Thunderpick review
BettingFellow Rating: 9.20/10
On this page, we’ll be taking a look at something completely different. Thunderpick is a new betting site primarily focused on esports betting. eSports have been getting a lot of traction in the betting world in recent years, but mostly as a side-show to the real centrepieces of any online bookmaker, such as football betting.
However, as eSports grew in popularity, so did the demand for wagering services, and there are already quite a few sportsbooks specializing in this new form of betting.
Thunderpick, however, shifts the usual formula even further by being a parimutuel, or pool betting site. We’ll get to how it all works in a minute – but it should paint a fairly clear picture about how innovative Thunderpick is. For better or worse, there’s nothing quite like Thunderpick out there. If you’re into betting on esports events and are open to a different sportsbook than you’ve ever seen before, keep reading for our in-depth Thunderpick review.
A Unique eSports Betting Experience
eSports are still relatively new to the world of online gambling. And, just like regular sports betting still had problems back when it just started expanding onto online services, the same is true for this new phenomenon.
The first would be the factor of trust. Past impressions are one of the ways people figure out if they’re dealing with a safe betting site. However, esports betting sites cannot possibly be older than a few years – because serious wagering on esports has not been around for longer than that. And, as you’re probably aware of if you tried looking for decent esports bookmakers, well-established bookies often barely even include esports in their fixtures. And you’re dealing with such a company, you can also forget about good odds or a variety of markets.
As such, you need a licenced, reliable, safe esports betting site – and those are hard to come by. As far as the odds go – that’s what Thunderpick tried to address.
Figuring out esports betting odds is quite difficult with traditional methods. Usually, team forms and the subsequent odds are determined based on performance in the past 5 years. However, such statistics are usually completely meaningless for esports teams. First of all, esports teams frequently change lineups, to a point where one squad can be completely changed before the next season, with the same players moving on to competitors.
Basing odds on individual players wouldn’t work too well either, because team performance is also based on how well these players can work with each other. If you throw in the fact that there’s not a lot of experts out there who can do a good job setting the odds for bookmakers, the problem becomes even more jarring. Which brings us to Thunderpick’s pool betting system.
Instead of trying to figure out a completely new method for determining odds, Thunderpick looked to the past – parimutuel betting. This type of betting has been around for centuries, and you’ve probably seen it before in one form or another. The basic premise is simple: All bets on potential outcomes are placed in a pool. After betting has closed the bookmaker divides the winnings equality between the bettors of the winning outcome – while also taking a small “cut” for providing the service.
That way, the odds are determined by the customers and not the bookmaker. This, of course, is a double-edged sword – but it can result in some of the best odds for esports betting anywhere. You can scroll down to our section on markets and odds to see more details about how it all works.
Licensing & Safety
We’ve already mentioned the issues esports sportsbooks have when it comes to proving they can be trustworthy. Thankfully, Thunderpick is one of the best examples of new online bookmakers proving they can be just as reliable as their older counterparts.
Thunderpick’s parent company is based in Curacao, which is an increasingly popular destination among top gambling companies. As such, this bookie holds the local remote gambling licence, meaning their service is fully regulated. Now, Curacao is yet to join the ranks of the most respected gambling licences for online service providers, but it’s quickly getting there. At least you will know that your money is legally protected while betting at Thunderpick.
However, because of how gambling regulation is different depending on your country of residence, this means that some users cannot register and use Thunderpick. As per the bookie’s information, users from the United States of America and its territories, France and its territories, Netherlands and its territories, the United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden, and Malta cannot be accepted.
Considering the relatively short time they’ve been around, Thunderpick has a fairly decent reputation. So far, we’ve gotten no reports of shady dealigns or poor customer treatment. As of the writing of this review, Thunderpick boasts some 400,000 users across the globe – which makes this track record somewhat impressive.
While we're on the topic, Thunderpick’s history is also clean in terms of security breaches. Thunderpick states personal information protection is their top priority, and all their safety measures are up to the highest standards – and so far, they’ve only given us reason to agree.
On top of all that, this bookie works closely with organizations such as GamCare to combat problem gambling. We’re glad they’ve decided to take steps towards minimizing such behaviour, such as self-exclusion and deposit limit options.
Deposit and Withdrawals
As a modern, forward-thinking betting site, Thunderpick aims to bring you the biggest selection of payment options possible. Generally speaking, there are three approaches to making payments most punters use – bank cards, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies. Whichever one of these you need – Thunderpick’s got you covered.
To start with, Visa and Mastercard are fully supported, being some of the most popular options with online bookmakers in 2020. When it comes to e-wallets and online payment systems, Thunderpick’s payment options include Skrill, Neteller, Webmoney, QiWi Wallet, Alipay, Boleto, and WeChatPay. The only obvious omission we can see is Pay Pal, whose absence is unfortunate. Additionally, withdrawals on Thunderpick can be made using the PaySafeCard.
