Coral Connect Card: How Does It Work, Is It Any Good?

Coral Connect CardNOTICE: In 2023, Coral changed the Connect Card and made it much more basic. It is now little more than a reward scheme and offers none of the other benefits such as betting terminal access and deposits/withdrawals. The information below is therefore no longer accurate.

We enjoyed using Coral’s Connect card, despite it struggling in a few areas and totally crashing and burning when it came to instore gaming.

From an easy setup process to using it with the betting machines though it worked perfectly, with no need for any help from shop staff or any bumps in the road along the way.

The product actually started out being much more feature rich than it is now, with a dedicated app full of things like live streaming, results, and news pieces, but this app is no longer available and it took many of the bells and whistles with it.

That makes the Connect card a shell of its former self, but actually, the main pillars of its reason to exist remain, so you can still use it to do the basics like make bets, track bets, and withdraw and deposit cash in store.

If anything, getting rid of all the extra stuff actually makes it more effective.

How the Coral Connect Card Works

Coral Connect Card at TerminalThere is nothing too strenuous about getting hold of one of these and getting it all linked up, but to make it even easier here is the step by step process:

  1. Ask for a card at the counter of your local Coral.
  2. Give the member of staff your username (not your password!).
  3. Insert your card into the machine as advised and choose a pin number. Don’t use the default 1234 as they all start with that pin.
  4. Remember your pin because you will need it to do anything.

That’s it, the card is ready to use right away, although it can take some time for any new funds to show up.

Essentially though, it’s a plug and play sort of arrangement with very few steps in the process, which is a dream compared to some other bookie cards.

To use the card you just tap it on the contactless point on any of the betting terminals, or insert it into the gaming machines.

We had two very different experiences here, with the gaming terminals refusing to recognise our funds despite recognising our account, and the shop staff didn’t understand why or seem that interested in finding out.

As far as we could gather, we had to transfer money from the card to the machine, but it wouldn’t recognise the money in our account, so we couldn’t. We had the same issue at William Hill so maybe it was us, but either way, it was much more difficult than it should have been.

Everyone else seemed to be using cash.

Coral Betting SlipsTotally different story on the betting terminals though, which were much newer, and where betting with Coral Connect was absolutely brilliant.

The screens are massive and really responsive, so browsing and finding a bet is a piece of cake, and then to pay you can just choose to use your Connect card, tap it, and the transaction processes instantly.

You still get a bet slip though, it prints out automatically at the end with the market, odds, stake etc. clearly displayed.

It really is fast, especially if you know what you are looking for – we were once in and out in under a minute to place a last minute wager on the gee gees. Brilliant for us because we were also late for a meeting. Oops.

If you have more time though, Coral’s shops have all been remodelled and updated so all the tech works brilliantly and they are nice places to spend a bit of time in, flashing your Connect Card now and again to have an easy punt. One benefits the other.

Benefits of a Coral Connect Card

Coral Betting Terminal

The Connect Card is pretty useful for bringing everything in your betting life together, and succeeds in being genuinely useful in many instances.

We weren’t offered a single bonus or promotion as card holders though, and with the app gone the Connect area on the website feels pretty barren.

As always, the bookie still claims it’s the bee’s knees in all departments so we put it to the test.

Here is what Coral claim the card is good for and our experience of them:

Claim Truth
Cash Out Store Bets True
Deposit Cash Instore True
Withdraw Funds in Cash True
Get Exclusive Promotions Rarely True
Track Bets True for Instore Bets
Use Online Funds Instore Partly True

So while the Connect product has been stripped back, for example no longer offering things like live streaming, the ability to use it for it’s most important functions like money management and betting still absolutely work.

You can even log into the website using your Connect Card if you forget your username or password by using your card number and pin instead.

Coral Add BetHowever, while it’s true that you can cash out instore bets using the Connect Card, it’s a right palaver.

You need to enter the cash out code from your betslip to do so, but don’t enter the ‘B’ if you placed the bet at a terminal… it’s all a bit much when you could just place the bet online and hit the cash out button.

Getting hold of cash from winnings is nice and easy though, and so is depositing instore if you have £20 from a birthday card that you don’t want to spend on sweets and pop.

The bet tracker is good, but as with other bookies, online bets aren’t included here so if you have online and instore terminal bets to track you still have to look in different places to see them.

Overall though, I would keep the Connect Card in my wallet if I was a regular punter with them, it definitely compliments the online account and the instore experience at Coral is probably only rivalled by Paddy Power.

Excellent for anyone who bets mostly at the terminals and especially good if you are in a rush or need to get a last minute bet on quickly.