile is strong with the landing page boasting easy access menus to popular punting sports such as racing and the AFL, while it also includes the next popular races to jump from all over the globe and upcoming sports. The full selection of sports betting options is accessible via the hamburger menu at the top of the mobile website.
Betstar.com.au deposit options
There are plenty of deposit options at Betstar including Poli and PayPal. Then when it comes to withdrawing from your Betstar account, the new Betstar Card is hard to beat! The Betstar Card allows customers to instantly access the funds and winnings in their account and turn them to immediate cash in hand or pocket without a worry.
Betstar have a low minimum deposit of just $10 and a minimum bet of only 50c when betting from the website or app, so if you just fancy a quick flutter there’s no need to lay down more than you want.
Full list of Betstar payment options:
Betstar.com.au history
Betstar.com.au was founded by well-known Australian racing family the Eskanders (Alan and Michael) in 2007 in Melbourne, Australia, although the bookmaker has long been licensed in the Northern Territory.
Alan Eskander followed in his father’s footsteps by entering the bookmaker industry, after his father immigrated to Australia from Egypt in the 1960s. His father was a mad punter and eventually secured his bookmaker licence in 1984.
Alan, while studying commerce, had his first taste of bookmaking as an 18-year-old when he worked part-time for his father. The pair eventually decided to dive into a corporate business together, launching Betstar in 2006, and being named in the BRW as an emerging force.
The Eskanders sold Betstar to Ladbrokes Australia in 2014, with Alan Eskander saying at the time it was becoming increasingly hard to compete with overseas entities which have flooded the market.
“The environment has been changing quite dramatically over the past five years or so,” he said.
“Offshore bookmakers are coming into Australia and investing enormous amounts of money.”
Betstar continues to go strong in 2022 as a mid-sized bookie renowned for taking on punters, with their horse racing offering particularly strong.
Betstar eventually shuttered its virtual doors on February 23, 2023, when Ladbrokes Coral announced they were rolling the brand into Ladbrokes.com.au (Ladbrokes review).
This was the latest round of consolidation in the Australia bookmaker industry, following the swallowing of brands like BetEasy, Crownbet, William Hill and CentreBet, which were all fixtures on the local wagering scene.
Betstar review conclusion
A trusted name in the world of online sports betting, Betstar is also an approved betting operator for major sporting bodies down under including the NRL, AFL, Australian Rugby and Cricket Australia. Writing this Betstar review we were pleasantly surprised by how strong their offering was, while their odds were also competitive with more well-known betting brands. Betstar definitely excels in the horse racing area and they probably are in the top couple in terms of greyhounds odds. Overall if you are a serious punter, Betstar is a bookmaker you should be a member of, because they have some nice points of difference and a good reputation. If there was one criticism, it’s similar to other Australian bookmakers in that they don’t have Betstar sign-up offer, although this is through no fault of their own.
| Sign-Up Offers | Unfortunately Betstar.com.au no longer has a sign-up bonus available to Australians. |
| Deposit Options | Credit card (Visa & MasterCard), PayPal, BPAY, POLi, |
| Withdrawal Methods | Withdrawal through Bank Transfer, Betstar Card |
| Transaction fees | None |
| Currencies | Australian Dollar |
| Languages | English |
| Odds format | Decimal |
| Minimum deposit | $10 |
| Minimum bet | The minimum bet in all instances is 0.50c via website or app and $10 by phone. |
| Maximum payout | Per day and per sport Bookmaker can payout maximums between $10,000 and $50,000. For any racing wins, the maximum per day that a customer can be paid out is $100,000. |
| Deposit turnover requirements | 1x |
| Bonus credit turnover requirements | Bonus credit must be turned twice over and at 1.50 odds or greater and within a period of 90 days. |
| Bookmaker margin | 5.1% |
| Credit facilities | Members are able to start applying for credit facilities beginning at $200 up to a limit of $200,000 in the case of some VIP customers. |
| Forbidden Jurisdictions | Every customer is forbidden outside of Australia and New Zealand. |
| Mobile Friendly? | There is a mobile version of the website available in addition to apps for iOS, Apple Watch and Android devices. |
| Identity Verification | Betstar will make it relatively easy to verify your identity online if you are an Australian resident. If you provide them with a driver’s licence, Australian passport and/or forms that prove your name, address and age, you should be verified to make your first withdrawal. |
| Dormant account fees | None, but Betstar at their discretion can choose to close any accounts that are dormant for more than 6 months. |