As far as cryptocurrencies go, Thunderpick’sbetting platform fully supports both deposits and withdrawals in crypto. However, if you wish to use crypto, you’ll have to designate your account as such. When first making your account, you’ll be prompted to make either a “Real-Money” or “Crypto” account. According to Thunderpick, the distinction was made to prevent money laundering.
Should you wish to change what kind of account you have, you can do so by emptying your balance and contacting customer support. However, there are some additional notes we need to make about all transactions on Thunderpick.
While payments are usually quick, all deposits and withdrawals have a minimum of €15. Furthermore, withdrawals are maxed at €10,000 per day. Additionally, you can only stake up to €5,000 on a single bet. There is nothing wrong with these limits as such; however, all withdrawals are also subject to a small ‘operation fee’. This fee is too small to be a significant problem, but it’s something you should be aware of.
Another interesting thing about Thunderpick is that all bets are made using their virtual currency – the Thundercoin. The value of one Thundercoin is tied to euros, with 100 Thundercoins being equivalent to 1 euro. These coins can be freely exchanged for both fiat and cryptocurrencies.
Customer Support
All top-rated betting sites have one thing in common – excellent customer service. The same should apply to the best esports betting sites – and Thunderpick certainly aims to be one of them.
We’re happy to report that, even though this website is one of the new kids on the block, their customer service can match up to the best of them. The support staff is friendly and quick to answer any questions or issues you might come across. We’re also glad Thunderpick made contacting customer service so easy. Let’s go over some ways you can contact Thunderpick should you need to.
24/7 Live Chat:By far the quickest and easiest way of communication for bookmakers in 2020 is the live chat. Thunderpick’s can be accessed whenever you’re on their page by clicking the “Support” button near the bottom of the screen.
Email Support:Thunderpick’s support staff can also easily be e-mailed to [email protected]. This method is generally slower, but all messages are replied to within 24 hours.
Social Media: Compared to most other gambling companies, Thunderpick is exceptionally active on their social media platforms. You can easily contact them at any time using their official Facebook, Twitter, and/or VK pages. Additionally, Discord is another method that’s rarely seen among bookmakers but may be interesting to their demographic of esports fans.
FAQ:Thunderpick’s website also features a robust, comprehensive FAQ section which may hold the answers to a lot of your questions.
The only usual communication channel that seems to be missing is the phone. However, we feel that the available methods are more than enough in this day and age, especially considering phone lines would likely be subject to international call fees.
Market & Odds
Before going any further, we should again point out Thunderpick’s nature as a pool betting site. As previously discussed, this system means that you are not betting at set odds. Instead, your profits are entirely based on the ratio of how much you put up as a stake versus how much other players put up on the opposite result.
In a lot of ways, pool betting is similar to betting exchanges. This means that you need to outsmart other players rather than the bookie. It also means that, in theory, the odds can be better than anywhere else, especially if you can predict things others cannot. In practice, though, things are not that easy.
First of all, your potential returns are known only after betting has closed. Generally, this means after the game has started. That means that the odds might end up shifting after you’ve already placed your bet, as more players bet on either the same result or the opposite. A parimutuel betting site such as Thunderpick is great for those seeking value, but you may end up tripping up.
As far as the selection of sports and markets goes – we’ll again point out that Thunderpick is one of the best online bookmakers for esports. With that in mind, their sportsbook largely revolves around the biggest titles in competitive gaming – namely, CS:GO, Dota 2, League of Legends, Overwatch, and Rocket League.
OF course, as other major eSports events pop up, Thunderpick is quick to add them to their offer as well. Just keep in mind that, no matter how broad their coverage is, the number of esports events is limited. As such, unless you’re betting on their biggest names such as League of Legends betting, how much mileage you get may vary.
That being said, Thundeprick does have rudimentary fixtures for traditional sports as well. Be warned, though, we didn’t choose the word “rudimentary” without reason. If you’re looking for football or Premier League betting, you’re on the wrong website.
In-Play Betting
Thunderpick also offers a section for live esports betting – which is not a common thing among parimutuel sportsbooks. In-play betting on Thunderpick follows pretty much the same rules as the regular fixtures, meaning they are pool bets, generally on markets with two offers.
Firstly, the pools for live bets are completely separate from pre-match pools. The display is constantly updated with the number of coins wagered on each market, leaving you to decide which offers you want to take. However, this does have issues in terms of availability of markets – for smaller matches, for instance, you won’t be able to make any bet you want to, simply because there is no-one to form a pool with.
As a result, Thunderpick’sin-play e-sports betting can often feel like a betting exchange more than anything else. All things considered, though, it’s a very unique betting experience you can’t get anywhere else at the moment. .
