A very new betting exchange in the market, 9Wickets has garnered quite a following despite being the new kid on the block. Operating slightly differently from standard sportsbooks, 9Wickets offers bet trading and great winning opportunities to punters. The odds and prices offered by 9Wickets are better than many betting exchanges. Bettors can profit heavily from traditional Lay and Back options of the betting exchange.
One particular reason behind 9Wickets’s success in a short time is their claim to provide Betfair odds to its punters. While the markets covered are very limited, for bettors who have cannot access Betfair due to country restrictions, 9Wickets comes as a knight in shining armour. Which also explains why their customer base is booming with each passing day. But while all of this looks nice and shiny from the top, it is important to dig deep and identify if there are serious concerns lurking under the hood. Let’s find out in this in-depth review.
9Wickets registration is available only via brokers. However, this does not stop you from visiting the website and playing around with the options. This is always a coveted option to have since the users get a chance to actually identify how the website works, see the live odds and then take an educated decision.
The website login option is at the top right with a verification code added for an extra measure of security. Whenever you try to perform an action, you are requested to login. Currently, you can get a 9Wickets account from brokers like BetInAsia or AsianConnect. There are 4 different type of registrations available for 9Wickets:
The segregation of membership levels is a great touch as you do not need to go all in. With many websites preferring very high registration fees for users to access their odds and exchange, with 9Wickets players can take their time before they indulge in the costlier memberships. However, the 100 EUROs fee for joining them via a broker is pretty high and may deter many small bettors with shallow pockets.
When it comes to sports markets, 9Wickets pretty much concentrates on the core betting options as they offer only 7 sports markets, Cricket, Soccer, Horse Racing, Rugby Union, Basketball, Tennis and Greyhound Racing. Since they are named 9Wickets, it is evident that Cricket is taken rather seriously at this website. Hence you should be able to find the best international men’s and women’s ODI, test and T20 matches to bet on. But the list does not end there as 9Wickets covers all major domestic cricket leagues and T20 leagues, county cricket, Under 21 and Under 19 international matches.
With Basketball the coverage is even better with NBA, Israeli BSL, French Pro A and Pro B, German BBL, Australian NBL, Women’s NBA, New Zealand NBL, Italian Serie A and international matches to name just a few. When it comes to Soccer, expect to see the best leagues from Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Africa, apart from international matches and current coverage of FIFA World cup. Horse Racing coverage of 9Wickets is simply spectacular with races covered from over 20 countries.
However, despite the comprehensive event coverage of the sports offered, 9Wickets is seriously lacking in not providing bettors with a host of other popular sports such as motor racing, speedway, hockey, badminton and table tennis. Also, the lack of any esports whatsoever is shocking. Esports has come up as the sport of the future in recent times and new generation bettors will likely be disappointed at the absence of esports on this exchange.
Betting on 9Wickets is easy and you get the traditional Back and Lay options to place your bets on at the exchange. The platform claims to provide Betfair prices which makes their market among the best in the business. However, close inspection reveals that not all events have Betfair prices associated with them. But for major and popular events, you definitely get to enjoy the best odds. The liquidity is shown directly at the top when you try to bet on a sport. Despite there being huge liquidity for certain events, you can often come across events with very low liquidity. This certainly makes placing your bets very difficult without matching bets on the other side.
Placing the bet is very easy as once you navigate to a particular event, all the odds and lay/back options are laid out clearly. Click on the favored odds and the betting slips appear on the right. Bet wise, there are hundreds of options to choose from for certain sports and events. For example, in Cricket, you get to bet on innings specific, over specific and batsman specific scores, total score, 1 X 2, over/under score and other aspects of the game. With so many options at your disposal, it is hard to not win anything. Important sports events come with a live broadcast feature which enhances the betting experience even more.
The lack of support for live casinos, slots and virtual games is a tremendous blow as many bettors love to indulge in those games from time to time. The omission of classics such as Poker, Bingo and Roulette hits the hardest as most, if not all, bookmakers and sportsbooks keep those games at their disposal.
If 9Wickets is your betting exchange of choice, you will have slim pickings in terms of promotions and bonuses. Betting platforms that do not have direct access tend not have joining bonuses anyway. But the lack of loyalty bonuses or ongoing contests is really staggering in this day and age.
9Wickets provides bank transfer, Skrill, Neteller and Bitcoin support for deposit and withdrawal. Hardly an expansive list, it should still support most bettors from across the world. Deposits are extremely fast but withdrawals seem to take their own sweet time. During withdrawal, you may be asked to provide KYC at many times so be prepared. There have been instances of bettors having their accounts frozen hence exercising caution is necessary.
Depending on the broker you chose to access 9Wickets, the deposits can carry a fee of 1.5 – 2% and withdrawals could come at a fee of 3 – 3.5%. This is exceptionally high, especially if you consider that most bookmakers around the world allow deposit and withdrawal for free. But the addition of Cryptocurrency is a step towards the correct direction consideration that we are moving fast towards a digital world.
Website design wise 9Wickets has its heart in the right place with extremely uncluttered, simple and yet trendy outlook that should freshen everyone’s mood. Without too many things going on at the same time, navigating website is just too smooth and easy. The top menu is designed to show all the important links at every time and that makes for easy navigation to the page of your choice. The color scheme is subtle yet elegant.
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The website loads very fast on desktops. The mobile version of the website is just as good in terms of the interface and loading speed. Being fully responsive, it adapts to all screen sizes no matter what device you are using. Thanks to their mobile betting app, betting on the go is easy and fast. With a stripped down interface showcasing the most important aspects of betting, either the mobile website or the mobile app can be used from any handheld device.
The customer support leaves a bit to be desired with slow response times, especially if you communicate over email. You can also contact them by phone round the clock and it seems to be the preferred mode of communication for most customers. There have been complaints of non-responsive or unhelpful customer service executives but those are too few and far between.
All in all, 9Wickets is a no-frill, no-fancy, straight-shooting betting exchange that caters to a specific segment of customers. Their choice of sports markets while slim, contain some gems that anyone can exploit. Getting Betfair odds at many sporting events is definitely a winner especially if you cannot access Betfair. The high liquidity also comes into play for many betting events. But better customer service, support for more games and cheaper payment methods are the needs of the hour.
| Betfair odds for many events | Very few sports supported |
| No support for esports | No live casino or slots |
| Many events have poor liquidity | Customer service is slow |
| Very high deposit and withdrawal charges |
The list of international bookmakers
