Onyx Odds Review

As social sportsbooks increase in popularity in the US, Onyx Games, LLC's Onyx Odds platform enters the arena as a true player. Boasting more than 35 states and territories in the US in which it's safe and legal to play, Onyx Odds not only provides sports bettors with a sufficient platform to win real cash prizes; Onyx Odds also offers folks a way to bet on sports without wagering real money.

Onyx Odds is a solid social sportsbook with great betting features but no mobile apps

Crucially, Onyx Odds is also legal in several states in which traditional sports betting is not yet legal, such as California and Texas. Because they're a social sportsbook and offer users a way to make picks without wagering real money, their compliance with sports betting laws operates in a different atmosphere than popular sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel.

So, how does Onyx Odds stack up against other social sportsbooks and more traditional sports betting apps? In this review, we'll repeat multiple times that while Onyx Odds is a safe and solid sports betting platform, there are two features that impress us a great deal, and two features that we feel truly bring Onyx Odds' overall rating down a substantial amount:

🔥 Availability: With availability in more than 35 US states and territories, Onyx Odds is available more widely than most sports betting platforms and even operates in states that don't currently have legal sports betting.

🔥 Gameplay & Interface: Onyx Odds' platform looks and operates just like a traditional sports betting app, an impressive feat compared to other social sportsbooks that often clutter users with extra features to prove that they're compliant with sports betting regulations.

👎 No Mobile Apps: Onyx Odds is currently only available to play via the web; while they do have a web-based app that's available on mobile devices, it's not the same experience as an iOS or Android mobile app.

👎 Poor Customer Support: The Onyx team doesn't have many customer support options available, and the options they do have are not advertised anywhere on their site, suggesting they don't want users to reach out with problems to resolve.

How Can You Make Money on Onyx Odds?

Like many social sportsbooks, Onyx Odds offers users two ways to make picks: With Onyx Coins, and with Onyx Cash. As you can see in the image above, Onyx makes it easy to toggle between their purple Onyx Coins mode and the green Onyx Cash mode. So, what's the difference?

• Onyx Coins: When users use Onyx Coins, they're essentially using free-to-play mode. Onyx Odds gives you free Onyx Coins when you create an account and will often deliver free Onyx Coins to users.
• Onyx Cash: This gameplay mode is how users can wager real money to win cash prizes. If you win bets and accumulate Onyx Cash, you can exchange it for cash prizes, similar to a cash withdrawal from a traditional sportsbook.

Buying Onyx Cash

A common method of operation in order for social sportsbooks to stay compliant with state and federal sports betting regulations is preventing users from directly purchasing a currency that they can wager. How does Onyx Odds pull this off? As we'll describe further in the Payment Options section of this review, Onyx only lets users purchase Onyx Coins, which cannot be redeemed for cash prizes.

While this may sound counterintuitive, this is how Onyx and other social sportsbooks are legal in so many states — by offering Onyx Coins for purchase, they can throw in Onyx Cash as an add-on to your Onyx Coins like they're part of a promotion. In reality, users who want to bet real money on sports with Onyx Odds can purchase Onyx Coins and get Onyx Cash thrown in with their purchase; then, they can ignore the Onyx Coins they bought and simply use Onyx Cash to bet on sports for a chance to win cash prizes.

If you're looking for a sports betting platform that has a generous welcome offer and a wide array of promotions and rewards, unfortunately, Onyx Odds is not for you. Unlike sportsbooks that have generous promotional offerings like Fanatics or BetMGM, Onyx Odds' welcome offer and refer-a-friend promotions are about all you can expect.

Onyx Odds Welcome Offer

So, what is Onyx Odds' current welcome offer? For new users, Onyx is giving away 100 in bonus bets to registrants who purchase at least $10 worth of coins. Purchasing any amount of Onyx Coins will already land you a corresponding amount in Onyx Cash, and first-time users will enjoy a welcome offer that adds 100 coins to the pot when you make a purchase of $10 or more.

Refer a Friend to Onyx Odds

At this time, the only other way to score coins from Onyx is to opt in to their refer-a-friend program. If you refer a friend to Onyx Odds, you'll be given 25 in Onyx Cash that can be wagered and redeemed for real cash prizes. Onyx, like many sportsbooks, also advertises that your friend will receive 100 in Bonus Picks when you make your referral — but as is typically the case, that's simply stating that your friend will receive the welcome offer if and when they sign up.

Same-Game Parlay Boosts

The one counter to Onyx having a poor suite of promotions is that they do, at times, offer same-game parlay boosts for marquee games like Thursday Night Football or playoff games in major US sports. You can expect to see offers like a 25% SGP boost for assembling a parlay that meets a minimum number of picks and exceeds minimum odds.

Unfortunately, Onyx Odds does not yet have mobile apps available on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Curiously, plenty of Onyx Odds reviews online will tell you that they have an app, and the truth is, they kind of do — but it's a web-based app. So in order to make picks on Onyx Odds on your phone, you'll have to go to their website on a browser, which becomes a web-based app when you visit it on a phone.

This does not mean it's the same experience as a traditional sports betting app.

While Onyx Odds' web-based app functions just fine and allows you to make picks on the go, you still have to utilize a web browser on your phone to access it. So whether you use Safari, Chrome or otherwise, you'll need to first launch that app to then visit Onyx Odds. At that point, you can keep Onyx as a tab in your browser to expedite the process next time if you don't want to type in a URL each time you want to make picks on Onyx.

Of course, this is a sportsbook review — and a mobile app review in this section of the page — so we're nitpicking Onyx Odds on this front. The truth is, the gameplay is perfectly fine on their web-based app. But if we're going to compare them to other social sportsbooks like Betr and Thrillzz, we must specify that they fall behind when it comes to mobile apps.

