Bodog.eu Review – Best Canadian Gambling Site
www.bodog.eu is a Canadian gambling site that offers sports betting, a racebook, online poker and casino games from the same website. If you’re from Canada, chances are great you’ve seen their many advertisements. Some of these include Canadian Football League (CFL) sponsorship and television ads for their poker room. They also have an exclusive Sportsnet branding deal with nationally syndicated radio and television show Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown. In this article I’ll provide an in-depth review of their offers and comment on their history.
Online Sportsbook
The Bodog sportsbook is in our opinion one of the best on the market for Canadians staking $500 or less per wager. Understand this is not a professional betting site catering to high rollers. If you want to bet thousands or tens of thousands per game look to Pinnacle Sports instead. For everyone else they are ideal.
Their offers start with a 100% up to $100 (CAD) initial deposit match, paid as free play credits. When you register you’ll find it’s very easy to deposit and claim this bonus. Accepted deposit methods include direct e-check deposits from all Canadian banks, Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards, and Interac e-Transfer. Simply register an account, deposit at least $100 and you’ll receive a $100 free bet. The only string attached is you’ll need to wager your deposit plus bonus amount 3 times prior to cashing out.
Betting Markets
When it comes to markets offered Bodog scores a solid B+ grade. You’ll find all major sports leagues are covered such as NHL and international hockey, NFL, NCAA, CFL, UFL and Arena football, NBA, WNBA, NCAA and international basketball, MLB baseball, and soccer matches from all over the globe. They also take bets on racing competitions including Formula 1, NASCAR, INDY, and MotoGP and fighting such as UFC, Boxing and other MMA competitions. Of course, they also cover tennis and golf and sports popular in other parts of the world. These include Rugby League, Rugby Union, Cricket, Darts, Snooker, Athletics, Cycling, Gaelic Games, Winter Sport and Wrestling. It’s even possible to bet on the results of poker tournaments, world events and reality TV.
Live Betting and Mobile Betting
Two of the most popular features of the Bodog.eu sportsbook are live betting and mobile betting. The first gives you the opportunity to wager games while they’re in play. For hockey this is the ability to bet on which team will win the match and will the total goals be over or under. In some cases you’ll also find props such as which team will score the next goal. For football there are many markets available in-play. You can bet not only the point spread, total and moneyline, but also the result of the next play, drive, or series and a plethora of additional props. The same is true with baseball you can bet on the results of each pitch, or at bat, or on many additional markets.
As far as mobile betting goes, the Bodog sportsbook automatically detects the device you are accessing it from, and renders you the proper platform. This sportsbook works better on Android, iPhone, Nokia, Blackberry, iPad and other smart phones and tablets than all other online betting sites.
Understanding the Bonus Offer
Although this is sincerely our favorite online sportsbook, it is far from perfect. One thing to be aware of is their $100 bonus is a free play and not a cash bonus. The difference here is say you bet the Habs at +110 in a hockey match and use your $100 free bet. When you win $110 is added to your account, and $100 free play stake isn’t. This is because a free play once bet is gone; you can’t use it again.
To explain, I’ll discuss www.bet365.com and their welcome offer. Here the bonus is 100% up to $200 cash. If you were to bet $100 of your bonus at +110 and win you’ll get back $210 ($100 stake + $110 win). So while free bets are nice, understand the Bodog.eu bonus greatly trails what Bet365 offers. However, when compared to what most other “reputable” betting sites offer it does rank #2.
We warn to be careful of the many scam sites on the net that offer massive bonuses. These are generally scams targeted at the US and many of these sportsbooks do not pay.
Bodog Utilizes a Dual Pricing Model
Another issue bettors should be aware of is the fact Bodog uses a dual pricing model. When you first sign up you’ll find they shade the lines heavily towards the popular teams. For example, in baseball the Yankees are generally a fan favorite. What happens is they’ll offer very poor odds on the Yankees and what might even be +EV odds on their opponents. In the early going it is possible to exploit this by betting less popular teams. However once they catch on that you have a clue, which doesn’t take long at all, they will change you over to straight odds that are closer to what most other betting sites offer. When discussing this on forums, this is generally referred to as “square odds” and “sharp odds”, but understand even with the sharp odds you can still find plenty of profitable bets.
Not Ideal for High Rollers
The only real complaint I have about Bodog Canada is their betting limits. Most accounts start off with a maximum risk amount of $500 per bet. If you beat them for considerable cash, and your wagering history shows this was more than just luck, expect your limits will get cut quickly. Bodog in my opinion is one of the most trustworthy betting sites on the market, will always pay, but is not a site you win hundreds of thousands of dollars from. Eventually when you win too much they might limit you down to $100 or $200 max bet per game, or even less. The same is true all over the industry. If you’re looking for a site that never gives personal limits and takes massive bets, the most viable option is www.pinnaclesports.com.
