TheGreek review

The review and verdict below represent the subjective views of the reviewer at the date of the review. Most likely this opinion will change over time, as bookmakers change their services from time to time. The verdicts should not be regarded as a common views of this bookmaker. Everybody must make up their own opinion about who they are dealing with. Bettingadvice.com can not guarantee the correctness of the informaton mentioned in the review.

[Open account] [Transactions] [Navigation] [Design] [Graphics] [Bet procedure] [Service] [Reliability] [Odds] [Events on offer][Verdict]

Opening account:

As always with online bookmakers, this is a quick procedure. You can chose your password, but not your username. Instead of a username you are given a 5-digit number. From the bookie's point of view this is probably allright, but not from a punter's view. You get a welcome email containing your details, and info about how to deposit. You can choose how you want the odds displayed (American or Decimal), and several other useful options in the Account Service section. This is good service. It's also a good thing that you can test their service before opening an account, and you are not asked for your creditcard number straight away (I've seen a few bookies doing that...). You can't bet in any other currencies than US and Canadian dollars at the moment though.... Since I'm not allowed to choose my own username, and not choose any currencies, I suggest 7/10, but it's close to 8.
Our rating: 7/10

Transactions:

You can transfer money in numerous ways. VISA/Mastercard, Bank Wire, Cashiers Check, Western Union. All deposits of more than 300$ are free of charge. No fees on credit card transfers at all, which is very good. Minimum 50$, max 2000$ deposit trough credit card. Maximum 3000$ per month deposits. Very thorough procedure when depositing trough credit cards. You're being asked for a valid emailadress, name of bank, phone numbers, etc. High security verified by Verisign, which is good.
Refunds to creditcards is excactly the amount once deposited. If you have deposited 500$ trough VISA, and you have 1000$ on your account, then you must first refund 500$ to your VISA before you can get the other 500$ by other means (check, bank wire, fedex). No fees for the creditcard refund, but rather stiff fees for bank wire (25$) and fedex (25$) and ordinary check (5$). Ordinary check may take 3-4 weeks, Fedex takes a few days (one day in the US), bank wire 3-5 days.
I have experienced that I had to call them in order to agree about how I want the money transferred (it is impossible to order payouts on the website, other than trough NETeller). This is no good at all. It is far too cumbersome for overseas players to call them and order payouts.
A bit too expensive payout routines, also a bit cumbersome (first refund creditcard, then the rest by other methods). The creditcard refund thing is more down to the banks than the bookmaker, however. Could perhaps improve user friendliness (expenses and a somewhat cumbersome payout routines), but I'll give them credit for high security. Maybe they can offer 1 free payout by Fedex or bank wire per month? Not too far from 7/10
Our rating: 6/10

Navigation:

Framed site, standard menu to the left, and also a menu in the top frame (for account details). I find this site easy to navigate, no problems at all. 7/10
Our rating: 8/10

Design:

This is ofcourse always a matter of taste, but I feel that Olympic Sports have managed to bring a high level of functionality on their site, and not concentrating on making the site too fancy. And who would enter a betting site to study their design, anyway? They have simple solutions which works very well. Black background, dark blue tables backgrounds, not too fancy, but good enough. A quick database makes the surfing experience better than on most bookmaker sites.
Our rating: 8/10

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Graphics:

Not much graphics here. A logo in the top left corner, and that's about it. I like it this way, because you get a much speedier experience, and functionality is what counts on these websites. Could perhaps spice it up a little though....
Our rating: 7/10

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Bet procedure:

For single bets, enter the events, choose your pick, and then enter the amunt you want to lay , or the amount you want to win. A very quick calculator calculates the posible return on your investment. Note that you can win more than 500$ on bets made on the website (!) Once this is done you're asked to confirm the wager by entering your betting initials. These are initials you received in the welcome email after the registration. Quick response to the entered bet. Confirmation pops up almost immidiatly. No email confirmation is sendt to confirm your bets though. All the bets are listed in the Review Bets-section for your convenience. The procedure is OK, by all means, but I can not see the reason for entering betting initials. As long as you're logged in, you should not need to prove your identity once again. However, this is all done as a security precaution, and in good will, for the best of the customer. Cumbersome method of betting parleys. If you are not familiar with the website, you'll probably spend 10 mins figuring out how to bet parleys. Too many negative things in the betting process only brings 6/10.
Our rating: 6/10

