Coral Review 2024 in the UK

Coral Review

Coral have been a prominent name on the UK gambling scene since launching in 1926. They went online in 1997 and have continued to cement their reputation as a solid reliable bookie. Betting.com aim to bring you up to date with their sports markets, offers and bonuses in our comprehensive review.

What you´ll find in this Coral Review

I put Coral under the microscope, using both the desktop and the app. 

Firstly, I checked the welcome bonus, terms and conditions. Then I completed the registration and verification process.

I checked out a number of different sports before looking at specific wagers.

I placed a couple of bets to check everything ran smoothly and then looked at the customer service section, the terms and conditions and at the information and support on safer gambling. These are the topics covered in my findings:

1. Licenses

2. Range of available sports

3. Odds’ value

4. Betting options & features

5. Bonus and offers analysis

6. Overall user experience

7. How easy is to open a new account

8. Things you need to know about their deposit methods

9. How withdrawing works

10. What do you do if you run into issues

Coral licensing, safety and trustworthiness

Coral is a well-established, Ill-regulated and trustworthy bookmaker. Their policies are clearly laid out on their website and their solid, reliable reputation, developed over almost a century in total and 25 years online is well earned.

Coral complete list of licenses

UK: Gambling Commission

Gibraltar: Gibraltar Gaming Commission

What makes Coral Safe

Betting sites need to deal with sensitive information, including financial and personal details, so it is essential that this information is kept secure. It is essential that betting sites are well regulated and everything that they offer is fair and legal. I set out my key points for making betting sites safe.

What makes a betting site safe

1. Safety of funds
2. Security of personal information
3. Official Licenses
4. Responsibly Gambling policy and tools
5. Clear terms and conditions
6. Easily accessible information on policies

All of the information regarding these policies and all terms and conditions are straightforward to find on Coral’s website.

Sports you can bet on at Coral

Coral’s sportsbook is most extensive. They offer almost 50 different sports markets. The popular sports such as football, horse racing, rugby union, cricket, tennis and golf are all well covered, along with more niche sports such as surfing and shooting. The depth to many of the markets is impressive with a large variety of leagues being catered for. The bookmaker also has and Esports section and covers specials, such as politics and tv shows.

Coral Odds Offers

Coral’s sportsbook consistently offer fair and competitive odds.  I looked at three football matches, from the Premier League and the Championship in England, and from the Champions League. Their payout margins averaged at 93.9%.  For the same fixtures Ladbrokes averaged 93.5%, 888sport 94% and BetVictor 92.4%.

For Rugby League I took three fixtures from the opening Weekend of the Super League. Coral’s payout margin averaged 89.8% compared to Ladbrokes (90.5%), 888sport (89.4%) and Bet Victor (90.4%).

For horse racing I looked at the 16:20 at Wetherby and the bookie had a payout margin of 80.83% compared to Ladbrokes (84.5%), 888sport (84.9%) and BetVictor (86.2%)

Odds can be viewed as fractional or decimal.

Coral Betting Options and Features

Coral offer a good range of markets, options and features to enhance your betting experience.

Cash out

Coral have a cash out feature which allows you to lock in a profit or loss before waiting for the event to finish. The partial cash out feature allows you to cash out a chosen amount and leave the remainder on your bet to run. You can cash out your bets by viewing your live bets and clicking on the cash out button next to the bet you wish to cash out.

Variety of Markets

As Ill as traditional markets Coral offer a wide range of options. Individual player props are becoming very popular, and these are available in a range of sports. In football, for some individual players, there are number of special markets set up for number of shots, passes or cards. This is available in cricket too, where you can predict how many runs a batsman will score. 

Bet Builder

Coral has a comprehensive football bet builder. There are many options which you can combine, and there is also the option to tIet @coral with #yourcall and get odds for a custom bet.

In-play

The bookmaker offers a great range of in-play betting options, which allows to monitor the action and place your wagers accordingly. The depth of football markets mean that you can find a match to bet on at most times throughout the day. Other sports to offer in-play betting tennis, golf, snooker, rugby, baseball, basketball and E-sports.

There are multiple in-play markets to choose from. For example, in football, as well as the standard match winner, you can bet on which team has the most corners or who will score the next goal. In-play markets on more niche sports or lower tiers of sport, may lack the depth and variety of more popular events. There is a graphic available to keep you up to date with the action, as well as a range of statistics.

