SI Sportsbook Promo

Old Kids on the Block

Already a household name for sports and swimsuits, Sports Illustrated has taken the plunge into the world of online sports betting, and hopes to capitalize on over half a century of expertise to deliver the best sportsbook around.

Under the new(ish) ownership of Authentic Brands Group, SI has partnered with industry giants 888sport to provide a sleek new sportsbook that kicked off in conjunction with the 2021 NFL season. 

Following the or Setting the Trend?

While not the first media brand to jump into bed with an established online gambling company to deliver a sportsbook, they’re certainly not shy about reminding us that they may have a little bit of history in the sporting world.

It’s tough to deny that warm and fuzzy feeling many longtime sports fans might get when seeing the iconic red logo plastered onto a betting platform, but the magic of flipping through a new issue or seeing your favorite athlete posing on the cover isn’t quite translated into the online betting attempts SI have made yet.

Without wanting to rush to any judgement given how long SI Sportsbook has been around, there is a certain je ne sais quoi missing that makes it feel as though the reputation of the SI brand is being relied on to mask some of the less glossy details like the lack of a Casino option, which we will get into later.

SI Sportsbook is a rookie with loads of potential, we're just waiting for that breakout season

But SI Sportsbook does have a lot going for it, a whole lot. And by leveraging the existing power of partner 888, nice promotions, a smorgasbord of sports and betting types to choose from, and a heck of a decent app, it’s fair to say that with a little more time they could become a heavy hitter on the sports betting scene.

• Great promotions and offers for new and existing customers
• Bet Feed and Bet Recommendations features
• Bet Builder helps make some nice parlay wagers

• Limited e-wallet options
• Live betting is sub-par and a bit slow

Offering some pretty impressive value to both new and existing users, the SI Sportsbook promotions and bonuses are certainly nothing to turn your nose up at, and should do a great job at getting you started off well, or even letting you try out some new betting types with a bit extra sprinkled on top.

Their flagship sign-up offer right now, Bet $10 Get $50 is a bet credit bonus that all new users can enjoy, and the best part is you don’t even need your qualifying wager to lose! Unlike many other online betting sites, this simple bonus bet comes to you following a $10 wager after signing up, regardless of whether your bet wins or loses!

Sounds pretty great right? We thought so too, and even though you may think the value seems low for this welcome offer, don’t forget that these bonus bets are yours no matter what the outcome of the initial wager was, so what are you still waiting around here for?

What's the Catch?

There are some associated terms and conditions with this sign-up promo, but as a whole, this is a very easy offer to claim, without needing to do anything other than place a bet. But make sure to read all the terms carefully on their site so you know exactly what's going on.

• Minimum qualifying wager must be at least $10
• Qualifying wager must have minimum odds of at least -200
• Five $10 bonus bet tokens - can’t be split
• Bonus Bet credits expire after 14 days
• Bonus Bet stakes not included in returns
• Winnings from Bonus Bet Tokens are granted as cash and can be withdrawn immediately
• More Terms & Conditions apply, check their website for more details

Don’t fret if you’ve already spent these bonus bets, because the joy of SI Sportsbook is that existing users have their fair share of bonuses to look forward to as well - here are some recent examples:

There will certainly be more offers to enjoy in the future, but it’s hard to deny that these promotions look even better than the models on their famous swimsuit edition.

*Don’t forget to carefully read the terms of each individual promotion on the SI Sportsbook site!

Unfortunately there isn't a lot to say about SI Sportsbook when it comes to where you can place a bet in the US, being limited to Colorado, Virginia and Michigan for the moment.

We’re expecting this list to grow in the near future, with the rumor mill (and pretty solid evidence) claiming that New Jersey, Indiana, and Iowa are ready to follow suit given 888 already has a presence in these states. 

Sports Illustrated entered the scene of online sports betting with a very well known international gambling backer - 888. This venture is based on 888’s proprietary software, and the similarities between the two books are very apparent in certain areas, especially the app, with much of what you can find on SI Sportsbook also available with 888.

While there may seem like a plethora of ways to drop some cash into SI Sportsbook, this is an aspect that unfortunately falls short of many competitors. Most notable is the lack of multiple e-wallets. So wave goodbye to Apple and Android Pay, because we're going old school.

Keeping things pretty simple from a deposit perspective, you have a few options to put some money into your betting bank. A bonus from this sportsbook is the minimum deposit is only $10, usually instant, and fee free. Here are the options -

• Debit/Credit Cards
  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • Maestro
  • Discover
• Bank Transfer
• PayPal
• PayNearMe
• Play+ Card
  

As long as you don’t want your money that quickly, or in a nice convenient manner, SI Sportsbook has you covered. While I’ve already bemoaned the lack of e-wallet variety, withdrawing funds is where this really comes into play, and seriously limits the speed and convenience of transactions.

Don't expect to pay for your dinner with a winning wager, since it won't get withdrawn to your bank account for a few days. Better plan ahead

So unless you're one of the select few people that have opted to use a Play+ Card (not necessarily a bad option if you're a serious bettor here), a bank transfer or PayPal are really the only options. Here are the details:

• $10 minimum withdrawal amount
  • Better than DraftKings and BetMGM at $20!
• ACH Bank Transfer - up to 3 days
• PayPal - 1-4 days
• Play+ - 1-4 days

Now that you’ve gotten past the general overview of SI Sportsbook, seen some of the promos on offer, and know how to get started, it's time to delve into the nitty gritty of what SI Sportsbook really offers for betting choice.

