Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes is one of the largest online betting and gaming companies in the world. Based out of the United Kingdom, Ladbrokes is one of the largest off-track bookmakers in the country with over 2600 retail outlets placed across the length and breadth of the country. Listed on the FTSE 100 Index, Ladbrokes has acquired gaming licenses in Gibraltar and UK while offering a plethora of services online including sports bets, online poker as well as an online casino.

Ladbrokes has been extremely popular in the remote-gambling industry with over 120,000 customers being serviced over phone lines with another million or more coming to their websites every year.

Basic Overview

Established in 1950, Ladbrokes was mainly a retail-based bookmaker until 2000 when it went online as well. Unlike most other bookmakers, Ladbrokes has a simple website with all the features and facilities being placed directly on the home page. Customers do not have to look around much before placing their eyes on what they were looking for.

All individual categories for betting, sports and games are listed on top as well as on the main part of the home page. The home page also displays all the latest events as well as the odds for all those major sporting events clearly right down the middle while all the individual sporting categories line up on the left.

There are links to go to Ladbrokes TV as well as to sporting events that are happening at that very moment.

Registration

"Open Account" leads to a simple form that asks for basic information. Once filled and sent, registration is almost instant with a confirmation email coming to the user's email ID.

Bonuses

When a customer joins the bookmaker, Ladbrokes offers a free 10 pound bet as a joining bonus. There are a number of quickfire bonuses that pertain to some sporting events although these are only valid for a limited time period only. The company also offers a number of cashback offers as well as some refunds in case the a game, say in ice hockey, is decided through a shoot-out.

Betting

Ladbrokes has made the entire betting process quite simple for the regular user. With each event, that draws bets, being placed in a nice table with categories, it is hard to miss what you are looking for. What might disappoint you is the lack of betting scenarios. Limited options however do not prevent them from offering excellent odds on each event.
Placing the bet itself is the simplest thing to do.

A pop-up window opens up each time you select odds for a particular outcome. All you need to do then is to type in your bet amount and it will pop out information on the winnings. To place more than one bet, users need to place a bet and then click on the "Add to Multiple" option that shows up. This allows them to combine all their bets and make a consolidated bet instead of having to go back each time.

Market

Ladbrokes has got it all. They provide odds for all sorts of sporting events from tennis, cricket and the NFL to soccer, rugby and even Aussie rules football. Amongst the 37 categories that are on offer on the website, Ladbrokes also offers some unusual categories such as politics, music and even the weather. Ladbrokes also offers betting options for television shows, although they may be rather limited with their offerings pertaining only to the British Isles.
Ladbrokes is one of the leading bookmakers across the world and caters to almost the entire British Isles as the number one bookmaker in the region.

Odds

Reasonable is an appropriate description for the odds that the website offers on each sporting event. While for some particular events, Ladbrokes have been known to go to the extravagant levels as well, it is quite a rare occurance and are usually restricted to extremely unmatched competitions. For most customers, finding the appropriate betting odds is generally quite simple and that makes Ladbrokes one of the more popular bookmakers on the map.

Customer Attention

Available in over 23 languages, Ladbrokes certainly draws a wide range of audience from the European markets as well as in Asian countries like China. Customer service is available 24x7 over the phone while they also take email queries and suggestions. The best suggestion, each month, wins a free 50 pound bet.

Conclusion

Ladbrokes is one of the older, but definitely one of the biggest, bookmakers across the globe today. With a wide range of sports and other events being catered to, Ladbrokes can easily hold its own against the other big guns in betting. For customers, there is hardly a better experience when it comes to betting. Although the website may seem technically inferior to some other majors, such as Bwin, there is hardly any difference at the end of it. This is mainly due to the company being primarily a brick and mortar unit rather than an online bookmaker.

Decent odds and ease of use place Ladbrokes at the top of the list of the top bookmakers in the world. There are a few drawbacks such as only a temporary bonus or free bet that is given as an incentive, however the problem only lies in the fact that it is temporary. The odds can also be poor at times but they are, almost always, worth a look. All-in-all, Ladbrokes is a formidable competitor for the top of the betting charts.