BetRivers Sportsbook Virginia Review

BetRivers Sportsbook Virginia bonus

Here’s a quick rundown of the BetRivers Virginia sign-up bonus:

1. Register with BetRivers Virginia and use the BetRivers Virginia affiliate code PLAYRIV.
2. Enter the BetRivers deposit code SPORTS when making your initial deposit.
3. Place your first cash wager.
4. If that wager loses, you’ll get a BetRivers Virginia bet credit of up to $500.
5. Your bet credit is good for 30 days.

Signing up for BetRivers Virginia sportsbook

Creating an account at BetRivers, as well as at most online sportsbooks, is a fairly easy process and should take no more than 10 minutes.

The information that you’ll be required to submit is your name, date of birth, home address, email, phone number and your Social Security number. The Social Security number is for tax purposes and to verify you are who you say you are.

Since you are allowed to bet only when you are in the state of Virginia, you also will need to have geolocation switched on when signing up and in order to bet anytime in the future.

Other BetRivers promotions and bonus offers

One of the best parts about BetRivers is its loyalty program, the iRush Rewards Program. The iRush program allows players to earn points based on the amount of money they bet, and thus move up or down BetRivers’ 11-tier ranking system to determine the rewards they will receive.

The points you earn are determined by the amount of money you wager, but also based on whether you are placing a straight bet or a parlay. For example, it takes one $6 straight bet to earn an iRush point while a 10+ leg parlay earns a point for every $0.50 wagered. Points are accumulated during rolling 60-day periods. It takes 20,000 points to reach the penultimate iRush rewards tier, while the top level is by invitation only.

As mentioned, BetRivers also has a second chance bet welcome bonus for up to $500. It is for new customers who use the BetRivers Sportsbook Virginia affiliate code PLAYRIV.

The digital Virginia sportsbook also offers daily odds boosts. The odds boosts are simple; they increase the odds on various games or prop bets, which increases your winnings if your bet wins.

You also can expect to see assorted offerings throughout the year around major sporting events. For example at the start of the NFL season BetRivers offered a bet credit up to $100, if you placed a single-game moneyline wager on the opening game of the season. The bet credit matched the amount you bet on the opener.

Is BetRivers Sportsbook legal?

It is. In April 2020, Virginia followed the lead of a number of states that had legalized sports betting. There are, however, a few things that are distinctive about Virginia’s sports betting rules and regulations.

First, betting on college teams from the state is not allowed, although wagering on tournaments that have Virginia teams in them still is. Meaning you will be able to bet on the men’s NCAA tournament come March.

Second, while the state also aims to eventually allow retail sportsbooks, the online ones will be on the market well ahead of this. But this comes with a caveat, too. The law allows for sports betting to take place at a not-yet built professional sports stadium in the state. The thought is that if the NFL’s Washington Football Team, owned by Daniel Snyder, were to have a stadium built in Virginia, it would be a location for said sports betting.

Lastly, the law requires there be at least four online sportsbooks, with a maximum of 12. The logic being that the more choices the public has, the better the market will be, making it more consumer friendly.

BetRivers features

BetRivers has plenty of features sports fans and bettors alike are sure to love.

Live sports betting is quickly becoming more and more popular, and the BetRivers site moves and updates at lightning speed, which is key when it comes to live betting in particular. The last thing you want from a sportsbook is any lag time when you’re trying to place a bet before a play happens or a line changes.

Another perk of choosing BetRivers is that thanks to a partnership with IMG in May 2019, it is able to show certain live tennis and soccer matches on its site and app.

Another benefit to joining BetRivers is its sign-up bonus which is worth up to $500.

Finally, the daily odds boosts and special promotions centered around top sporting events are another reason for picking BetRivers as your Virginia sportsbook.

BetRivers Sportsbook app

While Virginia aims to have brick-and-mortar sportsbooks eventually, for now your best bet (pun intended) when it comes to accessing BetRivers is by downloading its app for Android and iOS devices. You can download it for free by following the instructions on the BetRivers homepage. In order to place bets, you will need the geolocation turned on.

One thing you will notice is that the BetRivers website and the app are very similar in appearance and usage. Right now you need to use a third-party app or plugin to access the BetRivers website, so the app is currently a better experience.

