Three sportsbooks hit the mile-high market from mid-August to early September 2021.
Sports Illustrated Sportsbook and MaximBet added a page to their brands by launching their first U.S. books in Colorado on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2, respectively. Tipico Sportsbook landed in the Centennial state on Aug. 19, its second venture after starting in New Jersey in December 2020.
All three have expressed intentions to expand. SI Sportsbook is eyeing Indiana, Iowa, and New Jersey in the near future. Within three years, SI Sportsbook aims for operation in upward of 15 legal jurisdictions. This, according to Daniel W. Dienst, executive vice chairman and chief strategy officer of Authentic Brands Group, owner of the Sports Illustrated brand, as reported by Mark Stenberg of Adweek.
Tipico’s next destinations are Indiana and Iowa. MaximBet recently added Ohio and Pennsylvania to its market access list that already included Indiana, Iowa, and New Jersey.
Here’s how the three books stack up:
MaximBet
Welcome offer: 100% deposit match up to $1,000
Availability: Desktop and mobile app
Sports catalog:
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Cricket
- Darts
- Football
- Golf
- Hockey
- MMA
- Motorsports
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Snooker
- Soccer
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
Additional promotions:
- Big Game Contest: 20 raffle tickets to win a four-person trip to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles that includes tickets to the game, roundtrip flights from any U.S. city, VIP tickets to the Maxim Big Game Experience, four hotel rooms for a three-night stay
- Max Rewards: Earn points for placing straight bets, live bets, parlays and making deposits
- It’s Over: Bet $10 on the “over” for markets selected by MaximBet and earn $1 for every point that goes over the mark
- The Long Ball: Bet $20 on a MLB team to win and if they lose, receive $10 for every home run hit by your selected team
- Heads You Win: Bet $20-$100 on a soccer match winner and if a goal is scored off a header, your total wager amount is refunded in credit if your bet loses
- Zero to Hero: Bet $5 or more on a five-leg NFL or college football parlay and receive 200% of your stake in free bets if every pick loses
- Perfect 10: Bet $10 on a 10-leg NFL or college football game parlay and if your ticket cashes, MaximBet will award your account with $10,000 in free bets. If you hit nine legs, get refunded 100% of your wager
To the Max
MaximBet’s additional promotional offers are superior to its competitors in this article, in both quantity and quality.
The welcome offer requires more explanation since it’s broken into four parts. The first deposit up to $500 is matched 100%. A second deposit within eight to 14 days of the first is matched up to $250. The third deposit within 15-21 days of your initial deposit is matched up to $125, as is a fourth and final deposit within 22-28 days of your first. The minimum deposit is $10.
To be eligible for subsequent deposit matches, your first deposit and match amount must be played through one time. A $10 deposit matched with $10 by MaximBet means you must wager at least $20 to satisfy the requirement. This applies to all four deposits.
MaximBet grants access online without having an account, so you can familiarize yourself with the platform before taking the plunge. The mobile app, unfortunately, prompts a login/join now screen that cannot be exited to browse the mobile book.
SI Sportsbook
Welcome offer: $50 in free bets when you place your first bet of $10. Minimum deposit $10
Availability: Desktop and mobile app
Sports catalog:
- Australian Rules
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Darts
- E-sports
- Football
- Golf
- Handball
- Hockey
- MMA
- Motorsports
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Soccer
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Volleyball
Additional promotions:
- Perfect 10: Correctly predict the outcome of 10 games selected by SI Sportsbook and earn a share of $10,000 if your picks go 10/10. Earn $1 for every correct pick if you’re not perfect
- Three and Win: From Fridays-Sundays, build a minimum three-leg parlay at $25 and win a $20 free bet if your parlay cashes
SI Summed Up
These are SI Sportsbook’s two current promotions beyond the welcome offer. Also listed under “promotions” are boosted odds parlays, same-game parlays, general boosted odds on single bets and a “Bet Feed” to view popular bets on SI Sportsbook.
People can access and browse the entire SI Sportsbook on desktop without having an account or being logged in. SI’s betslip on desktop and the mobile app doesn’t lag, passing the same test applied on Tipico (explained in the next section).
SI Sportsbook’s welcome offer is straightforward, with no wagering or play-through requirements attached to release potential winnings. Once you submit your first $10 wager on odds -200 or longer (i.e. -195, -150, +115, etc.), SI Sportsbook credits your account with five, $10 tokens once your bet settles. Your bet doesn’t have to win to receive the $50 worth of free bets. Once the free bets hit your account they expire after seven days.
Tipico Sportsbook
Welcome offer: First deposit matched 100% up to $750. Minimum $10 deposit
Availability: Desktop and mobile app
Sports catalog:
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Football
- Formula 1 Racing
- PGA Tour
- Hockey
- MMA
- NASCAR
- Soccer
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
Additional promotions:
- On subsequent deposits, receive a $10 match on $10 deposit
- Parlay insurance on minimum three-leg MLB parlays if one or more of your selected teams get no-hit by opposing pitcher
High and Lowlights
Tipico Sportsbook is available on desktop and mobile app but the sportsbook homepage is only accessible via your smart phone. The desktop website won’t allow you to browse the sportsbook until you’ve created an account and logged in.
Some functions on the mobile app, such as toggling between sports markets and entering a wager amount, are slow to load or don’t populate. In one test on the betslip, a $1 wager was entered and the betslip populated the payout. When $1 was deleted and a new amount entered, the betslip continued to display the previous payout.
Promotions currently are limited and the MLB promo is somewhat of a sucker bet. Tipico allows live bets, straight bets, parlays, teasers and player props.
The welcome offer to new customers has a high-dollar match and is a change of pace from instead providing a risk-free first bet. With Tipico’s deposit match, new customers have 90 days to use the bonus funds before they expire. With a risk-free first bet, you get one shot.
There are, however, some rigid stipulations of the Tipico deposit match. The amount you deposit plus the Tipico match has a 3x wagering requirement.
For example, the $10 minimum deposit is matched with $10. Multiply that $20 total by three, the wagering requirement, and you must place $60 worth of bets within 90 days of creating your account before any winnings from your wagers are eligible for withdrawal.
And it matters what you wager on. “Qualifying” wagers to fulfill the promotion’s requirements must be on odds longer than -200.
Mario Sanelli writes about sports betting for BeerLife Sports. He previously was the editorial assistant and a general-assignment reporter at The Denver Post for five years after serving as chief editor of The Metropolitan at MSU Denver. Mario was a NFL and college football insider with Mile High Sports for six years.
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