Pinnacle Review

BettingFellow Rating: 9.70/10

• Licensing & Safety
• Deposit and Withdrawals
• Customer Support
• Market & Odds
• In-Play Betting
• Live Streaming Offer
• Bookmaker Margin
• Overall Review
• How to open an account at Pinnacle?
• Pinnacle FAQs

Pinnacle is one of the most experienced and successful bookmakers in the history of sports betting. The company is based in Curacao and it went live way back in 1998. The firm rich in the two-decade-long expertise used to be named Pinnacle Sports. As of June 2016, it has been called simply Pinnacle. That happened after the group obtained the pinnacle.com domain.

In over 20 years of successful business-running, Pinnacle has obtained a couple of noteworthy licences. These include permits issued by the governments of Gibraltar and Curacao. The global impact of Pinnacle has resulted in having clients across markets all over the planet. In this case, the name Pinnacle is not accidental by any means. This sports betting site is the peak of the industry in which it operates.

The Winner Takes It All

A good reputation is built over time. Pinnacle has been generating its customers base for over two amazing decades. That is why it is one of the most prominent bookies of today. This bookmaker offers unparalleled odds to motivate clients to join. Pinnacle also utilises the reduced margin pricing model approach. This method is known among players as reduced juice. In terms of strategy, Pinnacle is the veteran of these tactics. Simply explained, the profit is earned at a higher turnover but with lower margins.

Pinnacle is unique in other ways as well. Another service it caters for that most other bookies do not is arbitrage betting. The risk-free method of betting is ever-popular, and Pinnacle accepts arbers just like any other punters. With this tactic, you can make your profit by using the bookmaker’s promotions. Promos are a great chance to win with the help of your bookie, and Pinnacle knows it. Always happy to assist its customers, the former Pinnacle Sports will not have you gubbed for practising arbitrage betting. It even calls the activity “The Holy Grail of Gambling”.

In addition to the excellent sports betting action, this website provides a casino as well as a live casino lounge. You can revel in a plethora of slots, table and card games. Furthermore, a litany of live dealer titles like Live Blackjack, Live Roulette and Live Speed Roulette from eminent live dealer providers like Evolution Gaming and NetEnt are on offer. Finally, if at any point you have issued while on this website, you have a friend in this bookie. Pinnacle’s helpful customer support team operates 24/7 for your convenience.

Licensing & Safety

Pinnacle is a reliable online gaming brand. As such, it is its duty to comply with the rules of its regulatory bodies. The company is a licensee of two jurisdictions - Gibraltar and Curacao. The latter location is, in fact, where the company’s headquarters is situated.

The Curacao-based brand has a strong policy regarding responsible gambling. It takes part in campaigns run by renowned firms like GamCare.org.uk, intending to protect its clients against addictive behaviour. Pinnacle is obliged to make the venue a safe place for every punter. Furthermore, due to the regulations issued by the supervisory organs, Pinnacle needs to pay special attention to minors and at all costs prevent them from gambling. No person under the legal age can register with Pinnacle.

Deposits and Withdrawals

One of key segments of every successful casino is efficient and speedy banking. While you are on the spot to place a bet or have a go with a casino game, finances need to be taken care of in advance. The Cashier section is where you should pick your banking option and currency.

Pinnacle offers an ample array of payment methods. Under “Payment Options” you will find a detailed and comprehensive list of all approaches at hand. First, you should select your currency. Currently, there are 22 international currencies on offer. These include British pounds sterling, American dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Euro, Brazilian Reals, and so on. Then, depending on the availability, the bookie will filter all depositing and withdrawal options for that currency.

Upon depositing, your option encompass electronic money wallets (e-wallets) like Neteller and Skrill, credit and debit cards such as Visa and MasterCard, prepaid vouchers and instant banking. E-wallets are particularly popular as they are free of charge. The least you can deposit utilising an e-wallet is £10. Bank wire transfers are slower to process your request, but allow unlimited transactions for a fee of £85.

As far as withdrawing your wins go, banking methods are typically identical to the above-described ones. The online gambling establishment provides a broad spectrum of diverse banking options such as EcoPayz, Paysafe Card and Trustly. There will be certain fees for every option. The least you can withdraw at Pinnacle is £10, and the most goes as high as £37,500 (for Neteller), and again, unlimited for bank transfers.

