PlayMaster

A recently licensed bookmarker offering an all-round gambling experience. They offer sports betting, a 12-game jackpot, virtual football leagues, the PM league, a casino, a live casino and live games. They are currently working with 4 local mobile transfer companies and this is the first bookie I’ve seen with Lipa na Bonga Points as a mode of payment. There’s a cash out and you can cancel bets on events that are yet to start. There are other offers that are exclusive to their casino but we will only be focusing on their sport betting in this Play Master Review

PlayMaster at a glance

Play Master was launched with the introduction of the new cut throat tax laws and they were lucky to be licensed by the BCLB, under license number 127. Even though they began operations in Kenya, they’ve had a presence in DRC, Zambia, TZ and Armenia since 2014. The PlayMaster brand is run by EnerGaming, a casino software provider, and we’re likely to see improvements in their casino section as that is what the company running this brand does. In fact, they signed a lucrative deal with other casino software providers a few months ago.

Deposit and withdraw options

You can choose to withdraw/deposit with any of these payment processors

M-Pesa

The easiest way is to key in how much you’d like to deposit by M-Pesa and you’ll be prompted for your PIN to approve the deposit. You could also use their paybill number 141114 with a blank account number. All deposits are at usual paybill charges. Kes 100 is the minimum withdrawal and you can even withdraw to another number that’s different from the ones you used while registering.

Airtel Money

Use the same paybill number – 141114 – while depositing funds from Airtel Money too

Eazzypay, lipa na Bonga points eLipa and credit cards

Deposits/withdrawals through these payment processors we’re unavailable at the time of this review

Payment methods conclusion

I find them innovative. It will be great when we have these new payment modes working. We’re already using them at supermarkets and at filling stations; it would be great wagering with them too.

Customer service

PlayMaster were very prompt at getting back <15 seconds.

They have an active Facebook page where they regularly run casual promotions. Yesterday, Vinny Kiplagat got a Kes 50 bonus for predicting that Harry Kane would score in their game against Southampton. It ended at 5 – 2 in favour of Tottenham. An innovative promo!

The good

They run casual competitions on Facebook everyday

Think of it as betting except that you don’t risk losing your stake. Like their Facebook page and make a prediction (by commenting on the post) before kick-off. If you were right, you’ll just have to share that post before getting your Kes 50 bonus. You’ll be required to provide your PlayMaster account number. It’s on the main menu bar.

You can search for events

This lets you easily find matches in those smaller leagues you may not be familiar with. Notice that each event has a game ID hinting that they are about to introduce SMS betting.

PlayMaster jackpot

Make 12 correct 1X2 predictions and you may just win Kes 1M before tax. Stake with Kes 10. There are bonuses for 9+ correct picks. There are 5 reserve jackpot games and they may be used to substitute cancelled/postponed main jackpot events. These reserve games will be applied in the way they appear.

Events collapsed by default

All the markets are hidden by default. This makes it easier finding non-mainstream markets.

The Bad

No Livestream

You cannot watch live events for free with this bookie. Their sports bonuses and promotions are a joke too.

Welcome Bonus and promotions

20% first deposit bonus

Only 20% bonus from your first deposit and it has to be higher than Kes 500. I find this restrictive, to be honest.

5% bonus on all deposits

They’ve made it clear that this is a limited time bonus. I feel that you’ll get much more from bookies that cater for M-Pesa deposit charges than from their 5% bonus.

3% cash back on losing slips

3+ events with each exceeding 1.40 odds. Kes 5,000 is the minimum stake. You’ll get a 3% cashback when your multi-bet slip fails by one event🤣 Not worth your time

Quality of odds

At 1.90/1.90 for an equal possibility event, their odds are likely in the top 10 percent of all bookies we’ve reviewed.

Betting Limits

Kes 49 is the minimum stake. You can therefore play with Kes 50; Kes 1 as the M-Pesa transaction charge and Kes 49 as the stake. There’s no maximum stake. I appreciate that their betslip clearly shows how much you’ll be getting after the 20% tax and you don’t have to do the math. You’ll only be seeing how much you’ll take home. It feels better not knowing how much you were to take home were it not for Caesar.

Mobile Options

They have an Android-only app that’s way too similar with Sportpesa’s. Download it from their site

Summary

I found it amusing that you can use the site (and the app) in Swahili and Chinese too. Of all the bookies we’ve reviewed, PlayMaster is the most innovative one. You’ll even be able to bet with Bonga Points in the future. Their biggest shortcoming was that their sportsbook bonuses are too tight. Casino users get a few free spins. Most of the website content is yet to be translated and you’ll likely be using it in English either way. The bookie hasn’t put up the usual pages – about, contact, terms and conditions etc and it looks like a work in progress

Overall

I give Play Master a 4 star. This is a promising sportsbook and they’re innovative. We’re likely to have a few new features down the road.

FAQs

Is PlayMaster the same as Tanzania’s Pmbet?

For sure, they have the same design and features. However, the Kenyan version has slightly higher odds. They are yet to put up introductory pages and there’s no sure way of telling if they’re both run by the same company.

Kanyi Muturi

I’m Kanyi Muturi and am from Tabuga, a small village in Nakuru. I have been following all sports since I was a kid and have been interested in the gambling side of sports since I was in high school. It took me a little while to get a grasp on all of the different gambling terminology and understand how confusing and complicated it can all seem when you first start.
Are you a professional gambler?
I am a successful gambler. But make no mistake about it: I’m a long-time recreational sports bettor. I’m not a professional gambler. I’m not claiming to be a professional gambler. I’ve never, to my recollection, even been acquainted with a professional gambler. And far be it from me to make the preposterous claim that following my advice will turn you into a professional gambler. It ain’t about that. Not here it ain’t. I just want to teach you a new form of recreation, a fun new pastime in what can sometimes be an unfun life.