Coral Review

About the Company

Coral is owned by GVC Holdings, a publicly held company based in the Isle of Man. GVC was founded in 2004, and in 2018 they reported nearly €3,000 million in revenue and more than €56 million in net income.

Coral was initially established in 1926 and steadily grew over the years. Before winding up as part of GVC, it went through several changes of ownership starting in 1981.

Today, Coral has around 1,900 shops spread across the UK, with their head office in east London.
Odds & Markets – Lets talk about markets first.

No question, Coral offers a huge range here. You have the option of betting on more than 50 sports, but that isn’t it. You can also bet on different forms of e-sports and on politics and entertainment as well.

Just to give you an idea of some of the less than mainstream, big league sports included, you can bet on the following:

• Cycling
• Darts
• Badminton
• Handball
• Rowing
• Squash
• Netball
• Table Tennis

And so many more!

Coral’s huge customer base demands choice, and Coral provides as you can see. They know that keeping their customers happy not only means they’ll keep coming back themselves, they’ll also become emissaries and spread the word.

Let’s talk a bit about some of their big league sports offerings like football. Since there are different types of leagues worldwide, you have those options to choose from as well. Another good example is boxing, where all the different options are available too. So start adding those up, and you’ll realize you actually have far more than the originally mentioned 50 to choose from.

As far as the main betting sports, those are football, tennis, horse racing and greyhounds.

Virtual events need to be mentioned as well, as they are a key part of Coral’s market. Horse racing and football are typically favorites in this area as well.

So if you’re looking for a sports betting site that has a comprehensive market, you really don’t need to look further than Coral.

But what about the odds?

Coral delivers very strong odds, full stop. Part of this is due to its strong positioning in the industry. This makes it easier for their traders to deliver favorable odds.

One thing that must be noted, however, is that in some markets their margins run a bit higher than betting shops. While things do average out in the end when compared with other markets, putting them at the typical industry standard of about 5%, remember this is still an average. In some markets, the margin is actually about 6% so this might be a deterrent to some.

In-Play Betting Experience

Let’s start with the homepage.

I do find it a bit slow to load at times, but I guess this is understandable. There is a lot going on.
If you navigate to the In-Play tab in the menu, the homepage for this section provides you with an overview of all current live events, plus any events that are due to start soon. If you are only interested in a specific event, it’s easy to find and navigate to. Once there, you have all the info you need at a glance—the current odds and stats.

If you want to see the betting history on an event or what bets are open, all that info is available to you. Just look to the right-hand menu to access it. Want to cash out? You have that option as well.
If your interest is a bit broader than a specific event, you can also filter by sport and get access to a list of what’s coming up.

The in-play section does favor markets like football, basketball, and tennis, but if that’s not your thing, you’re still in luck. As long as the market is covered, and there is a live event—or one starting soon—you can access it here. You also have an option to mark certain events as favorites and pin them to the top of your dashboard.

However you get to an in-play event, you’re provided with all the information you need when you get there, plus an easy to follow graphic display of the event. It’s obviously not the same as watching an actual event, but you do get a visual of everything in play.

I should note here that despite the initial slow load of the site, you are faced with none of that while watching anything in-play. Response times are excellent with no apparent lag. Which is a very good thing when seconds count.

As mentioned above, you do have the ability to see all current odds and stats, and I do mean current. Coral does a great job of keeping this info up to date. You’ll see changes take place quickly after anything changes in a game that will impact the odds.

Live Streaming – If an event or game is also being live streamed, this is indicated by a TV icon and a text notification that says Watch Live.

Many events and games are live streamed but note that in some cases there is a requirement to watch. This is the case for greyhounds or horse racing. In order to watch these live, you must place a minimum bet of £1 to gain access.

Bonus & Promotions

If you are new to Coral, they offer a welcome bonus to all new customers.

In order to qualify for an incentive of £30 worth of free bets, you must meet the following requirements:

• 18 years of age or older
• Residents of the UK or Ireland
• Make an initial deposit of at least £10
• Place your initial bet within 14 days of registering with Coral
• Tote and Pool excluded
• Odds on single bets must be ½ or greater
• Cashed out bets will not qualify
• Free bets are granted in the form of 3 individual bets at £10 each
• The free bets must be used within 4 days
• All other terms and conditions will apply

In terms of other promos, Coral keeps themselves in the game by consistently offering something new. The best way to stay up to date on what they’re offering is to navigate to the Promotions tab to see what’s current.

You’ll often find they have offers for enhanced odds, so it’s always worth it to check.

Here are a few examples of past and present promos:

• Best Odds Guaranteed – This applies to all Irish and UK greyhound and horse races. You can have your bets paid out at the starting price if it’s longer than the price you took when placing the bet.

• Basketball Acca Insurance – If you place a 4 match spread bet on either NBA or Euro League basketball and it fails by one leg, you will get your stake back as a free bet up to a maximum of £25.

• Super Acca Insurance – This promo is an enhanced version of football acca insurance. If 1 leg of a 6 to 8 fold bet, 2 legs of a 9 or 10 fold bet, or up to 3 legs of an 11 or more fold bet lets down, you are offered a refund of your stake as a free bet, up to a maximum of £25.

• Coral Acca Club – This is a new customer offer with a twist. For any customers whose first bet with Coral is a four or more fold football accumulator with odds of 1/2 or more, up to a maximum of £20, you can get 5 free bets of an equal value through the Coral Acca Club. These bets will be credited once per week for the first 5 weeks after the qualifying bet is placed and must all be placed on four-fold or more football accumulators.

Please note that in all of the above-mentioned promos regular terms and conditions apply.
Deposits & Withdrawals

Coral offers the free Coral Connect card, an excellent way of betting with Coral. With a single account, you can bet in the shop, online, or using your mobile, tablet or landline. Winnings are applied to your card instantly

All of the other usual alternatives are available. Credit and debit cards, money or bank transfers, and eWallets. These options have a £5 minimum deposit but should you use PayPal, the minimum is £10.

Deposit options include:

• Visa
• Visa Electron
• Mastercard
• PayPal
• Bank transfer
• Skrill
• Neteller

Withdrawal options include:

• Visa
• Visa Electron
• Mastercard
• Bank transfer
• Money transfer

Customer Support

Coral has a support team available from 7 am to 11 pm Monday to Saturday, GMT. You have the option of connecting with them via phone, email, or chat and they are pretty good about getting back to you asap.