Customer Support

When you need assistance, you are welcome to get in touch with the client service agents. There are multiple ways to reach out to the Pinnacle customer support team. As far as speed and efficiency go, this team might be the best in trade. The three options to get help include:

All in all, we give a 9 out of 10 mark to Pinnacle for its customer support services. The venue does an excellent job pleasing its players all day long. We subtract the single mark due to the lack of a phone support. Other than that, you can expect an impeccable service at the place.

Markets & Odds

Pinnacle has always been about innovation. In 2010, the firm was the industry-first in offering the market betting on eSports. The company seemingly foresaw the flourishing of this market and was right to make this move. Later, in 2016, Pinnacle introduced drone racing. Even to date, the bookmaker offers the best odds on these two, and myriad other markets.

Furthermore, at Pinnacle you can place bets on just about any sport or discipline there is. From traditionally popular football (soccer), tennis and basketball, to sports like hockey, baseball and snooker – Pinnacle has it all. There are multiple hundreds of markets, competitions and tournaments on offer. These also encompass the likes of politics and Eurovision, when the time is right.

Your bet slip can be found to your right as you look at the homepage. Navigating through the website is extremely easy. All you need to do is click on your sport or championship of choice and place your bet, and your picks will show up on the bet slip.

In-Play Betting

In this day and age, it is a must for a bookmaker to provide in-play betting services. Also known as live betting, the in-play is a remarkably popular way of placing bets. Every contemporary bettor has tried it at least once and surely continued to utilise the facility. And why wouldn’t they? The option is extremely handy and allows you the flexibility that traditional gambling does not.

In-play betting is centred on placing bets as the event of your choice is taking place. Bookmakers give their clients a chance to place a bet or change their mind as the game runs. Thus another name – in-running betting.

The simple concept is beneficial for when you unexpectedly have a change of heart. Pinnacle offers the best odds for live betting. Perhaps you made a bunch of horrific decisions before the game. The bookie allows you to make amends. Bet on American football, Aussie Rules, Crossfit or boxing – you name it. As the match unfolds, grab your shot to place a different bet than the initial one. Enhance your chances and come as close to a guaranteed win as possible. Through in-play betting, you can correct your mistakes and turn your poor choices into moneymaking outcomes.

At the time of writing, the Curacao-based group is working on developing a new dashboard specifically made for live betting. Constantly striving to improve even further, Pinnacle is endeavouring to put in-play betting to a next level.

Pinnacle Live Streaming Offer

It is a given fact that an online gambling venue that offers in-play betting also caters for streaming services. All matches and championships that you can bet on at Pinnacle are on offer through broadcasting. A smooth transition right from the pitch to the screen is guaranteed thanks to dynamic camera angles and real-life streaming offered by Pinnacle.

Everyone likes to feel invested and have hands-on experience while betting online. That is why live streaming services exist. Pinnacle knows exactly what its customers desire, and it delivers accordingly. The best thing is – you can access the service through just about any mobile device. It doesn’t matter if you are an Android user or an Apple enthusiast; you can immerse yourself in the world of live betting right there and then. An alternative is to download the Pinnacle app for free from the virtual shop and enjoy the broadcast that way.

Pinnacle Bookmaker Margin

As we touched upon earlier, Pinnacle likely has the best margins among global bookmakers. That is one of the numerous reasons why it is so popular with players. Bettors like to have big chances of winning, and due to positive customer feedback, we can tell that they are chuffed with Pinnacle.

The betting lines at Pinnacle are more favourable for the players than the bookie itself. The online betting firm has shifted to a different strategy than what most others go for. To contrast the majority, Pinnacle offers lower margins, which stand at around 2%, compared to the industry average of 6%. Basing its business on the “reduced juice”, Pinnacle allows clients to spend less money and win more thanks to its whopping payout percentage of 98%.

With this gambling philosophy, Pinnacle manages to continually attract more new players. The company focuses on volume rather than profit. In other words, it would rather have more low-cost bets than fewer bets of a big value. For this reason, Pinnacle is the perfect place if you do not like to spend much, and want to have a go with arbitrage betting, as well.

