With the launch of legal betting in Ontario, Royal Panda Sportsbook is sure to be a major player in the industry.
Royal Panda Sportsbook is still new in the Ontario sports betting sites catalogue, so it is understandable the platform has not reached full maturity. The promise and potential is certainly there, though, as they offer many betting options and markets along with decent customer service options and some really cool site features.
Founded in Malta, Royal Panda was acquired by LeoVegas in 2017 for approximately £60 million. At the time, Royal Panda consisted of a 60-person head office targeting UK bettors. LeoVegas acquisition of Royal Panda fit the company’s expansion into regulated markets.
Royal Panda is licensed through the Malta Gaming Authority and the Alcohol and Gambling Commission of Ontario. The company’s headquarters are in Stockholm, but the brand LeoVegas is owned by LeoVegas Gaming Ltd. based in Malta. The company has offices in Italy, UK, and Poland.
Additionally, LeoVegas Ontario is a popular sports betting platform within the province.
Royal Panda Sportsbook Ontario has many of the standard betting features that many others do, especially as it pertains to the types of bets available. There are a few, however, that we have found unique and make Royal Panda a fun experience for betting.
For each upcoming betting market, there is a convenient countdown that happens in real-time leading up to the beginning of the match. This handy feature shows the bettor exactly how long they have on the current odds before the odds begin to change with live-action. The countdown is displayed on the left-hand side of the match with an icon that changes to reflect a visual cue.
Where applicable, Royal Panda allows bettors to adjust their odds with an easy-to-use slider. Adjusting odds is as easy as sliding the icon toward one side or the other, and the odds on that market adjust live. Other sportsbooks only allow players to see a list of custom odds offerings, this feature is much more simple…and elegant.
Within every market’s detail screen, Royal Panda sportsbook displays the recent results of each side’s previous matches. For instance, when looking at a match between the 76’ers and Raptors, Royal Panda sportsbook will show the most recent head-to-head match, plus several of each team’s previous matches. Individual sports will show the same for each player.
Bets available are all standard for the sports betting world including spreads, totals, moneylines, prop bets and instant betting.
Instant Betting is an interesting and new type. This live bet allows a player to quickly bet on something as simple as the next basket type by a basketball team or the next goal in soccer.
Moneyline bets are super-simple. Bettors will pick a winner of the match or game. If that team or individual wins, the bet wins. The point spreads don’t matter and neither do the total points scored. The spread might be 13 points, but the moneyline only requires one point better than the other team.
Betting spreads, or “Straight bets” are not quite as simple as the Moneyline, but still simple to understand. If the Raptors are a 3-point favourite to beat the Knicks (Raptors -3), then they must not only beat the Knicks, but they have to beat them by at least 3 points in order to win the bet. If the Knicks win, or if they only lose by less than 3 points, the bet is lost.
For a totals bet, you wager on the total combined score of the two teams playing. This usually carries a higher odds number and is the most popular for NBA action. These bets are also known as over/under bets.
Parlays are combined bets in a “bundle.” Including multiple bets into a parlay can significantly increase the odds of a big payout, but the danger is also high. In a parlay, only one of the possible outcomes needs to fail for the entire bet to lose. If, however, a player can get a successful parlay, the payouts can be big.
Prop bets, or “propositions,” are bets on items tangential to the outcome of an individual match or game. A player can bet how many interceptions will be thrown by the Quarterback, or how many goals a player might allow. The list of prop bets in a given market can be in the hundreds.
Futures are bets on events that are in the future; like betting on the Blue Jays to win the World Series…or the next Stanley Cup winner. Odds are posted and regularly updated based on news events surrounding the team or an individual player.
Live betting is the next “big” thing…and it's already here. Live bets can be placed on markets even after the game has started, and bettors who are in attendance at the game may have an advantage over the sportsbook. As game action proceeds, the odds on outcomes and props change, but only as quickly as the staff at the sportsbook are paying attention. A quick response to an event could pay off in a big way.
Signing up for Royal Panda Sportsbook is not difficult, but it does lack the sophistication of other established sportsbooks. Whether using the website or the mobile app, players will still need to register through the website.
Required information will be an email address, name, date of birth, phone number, nationality, and occupation. Scroll down to the box that says “3 Simple Steps” and click “Play Now” at the bottom of that box:
Royal Panda Sportsbook offers over 100,000 markets in more than two dozen different sports. The sheer volume of markets available for betting matches nicely with every other sportsbook available. Players at Royal Panda will find easy links to every major sport on the planet, and some that people do not even know to exist.