Thunderpick Live Streaming Offer
Seeing how most e-sports events are already streamed live for free, the live streaming on Thunderpick is not what you usually see on online sportsbooks. In their live betting section, THunderpick embeds streams from the websites hosting the official event stream, such as Twitch. It then offers its community chat, where bettors on Thunderpick can enjoy the event together while bidding their bets as described above.
This results in a strange sort of e-sports betting community you’re, again, not likely to find anywhere else. We’ve also found that the Thunderpick’s whole live betting screen is incredibly useful if you’re taking a more serious approach to wagering on e-sports. The screen often features relevant statistics and other such information which can be used to base your bets on.
Thunderpick Bookmaker Margin
As you might expect from a pool betting sportsbook, the margins don’t work quite the same as they usually do. Because the bookie does not set the odds, they do not have a guaranteed margin to make money off of.
Instead, Thunderpick takes a small “cut” out of each settled pool. In this case, Thunderpick’s cut seems to be between 2 and 4%, depending on the event. Relatively speaking, this is much smaller than most regular bookmakers. And to top it all off, these odds are better than you would find anywhere else, precisely because they don’t have to account for the margin.
You still have to keep in mind, though, that Thunderpick’s betting odds are often not a reflection of how likely something is to happen. More often than not, the odds merely reflect how popular a selection is with your fellow punters.
Overall Review
The interface is another one of Thunderpick’s strengths. The whole website has a neat design, and avoids unnecessary clutter or bombarding you with offers you're not interested in. Instead, everything is intuitive and easy to get to. We would, however, enjoy some more information on listings without having to navigate to their specific screens – but the approach does leave the main user interface clean.
Thunderpick also offers a uniquely structured loyalty program. Keeping the theme of their focus on CS:GO betting, this site’s users are assigned ranks based on their activity. The higher your rank, the better you qualify for Thunderpick’s betting promotions and raffles. It’s not the greatest of bonuses, but it does add an extra layer to your online gambling.
All in all, the very premise of Thunderpick is interesting in its own right. With this bookie, you get exactly what you sign up for: a top-rated esports betting site which uses pool betting. If that happens to be what you’re looking for, then look no further. Alternatively, if you’re getting bored of regular bet fixtures on esports, Thunderpick might offer a completely new spin on the formula.
Because it is so specific in its target audience, Thunderpick cannot be recommended to just anyone. However, we can safely say that esports fans have a lot to be happy about with Thundepick. It is safe, reliable, and innovative even among new bookmakers.
Thunderpick New Customer Guide
As is the case with pretty much all online bookmakers, there is a Thunderpick welcome bonus for new customers. In this case, it is a bit weirdly structured, but can potentially be fairly good if you’re willing to make a large first deposit: 5% as a first deposit bonus up to €500. All you need to do is use the code “REF_370218” when opening your account, and thee bonus is yours.
While we’re on the subject, let’s go through a quick step-by-step guide to opening a new account with Thunderpick.
Tunderpick opening account procedure explained
- Head over to thunderpick.com using whichever internet browser you prefer.
- Click the “Join” button in the top right corner of the page
- You can then proceed to either make an account directly on the site, or register using your Twitch, Steam, VK, or Google+ account.
- You will need to provide fewer personal details than you might be used to with betting sites because esports betting is still a bit different from a legal perspective.
- Complete verification by checking your e-mail and clicking the provided link.
- You can now place bets on esports events!
Thunderpick review FAQ
Is Thunderpick legit?
As we’ve pointed out above in our section on Licencing and Safety, Thunderpick is a completely legal betting site, regulated and licenced by the Curacao government. That being said, there are a few things we should point out.
First of all, Thunderpick’s users don’t have to jump through as many hoops as other sites’. For instance, KYC verification doesn’t exist, as far as we can tell. We’re not very clear about how this works from a legal perspective, but it likely has something to do with the fact that Thunderpick is an esports pool betting site. That puts them in a unique position, especially in regards to what is and isn’t considered sports betting in the eyes of the law, not to mention bookmaking.
Either way, Thunderpick has thousands of customers and very few complaints. Seeing how pool betting works, they also never limit or suspend winning players, which is another big plus.
How do I get the Thunderpick welcome bonus?
All you need to do is provide a referral code, such as REF_370218. You can find more details in our new customers guide above.
How to win a Thunderpick gift card?
This bookie has a sort of game-like loyalty program to reward returning customers. As you use the site and its services, you’ll increase your Thunderpick rank. Each week, there is a giveaway raffle for each respective rank. Silver accounts can win €10, gold can win €20, all the way up to €150.
Can I use Thunderpick on mobile?
Currently, there is no dedicatedThunderpick mobile betting app. However, the website is fully optimized for mobile devices, so you have no reason to worry.
What is the Tunderpick Invitational?
Thunderpick Invitational is an annual CS:GO tournament, organized by Vortex Entertainment and sponsored by Thunderpick.