Overall Review

Pinnacle provides a well-rounded offering. In terms of its sports betting services, it does the job impeccably. From in-play betting and live streaming, over incredible margins and numerous markets – Pinnacle works in your favour. The reduced juice approach does wonders for players, and thus the place suits punters who like to take it slowly and lie low with their bets.

A massive benefit of this bookmaker, compared to most others, is that it accepts arbers and treats them as equals to other players. Furthermore, the site is user-friendly and easy to navigate. All information is placed naturally and is easy to find. What’s more, there is even an application to download from the app store should you dislike accessing the site through your browser.

The Pinnacle webpage is offered in 12 languages, including German, Spanish, Russian, Swedish and Korean among others. The welcoming atmosphere is wrapped up by the amazing customer support team and their around-the-clock assistance.

Lastly, Pinnacle has an online casino featuring a live dealer department. It will surely come in handy while you are waiting for the match to finish. It can also serve as a way of relaxation between matches. Have a spin on some of its numerous slots, or play a game of Blackjack or Roulette.

When all has been said and done, the most important thing remains striving to be better than one is. Pinnacle is a textbook example of this. This bookmaker aims to improve its services every day and is very goal-oriented. With its forward-thinking approach, it is made for great things. Try the lowest margins and the best odds in the industry right here on Pinnacle.com!

Pinnacle New Customer Guide

A person who is new to online betting can feel a bit in the dark when visiting a betting site for the first time. That is why we created a step-by-step guide to newcomers to Pinnacle. To be able to place bets with this bookmaker, everyone needs to have an account. Here is how that is done.

Pinnacle Review FAQ

How do I open a Pinnacle account?

The Pinnacle betting site uses a fairly standard and straightforward registration process. Here is a simple step-by-step guide to opening a new account with Pinnacle.

1. Go to Pinnacle.com using your preferred internet browser.
2. Click the orange “join” button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Note that if you’re trying to connect to the website from a prohibited location, you will be notified at this point and will not be able to progress any further.
3. You will now have to provide account information, such as username, password, and e-mail address.
4. Next, the registration form will ask you for personal information such as full name and date of birth.
5. Next up is contact and billing information. This will include your address, phone number, and currency of choice. Note that you will be able to change the currency later.
6. Lastly, you will have to agree to Pinnacle’s terms of service and privacy policy. Also, you will be given the option of setting yourself a daily, weekly, or monthly deposit limit.

Like all licensed bookmakers, Pinnacle will also require you to perform Know Your Customer verification. This is done after making your account and includes you sending them a scanned copy of your passport, driver’s licence, or national ID.

Furthermore, you will have to confirm your billing address. There are several documents you can send as address confirmation: Utility / Telephone bill, Medical bill, Medical Insurance, Property receipt, Lease / Rental agreement, Bank Account Statement, or Government documentation.

Depending on your payment method of choice, you may require additional steps.

Can I have more than one Pinnacle account?

While Pinnacle is somewhat laxer than most other sportsbooks when it comes to winning large sums and betting arbitrage, this rule remains the same: only one account is allowed per person. Note that, due to how IP addresses work, this also usually means that only one account is allowed per household. Violating this rule is grounds for account termination, as per Pinnacle’s terms of service.

How does Pinnacle work?

Pinnacle s widely considered to have the highest odds and lowest bookmaker margins on the current betting site market. How do they achieve this, though?

The idea here is to instead divert funds that would have been used on marketing and promotions and use them to give players better payouts. This manifests in both much better odds, and an average bookmaker margin of just 2.4%, which is significantly lower than 99% of top online bookmakers.

Quite early after their founding in 1998, Pinnacle became the first online sportsbook to introduce this reduced margin pricing model or reduced juice. This model was immediately popular and earned them a very large customer base, further serving to reduce margins yet maintain a high turnover.

Furthermore, Pinnacle uses a different approach to setting odds. They usually post their listings very early, with special “overnight” betting offers, which have highly adjustable odds but lower stake limits. Pinnacle than adjusts the odds for these offers by following the activity of early bettors, which are usually experienced punters who know what they’re doing.

