BetRivers Review

Rush Street Interactive started making a splash in the gambling world with the founding of Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh and SugarHouse Casino (now Rivers Casino Philadelphia) in the mid-2000s. Since then, they’ve expanded across the country and have numerous casinos under the Rivers branding.

With the revolution of legal online sports betting across the country in the past few years, it only made sense they would throw their hat in the ring. In 2019 they did just that with the launch of the BetRivers online sportsbook.

BetRivers is a decent offering but leaves a lot to be desired in many areas. The desktop site itself is perfectly functional but feels a bit cluttered with a newsfeed full of updates on how strangers are faring on their bets. The site would benefit a great deal by nixing this feature.

A solid foundation that needs work to compete with the best of the best

The BetRivers mobile app setup also needs a lot of work. They require users in the different operational states to use different apps, and some states don’t even have access to one. This doesn’t make a ton of sense and makes things a lot less convenient for the user - the opposite of what a good mobile app should do!

On the bright side, BetRivers has a decent betting variety. While you may note the lack of custom single-game parlay features, there are plenty of betting markets to choose from. Plus, the added casino and live streaming features are always a plus!

On the whole, BetRivers misses the mark in a few key areas but still provides a solid product for users to play with.

• Live streaming of some events, including some NHL games and Tennis majors
• Casino options for poker, slots, and craps in some states
• Sign up bonus applicable for both sportsbook and casino platforms

• Very limited custom same game parlay creation
• Crowded interface with unnecessary features
• Mobile experience needs improvement

BetRivers Deposit Bonus

Right now, new users to BetRivers online sportsbook have access to a 2nd Chance Bet of up to $500 upon sign up.

Simply enter the promo code ‘SPORTS’ during registration. After that, make your first deposit of at least $10. After that, just make your first real money wager.

If you win, then you get to enjoy your winnings, nothing special there. If your first bet loses, however, you will get refunded 100% up to $500 in the form of a single bonus bet!

With an easy playthrough requirement of 1x, all you have to do is wager your total bonus amount once for it to be eligible to withdraw as cash.

As far as deposit bonuses go, this is a pretty good deal. The big caveat is that you gave to wager real money before receiving your bonus, and you could walk away with no bonus if your first bet wins.

Plus the playthrough requirement on your bonus money is so quick and easy that it will be eligible for withdrawal in short order if you play your cards right.

How to claim your BetRivers Deposit Bonus:

1. Register with BetRivers
2. Enter the promo code 'SPORTS' at sign up
3. Create your account
4. Deposit at least $10
5. Play!

BetRivers really steps up the game in terms of promotions. Regular customers often get bonuses just for logging in! While regular promotions like odds boosts aren;t offered as frequently as on competitors like Caesars Sportsbook, there's still plenty of reason for users to keep coming back, such as:

• Login Rewards - BetRivers often offers users profit boosts just for logging in to your account on a given day. For example, they're currently offering users a 20% profit boosts on NHL bets as long as you log in on a Friday
• Odds Boosts - As stated before, they're not offered as frequently as competitors, but you can still find some nice odds boosts on BetRivers
• Refer-A-Friend - You and your friend can both get rewarded if you refer one another to the sportsbook.

While the number and frequency of odds boosts can be improved, I'm still pretty happy with this slate of promotions. Combine this with a nice sign up offer and I have to say that BetRivers' bonuses are very rewarding.

BetRivers has taken it upon themselves to expand far and wide. Entering the online sports betting world with a built-in advantage due to their background as a casino operator, BetRivers is currently available in the following states:

BetRivers States

• Arizona (Sportsbook)
• Colorado (Sportsbook)
• Illinois (Sportsbook)
• Indiana (Sportsbook)
• Iowa (Sportsbook)
• Louisiana (Sportsbook)
• Michigan (Sportsbook & Casino)
• New Jersey (Sportsbook & Casino)
• New York (Sportsbook)
• Pennsylvania (Sportsbook & Casino)
• Virginia (Sportsbook)
• West Virginia (Sportsbook & Casino)

Additionally, the PlaySugarHouse sportsbook in Pennsylvania & Connecticut is part of the BetRivers family. Both BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse are owned and operated by Rush Street Interactive

These brands have begun to merge, with PlaySugarHouse's New Jersey offering recently getting transitioned to BetRivers NJ.

The BetRivers suite of apps has a lot to improve upon.

First of all, BetRivers requires you to have different apps to bet in different states. This might not seem like too much of a hurdle, but it is a major inconvenience to have to download a new app every time you cross state lines.

BetRivers hinders their own mobile experience by requiring different apps for different states

For example, if you live in Illinois and travel across the border into Indiana, you'll have to download an entirely new app to be able to place bets. It may not seem like a huge deal, but it's a silly and unnecessary inconvenience that hurts a mobile experience that isn't exactly running on all cylinders as is.

Developing apps takes time and resources, so I understand why there aren’t apps for each state yet - that’s not the problem. If they simply had one streamlined app for all of their states, then this wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Using the apps can be a bit of a challenging experience as well. The app looks pretty good, but it can move a little slowly. This makes navigating to different tabs a clunky experience.

