PalmerBet Review

A really good bookmaker that does a lot very well

My rating: 4.6/5

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Palmerbet was launched back in 2013, making them one of the older Australian-owned bookmakers going around. And in many ways, it shows. They have got a terrific range of markets and highly competitive odds, and with a mobile app that has improved dramatically in recent years to become one of the most usable in the industry, there is plenty of reason to like Palmerbet.

Like any betting site, however, there are a couple of areas in which Palmerbet could improve. The website can at times be a little clunky – making the high-quality app an even more attractive proposition for their punters – while the addition of a live chat feature to their customer support platform would also be welcome.

Despite those drawbacks, however, this is by and large a really good betting site. Palmerbet is the kind of bookie that does a lot really well; a good app, a great range of markets, solid odds, and while they don’t necessarily excel in all that many areas, there is more than enough to like to make them a much better than average betting site. In this detailed Palmerbet review, we’ll go into detail about what they do well, as well as the areas in which they could improve.

There is a standard selection of Palmerbet Australia racing markets for punters to bet on, covering thoroughbreds, harness and greyhound betting both within Australia and around the world. The racing platform on both the desktop site and the Palmerbet betting app is pretty intuitive and easy to use, with all the important information – flucs, weight, form and so on – displayed prominently and even an AI Rating providing horse racing tips for everything from Melbourne Cup betting through to mid-week country racing.

As far as odds go, they are generally smack bang in the middle relative to other Aussie betting sites. An upcoming race at the time of writing this Palmerbet review, for example, has a couple of standout favourites. One is paying between $3.20 and $3.40 at other bookies, and is $3.30 at Palmerbet, while another is either $5 or $5.50 with virtually all Australian betting sites and sits at $5 here. A couple of the longer odds runners are better value at Palmerbet than the industry average, a couple not quite as good.

With Palmerbet racing, you can bet on win/place as well as exotics – the same as virtually everywhere else. They also offer Same Race Multis, which are becoming increasingly common with other bookies but which you still won’t find everywhere. Overall, this is a very standard racing platform, but one which should appease most punters.

My own personal experiences with the Palmerbet app have always been really positive, and a quick look at the reviews of the site suggest those experiences are pretty consistent across the board. It’s a really crisp, clean and easy to use mobile betting platform, something which is particularly notable given that the Palmerbet website can be a little clunky, and the app used to be too. Clearly, however, they have put plenty of work into it, and it shows.

The app is available for iOS and Android devices, and for me at least is a better alternative than the desktop site if you’re looking to use Palmerbet. Not to completely denigrate the site, which we’ll discuss more in the next section of this Palmerbet betting review, but the app is a more functional alternative which allows you to more quickly and easily access this bookie’s impressive range of markets.

Palmerbet’s app is independently created – that is to say, it doesn’t use the BetCloud platform which so many new betting sites use – but the layout is still very straightforward. Boosted further by the speed with which you can navigate around it, and it’s safe to say that this is one of the best betting apps in the Australian betting industry.

Desktop sites are certainly not as important as they were a few years ago, with betting apps now the preference of many punters, but given that plenty of people still like to bet on their computer it’s certainly a hell of a lot better to have a good one than not. Palmerbet’s is not the worst desktop site by any means, but there is definitely some room for improvement.

In terms of layout and aesthetics, there are no real problems here. The Palmerbet site looks sleek, and it’s pretty easy to navigate your way around. But as the old adage goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover, and hidden beyond its appearance are a couple of issues.

The site tends to run a little bit slowly and often seems to make my computer lag a little – hey, maybe I just need a new computer, but given that it’s happened across a couple of different laptops the issue appears to be with the site. In the past this has been enough for me to not use it, but since there are plenty of great things about Palmerbet I have still stuck with the bookie on those occasions, simply choosing to use the app instead.

Admittedly, however, there do appear to have been some improvements. The desktop site is certainly not industry-leading in terms of its speed, but it has got faster and the issues which have plagued it in the past appear to have been at least partially rectified. Speed aside it’s a relatively good site, so if they can get it up to speed (literally and figuratively) then it will be a lot easier to justify using it.

Palmerbet has a few nice features that help them to stand out; in this section, we’ll take a look at a couple of the most notable among them.

Blog

Palmerbet offers a really comprehensive blog which you can click straight through to on either the desktop site or the mobile app. It covers a huge range of content, too, providing AFL tips, NRL tips, insights into other leagues like the NBA and EPL, as well as horse and greyhound racing. Blogs from betting sites can vary in quality, some failing to regularly update them or offering relatively limited insight, but Palmerbet does not fit into that category – their blog is like a genuinely comprehensive sports site.

Racing

If you click through to the blog from the Palmerbet website or app, you will also find a link to ‘Original Content’ up the top. This includes ‘Bolting In’, ‘The Don’t Argue’ and ‘In the Pocket’, which are podcast-type videos between a couple of experts covering racing, NRL and AFL respectively. Running for around 20 to 30 minutes, these provide some really good insights and beyond that are just genuinely interesting videos for sports lovers, and provide a really good incentive for punters to choose Palmerbet over another betting site.