As a result, Pinnacle can be highly confident in their odds lines. The underlying principle is simple: no matter how you look at it, the majority of sports bettors plays at an overall loss – that’s how bookies make money in the first place. As another side-effect of this confidence, Pinnacle can provide some of the highest stake limits in the industry, going up to £50.000 on select matches and sporting events. This further serves to keep their turnover rates high, keeping Pinnacle profitable despite their low margins.

Is Pinnacle legit?

Pinnacle operated as a fully-licenced, legal betting site since day 1. As of the writing of this article, their primary remote gambling is held by Ragnarok Corporation N.V., which is issued by the government of Curacao. This license serves for both their sportsbook offers and the online casino services.

As you might expect, their headquarters are also located in Curacao, a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. As such, their business was originally licenced and regulated by the government of the Netherlands Antilles, or the Dutch Antilles. Since this political entity was dissolved in 2010, they answer directly to the government of the Country of Curacao, as part of the overarching Kingdom of the Netherlands.

If you’re worried more about reliability than legality, you should remember that Pinnacle has been operating for more than 20 years at this point, without any scandals or major PR issues. Pinnacle prides itself in their high limits and payouts and maintains a reputation for reliably paying them out in full. Due to a law in the Netherlands, to whose constitution they have to conform, Pinnacle is obligated to always maintain enough funds to respect all of the current bids their customers have posted. According to independent sources, Pinnacle’s payout rate is 97.48%.

What is Pinnacle’s maximum payout?

Pinnacle often calls itself a “haven” for high-rolling bettors due to their uniquely high stake and payout limits. With a few exceptions, there appears to be no set limit for how much you can win with a single bet. The highest amount won at Pinnacle on a single sporting event by one bettor was $2,049,000, back in 2011. This is because Pinnacle’s business model relies on high turnover rates. You can find more information about this in the “How does Pinnacle work?” question above.

On an everyday basis, though, there are some limits. For starters, the maximum amount you can win with an accumulator (parley, multiple) is $250,000. This limitation resets every day.

Moreover, while there are no payout limits, the amount you can stake does appear to be limited. We’ll list some of the most popular options below. The limits appear to depend on both the sport in question and the betting market. Since Pinnacle is unavailable in the UK, we'll list the limits in USD, although the bookie accepts many other currencies.

Where is Pinnacle located?

Pinnacle’s headquarters are currently in Willemstad, Curaçao. They hold the local gambling licence and operate under its laws and regulations. While Curacao is de facto independent, they are still considered a part of the sovereign state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

What is Pinnacle Sports?

Pinnacle Sports was the original name of Pinnacle. The company was founded as Pinnacle Sports back in 1998, and have remained an independent company ever since. Pinnacle Sports rebranded to Pinnacle on June 1, 2016, after acquiring the pinnacle.com domain name. It should also be noted that Pinnacle remains one of the very few major bookmakers who are still truly independent, and not part of a major holdings firm or conglomerate. According to the official information offered on their website, Pinnacle has hundreds of thousands of customers in over 100 countries worldwide. As of the writing of this article, most other key company information about Pinnacle is kept private, such as their number of employees, yearly turnover, and gross revenue. However, experts claim that is is safe to assume that Pinnacle’s annual turnover is in the billions of dollars.

Who owns Pinnacle?

Pinnacle is a privately owned company, owned and directed by a group of shareholders. In 2015, it was revealed that Magnus Hedman became Pinnacle’s majority shareholder. Hedman is known as the owner of sports betting risk management firm Touchbet.

A lot of such information is considered somewhat unreliable because Pinnacle likes to keep most of their business dealings far from the public eye. As such, this transaction was the last official mention of Pinnacle’s ownership. Reportedly, Hedman also has large shares of other online sports betting-related businesses such as Betgenius and the UK spread betting business Sporting Index.

Where is Pinnacle legal?

Gamgling is a highly controlled and regulated business, and its legality can range from complete criminal bans to fully legitimate, taxed businesses depending on the country in question. Online gambling, on the other hand, is a relatively new phenomenon and thus presents a problem t a lot of legal systems.

Most countries still have very murky laws and regulations when it comes to dealing with online sports betting. An example of this would be the USA, where sports betting, in particular, is illegal in most states, while online gambling is in a strange grey area on a federal level. Alternatively, some countries have very restrictive regulations when it comes to online gambling. An example of this is the UK, a country which only allows companies that have been vetted by its Gambling Commission to do business with its residents.