Sports you can bet on at BetRivers in Virginia

When it comes to what sports you can bet on at BetRivers, the simplest of answers is “nearly all of them.”

Bettors can choose from all the major professional sports like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA Tour, UFC, NASCAR, MLS and NCAA basketball and football too. International soccer is another big draw for many, with the Champions League and English Premier League being among the favorites. And both men’s and women’s tennis, especially during the majors, also can be very popular.

That’s not all, though; less popular sports like Australian rules football, cricket, cycling, handball, rugby, snooker, table tennis and volleyball are all available to bet on.

Virginia sports betting guide

Virginia might not be home to any teams in major professional sports leagues, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB in nearby markets for you to follow, cheer for and now bet on at BetRivers.

All of the following leagues allow for betting on individual games, both before and during the action in the form of live betting. You also can place futures bets on individual team regular-season win totals, and pick division, conference and overall winners, along with individual award winners. Myriad prop bets also are available throughout the season for all the leagues, teams and players.

In the NHL both the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Football Team are nearby. Washington’s practice facility and team headquarters are actually located in Virginia, and it is rumored that owner Daniel Snyder is trying to get a new stadium for his club built in Virginia. The Ravens, meanwhile, are home to reigning 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

In MLB, there are teams from both the American League and National League to help satiate your baseball fix. The Washington Nationals won the 2019 World Series, and while the AL’s Baltimore Orioles haven’t been to the playoffs since 2016, they play in the AL East, so the rival Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are in town often to root against.

It’s been a down few years for the neighboring NBA teams, the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards, but thanks to being able to bet against the spread, you can cheer your favorite one of the pair on, and even if they lose you still could win as long as they cover the spread. You also can bet on the NBA draft if that’s more to your liking.

In the NHL, the Washington Capitals are also close to Northern Virginia. Not only did the Caps win the Stanley Cup in 2018, but it wouldn’t be surprising going forward if they began taking futures bets as to whether Alex Ovechkin will break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals scored record. Ovechkin finished the 2020 season with 706 goals, while Gretzky’s record is 894.

As for college betting, Virginia law forbids wagering on Virginia college teams. The lone exception being that you are allowed to bet on tournaments in which teams from Virginia are playing. Thus, betting on the March Madness men’s basketball tournament still will be allowed.

BetRivers future bets

Futures wagering is one of the best ways to bet on your favorite players and teams all season long without having to make bets every week or even every day in order to do so. Since you can’t bet on Virginia NCAA teams due to the state’s gambling laws, we’ll just take a look at the nearby pro sports teams and players you can wager on at BetRivers.

Coming into this season, it was a tale of two NFL teams neighboring Virginia. The Baltimore Ravens had the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Washington Football Team was tied for the second-worst with Cincinnati. You can make futures bets like that at BetRivers, or you could have selected whether Washington quarterback Alex Smith would be the Comeback Player of the Year; he started the season with the best odds.

In baseball, you’ll be able to wager on whether you think the Washington Nationals can return to form this coming season and get back to their 2019 winning ways. Or if the Baltimore Orioles ever will be able to dethrone teams like the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays from atop the American League East.

In the NBA, you might not feel confident enough to pick the Wizards or Hornets to win the NBA title, but maybe betting on them to make the playoffs doesn’t seem too outrageous. Or simply picking whether they’ll meet or fall short of their preseason win totals is an option, as well.

In the NHL, Washington’s Ovechkin is always near the top of the odds when it comes to who will lead the league in goals scored. And just like the other sports, you can bet on the Caps to win the Stanley Cup again like they did in 2018 or maybe just to win the Metropolitan Division.

Futures wagering has something to offer just about everyone; just make sure you pay attention because odds can change quickly depending on injuries or additions. You don’t want to miss out on what you consider a sure thing because you didn’t act fast.

Types of bets available on the BetRivers sports betting

You will find all the most popular and common types of bets available at BetRivers, allowing you to bet on everything from individual pitch results during a Major League Baseball game to season win totals for teams and just about everything in between. Here’s a rundown of your top bet choices.

Moneyline bets are simply bets in which all you have to do is select the team you think will win. Favorites are denoted by negative numbers, while underdogs are positive. The bigger the favorite, the less money you will win if correct, while the opposite is true when it comes to betting underdogs.

