SugarHouse Sportsbook Review

Known as BetRivers following Rush Street Gaming’s acquisition of the brand, it’s only the Connecticut branch that retains the SugarHouse name. Acting as both a casino and sportsbook, the popular betting site has enjoyed rapid growth over recent years – partly due to the legalization of sports betting in a greater number of US states.

In this review, I’ll be taking a close look at everything SugarHouse’s sportsbook has to offer both new and existing player — from the range of available sports betting options, payment methods and support services to the various UI elements and the mobile app experience.

Whether you like creating unique wagers or prefer to bet on pre-made selections – SugarHouse has something for almost every type of bettor. To gain access to a variety of sports, generous bonuses and exclusive opportunities to place specialized bets, visit the link at the end of this review to create an account at SugarHouse.

Bonuses and Promotions

Bonus bets are all the rage at the moment. Essentially, this type of promotion boosts your second wager on the site instead of the first one. At SugarHouse, I took advantage of a $100 bonus bet — known here as the ‘2nd Chance Bet’ — to jump-start my journey on the platform.

I was pleased to see that I was allowed to wager on any sports market in order to activate the bonus bet, and unlike many competing bookmakers out there, SugarHouse doesn’t place any minimum odds restrictions on qualifying bets. While this may sound good on paper, the reality is a little disappointing, as the bonus is only credited to bettors who’ve lost their first bet. 

After reading that part of the terms and conditions, I was left with a difficult choice. Placing a bet on a selection with low odds and a small stake would increase my chances of winning – but I’d miss out on the chance to grab a $100 bonus bet. On the other hand, betting $100 on a selection with sky-high odds would either dish out a big payday or give me another opportunity to bet $100 thanks to the bonus bet. If the bonus bet were to lose, I’d be out of $100. It’s a tough call. 

I’d like to see SugarHouse follow in Unibet’s footsteps when it comes to the bonus bet welcome offer. At Unibet, you earn a bonus bet regardless of your first wager’s outcome.

Terms and Conditions

Although this offer is one of the more ‘easy-going’ promotions in the sports betting industry, some important T&Cs apply. For starters, I was required to enter the code ‘SPORTS’ upon depositing for the first time. Otherwise, my first bet wouldn’t have qualified for the offer.

It’s also worth noting that SugarHouse will match the stake of losing bets up to $100. If a $25 bet loses, SugarHouse pays out a $25 bonus bet. However, if a $200 bet is lost, the recipient would only get $100 as a bonus bet. The bet should arrive in qualifying accounts within 24 hours of the initial wager’s settlement. Once the bonus bet arrives in your account balance, you can use it to bet on odds of -200 or longer. This limit applies to every leg within a parlay, too. 

As previously discussed, stakes aren’t paid out in instances where a bonus bet wins. Moreover, players have 30 days to play through bonus bets once the free punt has been issued. Refrain from cashing out your bonus bet during those 30 days, as doing so will result in disqualification.

Ongoing Promotions

While scrolling through SugarHouse’s range of promotions for existing bettors, I encountered an astonishing number of insurance bonuses. These can be claimed on a range of different sports — UFC, MLB, NCAAF, and NFL to name a few — and will refund your stake based on a range of different factors, such as one leg of a parlay bet letting you down, or if a player hits two home runs. 

On top of these insurance promotions, the site provides ‘bet and get’ bonuses for soccer, the MLB, and Friday NCAAF games. Handing out profit boosts and bonus bets, I’m convinced that ‘bet and get’ offers at SugarHouse provide the best value for money. 

Last but not least, SugarHouse operates an iRush Rewards VIP loyalty program. Just place bets on your favorite sports to climb levels and earn exciting prizes. 

Sports and Markets

The usual suspects are available at SugarHouse; MLB, NBA, soccer, NFL, NHL, tennis, and MMA – but some lesser known options are also listed. SugarHouse provides prices for table tennis, rugby league and union, cycling, eSports, Australian rules, bowling, athletics, and lacrosse.

I navigated through the A-Z list via the sidebar menu — a common and necessary feature on all modern sportsbooks — and found something that grabbed my attention. Under the ‘most popular section’ is a link titled ‘prop central’. Clicking on this section reveals a colorful section devoted to prop bets across several huge sporting events. The NFL, MLB, NCAAF, MLS, and EPL are all supported and come jam-packed with unique props. 

House specials covering FIBA, tennis, MLB, and the NFL can be found underneath the prop bets tab. Filled with pre-made punts at good odds, I can see many bettors coming to this section to place a quick wager. 

Despite this, compared to its competitors SugarHouse does fall short in the field in terms of markets. For NFL games, I found an average of 16 markets on display. That figure has SugarHouse easily beaten by the likes of Bovada, TwinSpires, and BetMGM. While not a deal breaker for me, this is something to consider before signing up.

Design and Usability

There are numerous reasons to sign up at an online sports betting site, and I would argue that user-friendliness is in the top three — along with competitive odds and depth of markets. Luckily, SugarHouse excels in this department, both on desktop and on mobile. 

From the outset, SugarHouse makes its intentions clear. At the forefront of its homepage is a range of pre-made selections taken from a vast array of popular sports. To my left is a sidebar menu, complete with useful tabs and an alphabetically-ordered list of sports to sift through. Incorporating quick navigational links via the sidebar tells me that SugarHouse really values its players’ time. 

Above the sidebar sits a search bar, and I tested it by looking for specific markets and sporting leagues. I quickly found that the search bar was wholly unnecessary — not through any fault of the search function itself — but because the rest of the site was laid so well. 

