Pinnacle vs Bet365 What is the best betting site in Canada?

The Canadian gambling industry is currently filled with lots of betting platforms. For an average sports betting player, choosing the perfect platform can be time-consuming due to the wide range of options. Thankfully, you don’t have to go through that. We’ve made things a lot easier for you with our comparison reviews. Unlike our regular reviews, we compare and contrast two of Canada’s top bookmakers in an in-depth faceoff.  In this review, we’ll be comparing Pinnacle and Bet365 side-by-side. From their diverse selection of games to their bonus offers and sports coverage, we’ll highlight all their strengths and weaknesses. If you’re having a hard time choosing between these two platforms, this review is just for you. Keep reading to learn more!

Though Pinnacle and Bet365 offer diverse features and services, they both have their lapses. However, if bonus offers, diverse sports coverage and availability of live streaming are your main areas of interest, Bet365 has a whole lot to offer in these departments. For all its worth, Pinnacle needs to up its game if it intends to compete with other renowned bookmakers in Canada.

Here’s a summary of how the comparison panned out:

Final Score: Pinnacle – 2, Bet365 – 9, Draw – 1

As a new player on both platforms, creating an account is quite easy and straightforward. There are no complicated or long sign-up pages to fill. Personally, I think both bookies impress in this area.

Pinnacle: To open an account, there are four steps to take. First, you start by providing your login details, then your personal details, and your contact details. With all that covered, you become a full member of the platform.

Bet365: Unlike Pinnacle, there is only a single-page form to fill out on the website. Simply provide your personal details, and create your login information, and you can claim the welcome bonus offer.

Verdict

Bet365 makes things easier when it comes to registering an account, though I didn’t have any problems with signing up on Pinnacle. While both bookies are flawless in this area, Bet365 is a little easier so it takes the lead in this area.

Round 1 winner: Bet365

The welcome bonus is one of the main factors players consider when comparing bookies. As a result, bookmakers offer juicy welcome bonus packages exclusive to new players. On Pinnacle and Bet365, new players are entitled to different welcome bonus packages. Here’s what they offer currently

Pinnacle: Pinnacle’s Welcome Bonus offer is a fairly standard offering designed to attract users. Users must input the code “Cup23” when signing up, and make a minimum deposit of $10. They will receive a matched deposit of up to $100. Bettors must wager on an eSport event to then receive the bonus. Once the bonus is in the bettor’s account, it is subject to a 15x rollover requirement before it can be withdrawn.

Bet365: New Bet365 users will receive an enticing Welcome Offer that has very few terms and conditions attached. Bettors must sign up, make a deposit of $10 or more, and then bet at least $1 on an outcome. The bettor will receive $100 in credits. These credits can’t be withdrawn, but the winnings from them can, and there is no rollover requirement.

Verdict

The difference between these offers may not appear substantial, but it is. They both seem to have a similar payout, but Bet365 has no rollover requirement. This means it is much easier for bettors to receive a benefit from the Bet365 bonus without having to spend a ton of money.

Round 2 Winner: Bet365

Special promotions are intriguing twists offered by bookmarkers to keep players excited and loyal to the brand. These promotions are targeted at regular players and sometimes, they are even more attractive than welcome bonuses.

Pinnacle:  For players hoping to be blown away by enticing offers of cash backs and bonus money, Pinnacle fails to meet expectations. At the moment, there are no bonus offers on the platform in any of the sports events that it offers.

Bet365: On Bet365, it is certainly a different story. Bet365 offers users plenty of bonuses to pick from, which make them an ideal website for users craving some added incentive. Some of the bonuses you’ll find on Bet365 include bet boosts, where odds are enhanced for users, parlay boosts, where parlay winnings are enhanced according to how many legs they have, and you lead, you win bonuses, where bets will cash for users if the team is winning by a set margin.

Verdict

On Pinnacle Sports, there is nothing for bettors to look forward to when it comes to freebies and goodies which doesn’t give a great impression about the bookie. Bet365, on the other hand, offers diverse packages for existing players. For this reason, Bet365 wins in this round.

Round 3 Winner: Bet365

Special features always make a sportsbook stand out, especially if they are beneficial to players. Thankfully, both Pinnacle and Bet365 offer special features that allow players to place quicker bets, navigate the site, and cash out with ease. Looking closely, here’s what each platform has to offer.

Pinnacle: Like most popular bookies, Pinnacle offers the bet builder feature. With this feature, you can make multiple wagers from diverse betting markets on the platform. Pinnacle also offers a teaser betting feature which allows you to tie two different bets together to strengthen your payout. Juice betting is another interesting feature to look out for on the platform. This refers to when the operator boosts the odds of any game in favour of gamblers. This is Pinnacle’s trademark feature. Pinnacle also has a virtuals feature, where they will simulate a computer-generated sporting event users can wager on.