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Service:

Very quick replies to email correspondance. Sometimes I've received their answer only a few minutes after sending the message ! Toll free phone lines for support and wagering. Fax-on-demand sport schedules and lines. At the time of writing I have not spoken to them on the phone, but according to sources on Bettorsworlds discussion forum, there have apparently been some negative experiences with the support crew by phone. Other sources claim that there are sometimes problems with the staff when punters call to place combo bets. According to sources this may be down to miscommunicaton , as the possibility to place combos on the phone has just been implemented. On the website they offer a "do-it-yourself" feature, where you can change a lot of parameters, including your password, choose printer friendly lines pages, change style of odds, etc. All your transactions and bets are available on the website for your convenience and security. They offer a betting guide, which is an explanation of different types of bets. Regarding bad telephone experiences expressed on discussion boards, there will always be some customers who are unhappy about something. However, after I've heard the resons for some punters' dissatisfaction with the telephone service, I suggest a 7/10 rating, although the facilities they offer on the website suggest an 8.
Our rating: 7/10

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Reliability:

This bookie has historically targeted American and Canadian customers. Now they are looking to expand into the internationl market, and I think they will do well. They are easy to communicate with, quick replies to questions, high security on deposits, and also in the betting procedure, run by a staff of over 150 dedicated professionals. Offer same day payouts. I've never heard of anyone having problems with getting their money from Olympic Sports. To my knowledge, Olympic Sports have a solid reputation for being honest and reliable bookmakers. Olympic Sports thrive on professionalsim, and they know the importance of a good reputation. Then they should pay attention to the complaints about their telephone service, and I belive they will do something with it quickly. Due to lack of long time personal experiences when writing this review, I base my knowledge much on other sources. But my total impression, based on sources and my own impression suggest a solid 8/10
Our rating: 8/10

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Odds:

Very low profit margin, around 10-12% varying with leagues. On the well known leagues they are down to 10%, which is very good. I have the impression that they do not slash their odds as often as certain other bookmakers in the market. You can choose between European and American presentation of the odds. They are very early with their odds on the major leagues, which is good from a punters point of view. Well worth 9/10.
Our rating: 9/10

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Events on offer:

Offer a very large list of events indeed. Infact, Olympic Sports are among the bookies who offer most events. In their Soccer section, they offer odds on almost every league available. The major leagues get their odds first, understandably, but the other leagues are normally ready for betting normally around 48 hours before kick-off. Also offer a lot of other sports, including american football, basket, baseball, hockey, golf, auto racing, tennis, boxing, horses, rugby, crickets, snooker, and specials like President elections, etc. A very solid 9/10.
Our rating: 9/10

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Verdict:

Total score 74/100

Olympic Sports has been a pleasant surprise to me. Olympic offer a great range of events, high security, free credit card transfers, quick customer support, high odds, and a reputation for being reliable and solid. On the negative side: Why can't you win more than 500$ on bets made on the website ?? This should be changed to the better soon.. They also have a somewhat cumbersome payout routine (although this is more the bank's fault than Olympic's ), the opening account feature (should offer the customer to choose username) and the relative high payout fees (25$ for bank wire and Fedex). I know this things cost money for the bookmaker as well, but maybe they can offer a free payout once a month, or something similar?
And what about the payout routines? You must call them in order to get a simple payout by bank wire !! This is not good enough.
Olympic Sports is a good choice for punters, and with their reasonable odds and large amount of events, they are definitively on my bookmaker short-list. Hopefully Olympic will fix their minor shortcomings soon, and I belive they will. There are better bookies out there, though.
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Review date:15.09.2000, updated 10.02.2002 by Terje Grefstad, Bettingadvice.com