Pinnacle is absolutely a major player in the world of sports betting, although their profile in the UK and Europe is not as high as some other companies. They were founded in 1998 and have customers in over 100 countries. They claim to differ from other bookmakers in that they work on low margins, using great odds to ensure high volume and thus a sustainable business.

They are registered in Curacao, an island in the south Caribbean, and licensed by the government of Curacao. The website is available in 17 languages and also offers a casino. Although most of their financial information is undisclosed it is estimated their turnover is in the billions (of US dollars).

As alluded to above, Pinnacle's odds are absolutely superb. They generally operate with a margin of around 2%, as opposed to many bookmakers who often work with a margin up to 20%. They can genuinely compete with the exchanges such as Betfair, especially as they do not charge commission, have no issue with liquidity and accept large stakes and rarely limit customers.

In terms of markets they are not up there with the best unless you want to bet almost exclusively on US sports. Although they do cover a wide range of sports - they list 37 on their site - though most of these get only a cursory smattering of events. This has improved in the last two years though, and as demand grows we expect them to react accordingly, covering more tournaments/competitions and carrying more markets in general.

Pinnacle proudly boast that they do not offer free bets, stating that "the best odds equal a bonus for life". Of course, in a sense this may be true but the fact remains that a lot of potential clients are accustomed to bookies that offer free bets and often other promotions as well. Pinnacle claim that their incredible odds, very high limits and disinclination to ban or limit winners compensate for the complete lack of any bonuses. For regular or big bettors we agree and bonus-baggers will also benefit, so only occasional punters should be put off.

In-play betting is not a huge feature of the Pinnacle model. Very few events and markets are offered and the interface is nowhere near the superb offerings you will find elsewhere. When they do offer odds you will find, as ever, that these are very good but this is definitely an area they need to improve. In-play betting is increasingly popular in the mobile age and Pinnacle seems somewhat behind the times here.

Similarly they do not have a dedicated mobile app, although it is rumoured this is something that could be introduced in the coming months.

Telephone: N/A
Email: csd@pinnaclesports.com
Address: Pater Euwensweg 31, Willemstad, Curacao
Other contact methods: N/A

Customer service options are surprisingly (and irritatingly) limited, with no customer support via either live chat or telephone. Which leaves us with email as the only real contact method available, unless you fancy dispatching a carrier pigeon to the Caribbean. Emails are answered 24/7 and, based on our tests, very quickly and efficiently.

There are FAQ and Help sections but neither of these is particularly expansive and often in gaming there is no easy answer and the human touch is needed. Whilst the lack of a bonus eliminates one area that often creates customer service issues and the website is very straightforward, should any issues arise email is unsatisfactory as the only method of contact.

Pinnacle are much-revered in betting circles for one reason and one reason only - their odds. In days gone by having pretty much the best odds around and practically no limits to what can be staked would have secured a five star rating (and that is given by some). However, we simply cannot rate them as such because they fall down in so many other areas.

We have detailed these already, but to recap, the absence of any bonuses or promotions, the fact that customer services can only be contacted by email and the below average in-play console and lack of a mobile application are major negatives. On top of that, the website may not appeal to some UK punters as no fractional odds are displayed, whilst the lack of markets will put others off.

Having said all that, we would still whole-heartedly recommend Pinnacle for almost every type of customer. To paraphrase their own marketing - odds like these are the bonus that keeps giving!