Pushing some of the major sports like NFL, NBA, and NHL to the forefront on the home page, Sports Illustrated makes it very easy to find the big, or small events you want to bet on.

Once you select your event, there are lots of options for how you want to bet. Individual outcomes, player stats, periods of the game, and score are just a few!

• Football
• Basketball
• Hockey
• Soccer
• Baseball
• Boxing
• Tennis
• Golf
• MMA

SI Sportsbook doesn’t limit you to just the mainstream sporting options, they’ve expanded their betting list to include the rapidly growing e-sports, as well as more niche global sports like handball, volleyball, or darts.

Fortunately the fun doesn’t stop on SI Sportsbook after you figure out which of the many sports offerings you want to bet on.

They have made sure to showcase a number of betting varieties, and linked some great features like Bet Recommendations and a dynamic BetFeed that shows what’s popular at the moment to get you going in the right direction.

There wasn’t a need to get fancy with the name here, and SI Sportsbook Bet Recommendations does exactly what you would expect - recommends wagers based on:

• Recently placed bets
• Recently won bets
• Popular events and wagers on the sportsbook

With this at your fingertips you likely won’t need to wonder for long where you want to stake some cash next, and it’s an excellent tool to help build a winning parlay.

Even better, this feature shows up on your actual betslip too, letting you scroll through what ‘other people who bet on this also bet on….’

Some other main betting features include, but are not limited to:

• Moneyline
• Over/Under
• Period Betting
• Outright or Place
• Result

Having launched just in time for the start of the NFL season, it comes as no surprise that the Sports Illustrated NFL and football betting section is bursting with choice and variety, and they’ve really scored with the offering they provide.

Some of the best offers on the site relate to NFL promos, and with the season winding down soon, there may be some juicy Super Bowl bonuses on the way.

While there may not be any specific NFL promo code when you first sign up, anyone with an account can take advantage of weekly bonus bet selections, and an offer for building your own unique NFL wager with the SI Sportsbook Bet Builder.

• Perfect 10

• NFL Bet Builder

As easy as creating a $25 or more NFL bet at +200 odds with the bet builder tool, you can intercept a nice $5 bonus bet each weekend

Nothing has been announced yet, but given their focus on the NFL and football, we hope SI Sportsbook will roll out an offer for Super Bowl bets when we get closer to the Sunday in question.

Yes! It exists and couldn’t be easier to find or use.

As expected with the partnership to 888, the SI Sportsbook mobile app is nearly identical, and was even designed by 888. So it's a tried and tested layout that makes navigating the app easy, and with the punchy and simplistic color scheme it look good too.

Download from the App Store or direct from the mobile browser page!

Download directly from the Google Play Store or by clicking the link in the mobile browser page.

Let's start with where the app could use a bit of work - speed. 

Certainly not a dealbreaker for most betting, it could complicate live betting a little. But this is still a pretty new app, so here's hoping they can sort this out before the end of the NFL season.

While the look, layout and usability of the app are all strong points, the general sluggishness and slower speeds and updates to results lets the SI Sportsbook app down a bit. With a bit more server power and some debugging, it should be a strong contender for online betting apps by the time Sports Illustrated and 888 manage to expand their presence to some more states, but for now it comes in pretty average. 

That being said, there is definitely a focus to make the mobile side of betting on SI Sportsbook the go to, and we feel like this is the better way to enjoy the book.

While SI Sportsbook doesn’t offer an online casino or poker options, we’re not too upset about this, and hope it’s a conscious decision within the 888 Sports Illustrated venture, rather than just something pushed to the side temporarily to get the online sportsbook launched quickly.

The expectation is that the partnership between 888 and Sports Illustrated will lead to all sports betting in the US falling under SI Sportsbook, allowing 888 to focus on casino and poker options, which really is the best of both worlds.

An easy part of any sportsbook to discount until you have an issue or question, the customer service of SI Sportsbook gives the user a few options for contact, and generally does a good job of answering questions before you need to call or email.

Here is what you need to know - 

There is a dedicated support page to answer all questions, linking to FAQ's, contact details, and opening hours

📘- FAQs

• Lots of useful links for helping answer the majority of general queries, we found that they cover all the common questions about payments, betting, and legality.

📫 - Straightforward email contact page

💁‍♀️ - Live Chat function (8am-11pm MST)

• Unfortunately the live chat is a bit difficult to find, as it's not directly featured on the support page (click ‘cashier’ and ‘help’ if you are logged in and verified)
• Would be nice if this feature was 24/7 given many available events happen outside operating hours

📞 - Phone: CO 1-833-451-8003, VA 1-855-733-2421

💻 - Email: support-co@sisportsbook.com, support-va@sisportsbook.com

As a whole SI Sportsbook offers a well thought out customer support system. Some marks against them would be a lack of 24/7 live chat and calls, but we hope this will change once they expand into a few more states and need to have longer operating hours.

With such a strong history and influence in the sporting world, I expect the SI Sportsbook to really excel when it reaches into new states soon, and hopefully capture the same magic many readers of the magazine would remember as a ‘page-turning’ sportsbook.

The lacking areas need some attention to really make it feel smooth and compete at the top level of online betting, but the addition of more e-wallets would be a great start, and really help bring them into the modern age of betting.

It’s true that the reputation and history of Sports Illustrated may cause me to hold them to a slightly higher standard, but it’s abundantly clear that the inaugural ‘publication’ of SI Sportsbook lays a great foundation to build off, and showcases how the long time household name for everything sports will likely become a household name for online sports betting too.

A solid debut in the online sportsbook world! Great for those in the two legal states to take advantage of some nice promotions and offers on a sportsbook with potential.