Over/unders are another very common bet you will see a lot of at BetRivers. In these, the sportsbook will supply a number, usually having to do with the total points scored in a game by both teams, and bettors will pick whether the actual number will be over or under that total. Over/unders also can apply to season win totals, individual statistics and more.

Point-spread betting is another super popular form of betting, especially for football and basketball. Sportsbooks will set a number (again negative for favorites, positive for underdogs) and that number either will be subtracted or added to that team’s total at the end of the game. If your team wins after that addition or subtraction, you’re a winner too.

If you like picking overall champions, MVP award winners and predicting how teams will fare for an entire season, then futures should be right up your alley. In this type of bet you’re selecting something further down the road, such as the next Super Bowl champion or Cy Young Award winner in baseball. Futures bets also can focus on players’ individual stats, too.

Prop bets are side bets that became extremely popular because of their prevalence during the Super Bowl. They can range from whether a golfer will birdie the first hole of a tournament, to whether a baseball player will homer during a specific game or even the result of a coin flip.

Then comes parlays, which can have the highest return on investment, but also can be incredibly difficult to get correct. In parlays, you bet on a minimum of two events to happen, with no maximum. The more “legs” a parlay has, the more money you will win if correct. The hard part is that if any part of the bet is wrong, you lose the entire wager. There is no partial win when it comes to parlays.

And finally, teasers are a form of parlay, usually involving football and basketball. In teasers, you can move the lines in your favor, making it easier for you to win but also decreasing your payout if you are correct.

Whatever type of bettor you are, BetRivers Sportsbook has something for you. Give it a try; just make sure you understand exactly what you are betting on before completing your wager.

Payment and withdrawal methods at BetRivers

In order to bet at the BetRivers Sportsbook, you obviously need to deposit money into your account.

You have plenty of options available. You can do an online bank transfer, use an e-check, deposit with your Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit card, use your PayPal account, get a BetRivers Play+ card and use it, or finally you can pay with cash using PayNearMe at participating 7-Eleven stores.

When it comes to making withdrawals, they are typically processed within 24 hours at BetRivers, although it can take as long as 72 hours. If you use your BetRivers Play+ card, the funds will be available immediately. Doing an online back transfer/ACH will take about two to five business days to appear in your account. If you choose to get a check mailed to you, it will arrive in roughly 10-14 business days.

BetRivers customer support

Hopefully you never have to use it, but if you do BetRivers has a live chat support system on its site that is available daily from 9:30 a.m.-2 a.m. ET. The chat system is the best method to use if you need help immediately.

If your issue is less pressing, you can email BetRivers, and it will try to get back to you within 24 hours.

Before trying either of those methods, though, check out the BetRivers help page. There’s plenty of questions and answers having to do with registration, bonus offers, sports betting explainers and technical issues, just to name a few, so there’s a decent chance the answer to your inquiry is there.

Responsible gambling at BetRivers

BetRivers understands that for some people sports betting goes from a fun form of entertainment to a serious problem. Because of that, it has self-exclusion and limit-setting programs that anyone can utilize.

The self-exclusion function allows you to remove yourself from the site for a period of one or three years. And the limit-setting feature allows you to control how much and/or how often you are able to bet.

Where is the BetRivers retail sportsbook?

While Virginia sports betting law allows for potential retail sportsbooks in the future, there are none at this time, so BetRivers does not currently have a retail sportsbook in Virginia.

Is BetRivers the best sportsbook in Virginia?

That’s hard to say. BetRivers is operated by Rush Street Interactive, which is an affiliate of US-based casino group Rush Street Gaming, which owns several land-based casinos. The RSG group has been operating casinos in North America since 1996, so it clearly knows what it’s doing in that regard.

As for the sportsbook business, BetRivers is still very new to the game, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just a statement of fact. There’s not a track record to go on as of yet. BetRivers continues to expand to more states as sports betting is legalized, so it’s clearly trying to gain a foothold in the industry.

Whether it can become the top sportsbook in Virginia is anybody’s guess, but there’s nothing it’s done to date that would preclude it from being in the mix along with others such as DraftKings and FanDuel.