Live Streaming

Along with its great in-play section Coral also provides a live-streaming service. Streams are offered on selected sports and events, which include football, basketball, tennis and horse racing.

To access the stream there are different conditions depending on the sport. To stream horse racing, punters must place at least £1 on that particular race. For other streams, all that is required is a funded Coral account.

Live streams are available on the desktop, mobile and app.

Multiples

Coral have a range of multiples and accas available.

Welcome offers and Promos at Coral. Grab a bonus at Coral.

Coral have a generous Welcome offer, which can net you £20 worth of free bets when you bet £5 on the sportsbook. There are also promotions for existing customers.

New Player Bonus at Coral

Coral have a great sign-up offer for new customers. Place a minimum bet of £5 on the Sportsbook on odds of a minimum of  1/2 (1.5),  and get £20 in free bets. This must be placed within 14 days of registering your account. The £20 is credited as 4 x £5 free bets (Not valid with Cash Out. Free bet valid for 4 days. Free bet stake not returned. T&Cs apply).  As ever, check the terms and conditions. This offer is very similar to Ladbrokes, who Coral merged with in 2016.

Coral Deposit Bonus

There is no deposit bonus available on the sportsbook at Coral, only the £20 worth of free bets when you bet £5 Welcome offer.

Coral Free Bet Bonus

Coral often run promos where you can be rewarded with free bets. For example the free to play game Grabber, where account holders can play once a day, can net you free bets.  There are also bet bundles available for horse racing and football, where you can get a bundle of 5 bets for double the value of your purchase. For Golf fans, if one of your selections misses the cut, you are compensated with a £2 free bet in selected competitions. For darts if you place your first bet the bookie will match your stake up to £5 with a free bet. Another football promotion is a European Football Special where you can get a£5 free bet  in-play when you bet £5 pre match.

Enhanced Odds at Coral

Coral have an odds boost on selected events. Look out for the odds booster icon in order to get a better price on your wager.

Acca Insurance

Coral have Acca insurance. Acca Insurance protects your bets, so if one of your bets doesn’t win, you’ll receive a Free Bet. Firstly, make sure that the offer is still available and that you’ve opted in. Terms and conditions apply.

Coral Free Bet Bonus

While Coral offer free to enter competitions and forecasts where you can win cash and free bets. For example, on the Football Super Series you get asked four questions where you have to predict a number of statistics on an upcoming match. Two or three right answers are rewarded with free bets while four correct answers wins you £50 in cash.

Coral Reload Bonus

As mentioned earlier, Coral have a number of offers available for existing customers, which give you the chance to boost your odds or win cash and free bets.

Coral Best Odds Guaranteed

Coral offer Best Odds Guaranteed on all UK and Ireland horse racing and greyhounds.

Coral VIP Programme

At the time of writing Coral do not offer a VIP programme on the sportsbook. However, they have the Coral Connect Card and the Coral Racing Club.

Coral Connect Card

Coral Connect is a feature open to all Coral customers. You can use it to link in-shop betting activity with an online Coral online account. You can use the card to make instant deposits and withdrawals and card holders can benefit from exclusive promotions.

Coral Racing Club

The Coral Racing Club enables customers to experience some of the benefits of racehorse ownership. The club launched in late 2022 with fmy racehorses in training.

 All Coral customers can opt-in to join the Coral Racing Club for free, and as Club members they will then be able to enter ballots to receive the full ownership experience on the racecourse when the Club’s racehorses run, with any prize money won going to the lucky owners.

Coral User Experience

Firstly, I looked at how to register an account, along with the Welcome bonus, terms and conditions. Then I completed the registration and verification process, before checking out a number of different sports before looking at specific bets, focusing on football, rugby league and horse racing.

I placed a couple of bets to make sure everything was working well and then checked out the customer service section, the terms and conditions and at the information and support on safer gambling. I conducted this research using both the desktop version of the Website and the app.

