MELbet Sports Review – How Does This Bookie Hold up
One of the most feature-filled sportsbooks available today on the European and Russian sportsbook market, is MELbet. Owned by Pelican Entertainment and operated by Exinvest Limited, this bookie is renowned for presenting its punters with many different markets, live stream services, and mobile accessibility. We have prepared an extensive review that will outline and explain the benefits and potential drawbacks of wagering at MELbet.
Licenses and Legal Recognition
MELbet conducts all its business activities while possessing a gaming license issued by the Government of Curacao. While the sportsbook itself isn’t the main license holder directly, the owner of the brand is (Pelican Entertainment). In this event, the owner company possesses a “master license” which allows it to grant “sub-licenses” to its own brands and other gaming businesses that host games of chance, online casino, sportsbook services, and any other form of online gaming that involves payments.
The Markets That Await You
As mentioned before, you will find many sports here. At this point, MELbet covers 53 sports, but given the history of development for the brand, it won’t come as a surprise if more are added in the future. In total, there are more than 4200 markets to bet on! As with any other bookie out there, almost half of the provided markets belong to Football, given the fact that it is the most popular sport in the world. Below, we have included some of the less popular sports you can find here:
- Chess, Bandy, Biathlon, Ski Jumping, Triathlon, Trotting, Crossfit, Surfing, Gaelic Football, Athletics, and much more
Live Bet Sports Markets
While this market section isn’t as plentiful as the regular one, the MELbet sports live action is still hot. Under live events, you will have the opportunity to wager on Football, Tennis, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Handball, Badminton, Baseball, Snooker, Horse Racing, Futsal, Billiards, and Grayhound Racing. Bear in mind, that in a number of countries some of those markets might be missing.
In addition to having in-play and pre-match markets, MELbet offers a multi live section where you can make your own page, by adding four or fewer events. This allows punters to make simultaneous bets on all of them and follow closely on their chosen events.
Event Streaming
A very useful feature provided by MELbet, is the ability to follow live sports events in real-time. Markets that have a currently live event, will have an orange “play” button; upon clicked on, the top right corner of the page will display a mall box which will have a live feed of the market in question. Bear in mind that your browser needs to have its “Flash” plug-in updated to the latest version, so it can display the event stream properly.
eSports Are Available
Just after the Live bets section, punters will find the eSports section. Here we found one of the most extensive compilations of computer and console games in ever presented by a bookmaker, as almost every eSports market here has a window which provides a live stream of the event. Among the most popular titles that players will enjoy wagering on are games such as Mortal Kombat, Quake 4, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and many others. On average, the eSports section features around 40 titles, with more than 140 active markets.
Get Your Welcome MELbet Sports Bonus and More
As a bookie with many features, the promotions here are many but let’s start with the welcome bonus. MELbet gives you the opportunity to receive a €30 free bet bonus. To claim this welcome promotion, there are several requirements that a punter needs to meet. First of them, is that they deposit a sum of €10 in their accounts. After they do so, MELbet requires that the punter place a bet which is the equal amount of the deposited sum on an event that has odds no less than 1.50. This is also known as the “qualifying bet”.
Additional Bonus Rules and Requirements
Players using e-wallets such as Neteller or Skrill, are not considered to be eligible for a free bet. Naturally the bonus offer is limited to one per person, and a qualifying wager must be made within 30 days after a deposit is made or the promotion will be void. This bonus cannot be used in a combination with other bonuses, and MELbet reserves its right to deduct, reclaim, or cancel any bets, bonuses or winnings, should any discrepancy take place.
Free bets can’t be sold, the bonus sum can’t be split into several smaller wagers and will be valid only 7 days after it is granted. Any winnings resulting from the free bet can’t exceed the amount of the granted bonus funds. The bonus money you receive as a part of your welcome offer, must be wagered 3 times in combination (accumulator) bets, every one of which will have to contain 4 events or more, with odds higher than 1.40.
MELbet Sports Mobile Bonus
You can score a sweet €10 free bet, should you decide to place your wagers using the native application provided for all types of Android and iOS mobile devices. The rules and conditions described above, apply to any type of free bets you are granted within the mobile application. While the amount of the app bonus isn’t that large, it certainly provides punters with an additional chance to make a win.
