BetOWI.com is a small online casino that offers iGaming aficionados in the United States and Canada the chance to enjoy a rather small collection of slot, table and video poker games. Nevertheless, the site makes up for this meager selection by also running a sportsbook under the direction of well-known American sports betting guru Dan Panella that features a wide range of markets on sports including ice hockey, golf, tennis and basketball.

Established in 2011, the domain is the sister brand to the BitBet.com and PlayBlackjack.com enterprises and asserts that it is licensed by regulators in Costa Rica for use by punters over the age of 21. Despite including the acronym ‘OWI’ within its name, which stands for ‘offshore wagering international’, the brand is not available to punters in several prominent global jurisdictions including the United Kingdom and has often been criticized for slow customer payouts.

Accessibility

Those turning their web browsers to BetOWI.com are immediately presented with a somewhat basic landing page that looks as if it could have been designed during the early days of the 1990s. This uncomplicated motif similarly extends to nine top-page boxes that will link players to the domain’s casino and sportsbook alongside its racebook, bonus, promotions and cashier sections.

As it allows players to deposit and withdraw funds via several cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Litecoin, the site additionally offers uninitiated punters the chance to learn a bit more about these enigmatic coinages via the page-top Buy Bitcoin box. All of these are joined by a range of footer links where potential customers can obtain information about the domain alongside promotional tidbits and explanations on the allowable bet types.

Games Selection

When it comes to the online casino, it offers desktop players a comparatively small assortment of slot, table and video poker games from developers including High 5 Games, PlayStar and Belatra Games. All of these amusements are available by clicking on the English-language domain’s Fortuna Casino offering while being complemented by a mobile-friendly service featuring eight table and video poker titles.

Popular slot games include:

• Fruity Fortune
• Wild 7s
• Victory Lane
• Jurassic Fire
• Pirate’s Revenge

To further engage with iGaming aficionados the site powered by technology from BetSoft Gaming has a selection of some 20 table games that incorporate video poker, blackjack, roulette, keno and poker titles. However, the domain has no live-dealer entertainment and seemingly utilizes its sparse online casino offering solely to attract punters to its rather more substantial sportsbook.

Sportsbook

The main driver of traffic has to be its sportsbook, which offers markets on a plethora of sports running from American football and mixed martial arts to golf and baseball. Regarding this latter diversion and the site additionally covers games from Mexico, Japan and Taiwan while further boosting its global credentials by allowing punters to wager on basketball contests run by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). However, those looking to place a more unique gamble will be disappointed as the enterprise does not offer eSports, politics and novelty markets.

Alongside all of this parlay, straight, moneyline and proposition action and the domain furthermore runs a racebook that permits aficionados to place wagers on horseracing action from over 30 tracks located across the United States. Punters can even login to lodge bets on contests being run at the world-famous Churchill Downs, Meadowlands and Santa Anita Park facilities while simultaneously laying down cash on who may win a race at the lesser known Mountaineer Park, Keeneland and Monmouth Park venues.

Deposits and Withdrawals

Punters may use a variety of methods to fund their accounts in American dollars including PayPal and bank transfers alongside Visa, MasterCard and American Express although all of these come with minimum individual deposit constraints. Players can additionally utilize the Walmart 2 Walmart, Western Union, Money Gram and Zelle methods as well as money orders and pre-paid gift cards featuring values from $25 up to $500. The domain also accepts payments made using cryptocurrencies encompassing Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin and Cardano with these having minimum $5 deposit requirements.

When it comes time to withdraw any winnings and the iGaming enterprise offers punters the ability to use these very same methods to receive their cash. However, pre-paid gift cards are the only method that does not incur a fee with PayPal, Western Union and money order transactions attracting levies as high as $75. To further complicate matters and the site only allows two pay-outs each week individually worth no more than $500 that are subject to processing periods that could run from three to ten days.

Mobile Access

Although the operator does not feature a downloadable app for online casino players on the move, the site uses its terms and conditions to state that its desktop offering has been designed ‘to work from any smartphone with a web browser that can display rich HTML5 graphics. The domain additionally proclaims that this mobile accessibility runs to ‘virtually any iPhone and Android device’ alongside BlackBerry devices, which are especially prevalent in North America, such as those utilizing the latest BB10 OS operating software.

Customer Service

For anyone who needs to ask a question or resolve a problem, there is a customer service telephone hotline although this amenity is not toll-free. Alternatively, and the site operates an e-mail service while having a Twitter presence via @Bet_OWI and backs up these English-language channels via the frequently asked questions (FAQ) section situated at the bottom of its landing page.

Nevertheless, the site differs from many of its larger compatriots by not running a live-chat facility for those who may want to quickly and easily lodge a query or resolve any uncertainties without having to use a telephone.

Pitfalls

• No live chat customer service facility
• Meager online casino offering
• Low weekly withdrawal limits
• No live-dealer games
• Withdrawal fees and slow pay-outs

Final Word

BetOWI.com is a relatively new enterprise open to American and Canadian punters that runs a small selection of online casino games in addition to a much more expansive sportsbook. While browsing the site’s offerings, one could not help but suspect that these are only present as a way of helping to drive player traffic towards the immensely larger sports betting service.

Nevertheless, the domain is benefitting from the fact that it is accessible to iGaming aficionados in the United States and Canada, where the rates of legalization and licensing have not necessarily matched demand. With this in mind and the site could well be seen as a one-stop-shop for punters looking to lodge a wager or enjoy slot and table games action while waiting for their particular state or province to catch up.