For most other countries, however, the sort of oversight a company has is up to the country where the bookie is registered. All of this can get a bit confusing, but you generally don’t have to worry about it if you’re using a trusted, respectable betting site.

That being said, Pinnacle has a stringent list of countries whose residents they cannot accept as customers. Here is the full list of these countries as of the writing of this article:

• The United States of America and its territories
• The French Republic and its territories
• The United Kingdom
• The Netherlands (including Curacao and other countries and territories that form part of the Kingdom of Netherlands)
• Spain
• Germany
• Singapore
• Democratic People's Republic of Korea
• Denmark
• Philippines
• Syria
• Turkey
• Poland
• Ireland
• Czech Republic
• Sudan
• Australia and its territories
• Italy
• Iran
• Slovenia
• Sweden

Also, note that Pinnacle warns future customers that this list extends to any other countries which restrict their resident’s ability to use gambling services. If you are not sure whether this applies to you, you should seek legal advice before registering with Pinnacle.

Is Pinnacle legal in the US?

Sports betting, in general, is highly restricted in the States, with only a handful of states allowing it at all. When it comes to online gambling – technically, it is prohibited on a federal level, due to a law which prohibits bookmakers to pay out to customers.

Some online bookmakers have managed to get around this in one way or another, but that does not apply to Pinnacle. Although it used to be the most popular sportsbook among American punters, Pinnacle was forced to pull out of the US back in 2007. However, expanding into regulated areas is currently a key point of Pinnacle’s business development strategy. As such, it is known that they have a division dedicated to taking advantage of any changes in American gambling legislation.

If you were to dig deep enough, you could find several services promising to allow people from the US to use Pinnacle's sportsbook. These are referred to as agents and are essentially an intermediary who allows you to bet through them. However, we would not advise such options to anyone. Such services are completely third-party and separate from the Pinnacle company itself and are thus not very accountable. Furthermore, they work in a legal grey area at best.

Is Pinnacle legal in Canada?

If you were to refer to the list of prohibited countries above, you could quickly notice that Canada is not among them. This means that Pinnacle is completely legal to use from Canada, and the Pinnacle betting site is a viable option for all Canadian punters.

Is Pinnacle legal in the UK?

At the time of writing this, Pinnacle is not licenced by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, so the country’s residents are barred from using the betting site.

Back when the bookie was still called Pinnacle Sports, it was available in the UK up until 2014. They noted the reason for leaving the sizeable British gambling market was “imminent changes to British gambling licensing regulations.” It is worth mentioning that, before 2014, only companies that are based in the UK had to possess a UKGC license – residents were still allowed to bet with foreign companies. Since 2014, if a company wants customers from the UK, they have to get the license.

For the first few years after the fact, Pinnacle was adamant about working hard on obtaining a UKGC license. On the Commission's official website, their application was marked as “pending” for several years, giving hope to the thousands of Pinnacle fans in the UK.

However, in May 2018, the company officially announced that they had “withdrawn our license application to the UK Gambling Commission.” It seems that whatever plans there were to bring Pinnacle back to the UK are postponed, if not outright cancelled. Although they still officially maintain that “Pinnacle remains committed to bringing its low margins, high limits and unique winners welcome policy to the UK market when the time is right.”

Why is Pinnacle Sports banned in the UK?

Pinnacle was forced to close down all UK customers’ accounts and stop accepting new customers from the UK in 2014 due to a change in the country’s gambling legislation. You can find more details in the previous question.

Why is Pinnacle “winners welcome”?

The Pinnacle sportsbook has a unique stance on several controversial issues within the online sports betting community.

For starters, banning and restricting successful punters is a sadly common practice among online bookmakers. If you happen to be winning a bit too much, you are likely to have your account closed or severely restricted in terms of how much you can wager in the future. This is a shady business practice but is, unfortunately, something you have to learn to live with if you want to gamble online.

Pinnacle, on the other hand, promise never to do something like that. They call this a “winners welcome” policy. As far as we can tell, they have stayed true to their word so far, and no-one’s account has been restricted due to high winnings.

