Ladbrokes App Review

Published on: 03/09/2016

The history of Ladbrokes can be traced back to 1886 when an agency for race horses trained at Ladbroke Hall in the United Kingdom was formed. The Worcestershire-based company later moved to London and adopted the Ladbrokes name in 1902. After a brief period of decline after the Second World War, the company changed ownership and began opening betting shops in the UK during the 1960s.

Since then, the company has grown to become one of the most recognised gambling names across Europe and around the world. Despite being one of the oldest names in the business, Ladbrokes have worked hard to keep pace with the fast changing world of sports betting.

Overview

As with most mobile betting apps, the first thing you will need to do is open an account with the bookmaker. However, this is an easy process and should not take more than a few minutes. If you already have a Ladbrokes account, you can just download the Android, Windows or IOS version of the app to your mobile device and get started.

Once you open the application, you will be greeted by Ladbrokes’ familiar bright red and white display - although the use of grey on the menu buttons keeps things easy on the eye. Upcoming and live events are included on the main display, making it easy to get straight into the action. The pages seemed to lag a little on our test but not enough to cause any issues when placing bets.

Key Features

Most of the features on the Ladbrokes app are fairly standard but some efforts have been made to stand out from the crowd. The ‘Highlights’ feature gives a summary of key events and includes pre-selected bet choices including big-priced multiples. Of course, these types of suggested bet options will appeal more to casual punters than experienced bettors but there is plenty for everyone within the app.

Regular punters will no doubt make use of the in-play section, where a huge number of markets are available across all the major sports. This section is easy to navigate and once again, placing a bet takes just a few touches. The in-play betting is enhanced by the live streaming service that, while not the most comprehensive in this sector, still gives you access to tens of thousands of live streams each year.

Events that are available to stream instantly are clearly marked and future live options are also clearly displayed. To view the live streams you must have a positive balance in your account or have placed a bet within the last 24 hours.

Ladbrokes have recently added a text betting feature to their service list and this seems to be the way that mobile betting is headed. By simply texting your stake, bet type and selection to 60043, you can place a bet without entering the app or going online.

Usability

The Ladbrokes app is one of the easiest to use, and in most cases, bets can placed in just a couple of touches of the screen. This makes up for the occasional lag that we experienced when opening a new page. Overall, tabs and menus were quick and responsive and there was minimal delay in processing transactions.

The app supports plenty of deposit options and money can be added to your account in just a few seconds once your payment methods have been set up. The look and feel of the app has been updated recently and is now much softer on the eye. Much of the white space has been replaced by softer grey colours and this makes the screen much easier to read, especially in daylight.

Customer Service

Ladbrokes have incorporated a live chat option into the app but their customer service department can also be contacted via email and telephone. Of course, all companies will get good and bad feedback from their customer service department but any company that still offers a human voice at the end of the phone must be given credit in this age of automated response systems.

Conclusion

A big name with a huge reputation carried over from its days as king of the high street bookies, Ladbrokes has adapted well to the digital gambling world. A few years ago, some users found their online portal to be clunky and slow but recent updates to their website and mobile application have ironed out any technical issues and the feedback has been positive.

The app provides a good all round betting experience, but it is the wide choice of deposit options and the bet by text facility that makes it a worthy addition to your collection of mobile betting apps.