Coral

The Story of Coral

Coral, the bookmaking arm of the Gala Coral Group, was first established back in 1926 by small time on-course greyhound bookie Joe Coral. Along with his friend, Tom Bradbury-Pratt, Coral would oversee the opening of his very first off-course retail outlet in 1961. The company now has 1,800 stores across the United Kingdom making it the third biggest bookie in the UK with 20% of the market share. What's more, Coral is also well established in Italy. Better known as Eurobet, the company can boast having 870 high street betting establishments and a popular website.

Also part of the Gala Coral Group is bingo club operator Gala Bingo, the UK's leading operator of such services with 34% of the market share. The pair underwent a £2.18 billion merger in the October of 2005.

According to their UK website, Coral were a late starter in bringing their services to the online community, setting up their first webpage as late as 2011. According to their 'Our History' page; 'The Group signed a 10-year deal with Playtech and other key suppliers [in this year] to provide online betting and integrated wallet technology to Group brands.'

It was as late as 2012 that the firm decided to launch 'new online platforms for the UK market', these being such things as poker, bingo and casino games. Coral's newest feature is their mobile phone betting application which allows their customers to back their selections on the go. It is alleged on the company's website that Coral invested £50 million into such platforms, they currently being a key factor in the firm seeing a year-on-year growth in their net revenue. Coral state:

'The increasing convergence of retail and online provides further opportunities for growth as we offer innovative multi-channel products and services for our customers.'

Navigating Coral

Coral users sign in to their accounts by using the relevant boxes at the top of the sportsbook homepage. Beneath this initial header are two banners containing a series of tabs - the first is blue in colour, the second green with tabs on the green banner changing in accordance with which blue tab you choose. The tabs on the blue header concern such things as in-play bets and bingo and poker. Should you choose to remain on the sportsbook homepage, the tabs that will appear on the green toolbar will be such things as 'live streams', 'live scores', 'results'; 'statistics', 'betting news' and 'Coral radio'. There are also links to the bookmakers' offers as well as an option to contact the company should you have any burning questions.

The first thing you will see down the left hand side of the sportsbook homepage is a search bar that allows you to type in your selection, event or sport of choice to see if Coral can quickly navigate you to the most relevant page. Should this service not be able to find what you are looking for, you can choose one of the quick links that are displayed beneath this search tool. The 'Quick Links' are a list of events that Coral assumes most of its punters will want to bet on and could include general things like its most popular sports, or more specific things like up-coming televised events.

Also included in the extreme left hand column are links (shortcuts) to different website areas and coupons. Further down you will also be able to select a sport from a comprehensive A-Z of markets. Beneath this there is also an alphabeticised list of non-sporting events coming up. This list might include politics or TV betting whilst also providing a link to Coral's lotto pages.

It is at the top of the right hand column where you will find your betslip, with the number of selections made highlighted in green at the top of the slip. Simply select one or a number of variables on offer to add these to your betslip. Should you be looking to place a single wager, just type in the amount you would like to stake in the relevant box (select the each-way tick box should it be appropriate/ appear). Otherwise, to make a multiple bet, select as many variables as you would like to bet on and type your unit stake in the relevant box; be it a double, treble or trixie.

Beneath your betslip on the homepage is a live streaming service as well as a number of in-play markets. There are also numerous adverts for Coral's deals and a graph showing how money is being placed in particular horse races.

Offers and Promotions

Become a registered Coral member by selecting the green 'Join Now' button in the top right hand corner of the sportsbook homepage. Prior to doing this though, it is important for you to read the terms and conditions regarding the new customer offer - a deal that will see you receive a £20 free bet upon your first wagering of £5.

To read about this offer, simply select the 'Offers' tab from the green toolbar - it should be at the extreme right. When on this page, simply select the 'More Info' link to study the terms and conditions. Such Ts&Cs include having to bet on an outcome with odds of 1/2 or greater and having to make your qualifying bet within seven days of opening your account. Should you be comfortable with what you are being asked, sign up and receive your £20 free bet bonus. There are a number of other promotions on this 'Offers' page, these being for regular users to take advantage of. These deals cover a variety of different sports and all have differing rules and regulations.

In terms of horse racing, Coral will give their customers their money back up to the value of £25 should their selection be beaten by a head. A similar deal is up for grabs for greyhound races, bettors receiving their stake back (up to the same value) should they miss out on the top prize by a length.

Horse racing punters will also receive a best odds guarantee when placing their wagers, this meaning that they will be eligible to receive winnings to the tune of the starting price, should this SP be bigger than the early price or board price already taken.

Coral also offer a pair of recurring football promos, the first being that if your fourfold (or greater) 'to win and both teams to score' accumulator loses out by only one leg, you will be in receipt of your stake in the form of a free bet up to the value of £25.

You will also receive your stake back up to the value of £25 if your Premier League correct score or score-cast prediction loses out through a goal being scored in the 85th minute or later. This is Coral's 'Premier League Late Loser Insurance'.

There are a number of other offers up for grabs concerning other sports - be they golf, rugby or typically American sports. Simply check out this promotions page for more information. Sporting events can be watched through Coral's live stream and listened to via Coral Radio.