Betstar

Licensed by the NT Racing Commission since 2007, Betstar is one of Australia's oldest and most storied betting sites. In the early days Betstar had a clear racing focus and while this legacy still remains the Betstar of today is a great choice for both horse and sports-minded punters.

Since Betstar's acquisition by Entain (the company that owns Ladbrokes and Neds) the site has received a huge boost in terms of its competitiveness and quality. Today you'll find all Australian races with Best Tote, exotics, mystery bets, and special bets common plus Pick Your Own Odds and Margins available for select races.

The number of sports betting and live betting markets has also exploded and today you'll be able to bet on everything from the AFL and NRL to tennis, soccer, cricket, darts, surfing, and even events like the Bachelor or US election. Betstar also boasts a wide variety of payment options.

We recommend only choosing Betstar if you don't already have a Neds/Ladbrokes account because the sites are so similar and we think that Betstar also gets a little less love than Neds and Ladbrokes - for example, the app could use a re-design. Still, Betstar is easy to use, protects its players with industry-standard encryption technology, and is a quality bookie overall.

Why we like Betstar ✅

• Betstar has features like Past the Post and Protest Payouts & Same Game/Race Multis
• Betstar offers plenty of payment options including PayPal, POLi, Pay ID & a Betstar Card
• Betstar has competitive odds for all Aussie races, most international races & many sports

Why we don't like Betstar ❌

• Despite Betstar's fast & functional design, we'd love a search bar
• Betstar's odds and markets are identical to Neds', Ladbrokes', and Bookmaker's

Betstar Rating: 8/10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Betstar App
• Betstar Racing
• Betstar Sports
• Betstar Payments
• Betstar Contact
• Betstar Features

The Betstar app is not the best but not the worst app in Australia.

We may be a little harsh in this judgement because the Betstar app has tons of features, high odds and a huge number of betting options but we just think that navigation and usability could be improved.

When it comes to racing, you'll get access to every Australian meet, hundreds of international races as well as full form statistics, price flucs, exotics and regular racing markets. Also expect Best Tote + SP, Top Fluc, Best of the Best odds for the biggest Australian races.

You can also bet on a range of different sports from AFL to Handball. The most popular markets and events are also eligible for Cash Out and Same Game Multis on Betstar.

Live betting is particularly easy on the Betstar app with hundreds of options and constantly updated odds. Even though Australian betting regulations mean that you can only bet live on the phone, Betstar makes this process easy.

Betstar App Pros ✅

• Free for Android and Apple
• Fast to load
• Hundreds of sports & races
• Same Game/Race Multis
• Cash Out
• Instant deposits
• Fast withdrawals
• Exclusive in-app features

Betstar App Cons ❌

• Android app not on the Play Store
• Navigation could be improved
• Some buttons are quite small
• Some sections of the app take up a lot of space

In the early days, Betstar was predominantly just a horse racing bookmaker and even though this is no longer the case the racing section of the website remains very strong.

Betstar offers Best Tote + SP, Best of the Best, Top Fluc, Exotics, Same Race Multis, Favourite vs Field, Mystery Bets and Suggested Runners for all Australian thoroughbred races

Along with this, Betstar offers markets for all Australian harness and greyhound races as well as hundreds of international races across all three codes from a wide variety of countries including New Zealand, France, the USA, the UK, Japan, India, Chile, and much more.

Betstar is also working on developing a racing Blackbook to keep track of your favourite runners/jockeys. Depending on the time of the year, Betstar also has Jockey Challenges too.

Another impressive thing about Betstar is its futures markets for the biggest races of the year. Betstar offers odds months and even years in advance for the biggest (and some not so big) events in all three codes.

Betstar also has a Protest Payout which will pay both the 2nd and 1st place runner as the winner if there is an upheld protest and a Past the Post Payout which means you'll get paid quickly for all Australian races.

If we could improve Betstar's racing options we'd like even more Same Race Multi options as well as a Speedmap feature and perhaps some more expert picks.

Betstar has the exact same odds and markets as the popular Australian betting sites Neds and Ladbrokes because they are all owned by the same company.

