Black Type - Not Recommended

Black Type are a London based online bookmaker that came onto the scene in 2016.  The sportsbook and casino are provided and licensed under the stylish and modern FSB Technology which means that although they are a new brand they already have a fully stocked and highly functional betting site right out of the box.

Where Black Type are different is with their attitude towards punters.  They have been lauded for returning to traditional bookmaking values by not limiting players accounts who win, offering high payouts and industry leading prices, along with open honest and fair loyalty promotions. You get the impression they see their customers as people rather than pound signs.

Finding a bookie that takes your money no matter what and gives you the fairest deal doesn’t sound so special on the face of it, but in reality it is rare. Black Type are one of the only betting companies that seem to be motivated by more than just making profit.

Market Types

Being a British brand, Black Type supply a sports list with a very traditional feel to it, despite being so young themselves. Horse and greyhound racing play a big part in this bookie’s day to day market activity, while football, rugby, golf, and tennis are also given pride of place on the short cuts menu.

Already you can see that this is a site for bettors who wager on traditional sports rather than niche market hunters, although you will find volleyball and handball, but that’s about as exotic as it gets. American sports are covered but they stick to the major games and competitions and tend not to delve to deep with the markets for each fixture; you’ll find some Japanese, Korean and Canadian games though.

Still, for a punter who likes betting on British sports as well as having a tinker with the odd headline match from afar this site is perfect. Of course, when it comes to the sports with a bigger following, they really double down their efforts – have a look:

As you can see Black Type are taking full advantage of what FSBTech can provide in these popular betting area’s.

Depth of market for each event won’t rival the bigger bookies – it rarely reaches more than 80 betting lines pre-match even for Premier League fixtures – but again, this is a site best suited to those who are after less complicated betting options.

Odds and Offers

This is probably one of Black Type’s strongest areas and a clear indication of why their customer retention rate is so high. Their ethos of respecting their customers and maintaining traditional values shines through when you look at their spread of prices.

The odds are consistently good across the board, with some sports challenging for the top spot and most others certainly better than average; I couldn’t find anything that I would consider poor value.

Those of you with good knowledge of rugby and tennis can find some real diamonds at Black Type and the horse racing odds highlight the company’s plan to become ‘the home of horse racing’, and best odds are guaranteed for UK and Irish races. The same goes for all UK greyhound racing.

Football is where a huge percentage of all wagers are made at any sportsbook, and the odds margins here are better than average and don’t waver much, but of course, Black Type can boost their value further with a long term acca offer so you can significantly increase their worth in this way.

They are the sort of bookie that offer solid long term value rather than flash in the pan offers (traditional values on display here again) so expect dependable long running free bet clubs and the like over any ‘Saturday Madness!’ type promotion banners. They might have the odd targeted promotion pn a World Cup for example, but they will be few and far between.

About Black Type Bet

Black Type are different to typical online only bookies in that they have traditional values when it comes to being a bookmaker. The commitment to maintaining low margins, good odds and not limiting players accounts who win is a real draw for any punter, low or high stakes. This approach to a USP is brave because it isn’t immediately attention grabbing, but when a business offers value for money word spreads fast. It certainly seems to be working so far for Black Type.

The site runs of the FSB Technology platform, and this is also the company they are licenced under in the UK, along with sister sites like Genting Bet.  FSB are known as the best sportsbook platform to run on, and this is a principle reason why the site is so enjoyable to use.  In fact, FSB now both own and operate the brand with Black Type Services Ltd going into administration in early 2020.

The platform is where the similarity to those other brands ends, however; at Black Type, there is far more under the bonnet when it comes to providing for the user.

Customer support is an area where they need to improve though, currently not offering phone support or live chat, although saying that they are very attentive to emails. I would imagine this will improve as their customer base builds up numbers; it’s much easier to provide support via email to a smaller number of customers, but as things develop they will have to branch out.

Terms & Conditions/Money Matters

If you read the words ‘terms and conditions’ and were tempted to scroll past then don’t, because this is actually what makes Black Type stand out from the crowd in a big way.

You will remember that I have mentioned the company’s traditional values a few times already, and this is where they show their quality. The terms set by a site can affect the user experience in a huge way, and Black Type are committed to making their customer experience as positive as possible.

To that end they guarantee that they will never ban successful bettors or close their accounts; they will allow wagers that could cost them big if they come in; they offer high payouts and concentrate on customer retention rather than making a quick buck; their terms and promotions are honest and fair.

Their win limits are high for such a small bookie too:

Withdrawals should only take a maximum of 2 days which is pretty good going and there are no fees, although the range of payment methods is still pretty limited if truth be told.

This could well improve in the next few years though, as Black Type don’t seem to be hanging around.

Honourable Mentions

This page would take hours to read if we covered every corner of what Black Type has to offer, so in an effort to save you some time but leave you no less clued up, I give you a 2 minute briefing on the best of the rest:

• Blog – Lots of information and interesting news articles to be found here, especially when it comes to horse racing as the well known jockey Harry Bentley regularly writes for them giving insight and inside info.
• Virtuals – There are four sports to enjoy here; football, horse racing, greyhounds, and motor racing. They are fun to play for a while but it has to be said that the graphics look borrowed from 2004.
• In-Play Betting – The interface is fantastic and built with the user in mind; it’s very easy to find your bet and browse what’s available. There isn’t always as much on show as there is elsewhere but you certainly won’t be left wanting, especially if you want to bet on tennis.
• Streaming – The good news is that live streaming is available. The bad news is that it’s only available on horse and greyhound racing for the moment. However, this is highly encouraging for such a young brand.
• Casino – This may be a sportsbook primarily but there is no shortage of games in the casino. Around 500 titles lie in wait with slots, jackpots, table games and live casino games all included. Fantastic developers have been brought in to power the casino too. Top work.
• Hong Kong Pool Betting – I’ve never managed to catch this in action but it allows punters to enjoy pool betting from horse races in Hong Kong. Lovely stuff.
• Cashout – Partial cash out included with good availability and fair terms.
• Mobile – There isn’t an app but the site is mobile optimised and absolutely no problem to use. Perfect for betting while out and about.

Who Should Bet Here?

There’s no denying that the range and depth of sporting markets isn’t as great here as at other bookies, so in some ways Black Type is limited. However, there are thousands upon thousands of bettors who rarely bet on anything other than the most popular sports and markets, and for them this place is the bee’s knees.

A simple interface supports all the events an average punter is likely to want, backed up with genuinely favourable odds and betting terms that more bookie should take note of.

Those who bet on the gee gee’s who might be looking for somewhere else to try will be well served here, as will those who want to feel like they are getting good value without having to navigate a minefield of promo’s to bump odds value.

Remember, this brand only started trading in 2016 so they are already well ahead of the pack. If you sign up with them now you could well see plenty of positive results in the future as their product grows and develops.