Derby Jackpot Review

If you like the ponies, you're at Derby.com. It doesn't matter if you're a US or Canadian citizen; you can take advantage of legal online betting at the racetrack, as Derby Jackpot is a pure pari-mutuel site.

You are not betting against the house; you are taking chances with and against the other Derby players, so the odds are constantly changing. It is the players, not the tracks, who decide who the favorites and long shots are.

All it takes to get your account up and running is a minimum deposit of $10, and you can take advantage of these six unique betting options.

You can wager as little as $2, and like many online casinos and sportsbooks, Derby greets new players with a welcome bonus based on their first deposit.

The process is as simple as:

1. Choose your horse(s);
2. Watch the race;
3. Earn money;

Whether you're an experienced racetrack bettor or you've never placed a bet before, Derby gives you a how-to video and all the information you need to get in on the action in minutes. Place a Gonzo bet, a Fiddy bet, a Dime bet, or pick your own horses to back. Fun! Interactive! Exciting!

Who Can Play at Derby Jackpot?

The Derby platform is one that has been licensed by the Oregon Racing Commission. It offers its interactive gaming services to citizens of the U.S. and Canada, with some notable exceptions among the U.S. states. Citizens of these states don't have access to the games and opportunities offered by the Derby Platform, which is a shame because there are many exciting things happening on the Derby Platform.

If you live in a state other than Alaska, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, or Utah, you are welcome to play for real money at Derby Jackpot. New players are eligible for additional bonuses.

Keep in mind, however, that you will be taxed on any winnings over $600, and if you change your residence, Derby must be notified as they have super strict rules about accepting US players. You know, the situation with Derby could change tomorrow. The rules could be reviewed and updated.

To qualify, participants must be at least 18 years of age to use the Platform. Alabama requires a minimum age of 19. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia allow use at 18. Iowa, Kansas, and New Hampshire have set the minimum age at 21. Other participants: check your local laws!

Software Suppliers

Derby Jackpot is an affiliate of and operated by Xpressbet in the USA. Xpressbet has a fully licensed multi-jurisdictional account wagering center in the state of Oregon in the United States.

In Canada, Derby is powered by HPIBet, based in the Province of Ontario.

The Good Stuff

Legal Online Betting for US Players

Gambling is a sensitive issue in the United States. Internet betting is not illegal for the user, but the operator may violate the law regarding the transfer of funds. Nevertheless, there are racetracks all over the United States, so Derby can serve as an online off-track betting parlor. The Oregon Racing Commission has given its approval for residents of almost every state to use the service, and because it's pari-mutuel betting, you're not betting against the house. You and the other Derby players are the only ones betting.

PayPal Option

Derby Jackpot represents PayPal's gradual re-entry into the US online gambling market. PayPal is one of the fastest ways to receive money, so it is nice to see it included with the other banking options. Once Derby Jackpot's accounting department finishes internal payment processing, the money should be back in the same PayPal account within minutes.

Derby Lotto

In addition to the usual betting on horse races, Derby offers its players the chance to participate in lotteries that are also run by the racetracks. If you click on the Lotto menu button, you'll see that they offer morning, noon and night games, such as Pick 4s and 5s. Some of the prizes would make your state lottery jealous, with payouts up to six figures.

The Bad Stuff

ACH Transfer 30-Day Wait

The first time you use an ACH transfer to pay, you must wait 30 days before you can use it to withdraw money from your betting account. You can still deposit money and make your bets. But if your game goes south and you need to withdraw funds, you'll have to wait almost a month to do so. After your first withdrawal, if you've been properly verified, you should now have a much faster system for taking money out. ACH just works better when you don't have to wait. Why is there a wait? Why aren't both methods instant?

No Live Chat

Although an email address and phone number are provided to players and potential players, the live chat feature that you would normally find on an online betting site is conspicuously absent. This is something I think the site's owners might want to reconsider, as so many online bettors rely on this feature for quick answers to their questions - without having to pick up the phone and make a call. (Seriously, does anyone make traditional phone calls anymore?)

The Races

Unlike a typical racebook, Derby offers six different ways to place bets. The first trio includes a pick-your-own-horse option, while the second trio allows for random selection in combination bets that could be described as more traditional bet types (exactas, trifectas, and superfectas). This makes Derby accessible to new players, partly because of the random nature of the bets, and partly because you can easily ask the interface to explain what the various bet types mean.