Other Gambling Offerings
One of the most popular offerings outside of sports betting is poker.bodog.eu. You can use the same account balance for sports, casino, poker and horse race betting. While Bodog is a Canadian gambling site, they share brand names and a poker network with several other sites. One such company is Asian Bookie Bodog88.com. This website attracts many casino and sports bettors from China, Thailand, and Malaysia that have next to no experience with online poker. This leads to some of the softest internet poker games that can find online as Bodog.eu and Bodog88.com both share the same software and player pool.
Another reason the poker games are soft is because this network does not use user names. When you sit down at a table you’ll be identified only by a number (examples: Player1, Player2). These numbers change each time you take a seat. The real benefit here is it renders tools such as PokerTracker, Poker Table Rankings, and others useless. It’s not possible for the sharks to datamine to identify, hunt and beat up on the fish. This gives recreational players a much better chance at winning, and also is another reason the games are soft. You’ll be hard pressed to find any online poker room with games easier to beat than you’ll find here.
In addition to poker there is a racebook that covers North American and Australian horse racing. Additionally, you’ll also find an online casino that has many unique bonuses and promotions. While the casino is based off Real Time Gaming (RTG) software, for all intents and purposes it is proprietary. Many modifications have been done to the software to increase the odds and to make the game more enjoyable.
Banking Options
Bodog is Canada’s most advertised gambling site. For this reason it should come as no surprise all betting accounts are offered in Canadian dollar, and all the payment options are Canadian friendly. The methods available for deposits are covered below.
Instant E-Check Payments
This is the easiest way to deposit to your betting account. As you can see from the image shown right, all the major banks are supported. This includes BMO, Western Bank, CIBC, Coast Capital, Credit Union Atlantic, Desjardins, HSBC, Libro Financial, National Bank of Canada, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust and Vancity. When you’re brand new, you’re given a $500 limit for this deposit option. As checks clear this limit is reset. After several cleared checks your limits will be raised as trust is built. To start you can deposit as little as $20 and as much as $500 with Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) instant e-check payments.
Interac e-Transfer
This service formerly known as Interac Email Money Transfer has been available at Canadian banks since 2003. It’s supported by the major banks including BMO, CIBC, Royal Bank, Scotiabank, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Canada Trust). From the cashier you’ll find the email, first name, last name, secret question, secret answer and message required to complete the Interac e-Transfer. Understand it takes between 3 to 20 hours from your account to be credited when using this method. The limits for Interact transfer are $20 min / $1000 max per transfer
Credit Card
Another way to deposit is credit or debit cards. Bodog accepts both VISA cards and MasterCard. Be however warned that many banks and credit card companies do not like credit cards being used for online gambling. You’ll find on occasion your card gets frozen and your credit card company will call to ask if the transactions are legit. Nothing much comes of this, but needing to verify details with the bank can get be quite an annoyance.
Bodog Payouts
Bodog payouts are done with your choice of paper check by courier or wire transfer. When getting payouts by check the first one each month is free. The maximum issued per check is however $3,000 (CAD). If you request an amount over this it will be split up into multiple checks. Each check will be sent 5-7 business days from the last with the second one on incurring a fee of $50.00 per. The first check takes 5-10 business days to receive.
When requesting a wire transfer payout the limit is $9,500 (CAD) per wire. The processing time is 5-10 business days and each cost $50.00. You can request a higher amount but it will be split into multiple wires with each one coming in 10-12 business days and each incurring a $50.00 fee. While the payout policies are reasonable, understand again Bodog is not a website for high rollers.
Bodog Promotions
The promotions here are many. As mentioned new players are welcomed with a 100% up to $100 initial deposit match paid as free play credits. They also have a 100% up to $1,000 poker bonus, and a $200 casino bonus. It however doesn’t stop there. You’ll find all sorts of promotions for the Stanley Cup playoffs, and also season long NFL promos. As the other promotions change on a regular basis, it’s best to visit their website to find details of current offers.
Bodog Canada History
Understand Bodog.eu is NOT the same company that previously ran Bodog.com, which is no longer in business as a gambling site. Also understand they’ve never been owned by the other company’s founder Calvin Ayre. They are simply a well-respected Canadian only gambling site that launched in 2009, and licensed the Bodog name for leverage.
For many years the original Bodog did not accept Canadians. When they came to the market in 2009, they were established as their own separate business entity. The processing is 100% unique. What I mean by this is the company ownership and payment processing between Bodog.eu and Bodog88.com are not the same. Each company sharing the same brand name does however have similarities. The old Bodog leases the casino software and betting software to some of the brands. Bodog88 owns the poker network, and some of the features between each company are unique and proprietary. In short: different companies, risk management, and payout departments for each. Of all the brands, bodog.eu is by far our favorite. It is a very strong product in the Canadian market.