I tried the 3 biggest crypto betting sites, so you don’t have to!
SX Bet is best, Polymarket’s good fun and a Stake horror story
Stake.com
1/10 which is saying something, because I did make $20k+ on the site, but the stress of maybe having it all stolen was too much and not worth it.
Strengths
- Easy to sign up
- Lots of deposit options in crypto (many many coins)
- Fees are high but platform is easy to use
Weaknesses
- Accused me of cheating and threatened to steal my winnings.
- Don’t custody your own funds
So this was a scary experience. I deposited $6,000 on Stake to give it an honest test and I went on a heater over the course of my first week. Then I signed into make normal bets which at that point were about ~$1k in size.
I signed in on a Sunday morning to make some NFL bets, and I noticed all my bets, even test $10 bets were saying “max limit” reached on all markets. I knew something was up and I messaged support:
For context I had been betting $3k-$10k a day all week. So, this came as quite a shock. I then decided if I can’t bet I should withdrawal, as I had run my balance up to $30,000. This was the response I got…
I was vaguely accused of “cheating” while betting on pre-match NBA, NHL and NFL. It made no sense, and I was furious and nervous as they were keeping my money hostage.
I should say that after a multi-day fight where I sent in copious amounts of KYC and proof of income, I was able to withdraw all my winnings.
This negative experience has turned me off ever recommending Stake.
SX.Bet
9/10 SX Bet is the best crypto sports betting site going right now. Continuing to add new features and just getting more people on the site to bet against with would push this to a 10/10.
Strengths
- Tight odds
- High betting limits
- USDC & ETH betting options
- Innovative sports betting exchange model
- Earn equity in SX while you bet
- Self-custody funds
Weakness
- No parlays
SX Bet is the biggest decentralized crypto betting option in the world, at least by dollars bet from what I can see. Similarly, to Polymarket you are able to bet directly from your own wallet or easily create a wallet when you sign up, this is super valuable as you can avoid the situation I went through on Stake.
SX has designed a one-of-a-kind stock exchange for sports betting. This transparent approach to sports betting has created a place with sharp odds, lots of liquidity and a good community of knowledgeable bettors. The site is unquestionably designed for serious sports bettors. SX Bet covers all the big leagues and there is deep liquidity on spreads, ML and total markets but has no player props or parlays which is something casual bettors typically enjoy.
Users of SX Bet can bet in USDC or ETH, I found the odds were often better in USDC, but there is still good betting liquidity for Ethereum. Being an exchange, you can offer odds or do peer-to-peer bets in the chat box, but I usually just took the odds available as there was always good depth.
Also, SX resonates with crypto native people as they give you token rewards in their governance token SX while you bet. This is super cool knowing that win or lose you receive SX each week for betting on the site.
Polymarket
6/10. This is mainly because I would give their sports betting markets a 3/10 and their politics + pop culture markets a 9/10.
Strengths
- Politics betting
- Economic markets
- Random crypto betting markets
- Great for trading, like cash out
- Self-custody funds
Weaknesses
- Sports betting options are limited
Polymarket is a unique decentralized cryptocurrency betting option where every bet is vs. a pool of communal capital called an AMM. This design works amazing for markets that are difficult to price and markets where the odds change slowly overtime, ie politics or will SBF go to jail.
On the other hand, the AMM betting model does not work well for sports betting. There is too much risk or the odds rapidly changing (injury, goal etc) and the odds are very well established globally. Because of this Polymarket offers limited sports betting options with small liquidity.
I spent most of my time on Polymarket trading in and out of midterm election bets and a twitter bet on Donald Trump which was fun and worked well. I tested a few bets on the NFL but it was pretty bad experience to be honest.
One cool feature is you either bet from your own wallet (metamask) or you can easily create a wallet when signing up. After my negative experience on Stake this is something I value.