Bet365: Going through Bet365, I found the bet builder feature to be insanely helpful. It helps to speed up the betting process, allowing you to make multiple selections from different betting markets to boost your odds and payout. The cash-out feature is another added feature to look out for. You can pull out of a bet with some of your wagers rather than lose it all. Live betting and live streaming are other amazing features offered on Bet365. Bet365 also has boosted odds a range of props, and more exciting features. They are an expansive operator with plenty of standout ways to enjoy their website.

Verdict

Both operators offer a fair share of special features. The bet builder feature on Bet365 does come in handy but you will find the juice betting feature on Pinnacle to be more favourable to your bankroll. However, Bet365 has a cash-out feature that you won’t find on Pinnacle Sports. There is also a Bet365 live streaming feature that you won’t have access to on the other operator. Overall, Bet365 comes out as the best in this category.

Round 4 Winner: Bet365

For an average Canadian gambler, the perfect sportsbook should not only offer the most popular leagues and sports in Canada but also include a vast selection of sporting leagues all over the world. On Pinnacle and Bet365, you get access to different sporting events alongside diverse betting markets and odds.

Pinnacle: If we are being honest, I was a little disappointed by the selection of sports and markets on Pinnacle. I counted 17 sports available to wager on their website, and most of them are fairly standard. The only niche options I saw here were Aussie Rules and Cricket. I believe the reason is that Pinnacle has invested heavily in their Esports section. They have huge coverage of different Esport events and tournaments, and they outpace Bet365 here. But if you aren’t into Esports, this may not be for you.

Bet365: The bookie has over 30 sports to choose from giving you numerous betting markets to start winning. Popular sports events like hockey, football, soccer, and baseball are well represented as well as all the popular leagues that Canadian players will love to bet on. One thing that is positive about Bet365’s sports coverage is that they have plenty of prop markets in different leagues, so you can wager on player performance. This is not on many websites. Also, they have great niche sports betting options, so bettors can try out new sports to gamble on.

Verdict

Bet365 covers more sports so it is the obvious winner. However, both sportsbooks allow you to play in the best leagues of the most popular sports events all over the world.

Round 5 Winner: Bet365

Live betting is another important feature that appeals to most Canadian sports betting players. Thankfully, both platforms allow players to place wagers while a match is going on.

Pinnacle: Live betting is among the numerous services players get to enjoy on Pinnacle. As a player, you might need to take note of the odds before the game starts and right after the game begins. With the right strategy, you could hit decent wins on the numerous betting markets available when placing in-play bets.

Bet365: From football, basketball, to soccer, Bet365 allows you to place in-play bets on a wide range of sports and leagues. Thanks to the intuitive interface, you will find the in-play matches just in time to place your bets.

Verdict

You can find just about all the available sports events and betting markets for live betting on both platforms. Since there aren’t too many differences, we’ll call it a draw in this area.

Round 6 Winner: Draw Pinnacle/Bet365

Live streaming and live betting are two important features that complement each other. If you’re live betting, you would also like to be live streaming as well. This allows you to watch the game and help you in predicting how the game will go while placing wagers.

Pinnacle: Unfortunately, there is no live streaming on this platform and that’s just about it.

Bet365: As a registered player, you will be able to stream your favourite games live on Bet365 but only if your player account is funded. Bet365 doesn’t have access to every single game on their live stream, but Canadian users can watch plenty of different sporting events directly from the Bet365 website. These include events in sports like soccer, cricket, horse racing, and more.

Verdict

I do enjoy live streaming my games especially when I place some in-play bets. Since Pinnacle doesn’t offer a live streaming feature, Bet365 wins this category.

Round 7 Winner: Bet365

As an avid sports betting fan, I prefer to bet on my mobile device as it allows me to place wagers anywhere at any time. I believe most Canadian players also prefer the convenience of mobile betting. Though most sports betting mobile apps are optimized to boost user experience on a mobile device, not all bookies are generous enough to offer a mobile betting app.

Pinnacle: There is no mobile app for iOS and Android users on Pinnacle so you would have to make do with the mobile platform. To play on mobile, go to your mobile browser, visit the website address, and start betting.

Bet365: This operator offers a fully functional mobile app designed to fit any mobile screen. The app is quite fluid allowing for easy navigation without lags. The Bet365 app is available for Apple users and can be downloaded directly through the Apple App Store. It looks amazing and functions incredibly intuitively. For those that aren’t Apple users, there is still a mobile-compatible version of this sportsbook that can be accessed through a smartphone browser.

