Starbet is a licensed bookmaker that has been running a betting site in Kenya since 2021. They also operate a physical betting shop in Nairobi, Kenya, offering Kenyan punters casino games, sports, live games, and virtuals. The bookmaker offers a limited sports selection – tennis, basketball, and football. Although the betting site only accepts M-Pesa payments, has no live chat, does not offer live streaming, takes long to respond to queries, and lacks mobile apps, they make up for this by providing a variety of bonuses and promotions with relatively lenient wagering requirements. They also offer great odds for some football markets, diverse game types, and a lucrative referral program. The site is, however, a good option for punters focusing on the three most popular sports in Kenya.
Starbet Pros & Cons
- Great odds for top football
- Diverse bonus programme
- Lucrative referral programme
- Few sports
- Limited banking options
- No mobile apps
Editorial Rating
Starbet Betting Offers & Promotions
50% Up to 80 000 KES
Starbet Security
Starbet KE is a legally registered business entity in Kenya under the name “STARBET”. In addition, the bookmaker has acquired a licence from the Betting Control and Licensing Board of Kenya, number BK 0000469. This means that the bookmaker has satisfied the regulatory standards for both businesses and betting sites as defined by the Kenyan law. As such, participating in any betting activities on Starbet does not implicate anyone.
In addition, the bookmaker uses 256 bit SSL encryption and owns a security certificate issued by an organisation known as Let’s Encrypt. The bookmaker has a privacy policy that is clear on how user information is handled, stored, protected, and recovered. Starbet also monitors betting activities to flag unusual activities that may suggest money laundering and reports them to the authorities.
Lastly, the betting site provides stake limits and a self exclusion programme where punters can either permanently or temporarily restrict themselves from gambling in case it turns problematic.
Starbet Sports and Markets
Unfortunately, a wide range of sports is not something Starbet offers. The only sports available at the bookmaker are tennis, basketball, and football. Although they have listed rugby as one of their sports, they don’t provide odds on it currently. However, these few sports Starbet offers are all among the most popular in Kenya.
Football. Football is the leading sport at the bookmaker, with at least 100+ matches daily. Starbet offers odds for pre-game and In-Play bets for a variety of markets. In addition, football coverage includes both major international tournaments and local matches in over 50 countries world-wide. Popular leagues punters can wager on at Starbet include major tournaments from England, Spain, Germany, and France. African football matches are also well represented: whether it’s the Egypt Premier League, the Moroccan Trapdoor, or the Algerian Ligue 1, you can find it all here.
As for the football betting markets, you can access various categories including the main markets, goals, 1st half & 2nd half markets. Popular markets available include totals (Over/Under), win margins, double chance, draw no bet, handicap, exact, both teams win, handicap 1×2, cleansheet, and 1X2. For top matches, Starbet offers around 300 betting markets.
Basketball. Starbet covers basketball tournaments from over 40 countries and offers a variety of betting markets on each of these tournaments. Some of the tournaments featured include the Euroleague, Pro A, CBA, NBL, KorisLiiga, Liga Nationala and others. Surprisingly, we couldn’t find the NBA. Market categories range from main to half/full time and Goals. Popular markets available include Over/under, double chance, exact goals, 1×2, both teams to score and handicap among others. Starbet average basketball margins range between 8%-13%.
Tennis. Compared to other bookmakers, the number of tennis events they cover is relatively low, but they at least cover major tournaments. Starbet only offers odds for WTA, ATP tournaments and Challengers. They provide betting markets such as specials, games markets, and sets. Popular options available include winners, handicap, totals, 1st set correct score, 1st winner, set handicap, and home to win a set, among others. Starbet has at least 30 different markets per match. Of the three sports available, tennis has the lowest odds.
Payment Methods at Starbet
To this day, the only available payment option for both withdrawals and top-ups is M-Pesa. Even though variability is non-existent at this betting site, this is one of the most popular options among Kenyan punters. There is no cap to how much you can fund or collect, though the minimum for a deposit is 10 KES, and the least you can request at checkout is 49 KES. All outgoing transactions are set to complete within 24 hours, from Monday to Friday.
How to Deposit at Starbet
Considering there is only one payment method, the funding is straightforward. Keep in mind that you can top-up using M-Pesa in three different ways: sending an SMS, making an instant deposit, or using the bookmaker’s Paybill number. Below are the steps to take for each.
Instant:
- Log in and navigate to your account page.
- Select deposit and open the M-Pesa menu.
- Fill in all the credentials and the sum you want to deposit.
- Once you receive the confirmation message, press send.
SMS:
- Enter the USSD command *680#.
- Select seven, as it is the option to top-up the account.