One area in which this betting site has excelled for as long as I can remember is in the range of Palmerbet sports betting markets. For me, this is one of the main reasons to bet with them; they have a huge selection of different markets for major sports, as well as plenty of different sports and leagues available for those who like to bet on less popular events – at the time of writing, there are no less than 26 different sports available.

For an upcoming AFL game, as an example, there are hundreds of markets available, ranging from what they term ‘Main Markets’ – including head-to-head, line, margin and total score – through to individual quarter markets, and player props covering both disposals and goals. If you’re a prop bettor, you can also punt on a player’s over/under for possessions, as well as most disposals in a group.

If you’re looking for the best cricket betting sites, tennis betting sites or bookies to punt on any other major sport, Palmerbet has plenty to offer. But even if you’re after a league or sport which is a little less mainstream, Palmerbet’s broad coverage of sports and wide range of markets means that you should be able to find something for you regardless.

For me, the more markets the better, and an abundance of particularly player props has a big impact on whether I use a site. If that sounds like you, then the range of markets available at Palmerbet has plenty to offer.

Next up in this Palmerbet Australia review, let’s take a look at the odds. Already we discussed the racing odds a few sections earlier, establishing them as relatively standard for the industry – but what about for sports?

One of the first things I will always look at when analysing the odds with a particular betting site is line bets, because with both sides paying roughly the same amount in this market you can get a good sense of the margins of a bookie. At Palmerbet, for major sports they have the odds for line markets set at $1.90, which is really good – the best you’ll really find is $1.91 for two equal teams, so Palmerbet are not far off that.

They also have really good odds for less common markets, particularly player props. Given that this is an area in which there can be a lot of variance across different betting sites – and also the fact that it’s one area in which I often bet! – this is generally a good sign, and one which shows that a bookie has some very competitive odds across the board.

Overall, the odds at Palmerbet are really solid. It’s in sports where they really excel, offering better than average odds for most markets, while in racing they don’t exactly stand out but still provide solid betting odds.

Promotions and betting bonuses are a big part of what every betting site does, though perhaps a little less so now that they are unable to advertise those promotions to anyone not signed up and logged in. Still, Palmerbet has a massive range of different bonuses available to their customers, which you can easily find on both the desktop site and app.

We can’t tell you exactly what these bonuses are and they change a lot regardless, but what we can tell you is that there are no less than 29 available at the time of writing this Palmerbet Australia review. A lot of those are quite similar – for example, the same promo but on different sports – but it is nonetheless a big number.

Palmerbet bonus bets don’t break the mold too much, but basically all of the regular ones which you’ll come across on Aussie betting sites are available here – the likes of bonus bets back in certain situations, early payouts and price boosts. A ‘Bookie Bag’ which you can find when logged in gives you access to a certain number of promos daily, another nice feature of what is a really well-rounded betting site.

The sign-up process is pretty similar on most Australian betting sites, and won’t generally take you more than a minute or two. Palmerbet is no different, and you can be signed up, logged in and ready to bet by following the below simple steps.

1. Head to the website or Palmerbet Australia app and locate the ‘Sign up’ button.
2. Enter some standard personal details, such as your name, date of birth, phone number and address.
3. Enter your email address, which will be used as your account name, and a password.
4. Either set a deposit limit, or opt not to have one.
5. Confirm that you’re not a robot, hit the ‘Sign Up’ button, and you’re good to go!

Palmerbet provides a relatively comprehensive set of options for their punters when it comes to depositing and withdrawing. There are six different methods that you can use, which is less than a select few bookies but which will be more than enough for most people.

Among those six payment methods, the most common – and easiest, in my view – is debit/credit card, which simply requires you to input your card details, though you will also have to verify it in order to withdraw. Beyond that, your options are Google Pay, PayID, PayPal, BPay and bank transfer.

A nice feature of the payment section of the Palmerbet site is that it outlines how long you can expect for each of these payment methods to go through. Each of debit/credit card, Google Pay, PayID and PayPal are instantaneous for deposits, while BPay and bank transfer sit under a separate banner saying ‘1-3 business days’.

If you need to get in touch with Palmerbet, all you need to do is click on the ‘Contact Us’ button available in the main menus on both the desktop site and the app. This will take you through to a separate page with their contact options, which are unfortunately missing one notable means of contact; live chat.

Live chat is for me the quickest and easiest way to resolve most issues with betting sites, and while it’s not available everywhere it is relatively uncommon. Unfortunately, it’s not at Palmerbet, meaning you need to either send them an email at contact@palmerbet.com, or give them a ring at 1300 12 HELP. There is also a PO Box available, though it’s hard to imagine too many people are sending them letters in the post!

Once you do actually get in contact with them, they are at least relatively helpful and in my experience, wait times using either the phone number or email are not too long. Still, any betting site without live chat available isn’t going to be winning any awards for their customer support platform, and the addition of this would be a major boost for Palmerbet.

To round out our comprehensive Palmerbet review, let’s take a look at some frequently asked questions that people have about the bookmaker.