Additionally, Pinnacle is uniquely tolerant of Arbitrage betting. For most bookies, Arbitrage is strictly prohibited and they give it their best to crack down on it whenever they can. Pinnacle allows arbitrage to its users.

What is Pinnacle’s maximum withdrawal?

The largest amount you can withdraw from Pinnacle depends solely on the payment method you're choosing. The limits are as follows:

• Neteller: minimum of $10, maximum of $20,000.
• Skrill: minimum of $10, maximum of $35,000.
• EcoPayz: minimum of $10, maximum is based on EcoPayz account limits.
• Paysafecard: minimum of $25, a maximum of $750 per single transaction
• Entropay: minimum $10, maximum of $2000, with a max of 10 transactions per day.
• Trustly bank transfer: minimum of $10, max is $35,000 per day.
• Instant Banking: minimum $50, maximum of $7500 per day.
• Bank Transfer: minimum of $10, there is no max withdrawal limit for this method.

On a side note, only one transaction per month for each of these methods is free. All subsequent withdrawals are subject to an $8 fee. All withdrawals also take between 2 and 5 days to process.

Does Pinnacle offer a cash-out option?

The Pinnacle live betting section does not offer a cash option at the time of the review. As per their website’s help section, players are allowed to bet on the opposite side of their initial bet to lock in profits.

Does Pinnacle accept BitCoin?

Pinnacle does not accept BitCoin as a currency for bets or any other services. However, they do offer a third-party workaround. The option is offered through the service provider BitPay for Euro, USD, CAD, RUB, CNY, JPY, MXP, HKD, TWD and KRW accounts.

BitPay is an online service that allows you to make online payments by converting BitCoins into other currencies. Do note: their service takes a 1% cut on all transactions.

How to close my Pinnacle account?

Pinnacle’s account management tab does not have the option to automatically close or suspend a player account. However, you can do this by contacting their customer support. Simply fill in a form with specific details and your account will promptly be closed.

The same method has to be used if you wish to re-open a closed or suspended account. Simply send them a request stating your intentions. After that, your request will be processed and reviewed for eligibility. Additionally, Pinnacle’s customer service claims that “Eligible accounts shall be re-opened or restrictions lifted after a seven day cooling-off period from the time of your request.”

Which currencies does Pinnacle accept?

The currencies that you can use for all of Pinnacle’s services are: Australian Dollars (AUD), Mexican Peso (MXP), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Norwegian Krone (NOK), Chinese Yuan Renmimbi (RMB), New Zealand Dollars (NZD), Chezh Coruna (CZK), Polish Zloty (PLN), Danish Kroner (DKK), Russian Rouble (RUB), Euros (EUR), Singaporean Dollars (SGD), British Pounds (GBP), Swedish Kronor (SEK), Hong Kong Dollars (HKD), Thai Bhat (THB), Japanese Yen (JPY), Taiwanese New Dollars (TWD), Korean Won (KRW), United States Dollars (USD), Malaysian Ringgit (MYR), Colombian Peso (COP), and Brazillian Real (BRL).

Is it safe to bet at Pinnacle?

Yes. Safety is ensured in every corner of the Pinnacle website. It achieves that level of security through various channels. One of them is the auditing process conducted by eCogra. Moreover, Pinnacle utilises the 128-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption to protect all monetary transactions. Lastly, the company actively participates in campaigns led by leading client protection programmes like GamCare.org.uk.

How long does it take to withdraw money at Pinnacle?

Instant and online banking are by far the speediest options for punters in a hurry. If you have time, then bank transfers might the right choice for you. They can take up to 28 working days in some cases, but if you don’t mind it, neither do we. On the other hand, credit/debit cards usually take around 5 days, whilst some e-wallets offer almost instantaneous withdrawal. With them, you never have to wait more than 24 hours.

Why does Pinnacle limit accounts?

Every reputable virtual betting place will only allow a single player within a single household, using a single device with a single IP address. There are legal reasons for that, but those of a more civil nature can be explained in simple terms. Pinnacle supports healthy gambling and will do everything to safeguard its players from getting addicted to their hobby. That is why this law is in force.

Why does Pinnacle need my passport?

To make sure it is really you, and not someone else using your private info, Pinnacle will ask you to provide a photographic ID such as your national identity card or passport. This is done with the aim of protecting you above all.

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