Remember that the final payout is determined by the horse odds after all bets have been placed. It's up to you to figure out how many bets are likely to be placed and how much money will be wagered in total. You don't have to rely on guesswork. Updated odds are posted constantly.

The Six Bets

• The Monkey

• The monkey is the most straightforward “pick your own” option. You’ll select one horse, place your bet, and see what happens. If your horse is the winner, you get paid. It’s as simple as that.

• The Donkey

• Once again, you’ll pick your horse from the line-up that’s provided for you. With a donkey bet, you get paid if your horse comes in first or second place, so you have a better chance of collecting some winnings.

• The Granny

• If you like the idea of having better odds of success, the granny is your number-one pick. You’ll select one horse, and then you get paid if it comes in first, second, OR third place. You’ll make less with the donkey and granny than you will with the monkey, but you do have a higher chance of cashing in something.

• The Gonzo

• Now we’re into the random picks, so the computer will help you out. For a gonzo bet, also known as an exacta bet everywhere else, you’ll see some cards in front of you, and you’ll select either two or three. To win, you need two of your picks to come in first and second in the race. You get paid more if you hit it right on the money, but a third selection helps your chances.

• The Fiddy

• The horses show up on slot reels for the fiddy bet, and it’s one that can really give you a significant payout. The reels will spin, and three different horses will come up for you in first-, second-, and third-place positions. To win, the real horses on the track need to match up exactly with your first three finishers. The fiddy is typically known as the trifecta.

• The Dime

• If the fiddy isn’t enough of a challenge for you, the dime is also known as a superfecta. Take the fiddy and add one. So, you have a four-reel slot machine that will randomly pop up four horses for you. You need to match up the exact order of the first four place finishers to claim a win. But if you do, you can be sure your payout will be quite impressive.

Box Your Bet

If you bet fifty or ten dollars on a horse, you can choose to box your bet. If you box your bet, you get to the winner's circle regardless of the order in which the top three finishers cross the finish line. If you box a fifty dollar bet, you could think of it as betting on three horses to finish in the top three, but you're paying for it in a way that makes sense to the player. After all, to win the must-win trifecta, you could still be stuck with the first horse that the player did not see.

The Jackpot

Ready for an even bigger challenge?

Get ready to write down what follows, as there are three levels with a total of nine bets that you must successfully complete within 24 hours if you want to rake in the progressive bonus.

You must place your $4 bet in the Jackpot tab area to participate. Half goes into the pari-mutuel pool as a wager, and the other half is your entry fee into the jackpot game.

To win the progressive jackpot, you must first win three Grannies, then three Donkeys, then three Monkeys. You can win these in any order, but they must be won in this order to qualify for the jackpot. Each time someone hits the jackpot, the amount is reset to $1,000. But instead of giving it to the winner in cash, we give it to them in the form of a bonus that must be played through once before it can be withdrawn.

A Few Tips

Before I move on to the rest of the text, I wanted to give you some helpful hints. Derby is a unique betting concept and you may have more questions than usual. But once you spend a few minutes on the site, everything will become crystal clear. And the experience will be one to remember.

• The site is powered by Flash, but is optimized for the Chrome web browser. You can place your bets using your smartphone or tablet as Derby is also mobile friendly. If you'd like to spend some time working on the jackpot option where you have to get nine winners to claim the big prize, then you'll want to check out the jackpot training section. Your account will be displayed in two numbers: the withdrawable balance and the account balance. The account balance includes any bonuses that have not yet been released
• Even though you can't get support through live chat, there are other players available to chat with you. In fact, there's a chat right on the homepage.
• Betting allows amounts starting at $2 for each race.
• You can watch a three-minute video that explains how the six different types of bets work and what it means to place a bet on the outcome of a particular event;

Promotions

Derby does have a new player bonus and it is directly related to your first deposit. But you wouldn't know that unless you dug into their site, because they don't have a promotions section like other online casinos and sportsbooks where they just shove all their hats and t-shirts.

However, it is structured differently than a casino. Instead of receiving a bonus and having to meet a wagering requirement, it works like a poker room offer. You get a reward equal to your deposit, but it is not given to you right away. Instead, you get 10% of it every time you make a wager.

Therefore, if a $10 bonus is pending and a $10 wager is made, $1 of the bonus will be released and will appear in the cash balance within the next 48 hours.

Welcome Bonus

The following are the new player bonus rewards:

• Deposit $50 and receive $10
• Deposit $100 and receive $25
• Deposit $250 and receive $100
• Deposit $500 and receive $250

It's not a direct deposit match like you might find elsewhere, which is a straight 100% or $200 deposit match. It's a tiered structure, so you'll get a much bigger bonus reward if you deposit $500 than if you come in with $50.

