1xBet vs Melbet

History and ownership

Melbet launched in 2012 under Pelican Entertainment Ltd (Curaçao-licensed). The product profile is closely related to 1xBet: similar interface, similar sportsbook depth, similar localisation footprint. Industry consensus is that Melbet is positioned as a sister brand running on equivalent backend infrastructure — both operators support overlapping country lists, similar payment-method coverage and a near-identical sports catalogue.

Practically, this means a Melbet vs 1xBet comparison is closer than any other in this list — the books look, feel and behave similarly. Where they diverge is on bonus structure, marketing footprint, and a small handful of UX details.

Welcome bonus — head-to-head

Melbet’s standard welcome bonus is 100% on first deposit up to $130 USD / €130 / local equivalent. With a Melbet promo code (operator-supplied codes vary by country) the cap can be raised in some markets but the headline 100% percentage stays.

1xBet’s offer with code VIP4YOU is 130% on first deposit at the same $130 cap on the international platform. Country-tiered boosted versions go higher: 400% / ₹70,000 in India, 300% / ₦1,200,000 in Nigeria, 200% in Kenya / Ghana / Tanzania / Uganda. The wagering schedule (5× accumulator at 1.40+ within 30 days) is identical on both books; the difference is the boost percentage and the country-tier upside.

For the international baseline a player putting $100 into either book gets approximately the same nominal cap ($130) — but on 1xBet that’s a 130% boost (so $130 of bonus credited on a $100 deposit), and on Melbet it’s a 100% match (so $100 of bonus credited on a $100 deposit, capped at $130 if the deposit is larger). The 30% gap is consistent.

Sportsbook depth — sister-brand similarity

On a Premier League fixture both books open similar volumes: 1xBet around 1,200 markets, Melbet around 900-1,100. The deep prop layer (corners, cards, throw-ins, individual-player markets) is comparable; 1xBet has a slight edge on player-prop depth, particularly in cricket (700+ markets per IPL match on 1xBet vs 500-650 on Melbet).

On esports both are competent on the major titles (CS2, Dota 2, LoL, Valorant) with similar map-by-map prop structures. On smaller leagues both maintain a reasonable layer; the gap is smaller than 1xBet vs 22Bet on the same comparison.

In live in-play 1xBet has 200-350 markets per top football match; Melbet runs 180-280. Cash-out reliability is similar — both books execute partial cash-out cleanly and rarely freeze during peak Saturday traffic.

Odds quality

Margins on 1×2 football markets are within a tick of each other in our sampling — 1xBet at 5.1% average across the EPL flagship sample, Melbet at 5.3%. On Asian handicap and total-goals markets they are practical-equivalent. Cricket outright markets show a slightly wider gap — 1xBet around 14% on T20 World Cup outright winner, Melbet 15-16%.

On player-prop markets (top scorer, golden boot, individual-player runs / wickets) the prices are close enough that on any given line either book might be marginally better — there is no consistent edge in either direction.

For shopping lines across 2-3 sportsbooks, 1xBet and Melbet together don’t actually give you that much price diversification because the pricing engines run similarly. To diversify you want either Pinnacle (sharp pricing) or a non-related operator.

Payments and withdrawal speed

Both books support similar method lists. UPI in India, M-Pesa in Kenya, bKash in Bangladesh, JazzCash in Pakistan, Pix in Brazil, OXXO in Mexico, Visa / Mastercard regional, the standard crypto stack (BTC, ETH, USDT TRC-20, LTC, DOGE) and the long tail of e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, ecoPayz).

Crypto coverage is slightly wider on 1xBet (40+ coins vs 30+ on Melbet — 1xBet adds Solana, Polygon, BNB and a longer tail). Local fiat rail coverage is equivalent on the major markets and slightly thicker on 1xBet for tier-2 African markets (Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon).

Withdrawal speed is similar: UPI 1-4 hours on both, M-Pesa under 30 minutes on both, USDT TRC-20 under 30 minutes on both, Bitcoin 30-90 minutes on both. Fiat card withdrawal 1-3 business days on both. KYC-pending withdrawals (where the operator holds the withdrawal until the verification is complete) take about the same time on both — 1-3 days for first-time KYC, instant for verified accounts thereafter.

Mobile apps

Both ship a native Android .apk and a native iOS app. The Android .apk on 1xBet is around 100MB; on Melbet it’s around 90MB. iOS distribution is via territory-specific App Store accounts on both.

UI-side the two apps are visibly similar — same general bet-slip flow, same home / live / cashier screen layout. Melbet’s home screen is marginally cleaner (less competing CTAs) and 1xBet’s live screen surfaces more markets per match without scrolling. Experienced players generally prefer the 1xBet density; new users sometimes find Melbet easier to read.

Both apps include the standard mobile-only features: bet-slip persistence across sessions, deposit and withdrawal directly from the app, live streaming embedded, push notifications for matches you’ve bet on.

Casino and live-dealer

1xBet runs a 5,000+ slot library, 200+ live-dealer tables and the in-house 1xGames suite (~200 instant-win games). Casino welcome is up to €1,950 across the first four deposits + 150 free spins.

Melbet runs a 4,000+ slot library, 150+ live-dealer tables, and a smaller in-house instant-win catalogue. Casino welcome is up to €1,750 across multiple deposits.

Supplier roster is the same on both (Pragmatic, Spribe, NetEnt, Endorphina, BGaming, Hacksaw, Push, Yggdrasil, etc); difference is volume, not catalogue quality.

Languages and localisation depth

1xBet supports 40+ languages including the full deep emerging-market set (Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Swahili, Hausa, Amharic, Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino, Indonesian, Arabic in regional dialects, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian).

Melbet supports 30+ languages with similar but slightly thinner emerging-market coverage. The volume languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, German) are equally solid on both; the long tail (Ethiopian Amharic, Filipino Tagalog, smaller Indian regional languages) is where 1xBet pulls ahead.

Customer support

Both operators run 24/7 live chat. 1xBet supports live chat in 40+ languages with first-reply averaging 1m 40s in our sampling; Melbet supports live chat in 30+ languages with first-reply averaging 2m 00s. Both resolve standard tickets (verification, deposit-not-credited, withdrawal-status) in the first session 90%+ of the time.

Email support is responsive on both. Telegram support channel exists on both. Phone support is rare on both (industry-wide trend).

Licence, regulation and trust

Both books hold a Curaçao Gaming Authority licence as the international base. Both have local partner arrangements in some regulated markets (Nigeria, Kenya, parts of LatAm).

Trustpilot scores: 1xBet at 3.6/5 across 30,000+ reviews, Melbet at 3.4/5 across 4,000+ reviews. Both are within typical international-sportsbook ranges.

For player protection both publish responsible-gambling tools, both run the standard SE / time-limit / deposit-limit framework, both honour KYC commitments under the Curaçao framework. Neither is a UKGC-grade regulated operator — both serve players in non-EU regulated markets.

Payment-method overlap — full table

Every fiat and crypto deposit-and-withdrawal method either operator supports. "Yes" means the method is fully supported with reliable processing in our last test cycle; "Limited" means it works in some markets or has known reliability issues; "No" means the method is not supported.

Withdrawal speed compared

Headline times based on our last quarterly withdrawal-speed test, taken across verified accounts in five countries (India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Brazil and Spain). All times are after KYC clearance — first-time withdrawals on new accounts add 1-3 business days for KYC review on either book.

Best for — which player should pick which

The "right" choice between 1xBet and Melbet depends on what kind of bettor you are. Here’s the editorial team’s pick by use case: