The Pinnacle Sports online betting service was founded in 1998 and currently operates out of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. In this review, we’ll take a look at the services offered by Pinnacle, paying special attention to the quality and overall execution of their business model.
Overall Reputation
Pinnacle Sports has a stellar reputation within the sportsbook industry. In addition to being referenced in publications such as USA Today, ESPN the Magazine, and the New York Times, they’ve been consistently given high marks by various betting forums and watchdog sites.
As a testament to their customer satisfaction, they now serve clients in over 100 countries. While this number is certainly impressive, it should be noted that Pinnacle does not accept wagers from residents of the United States, France, Turkey, and the Netherlands.
Odds and Betting Coverage
According to their website, Pinnacle strives to always offer the best odds while never charging a commission. Most sites deviate around 6% from the true odds in order to secure the best possible margin of profit, but Pinnacle Sports defies the competition by holding to an industry-low 2%. This number is consistent whether you’re wagering on basketball, tennis, or American football.
All major sporting leagues are covered, as well as more niche-oriented pastimes like table tennis. You can also wager on political and entertainment figures, and they’re the first sportsbook I’ve seen that takes action on e-games such as League of Legends and Starcraft 2.
Payout Times
Pinnacle strives to offer the fastest payout times, and every piece of evidence suggests that they’ve succeeded in this goal. Their network of commercial partners is carefully selected for security and reliability, and they range from Neteller and eCheque to iDebit. In fact, customers have a total of 15 options to choose from.
A fixed fee is charged for each transaction, but customers also get one free withdrawal per month. Most transactions are resolved immediately, although a few options (bank transfer, for example) can take up to 10 days to finalize. In most cases, however, your money should be transferred within seconds of clicking your mouse.
Accepted Methods of Payment
Pinnacle accepts 15 different deposit options. Some of the most popular include the following: credit cards (Visa, MasterCard), Moneybookers, Neteller, POLi, bank wire, ClickandBuy, Chinese debit cards, and Delta debit cards.
The majority of these deposit options carry no additional charges, although Canadian residents are required to pay a 1.25% fee. There are also limits to the amount of money that can be deposited per transaction, from 1,500 Euros to $3,000 American/Canadian.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
The customer service department for Pinnacle is available 24/7 and 365 days per year. Those who prefer to speak directly to a person may be disappointed, however, as all their matters are handled via email.
While this might initially seem like a detriment, the site is so well organized and maintained that customer problems are something of a rarity. And in the unusual case where customer service is needed, you’ll be amazed at the speed and efficiency of their response.
Strongest Areas of Pinnacle Sports
While Pinnacle Sports has a wide array of positive traits, the following are the most notable:
- Optimal Customer Experience – Everything about their website has been optimized to provide customers with a high-quality experience, from the placement of graphics to real-time updates. If you’re looking for the high point of sports gambling, Pinnacle more than lives up to its name.
- High Wager Limits – If you’re the type of bettor who enjoys risking massive sums of money, you’ll be pleased to know that Pinnacle Sports offers the largest betting limits in the online sportsbook industry. In the case of the NFL, there’s a limit of $30,000 on point spread wagers, and $10,000 for the moneyline and over/under.
- Low Margins – The industry norm for deviating from true odds is 6%, and this constitutes the margin that sportsbooks use to make a profit. On average, Pinnacle offers the lowest margins in the business at 2%.
- Superior Mobile Betting Service – Their state-of-the-art mobile betting platform allows customers to place wagers via smart phones or any other portable device with an Internet connection. Their mobile experience is crisp, convenient, and on a par with the options available to PC users.