The First Deposit Match Bonus
MELbet gives new players a 100% match bonus up to $50 (or its equivalent in other currency) for their first deposit. Although the rules and requirements are similar to those depicted for the welcome and mobile bonuses, the rollover requirements for the match bonus is 5 times in accumulator bets, with at least 3 events in each. All those events must have odds more than 1.40, and the bonus needs to be used within 30 days after activation.
eSports and Cashback Bonus
Cashback is available as a bonus scheme, and it is readily included under the eSports bonus calendar section. The program is weekly, and percentages for the cashback sum vary between 10-20%. The game titles change daily, and so do the available markets; if allowed by the event, punters will be able to benefit from pre-match and live betting as well. The rules change every day, so make sure you stay informed.
Bet Types
While there are sport-specific types of bets, there are 5 general types of wagers you can make: single, accumulator, system, chain, and an Asian handicap. There are general rules that apply to all bet types, with some limitations depicted in the “rules” section of the website. For example, with an accumulator bet you will be allowed to include only one dependant outcome. If two or more dependant events are located in a system or accumulator bet, events with the least odds will be excluded. Other bets include:
- Total
- Time Interval
- Correct Score
- Half time – Match
- Result + Total Goals
- Home – Away
- Goal Minutes
- Points Bet
- Leader and Draw Duration
- and many others
Mobile Access Unlocked – Wager Everywhere with the App
One of the best features presented here, is the MELbet sports app. Available for both Android, iOS, and Windows, punters can use their mobile devices to get in on the action. The app itself is available for direct download from the website itself, and its simple interface features Sports, Live section, Toto, Favorites, Bet Slip information, and Personal Data information. As mentioned earlier, you can even benefit from bonuses exclusive to the mobile platform.
The PC App Makes Your Experience Smoother
If you like using your PC, the dedicated installer version will make your experience much smoother and faster. Pre-match and In-play betting becomes faster and also provides the ability to bet on TV games as well as on sports. The PC version of this sportsbook also offers deposit and withdrawal capabilities, so you can be sure that all MELbet sports features will be available to you at all times.
Banking Options – Deposits and Withdrawals
Just like every other feature this sportsbook has to offer, there are also a large number of methods you can use to top up your account or withdraw your winnings. There are currently 33 deposit methods, which include bank cards, e-wallets, mobile payment platforms, cash, e-currency exchangers, pre-paid cards, internet banking platforms, and cryptocurrency. The withdrawal methods might be only 21 in number, but they are useful as well nonetheless.
Here are the banking options you have: Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Yandex Money, Qiwi, WebMOney, Skrill, Toditocash, Moneta.ru, InterKassa, Jeton Wallet, Perfect Money, MTS, MegaFon, Beeline, Tele2, Neteller, EcoPayz, Comepay, Alfa-Click, Eps, Giropay, Sofort, Euteller, Epay.bg, Lobanet, Dineromail, Teleingreso, PaySafeCard, AstroPay Card, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin.
Cryptocurrency-Friendly
MELbet sports’ bitcoin purse is open, but not limited to that only brand of cryptocurrency. Perhaps one of the few bookies on the market, MELbet also accepts Litecoin and Dogecoin as a payment medium. From what we could determine, the deposited digital coin amount is exchanged for its corresponding currency. All cryptocurrency transactions do not have any type of deposit or withdrawal fees.
Some Countries are Restricted
Just like with most sports books, there are a number of countries that are prevented from playing due to restrictions in their legal system regarding sports gambling in general. The restricted countries featured in the about us section of the MELbet sports website, are as follows: USA, Switzerland, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, and few others. New punters are always encouraged to contact customer support to find out if they are eligible for creating an account.
In Conclusion
Over the last few years, MELbet has made quite an uproar in the sports gambling community by offering not only functionality, but outstanding variety as well. The rich amount of supported currencies and banking methods make it more than convenient for players from other countries to wager here. While there are some mandatory requirements and rules do apply, MELbet continues to be a preferred bookie among many punters online.