- Enter the desired amount.
- Fill in your M-Pesa pin to confirm.
Paybill:
- Open the M-Pesa application on your mobile device.
- Select “Lipa na Pesa” and enter 523388 as your “business partner”.
- Enter the sum and your M0-Pesa pin.
- Wait for the confirmation from the banking application.
How to Withdraw
Withdrawals are not available on weekends, so plan your budget and transactions. Here are the steps to take whenever you want to collect your money:
- Log in and select withdrawal on the account tab.
- In the M-Pesa menu, enter your number (the one you used for the deposit is used by default).
- Enter the amount you want to check out and wait for the confirmation message.
Starbet Odds
Odds determine how much punters and betting providers make from bets. As such, it’s essential that we discuss the quality of odds Starbet is offering on three major sports by calculating margins for the two major betting markets: 1X2 and Over/Under.
- Football. For the LaLiga match between Cadiz CF and CA Osasuna, Starbet odds for the 1X2 market are as follows: Cadiz to win (2.40), a draw (3.25) and CA Osasuna to win (3.40). The bookmaker, therefore, has a commission of 1.81% from bets on this market.
- Basketball. Starbet odds for the EuroLeague match between Real Madrid and KK Partizan Belgrade for the 1X2 market are as follows: Real Madrid to win (1.33) a draw (16.00) and KK partizan Belgrade to win (3.50). Thus, the margin is 9.10%.
- Tennis. Starbet odds for the ATP Munich, Germany Men Singles match between Rune, Holger and Hanfmann, Yannick sets for the 1×2 markets are as follows: Rune, Holger to win (1.20) Hanfmann, Yannick to win (3.20). The bookmaker’s margin is 12.73%.
For some football matches, the margin gets as low as 2% while for others it’s higher than 7%. Tennis odds are pretty poor, as the margin is higher than 10%.
Every punter, novice or seasoned, can learn to calculate the margins when selecting the best bookmakers. Here is the formula:
Margin = (1/betting odds on the home team to win + 1/betting odds on both teams to draw + 1/betting odds on the away team to win – 1) * 100
Let’s calculate the margin using the above mentioned Spanish LaLiga match Cadiz CF vs CA Osasuna: {(1/ 2.40 + 1/ 3.20 + 1/3.40) – 1} x 100 = 1.81%.
Live Betting at Starbet
The In-Play wagering has a dedicated tab on this website. The UI is below par and leaves a lot to be desired. The functionality is poor, markets are hidden behind endless dropdown menus, and even after pressing show all, there are still more hidden behind the “+” button. The statistics shown are at a bare minimum; you can see the cards and corners. However, that’s it for football. Tennis matches are covered by simply showcasing the game’s current score and live points.
The ads take half of the screen and irritate when working on a poorly operating page. There are no indications of additional features such as Cash Out or Bet Builder. Live streaming boxes are also nowhere to be found. However, there is a helpful search box on any of the event pages. You can enter the market name there, and if it is available, it will pop up on the screen for you, which is a neat addition, considering how bad the navigation is generally.
Starbet App
Starbet didn’t have any mobile apps for Android or iOS users. The desktop and optimised mobile websites are the only ways to access the bookmaker. Starbet customer support confirmed that they were working on providing the apps in the future. Using the sites is a little problematic since they are slow, and we can only hope that mobile apps will make using the Starbet betting services more convenient.
Conclusion
Starbet is one of the new betting sites in Kenya with bonus. The platform does not live up to the claims of quality and performance. The site is poor, starting with the basic navigation and ending with the lack of effort to make the design of the pages bearable to look at. Ads are everywhere, and they are simply annoying. The payment methods should not be used in the plural as only M-Pesa is available, and withdrawals are limited to weekdays. There are no modern features available such as live broadcasts, Cash Out or Bet Builder. Single, multiple and system wagers are your only friends at Starbet.
The margins are astronomically high, averaging around 9% meaning there are no competitive odds in most cases. Application for mobile devices is non-existent, and considering the amount of ads per page, the data waste is borderline high. With this many flaws, we believe it is better to browse through our list of other licensed Kenyan bookmakers rather than give a shot to a not-yet-ready platform of Starbet.
Starbet Frequently Asked Questions
Is Starbet sportsbook legal and where?
Starbet is legal in Kenya and is licensed by the BCLB, licence number BK 0000469.
Does Starbet sportsbook have a mobile app?
No. Starbet did not have any mobile apps. Only a mobile optimised web is available for smartphone users.
What is the minimum and maximum bet on Starbet?
The minimum stake at Starbet is Kes. 1 and the maximum stake limit is not set as long as your maximum payout does not exceed Kes. 2 000 000.