There is something homely about the SugarHouse UI. Its light blue coloring coupled with a calming white background seems strangely familiar. Even though this was my first time on the site, I found myself navigating the sportsbook as though I had done so thousands of times before. Within an hour or two, I decided to check out the downloadable mobile app for iOS and Android to see if it was of the same standard. 

Once I saw that the app had earned 4.4 stars from a possible five on Apple’s virtual store, I had very high expectations, and thankfully wasn’t let down. From colorful animations to the wonderfully helpful footer menu, it became immediately clear that SugarHouse’s developers invested much time and effort into the mobile release. With the same number of sports, bonuses, and features as those published on desktop — I can highly recommend the app to mobile bettors.

Payment Methods and Withdrawal Times

SugarHouse supports six different payment methods for deposits; ACH banking, VIP Preferred ACH, credit or debit cards, Vanilla Direct, Rush Cash, and Play Plus cards. Minimum deposit limits for each option begin at $10, and all are processed instantly. 

Things are a little murkier when discussing withdrawals. After failing to find information on minimum and maximum withdrawal limits on the SugarHouse sportsbook, I utilized the site’s live chat support service to ask an agent. Unfortunately, the agent was unsure of the exact withdrawal limits applied to the various available methods, but he explained that the general limit opens at $10. 

Speaking of withdrawals, you can transfer funds out of your account using a Play Plus card, online banking/ACH, PayPal, or Venmo. Play Plus cards offer the speediest payout times — at less than a minute — whereas PayPal and Venmo transactions can take up to half an hour. Withdrawals processed via online banking are subject to a waiting period of 2 to 5 days. 

Although I’m content with the timescales provided for withdrawals, I would like to see further methods added to the mix. Skrill would be a fantastic addition, while physical options — like checks — could serve as solid alternatives for traditional players.

Live Betting Options

Live streaming and in-play betting go hand-in-hand at SugarHouse. In fact, the very first link listed within the sidebar menu is ‘Live Streaming’. There was plenty of  action at my disposal here, but I tuned into a tennis matchup between Sumit Nagal and Albert Ramos-Vinolas. As expected, the stream was of ideal quality. 

Best of all, streams are free to view. Just create an account and log in, then open the streaming area. A list of all current and upcoming events is presented under the live-streaming tab — simply pick the one you want to watch.

You can bet on all sorts of markets while the stream plays. Odds update alongside the latest action — albeit on a slight delay — ensuring that the odds remain accurate. And, if you lose faith in your bet at any time, I found the cash out function to work perfectly. Eligible selections are marked with a green icon in your betslip. 

Live events are also supported by stat-packs. The latest touchdowns, offsides, bookings, passes, and more are neatly packed into a small box next to the event’s prices. It’s a nice touch.

Bet Builder

Same-game parlays are split into two categories at SugarHouse. First are your standard bet builders, which are created by mixing and matching selections arising from different markets. Second are the pre-made bet packs developed by the SugarHouse team. 

There is no difference in value between either choice. Pre-packs are a time-saving measure, while standard SGPs allow players to make their own selections, which is something that every sportsbook needs. 

Same-game parlays are added to the betslip in the same way as normal singles and parlays. Like other wagers, you’ll know whether or not they’re cash out eligible by looking for the small green icon. 

SugarHouse Betting App

Available for download via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the SugarHouse sportsbook app is free to install on all mobile devices. Androids and iPhones are supported, and the app enjoys full tablet optimization.

Like the desktop version of SugarHouse, navy, blue, and white are the app’s primary colors. Dissimilar to the website, though, are the footer and header menus. At the top is a scrolling bar menu packed with sports. Account features like the betslip, support, promotions, and the bonus store are found toward the bottom. For me, the app’s layout is much easier on the eye, and is just as easy to navigate.  

Besides some helpful UI adjustments, the app is much the same as the website. Every bonus, odd, selection, and feature I discovered while browsing via a browser was also present on mobile. 

Customer Support

The owners of SugarHouse and BetRivers — Rush Street Interactive — were awarded Customer Service Operator of the Year 2023 at the EGR North America Rewards, so I expected big things from the customer support options. 

I had two options when seeking to contact an agent. Between live chat and telephone, I opted for live chat by clicking the ‘Support Chat’ icon. After enduring five minutes of a support bot, I was finally greeted by a real person. To my disappointment, the agent was reluctant to answer my questions concerning withdrawal limits — as mentioned earlier in this review — but I was able to learn about all the withdrawal methods available at SugarHouse. 

In general, I think you’re better off phoning the team rather than making use of the live chat function, and it’s great that SugarHouse gives you both options. 

To get in touch over the phone, select ‘Help Center’ and dial the number on the right-hand side of your screen.

Summary

All in all, SugarHouse is a lot of fun. 22 sports in total, in-depth markets, a nice welcome bonus, and loads of offers for existing players make SugarHouse one of my favorite sportsbooks in the US. 

Like any sportsbook, SugarHouse does have a couple flaws. The lineup of banking options for example, could be improved upon, while the newsfeed — a section dedicated to the latest winners on the platform — feels a bit cheap. 

But that’s just nitpicking at small issues. I’d recommend SugarHouse’s online sportsbook to both new and veteran bettors — be that on the app or desktop. To gain access to several exclusive bonuses and activate a $100 welcome bonus at SugarHouse, click through and sign up. 

Frequently Asked Questions