You'll find around 200 different bet types for sports like AFL on Betstar. Your options decrease depnding on how big the sport/league is but you can still expect more betting options than many other betting sites in Australia

In terms of odds, Betstar is competitive but not amazing. Something you'll find the best odds on Betstar and sometimes you won't, it all depends on the exact thing that you want to bet on - however, you'll never find terrible odds.

As well as all the most common sports betting markets like Match Result, Margins, Lines, Totals, Player and Team Specials, Betstar offers Same Game Multis, Quick Multis, and various different multi types depending on how many legs you select.

Betstar Multis can be placed from your betslip after selecting your single bets.

Betstar has particularly competitive line odds (as you may be able to see from the image above) - 2.00 on both sides of an AFL match.

Despite no longer being one of the biggest corporate bookmakers in Australia, Betstar punches above its weight - particularly when it comes to depositing and withdrawing.

Betstar's payments process is fast and secure and there are a range of instant deposit (and even instant withdrawal) options available for Aussie punters (see below).

Also be aware that while Betstar says that some payment options - like Bank Transfer - may take up to three days this is rarely the case (they're more likely to take one, max two days).

• Visa (Instant)
• Mastercard (Instant)
• POLi (Instant)
• Flexepin (Instant)
• Cash In (Instant)
• Pay ID (Instant)
• PayPal (Instant)
• Betstar Card (Instant)
• BPAY (1-3 business days)
• EFT/Bank Transfer (1-3 business days)

The minimum Betstar deposit is $10 for most payment methods and the minimum bet amount is $0.50 for internet bets, $5.00 for telephone bets, and $10.00 for live telephone bets.

• Betstar Card (Instant)
• PayPal (Instant)
• EFT/Bank Transfer (1-3 business days)

Betstar withdrawal times to your Betstar Card are truly instant whereas Betstar PayPal withdrawals are processed instantly but can take a few hours or days to get to you.

Betstar's customer support options leave a little to be desired and even though we got an email saying that live chat was available, we couldn't find the option anywhere on Betstar.

Otherwise, the Betstar support team is friendly and knowledgeable so we don't mind the lack of live chat too much. We do however recommend phoning Betstar for more urgent inquiries as email replies can take some time.

Betstar has a range of features that can make your betting experience better, more profitable, and easier but don't expect as many features from Betstar as you'll get on some of Australia's best betting sites.

For more information about some of the best racing and sports features of the Betstar betting site continue reading.

You can still use Betstar's betting site even if you don't have an account but where is the fun in that?

Here's how to sign up and bet with Betstar Australia:

1. Select a 'Visit' button
2. On Betstar, select 'Join Now'
3. Enter your ID information
4. Deposit some money
5. Find a race or sport
6. Select your bet type
7. Set your bet stake
8. Place your bet!

Overall, Betstar has a familiar, simple, and fast betting site and app.

The Betstar betting site is organised into separate sections - Home, Racing, Sports, Live Betting, Promotions and How To.

The homepage contains an overview of the next sports and races to start, the current live betting markets, Betstar's featured races, and also advertises some of the main features of Betstar like the Betstar Card, app, and their racing Protest Payout.

You can use the menu on the left or at the top of the screen to navigate to the sport or racing code or specific event you want to bet on. Unfortunately, there are no options to 'search' for your sport.

From there, the structure of the site is pretty straightforward.

For each racing market you'll see fixed, starting price, top fluc, and tote odds plus tabs for each exotic type and, depending on the race, Same Race Multi options, form guides, special bet types, weather information, etc.

When you enter a sports betting market, you'll need to scroll to see all the eligible bet types and you can use the tab at the top to switch between single bets or Same Game Multi bets (if Same Game Multis are available).

Bets eligible for cash out will only be seen after you have placed your bet and regular Multis can be placed by adding multiple selections to your bet slip and then combining them.

In short, Betstar has a pretty typical betting site that mirrors bookies like Neds and Ladbrokes. You may need to do a little scrolling and clicking to find your specific bet but a few minutes navigating through the site should be enough for even the most technologically inept punters to feel comfortable.

Is there a Betstar sign up bonus or isn't there? That's the question that many people want to know but unfortunately, it is also a question that we cannot answer.

Australian betting regulations prevent people like us from advertising sign up bonuses and other promotions to players who do not already have betting accounts

The same goes for Betstar. They cannot tell you whether or not they have any promotions or bonuses until you have created a Betstar account and logged in.