Using Coral on their Website

The Coral desktop Website is user friendly and allows access to all the different features on the site. It has a similar design to that of Ladbrokes, who they merged with in 2016, and it can feel a little cluttered and untidy. However when you become familiar with the site it becomes much easier to use. The large odds icons are ideal for customers new to betting and navigation between sports in easy with the A-Z menu. Within each sport it is easy to find your way to different leagues and betting markets.

Using Coral on their app

Coral provide an excellent service on mobile devices. The app is quick, responsive and offers easy access to promotions, different sports markets, and all that the site has to offer.

How to register a new account with Coral

You can register a new account with Coral in a matter of minutes. You simply hit the join button, provide your personal information, select a username, password and security question, enter the bonus code and click join. I have outlined the steps for you.

1. Visit the Coral Website and click the join button
2. Enter your email and create a user ID/password
3. Add your personal information, including your first and last name and date of birth.
4. Add your contact details, including your address and phone number and choose your preferred method of contact.
5. Agree to the terms and conditions and click on create my account.
6. Set your deposit limit and click submit

Documents and Information you need to share with Coral

As mentioned earlier you need to share personal details such as name, a valid email address, a phone number, country of residence and your current address. In order to verify your account you need to go through the following steps, which includes uploading a photo of your Passport, Drivers Licence or National ID. The Drivers Licence is a good option as it also covers proof of address.

ID Verification

You will need to upload a photo of one of the following:

National ID

Passport

Driver’s Licence

Address Verification

Copy of a bank statement (less than three months old).

Utility bill (less than three months old).

Coral Payment Methods

Coral have a number of options available for deposit and withdrawal. There is a minimum deposit limit of Debit cards have a minimum deposit of £5, with most other methods being £10. Deposit time is generally instant, with the exception of bank transfers.  

Cryptocurrency available at Coral

At the time of writing, no crypto payments are available at Coral.

Time to collect your winnings. Here’s how to withdraw your money from Coral

Coral have a ‘Closed Loop Policy’ when it comes to withdrawing funds. This means that if you have deposited into your Coral account using one payment method, you will have to use the same payment method to withdraw. When you are ready to make a withdrawal, clicking on the My Account button leads you to a number of straightforward steps.

Step by Step Guide on how to withdraw at Coral

1. When you are ready to make a withdrawal, clicking on the My Account button 
2. Click on withdraw
3. Next enter how much of your balance you want to withdraw.
4. Click the withdraw button

Other important information when withdrawing at Coral

As is standard, debit cards and bank transfers can take 1-3 days. Ewallets are usually quicker, within 24 hours. If you hold a Coral Connect Card you can use that for withdrawals.

Coral’s Customer Support

Coral boast an extensive help section, with many FAQs. There is also a live chat feature, and you can tweet any queries to @CoralCS. Opening hours are betIen 8am and 11pm. I did manage to locate a customer service telephone number; however this is not easily found on the Website or the app. 

Responsible Gambling

Coral take responsible gambling seriously. There are clear links to safer gambling on the Website and app. The safer gambling section has a video which goes through their policy and the tools available to help.

Tools, including Spending Controls, Account Closure and Reopening, Time Management and Self-exclusion can be accessed. You are encouraged to take responsibility for your gambling with the Budget Calculator and the Self-Assessment Tool. There is also a link to Nudge for financial advice. There are also links to other external agencies provided.

The safer gambling section can be easily found on the Coral site at the top and bottom of the page.

Awards and Recognitions

Coral is a Ill-regarded and highly rated bookmaker. Despite this, there is no recent history of the bookie winning any awards. I will update this section if this becomes the case.

Coral: Traditional bookie who can compete with Britain’s best

Chris Sampson: Coral are an excellent online bookmaker. They are an established, traditonal bookie who have moved with the times to be up there with the best betting sites in the UK: They have a great range and depth to their sports markets, and have fair and attractive odds. They have a great in-play section along with live streaming. A VIP section would improve things, and although the customer support is generally very good, the live chat has an automated feel and it takes a while to get in touch with an advisor. I recommend Coral to experienced punters looking to change bookmakers and to novice bettors alike.

Other betting site to play at if you like Coral

If you like betting at Coral then that you may enjoy:

Ladbrokes

(4.5/5)

BetVictor

(4.5/5)

Betfred

(4.5/5)

BoyleSports

(4.5/5)

Check out the best betting sites in the UK with Betting.com.