Verdict

This one is open-and-shut. While Pinnacle’s mobile website is solid, Bet365 has the more substantial offering. They provide a high-quality mobile app to Apple users as well as a top-notch mobile betting site. The result is a victory for Bet365.

Round 8 Winner: Bet365

The available payment methods offered by a bookmaker will determine if they would be favourable or not. I personally prefer just about all the possible payment options available so I can make the choice myself. Not only should there be enough methods but they should all be secure and reliable.

Pinnacle: There is an abundance of banking options on Pinnacle. You can make deposits and withdrawals using Mastercard, VISA, AstroPay Cards, Skrill, Neteller, Union Pay, ecoPayz, eCheque, Discover, iDebit, Instadebit, Instant Banking, Interac e-Transfer, Pay4Fun, Paysafecard, USDT Tether, WebMoney, Neosurf, MuchBetter, Oxxo, JCB, Internet Banking, Bank Transfer, and via Cryptocurrencies.

Bet365: You will be able to make deposits and withdrawals via a number of payment options on Bet365. You can pay and withdraw via Mastercard, VISA, Apple Pay, Interac, Instadebit, iDebit, paysafecard.

Verdict

With more than 15 payment options to choose from, Pinnacle Sports is the right bookmaker to go for if you don’t want to be restricted to only a few payment options.

Round 9 Winner: Pinnacle

Customer support might not be the most important factor for most players but it is definitely something you will need. A bookie with multiple pathways and responsive service is always more attractive than one without.

Pinnacle: This bookie offers solid customer service with a good number of methods to get information. You can get started with the email support option or go straight to the FAQs area for quick solutions. There is also a chatbox feature to communicate with a customer care representative.

Bet365: You can reach the customer service via email, live chat, post, or check the FAQ section for assistance. The FAQ page on Bet365 is excellent, as it has answers to any number of questions that users might have. Everything functions very quickly on the sportsbook and there is rarely ever any down time. An added phone line would be an asset.

Verdict

Bet365 has the more trusty customer support options in my experience. Their FAQ page is much bigger, the live chat back-and-forth is faster, and there are rarely any lags to report. Pinnacle’s offerings are solid, but Bet365 has the bigger budget and it shows.

Round 10 Winner: Bet365

While all players look forward to the best features on a sportsbook, they also want a site to be easy to navigate and user-friendly.  Players won’t want to spend all the time in the world searching for their favourite sports, leagues, and betting markets even if the bookie has all the features they need. Let’s compare these two operators' website user experience.

Pinnacle: This bookie employs the ASI software platform for its user interface. This ensures that the platform is simple to use and easy to navigate even for beginners. You can place your regular bets, in-play bets, or check on future offers with the click of a button. The interface on Pinnacle is not very distinctive. They have a white backdrop that doesn’t pop off the screen, and everything seems a little thrown together. While it is intuitive and you can get from place to place with ease, it is a very standard looking website that won’t impress users who crave pops of color and a more distinct style.

Bet365: On Bet365, you will find a rather simple design that will be user-friendly to players across their desktop and mobile platforms. While it is straightforward, the dark gray, green, and white colors along with the use of logos and images makes the website stand out. They do a good job of ensuring things aren’t too cluttered, and you can tell the website was a major undertaking. It never lags and load times are minimal. It is one of the best-designed sportsbooks around.

Verdict

The difference here is significant, as Bet365 has a distinctive, easily identifiable website, while Pinnacle doesn’t. Both sportsbooks are excellent with the user experience, but Bet365 is one of the world’s most successful operators for a reason.

Round 11 Winner: Bet365

While both bookies have a long list of helpful features, they do come with a few downsides.

Taking all categories into account, I believe Bet365 is the best platform to choose. Sure, it doesn’t offer a long list of payment methods for players, however, it performs well in other areas.

As a Bet365 registered player, you can use the cash-out feature to minimize your losses on a losing bet, you can stream your games live, and enjoy the best of sports bonuses when you sign up as a player.

Still, it’s not all roses at Bet365. The sportsbook will need to look into offering telephone support for players to get quick responses. They also need to consider adding a downloadable option for Android users to even things out, given their Apple App. But these are minor downsides that won’t affect many users.

All told, the Bet365 sportsbook triumphs in our breakdown of these two betting sites. While Pinnacle still has plenty to offer bettors, particularly Esports bettors, Bet365 is a global juggernaut that has refined their sportsbook for decades. They have top-notch promotions, features, and a great user experience. Pinnacle could someday get to that same level, as they are also an excellent operator. But for today, Bet365 takes home the win.

So, which is your preferred bookmaker? If you’re still lost in choosing between both Pinnacle and Bet365, maybe you should check out our other reviews on top betting sites in Canada.