Minor functional elements need to be tweaked to provide a better experience as well. Adding a bet to your betslip redirects you to the betslip tab, which is a lot more inconvenient for those interested in creating teasers and parlays. Stuff like this should be improved over time, but for now, these quirks hurt the product.

Overall, the BetRivers mobile experience leaves something to be desired.

BetRivers iPhone App (IL)

• Available on the App Store
• 2.5/5 user rating based on 99 reviews

BetRivers Android App (PA)

• Available on Google Play
• 3.4/5 user rating based on 421 reviews

BetRivers has plenty of ways for you to bank on their book. A solid suite of payment options, including ACH, PayPal, and PayNearMe make banking quite easy.

Deposits are typically available in your account instantly. Payouts via your Prepaid Play+ card and cash at in-person sportsbooks are processed immediately, while most others can take 2-5 business days.

The minimum deposit & withdrawal is $10.

Bettors on BetRivers can take advantage of the following options to deposit money into your account:

• Visa, Discover, and MasterCard
• PayPal
• Cash with PayNearMe or Vanilla
• BetRivers Play+ Prepaid Card
• VIP Preferred ACH
• ACH
• Cash at in-person casino locations

The minimum deposit for any method is $10. Deposits are usually available in your account within minutes.

Overall, BetRivers has a great infrastructure for deposits. In particular, the addition of Vanilla as a PayNearMe alternative is a great touch for users that want to bet online with cash.

There are many credit and debit card options, and the minimum requirement is average compared to the competition, many of whom also require a $10 minimum, one of the rare exceptions being DraftKings Sportsbook which only requires $5.

To take money out of your BetRivers account, you can utilize the following methods:

• PayPal
• Cash with PayNearMe or Vanilla
• BetRivers Play+ Prepaid Card
• VIP Preferred ACH
• ACH
• Cash at in-person casino locations
• Mailed check

The minimum withdrawal is $10. Withdrawals take anywhere from 2-5 days to process, but in our experience, it’s very rare for it to take any more than 3 days.

Again, BetRivers is pretty average for withdrawing your money. The minimum withdrawal amount is pretty standard for the market and comparable with other books like Caesars Sportsbook and PointsBet.

Of course, BetRivers offers PayPal support for deposits and withdrawals. As with all other payment options, the minimum for deposits & withdrawals is $10.

BetRivers PayPal deposits are instant. Withdrawals using PayPal can be processed within the same day but can take up to 72 hours.

The main thing missing here is a lack of support for other digital wallets such as Skrill. In the future, more support for these platforms would be greatly appreciated and make the BetRivers Banking experience one of the best in the online sports betting game.

BetRivers provides a solid offering of betting variety and covers most of your basic needs.

Major sports offered include:

• Football
• Basketball
• Baseball
• Hockey
• Soccer
• Golf
• Tennis

You have a pretty standard set of options for sports to bet on - no glaring omissions. We’d love them to expand to e-sports and other niche areas in the future, but their omission is not too problematic for now.

When you add in the Rivers Casino available online in several states, BetRivers offers you a nice and varied online betting experience.

Unfortunately, the presentation of their platform is still lacking In particular, the 'Newsfeed' feature is a waste of space that doesn't share particularly insightful information with the user. If you could sync this feature to your contacts and see your friends' bets that would be something, but I don't personally have any interest in seeing what complete strangers are betting.

The lack of a custom single-game parlay builder is a bit disappointing. Unless special parlays have already been created by the site, you can’t combine different bets from the same game together. This is a feature with growing popularity on other platforms, so we hope it will come to BetRivers in the future.

Notably, BetRivers features live streaming for select events. As long as you have an account with a positive balance you will be eligible to watch some foreign leagues, select NHL games, and even major tennis events like the French Open.

Live streaming directly from your sportsbook allows you to keep track of your bets, as well as make new live bets, as you watch.

This is a growing area for sportsbooks to expand upon in the future, so it’s good to see BetRivers ahead of the curve here in the States.

Users in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia can also take advantage of the Rivers Online Casino. So if you live in those three states, you’re free to take your winnings from the Eagles game on a Sunday and bet it all on black.

Games include virtual slots, live table games (such as roulette and blackjack), and video poker.

With hundreds of games available, it really adds to the overall online gambling experience one can have on BetRivers.

New users to BetRivers Casino are eligible for a separate promotion from sportsbook users. Upon registration, use the promo code ‘CASINO500.’

After this, your account will be rewarded with bonus money matching your first deposit up to $500 after you have wagered through your first deposit.

It’s a pretty good deal, which allows you to also test out the casino side of BetRivers.

BetRivers features live chat, phone, and email support for users experiencing issues. There is also a fairly large support center featuring some frequently asked questions about the sportsbook.

All in all, BetRivers’ customer support could use an update. The live chat feature is fairly responsive, but the helpline mainly exists to redirect users to the live chat feature on the site. Sprucing this up and making the helpline a real feature would go a long way to bringing the customer service up a notch.

The support center has dedicated pages for numerous frequently asked questions about the sportsbook. However, many of these pages clearly haven’t been updated in a long time, which calls into question the legitimacy of the answers. This section is very detailed and should be a bright spot, but the lack of care shown toward it is obvious and turns what should be positive into a negative.