Sign Up Bonus

For brands that most punters won’t previously have heard of – like BK8 – big-time sign up offers are extremely important. These alone can persuade hesitant bettors into signing up, if the rewards are attractive enough.

BK8 actually has a couple of these deals in place. You can check out a quick overview of each below, before we dive into the details of both these and the ongoing betting promotions.

We have used the Malaysian version of the site here in our BK8 review. For reference, 100 MYR equals roughly 17 GBP, 20 EUR, or 24 USD at the time of writing.

The main welcome offer here is a fairly standard ‘Deposit Match’ deal. Simply make a deposit of between 50-800 MYR, and BK8 will match it as a bonus. Be aware though, that – before actually withdrawing any winnings from your bonus – you will need to wager through this amount 12x. That’s a pretty tough rollover requirement, but the rewards on offer here are certainly lucrative.

Alternatively, you can take advantage of the ‘Risk-Free Bet’ deal. Like most such offers, this insures your first wager on BK8. If it wins, you collect your winnings as normal. If it loses, your stake will be rewarded – as cash – up to a respectable 200 MYR. Again though, while we like the scale of this offer, the 5x rollover requirement on your refund is definitely a drawback.

BK8 Odds And Value

As you may expect considering BK8’s target market, the prices here are displayed as Asian odds by default. If you’re not used to this format, you can change to European odds easily enough instead, but fractional odds do not seem to be supported.

More importantly though, the actual quality of these odds is solid. We compared the prices on a whole series of the most popular markets, and found generally in-line with those on other major international bookies targeting Asian punters. The odds when taking an in-play bet were particularly good, providing a fair reflection on the current state of that market.

Bet Limits

This is another area in which BK8 should appeal to a wide cross-section of players. While the maximum payout amount does vary from market-to-market, even relatively high rollers should be satisfied here. You can win the currency equivalent of $80,000 on soccer multiples, for example, $53,000 on NBA basketball, and so on.

Unfortunately, it’s equally difficult to give a clear answer on minimum bet amounts. BK8 states that the “minimum and maximum bet also varies according to the event/match involved.” In short, it’s best to check this yourself – depending on not only the market you’re interested in, but in your country of residence – before attempting to actually place a wager.

In-Play Betting

For many punters, in-play has actually become the primary way to wager, surpassing more traditional pre-match betting. If you fall into this category too, you’ll be pretty well-served by BK8.

The in-play section is extremely easy to access, and tends to have dozens of betting opportunities available at any one time. Football has the vast majority of these, but the likes of basketball, cricket, and tennis are also covered well. The odds on live updates update almost constantly, but a responsive in-play tool still lets you lock in the price you want. While there’s naturally some drop-off in the variety of in-play bet types, compared to pre-match, the likes of Match Result, Over/Unders, and Handicaps are all present and correct.

Live Streaming

Live streaming is normally only available on the very biggest sportsbooks, but – to its credit – BK8 has managed to put it in place. Better yet, it is available for both of the dominant markets in online sports betting – football and horse racing. Football streaming can be accessed directly via the main sportsbook, while – to watch the ponies – you’ll need to use the separate section for racing.

The majority of punters will be primarily interested in football streaming, and we’re pleased to say that the selection of matches on offer is excellent. While bookies in Europe are highly limited in the games they can show, for licensing reasons, most of the biggest leagues and cups can be streamed on BK8. You will need a positive account balance to do so, however.

Other Features

As you’ve already seen in this BK8 review, most of the major boxes for special features are ticked here, including live streaming and in-play betting. This ambitious bookie has a couple more tricks up its sleeve, though.

Firstly, alongside the sportsbook section, there’s a fully-featured casino and live casino, plus a lottery. There’s also a VIP program, which offers you progressively larger rewards in return for your loyalty, and a competitive ‘Leaderboard’ feature. Finally, BK8 also makes it exceptionally easy to craft multiples, thanks to a bet builder tool (called ‘Mix Parlay’ here).

Customer Service

Considering the number of countries it serves, spread all across east and southeast Asia, BK8’s customer service offering is certainly impressive. Whichever country you’re based in, you will find live chat available, and this can be easily accessed via an ever-present button in the bottom-left. Following that, there are then country-specific ways to get in touch. If you’re based in Thailand, for example, you can use the popular LINE messaging app.

Things aren’t quite so impressive when it comes to indirect support. There is an ‘Info Centre’ in place here, but – quite frankly – it’s a complete mess. The layout is awful, we found the quality of the articles inconsistent during our research for this BK8 review, and there’s no search function to help you find what you’re looking for quickly.

BK8 App

If on-the-go betting is a priority for you, you’ll certainly be pleased with what you find at BK8. For starters, there are dedicated, standalone apps for both Android and iOS. In both cases, these are available directly from the website, and BK8 provides handy instructions on how to both download and install them.

The BK8 app is packed with features and functionality. The entire sportsbook has been ported over (along with the casino sections), with the same markets as the desktop version available to bet on. You can also use all the same special offers, including the excellent referral deal.

On top of all that though, there are specific benefits to using the app over the main site. You can use the facial recognition or fingerprint scanning feature on your phone, as both an additional security layer, and to log in faster. There are also plenty of options to customise the display to your specific tastes. Finally, unlike some betting apps, you can also choose to remain logged in here, allowing you to browse and bet the instant you open the app.

Payment Methods

This bookie distinguishes itself in a number of different ways, as we’ve already seen throughout our BK8 review. Its payment methods are definitely another example.

Even nowadays, it’s rare to see a sportsbook accepting cryptocurrency payments. On BK8 though, you can use a few different types – including bitcoin and ethereum – each of which will provide the security and anonymity benefits which are typical of cryptos.

Aside from that, there aren’t a huge number of options. Bank transfer is available from every country in which BK8 operates, and Help2Pay – a popular choice across southeast Asia – is also supported. eWallets are mentioned on the site, but we couldn’t actually find evidence of any being supported. You are given excellent flexibility in the currencies you can use though, with BK8 accepting payments in Malaysian ringgit, Thai bhat, Indonesian rupiah, and Vietnamese dong.

Below, you can get a quick overview on how the most popular payment methods stack up on BK8, along with their minimum and maximum amounts, and processing times. The payment information in this part of our BK8 review is provided in Thai baht, with 100 THB equalling roughly 3 USD, 2.60 EUR, and 2.20 GBP.

Conclusion

BK8 generally ticks the most important boxes, from a wide range of betting markets, to high quality betting apps, through to helpful customer service. There’s also a whole selection of eye-catching special offers to choose between, and the inclusion of live streaming is a big bonus.

There are a couple of drawbacks, as noted earlier in our BK8 review. We’d prefer to see more payment methods supported, for starters. The layout of the desktop platform is unusual too, and definitely takes some getting used to.

Overall though, we were impressed with what we found during this BK8 review. This is a competent, professional modern sportsbook, which does an excellent job of specifically catering to customers situated across east Asia.