Sports markets available at Royal Panda:
While Royal Panda Sportsbook advertises having a mobile app for iOS and Android devices, the app is simply a repackaging of the website, so any user with a mobile device may simply navigate to the Royal Panda website to use their devices.
Royal Panda claims to have a very “mobile-friendly” website, and it does. The website scales to the smaller mobile device screens extremely well, including its links to live betting and matches “starting soon” elegantly across the bottom of the screen.
Players looking to utilize a true mobile app that is purpose-built may want to check out other Ontario sports betting apps.
The options bestows can use to deposit and withdraw from Royal Panda are good, not great. The platform offers many of the standard methods but does not offer wire transfers or ACH eCheck or any form of Cash. This may give some players pause.
The methods listed for the sportsbook do include online banking, credit card, e-wallet and cash cards. See below for banking details:
Royal Panda’s account security leaves a lot to be desired, but the site is very secure. All traffic is encrypted using CloudFlare’s technology, a standard in the industry. The security certificate is issued to LeoVegas Gaming p.l.c.
OntarioBets would like to see a vast improvement in account security. The only real measure is a strong password requirement. There is no requirement of or option for multi-factor authentication, an additional security PIN, identity verification, or security questions for recovering an account. No platform we have reviewed will carry all of these measures, but most feature at least a few, Royal Panda only carries one.
If you're worried about safety and security, you can rest assured that major sportsbooks like BetMGM Ontario is in the top-tier when it comes to sports betting options.
Much in the same way that accounts security is limited with Royal Panda, so are the Customer Support options. Royal Panda will push users into one of two primary methods of support: their Live Chat and the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for self-service.
The good news is that the Live Chat customer support is available 24/7 and the FAQ is comprehensive. Finding other options, like the complaint email address and phone number is buried deep in the website and is difficult to locate. We are providing those below.
If you value an array of customer service options, Pointsbet Ontario is a sportsbook is known for its exceptional customer service options.
While most sportsbooks utilize Responsible Gambling (RG) based in the United States, Royal Panda utilizes LeoSafePlay (LSP) based in Malta and is the primary resource by the Malta Gaming Authority. LSP’s mission is to provide resources and assistance to both players and vendors to help better serve the gaming community.
LSP offers many resources including education for gamblers on how they can better resist gambling addiction, govern their own usage, and make smarter choices. LSP also offers to block tools that providers may use to assist gamblers in their efforts to help themselves.
In full disclosure, however, it must be told that Royal Panda was fined £600,000 by the UK Gambling Commission (GC) in 2021 for misleading advertisements, failure to abide by self-exclusion rules, and other GC policies. The GC found that Royal Panda allowed over 400 previously self-excluded customers to continue to gamble without speaking to them or applying the requisite 24-hour cooling-off period.
If you want a bare-bones platform that is easy to use and has a simplified layout you will find Royal Panda worthy of your attention. Royal Panda is a platform that is not yet fully mature and has a lot of improvement to make. The lack of a dedicated mobile app may find that Ontario sports bettors can benefit from other sports betting apps, like Caesars Sportsbook Ontario or Bet365 Ontario.
However, the software of the site is exceptional. Features are easy to access, the pages load quickly and adapt well to mobile device screens. Page rendering is smooth. Players will find this one of the very best interfaces on the market.
Yes, Royal Panda went live with their online sportsbook on 4 April 2022. Players are limited to betting within the province of Ontario, and Royal Panda offers a Casino alongside its sportsbook in the same site.
Players over the age of 19 may sign up for an account at Royal Panda sportsbook. The citizenship dropdown within the registration module does not offer options outside of “Canada” for registration, so it appears Royal Panda is limiting their membership in Ontario to Canadian citizens only.
Customer Support options at Royal Panda are good, but the site will push users toward either the FAQ or live chat, which is available 24/7. Check out our customer support section above for full details on the options available.
Sort of…Royal Panda sportsbook offers an app through the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, but all this app does is link the device to the mobile website. This being the case, players do not need to actually install an app, just navigate to the website and start using it.
Ryan Buschmeyer is a software developer professionally, which make him perfect for analyzing the top betting apps in terms of what features they have to offer as well as identifying what sets each sportsbook apart from the other brands in Ontario.