Refer-A-Friend Program

In order to receive a "Refer a Friend" bonus, you must use the personalized invitation that Derby provides to all of its players. Your friend to whom you refer Derby must use the special link that Derby provides in an invitation that he must request from you. When your friend uses this link to sign up and fund their account, Derby will reward you with $25.

Banking

A custom collection of banking methods designed for US players. Low minimums. No fees. Read our full review of Derby Jackpot Casino banking options below.

One of the banking options has a big downside, though. If you choose to bank with ACH, you must also use ACH for withdrawals. That's not a big deal, since you're generally required to use the same method for both types of transfers. What makes the system unappealing, however, is that using it as your banking option comes with the requirement that you leave your money in the account for at least 30 days before withdrawing any of it - after which you can use ACH for deposits or withdrawals as you see fit. Oh, and by the way, this 30-day requirement applies to your first net withdrawal attempt.

For the full lineup, a $10 transfer is required when using any method that isn't Visa, Mastercard or PayPal. If you use one of the latter three methods, you will be asked to deposit at least $25.

New players can deposit a maximum of $500 per week. If you become a regular player, this limit increases to $2,000. Combined, that's a lot of money to play with.

Withdrawals should be processed internally within five days.

There is a little something to say about some of the deposit methods used at Derby Jackpot, and they are worth saying. Pay Near Me is a deposit method that is available at certain merchants. These are mainly stores like 7-Eleven, but Pay Near Me can be used at other locations as well. The store does a few simple things to allow you to use Pay Near Me. First, they scan a barcode generated with your Derby Jackpot account information. Next, you hand over the cash for the deposit you want to make. Finally, the store transfers the money to Derby Jackpot, while keeping the money in their safe for the inconvenient time when they also need to pay Derby Jackpot. What an arrangement!

It is important to remember that the IRS is notified whenever winnings over $600 are claimed from Derby. If a payout of $5,000 or more is claimed, the site will take care of the tax withholding for you and deduct 25% before sending you your money.

Another aspect that sets this site apart from most other online betting services is taxes. However, as mentioned above, this is a US-based operation that caters to customers located in the United States.

Deposit Methods

• Visa
• Mastercard
• PayPal
• Pay Near Me
• InstaFund
• ACH Transfers

Withdrawal Methods

• PayPal
• ACH
• Check

The VIP Club

I found it strange that while the help section mentions the loyalty club offering VIP status, there is nothing visible on the home page for prospective players to peruse.

The bonus information in the FAQs stipulates that the more valuable bonuses are given out to higher-level loyalty players.

Customer Service

• Derby Jackpot’s Customer Service Department
• Phone: 1 866 562 4105
• Email: [email protected]t.com

Quick quiz for you. What’s missing from the customer service line-up?

Answer. Live chat.

Most online betting sites have a live chat feature. This is a must-have element because its primary purpose is to serve as a quick connection to customer support and thus we can almost certainly say that live chat is real-time customer support. If a player encounters a problem that cannot wait, live chat is a way to get past that problem and keep playing.

If you’re looking for an immediate response, it’s best for you to use the call-in option.

Would I Play at Derby Jackpot?

I have to admit I was a little skeptical about the potential of derby.com at first. I've looked at numerous racebooks and they all seem to have a similar appeal. I didn't think it had the market magnetism to rise to the level of popularity it now enjoys.

After my thorough investigation of the site - as well as its terms and conditions, the various types of promotions it offers, and the six types of bets it allows - I found myself consumed with curiosity and interest in the concept. It takes race betting to a whole new level.

I like the different ways to place bets and how I can make my own quick selections without having to delve into the form of the race. I can also put my picks together in a more thoughtful way if I want to.

There is truly something for everyone, no matter where they fall on the gambling spectrum. If you are a seasoned pony bettor, there is no better place to experience the thrill of the action at tracks across the U.S. and around the world.

For those new to the excitement of racing, there's no better way to get started than by placing a simple, easy bet. You can analyze the odds more closely and strategize on who to bet on once you know the game a little better. For now, just pick a horse or a car and take whatever random number is generated for you at the betting window to make your slip. It's as good a way as any to make a selection.

There are bonuses, a refer-a-friend program, a VIP club and lottery betting. You won't find casino games, but that's what casinos are for - this is something relatively new and different!