PointsBet Racing offers legal online horse racing betting in more than two dozen states. The PointsBet horse racing betting app provides online access to pari-mutuel wagering pools, live video streaming, race replays, and more for just over 180 racetracks in the US and abroad.

Following in the footsteps of BetMGM Racing and DK Horse, PointsBet is just the latest prominent sports betting operator to unveil equine ambitions. PointsBet is a capable and innovative sportsbook operator, but does that translate to a similarly high-level horse racing betting experience for customers?

The following PointsBet Racing review will dive deep to answer that question and help bettors decide if this is the right horse racing betting site for them. Continue for the full PointsBet Racing rundown, including where it excels and where it lags the competition.

PointsBet Racing Sign Up Code

The PointsBet Racing app does not yet offer a welcome bonus, but there’s a good chance that will change because it asks new users for a “sign up code” on the first registration page. In the meantime, new customers can leave the promo code field blank to sign up without receiving a bonus.

The lack of a welcome bonus is a significant shortcoming when some of PointsBet’s competitors offer horse racing betting bonuses worth $200 or more.

However, PointsBet Racing is still a relatively new online racebook, so it seems likely to introduce a new customer bonus once it gets more established.

Which States Is PointsBet Racing Available In?

The PointsBet Racing app is available in about half of US states, and the company says it has license applications pending in several others. Currently, PointsBet Racing accepts customers from the following states:

How To Sign Up For A PointsBet Racing Account

Signing up for a PointsBet Racing account is a five-minute process in most cases. Readers can get started by visiting pointsbetracing.com and selecting “create account.”

The first registration page asks for just four items:

• A sign up code (leave this blank because PointsBet Racing hasn’t yet issued any promo codes)
• Your first name
• Your last name
• Your e-mail address

The second page asks for more personal information, but users should provide their real information because federal law requires all online betting sites to verify every customer’s identity. Submitting incorrect information will only delay the registration process and likely require chatting with customer support for real-time identity verification.

In addition, users must provide a four-digit security pin and create a password:

• Your date of birth
• The last four digits of your SSN
• Your phone number
• A security question and answer
• Four-digit security pin
• A password for your PointsBet Racing account

After completing the two-page registration form, users can log in to their accounts to explore the wagering interface, watch live racing video, make deposits, and bet on horse races.

PointsBet Racing Deposit Options

PointsBet Racing only accepts one deposit method at this time, but it will almost certainly add others soon. But in the meantime, banking is a serious weak point. Currently, online bank transfers via Plaid are the only way to move money to or from PointsBet Racing.

When users select the bank transfer option, they’re redirected to the Plaid website, where they choose their bank from a list of supported institutions (Plaid says it works with more than 95% of US banks). There, bettors confirm account ownership by logging in with their existing online banking credentials.

Plaid is a convenient method for most bettors, but PointsBet Racing desperately needs additional banking options.

The minimum PointsBet Racing deposit is $1.00, and the maximum is $250 for new customers.

PointsBet Horse Racing Betting Review

PointsBet Racing excels in some regards but has room for improvement in others.

On the positive side, PointsBet Racing operates on a sturdy and intuitive betting platform powered by 1/ST BET technology. The wagering interface strikes an optimal balance between capability and usability. For example, PointsBet displays each race’s entrants, trainers, jockeys, track conditions, odds, and wagering options in a way that even newbies will find easy to understand.

Additionally, PointsBet Racing does an excellent job onboarding inexperienced bettors with integrated tips and brief tutorials to explain the platform’s various features.

At the same time, the PointsBet interface provides handicapping tools, wagering pools, and quick access to various types of exotic wagers for more experienced customers. AmWager is still the king of online racebooks for advanced handicapping tools, but new and casual horseplayers will find PointsBet Racing more approachable.

PointsBet Racing’s weak points include less track coverage than its more established competitors, limited deposit methods, and a total lack of promotions and bonuses. PointsBet Racing is still a much younger operator than most, so it will likely improve on some of these points over time. But until then, PointsBet Racing will feel more like a work in progress than a finished product.

Track coverage is a bit light, with PointsBet Racing providing access to the pari-mutuel wagering pools at roughly 180 racetracks worldwide. That’s in contrast to its biggest competitors that boast 300+ tracks. However, bettors who primarily follow US horse racing are unlikely to even notice the difference unless they get the itch to bet on international horse racing overnight.

A single deposit method (online bank transfer) and no promotions are PointsBet Racing’s most noteworthy weak points, but those are also the areas where it’s most likely to improve over the short term.

PointsBet Racing App

The PointsBet Racing app is only available for iOS as of this review, but Android users aren’t missing out on much. The current iteration of the PointsBet Racing iPhone app appears to be a placeholder for some future release because all it contains is a login screen that redirects users to the mobile-friendly website.

In other words, bettors use the app to log in but place bets but do everything else through their mobile browsers at pointsbetracing.com. That includes placing wagers, using PointsBet’s handicapping tools, watching live streams, depositing, and withdrawing.

That strangeness aside, the PointsBet Racing mobile platform is functional and well-designed. New and experienced bettors should have no issue navigating their way around to find races, place wagers, and watch live streams from around the world.

Each race’s wagering page provides a simplified view by default, but users can tap each horse for more information about its recent starts, hit the “oddsboard” button for wagering pools, or select the small info icon for more details about the upcoming race.

PointsBet Racing Features

PointsBet Racing is lighter on features than its most prominent competitors, but it does boast a sleek handicapping tool that helps bettors filter horses by specific traits and even determine which traits are the most likely to predict future results.

As far as the basics go, PointsBet Racing offers live streaming video, race replays, and pari-mutuel pool information for nearly every race it covers. The biggest miss in the features department is a lack of past performances, which most racebooks offer free to customers who bet on the associated races. PointsBet Racing doesn’t even offer paid PPs.

However, PointsBet’s integrated handicapping tool is unique among online racebooks and surprisingly easy to use. It helps bettors take a data-driven approach to identifying winners but with far less work than traditional handicapping methods.

Bettors can use the tool to select up to ten horse traits or stats, see what percentage of horses who ranked first in that category won similar races, and see the likeliest race outcome based on the chosen stats.

A small sample of the many stats customers can select for include:

• The value of the last purse won
• Pace on the turn in the last race
• Average early page in the last three races
• Two-year jockey win percentage for races of this type
• All-around jockey win percentage over the previous six months
• Trainer win percentage over the last six months
• Top speed for the last three races

In short, the PointsBet Racing handicapping tool does the number crunching so bettors can focus on finding the best traits for horses in every race. It doesn’t offer as much customizability as AmWager’s advanced handicapping tools, but it is an excellent feature for casual fans who still want to bet intelligently.

PointsBet Racing FAQ

Expert Opinion: Is PointsBet Racing Legit?

PointsBet Racing still has quite a bit of room for improvement, but it is a legitimate horse racing betting site. It holds an Oregon pari-mutuel wagering license and operates legally in more than two dozen states.

In addition, PointsBet Racing gave itself a significant boost in capability and experience by partnering with 1/ST Bet, the official online wagering platform of The Stronach Group (one of the nation’s most prominent racetrack operators).

However, the limited deposit methods and lack of promotions make it tough to recommend PointsBet Racing over its more established competitors. PointsBet Racing is off to a good start, but it needs more work before it can compete with the nation’s most prominent advance deposit wagering operators.