There's no denying the betting experience on Onyx Odds. Aside from their option to choose between Onyx Coins and Onyx Cash — essentially a decision to play for free or wager real money — Onyx Odds' betting features truly resemble that of a traditional sports betting app. They have standard bets like moneylines and spreads, and their player prop availability stacks right up against the big boys.

Here's a quick overview of the basic betting features available on Onyx Odds:

• Moneylines: Bet on which team you think will win
• Spreads, Run Lines & Puck Lines: Make picks against a point spread
• Player Props: Choose over or under specific player stat projections
• Totals: Choose over or under the total number of points, runs or goals scored
• Quarter & Half Specials: Bet on totals or teams to win a half, quarter or period
• Parlays, Same-Game Parlays & SGPx: Combine picks across games or from the same matchup
• Futures: Bet on a long-term event or postseason award-winner

Onyx Odds is a new company, having launched in 2024, and their progress in developing a top-of-the-line social betting platform is impressive at this point. Still, you can see Onyx experimenting with other types of betting and casino games. Let's take a look at a couple special betting features on Onyx Odds.

Onyx Odds Mini Games

Whether you play Onyx Odds on a desktop computer or on your mobile phone, you'll notice a pop-up button labeled Mini Games that's pretty unmissable. Clicking or tapping on the Mini Games button takes you to their one and only Mini Game: blackjack.

With only one Mini Game on offer at this point, it's clear that Onyx Odds has a way to go with their supplemental casino games. Still, it's rare for a sports betting app to offer a popular casino game like blackjack without forcing you to download another app or visit another website. A review for Onyx Odds' Mini Games may be premature at this point, but we like where their heads are at.

Special Betting Markets on Onyx Odds

Another betting feature of Onyx Odds that's matched by few other social sportsbooks is their offering of special markets. Bet on who you think will win events like US elections or awards shows like the Oscars on Onyx Odds either with Onyx Cash or Onyx Coins.

Since their founding in 2024, one of the areas in which Onyx Odds has improved greatly is their offering of different sports for making your picks. While they started with the four major US sports, they've expanded to include more sports and leagues, even including a wide array of international soccer leagues like La Liga, Serie A and more.

For a full list of sports available for making picks on Onyx Odds, click the drop-down below:

Onyx Odds is legal to play in 37 US states and Washington, DC. Compared to other social sportsbooks, Onyx Odds' availability is pretty impressive — Betr's social sportsbook, for example, is available in fewer than 30 states. So as we consider Onyx Odds' overall rating as a social sportsbook, we think it's worth factoring in that only 13 states don't yet allow residents to play Onyx Odds.

As we've reference throughout this review, Onyx Odds has plenty of positive features for sports bettors, but customer support is not one of them. In fact, nowhere on their website or web-based app is there a way to navigate to customer support. The only methods for contacting them took us a while to track down on external websites.

Here are the two contact methods Onyx Odds has available at this time:

• Email: contact@onyxodds.com
• Phone: 334-471-4060

Again, this is a huge downside for Onyx Odds. When users have technical issues or have trouble purchasing coins or withdrawing funds, they need a quick and effective way to get in touch with representatives from the sportsbook they're using. In the case of Onyx Odds, an otherwise solid platform takes a big hit with their inability to present valid customer support options like a support chat or FAQ.

How to Register on Onyx Odds

Thankfully, Onyx Odds does feature a quick and easy sign-up process. You just need to input your email and choose a username and password to get started.

Don't forget! The sign-up screen is where to input the promo code SBO in order to claim your exclusive welcome offer from Sportsbooks Online.

Once you've completed these initial steps, Onyx will ask to verify your identity with your legal state ID and a selfie to confirm you are who you say you are.

After you've completed the identity check, you're all set! From here, you can use free Onyx Coins to make picks or purchase more Onyx Coins that come with Onyx Cash if you want a chance to win real cash prizes.

Because Onyx Odds is a social sportsbook instead of a traditional sports betting platform, they don't take cash deposits; rather, they prompt users to buy Onyx Coins that can be used to make picks and predictions, but not redeemed for cash.

Any purchase of Onyx Coins comes with added Onyx Cash, typically in 1/1,000th increments of the Onyx Coins being purchased. Onyx Cash can, in fact, be used to place real-money wagers on sports events and futures, and any winnings can be redeemed for real cash prizes.

Of course, this method of buying coins is a clever way for social sportsbooks to comply with strict sports betting laws.

You're officially only buying coins that can't be wagered or redeemed for cash (Onyx Coins), and the coins you actually can wager (Onyx Cash) are treated like mere throw-ins with your Onyx Coins purchase. As a result, Onyx Odds and other social sportsbooks aren't subjected to the same sports betting regulations as sportsbooks like Bet365 or ESPN BET.

These are the payment options currently available for buying coins and withdrawing cash prizes from Onyx Odds:

• Credit & Debit Cards (Amex, MasterCard, Visa)
• Connect a Bank
• Apple Pay

Here at Sportsbooks Online, we review social sportsbooks just like we rate traditional sportsbooks — our ratings and opinions are based on the following criteria:

• Sportsbook Bonus Offers: Does this betting app offer a generous welcome bonus?
• Betting Variety: From live betting to same-game parlays, what betting options are available?
• Mobile Betting Experience: Most bettors use mobile apps to make picks; does this app meet expectations?
• Availability: Is this sportsbook available in your state and for someone your age?
• Payment Options: Aside from credit cards and online banking, are digital payment methods utilized?
• Customer Support: Is this sportsbook's customer service team responsive?