Best Online Sports Gambling Sites Uk
UK betting sites have become incredibly popular in recent years. According to the current trends, sports betting has almost doubled since 2015. So, online betting does not appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Both online gambling sites and corner betting shops are part of a well-regulated industry and, if you are 18 or older, you can bet on sports in multiple ways. Here, we explain everything new bettors should know about betting on sports in the UK, including all the ins and outs of depositing and withdrawing money, and how the relevant laws impact. Sports betting sites UK Sports betting sites in the UK pretty much have the same offering in mind, as they tend to focus on a number of highly popular sports. For example, Bet365 is considered the best betting site for football, as they offer a mix of high odds, many markets and top-notch live streaming.
Players are flocking to place wagers at UK online sportsbooks like never before, especially on mobile.
With all the new mobile sites, it's now super easy to sign up and start betting within minutes.
However, as there are so many sites for you to pick and choose from, it can be difficult to know where to start. It can be tempting to join the first site that you encounter, but we suggest a different course. Instead, we strongly recommend you find one which suits your needs and betting style.
This means doing a little research. Luckily here at GoWin, we've got your back. On this page, you can find out everything you need to know in order to pick a great online betting destination.
How to Choose a New Online Sportsbook
Below you can find a list of the things we'd recommend assessing when looking for a new online sportsbook.
Bet With a Well-Known Brand
If you're new to the world of online betting, then you may be searching for a site that offers a bit of everything. In this case, we would recommend that you stick to the bigger brand names.
These sites attempt to cater to as wide a target audience as they possibly can. So, the advantage of playing at such top sites is that you really cannot go wrong. There, players can be sure to get a wide selection of markets and access to lots of great deposit bonuses. No one is going to be saying “no” to these.
What’s more, many players may feel more at ease depositing with a brand they're already familiar with. Top high street bookmakers that have online counterparts include Ladbrokes, William Hill and Betfred, among others.
Playing there, you can rest assured you're betting with a respected, safe and secure name.
Look for the Best Odds at All Times
Big brand UK online betting sites are great for those who don't know where to start. However, the general mainstream approach definitely won’t work for all.
This is because some players will want to be hunting for the best gambling sites in the UK. What are the best sites according to many punters, though? They're the ones that provide the best odds at all times.
The disadvantage of this is constantly searching for different sites. This is where comparison sites such as OddsChecker and our personal blog here at GoWin, can prove invaluable.
Play the Field
In general, we would recommend that you sign up at multiple sports gambling sites. This is because different sites will offer you different odds on certain games.
So, if you are signed up to a few, you can then choose to place your bet at the site that is offering you the best odds if you win. It will be easier to find the bet you're looking for, plus you will get it at a better price.
Top Online Betting Sites
- sportsbook & casino
- In-Play betting available
- Great promotions going on
- sportsbook & casino
- In-Play betting available
- Great promotions going on
- Launched2014
- UK License
- Min. Deposit£10
- Amount of Games100+
- Support
- Withdrawal time0-3 days
- Welcome BonusBonus match up to £25
- Deposit percentage100%
- Free spinsNone
- Turnover35x
- BonusesWeekly
- Websitemobilebet.com
- Terms & conditionsT&C applies
- ReviewRead review
- A well-established brand
- Sleek & sexy interface
- A brand new sportsbook!
- A well-established brand
- Sleek & sexy interface
- A brand new sportsbook!
- Launched2013
- UK License
- Min. Deposit£10
- Amount of Games600+
- Support
- Withdrawal time0-3 days
- Welcome BonusDeposit match up to £100
- Deposit percentage100% match
- Free spins50 free spins
- Turnover35x
- BonusesWeekly specials
- Websiteguts.com
- Terms & conditionsT&C applies
- ReviewRead review
Best Online Sports Gambling Sites Usa
- A long-standing brand
- Good offering of games
- A reputable sportsbook site
- A long-standing brand
- Good offering of games
- A reputable sportsbook site
- Launched2008
- UK License
- Min. Deposit£10
- Amount of Games100+
- Support
- Withdrawal time0-3 days
- Welcome BonusDeposit match up to £25
- Deposit percentage100% match
- Free spinsNone
- Turnover35x
- BonusesWeekly specials
- Websitecomeon.com
- Terms & conditionsT&C applies
- ReviewRead review
These are the top sites that currently offer the best deals or most profitable odds. On top of that, you can check out other popular bookmaker sites. Here are some more detailed reviews you might be interested in:
Paddy Power | Betfair | 888 |
Betway | Unibet | Ladbrokes |
K8 | William Hill | BetVictor |
Bet-at-home | Betsafe | Sport Nation |
Signing Up & Depositing to Bet on Sports
Now that you know how to find a betting site to suit you, you may be wondering how exactly you sign up and start playing with them. Luckily, it's generally a straightforward process. To sign up at an online sportsbook, you'll need to:
- Be aged 18 or over
- Be a resident of (and visiting a site from within) the UK
- Enter your personal details, such as name, address and email
- Choose a depositing method (Visa,Mastercard, PayPal, Skrill,Neteller,Boku, Paysafecard)
Sportsbook Bonus Codes and Promotions
Placing wagers online has some huge advantages over gambling on the high street. One of them is that there's always a plethora of great deals to get your hands on.
Below, we've listed some of the most popular types of sportsbook bonuses and information about how they work.
Welcome Bonuses for New Players
As we mentioned earlier, when choosing a new online betting website, you should always look out for rewarding bonuses. The best bonuses are often awarded to new players, to entice them into choosing one site over another.
Almost all of the best betting websites will offer you a welcome bonus of some sort. However, the important thing to consider here is whether it's valuable to you. Welcome bonuses may offer you:
- Cash rewards
- Free bets
- Boosted odds
- Casino bonuses
- Other incentives
None of these is worthwhile unless you get some use out of it.
For instance, a site may offer you a free bet on a sport you're not interested in. Obviously, this isn't advantageous. It just persuades you to part with money you didn't intend on spending in the first place.
Free Bets
Free bets do, essentially, what they say on the tin. They're a reward specific to bookmakers and are often awarded to new players. Luckily, loyal punters may also be rewarded with free bets from time to time.
Certain sites will even give away free bets when there are specific events on (such as the World Cup).
Free bets usually give you a free wager of a certain size, on a certain event. For instance, you may be rewarded with a free £5 football bet on the weekend's Premier League action. Or it could be a £5 horse racing wager on the Grand National.
Welcome to Best Betting Sites UK, the best website in the UK for picking your favourite online bookies. Look at the table below and simply pick the bookie you want, it’s that simple!
Bet £10 get £30 in FREE bets + 30 FREE spins | Read Review | |||
Only available to new customers from UK & Northern Ireland. You must stake £10 or more at single/cumulative odds of Evens (2.0) or greater on your first bet. Free bet balance of £30 credited within 48 hours of your first bet being settled. Free Bets expire after 7 days. E-Wallet restrictions apply. Minimum 5 game rounds. Game restrictions apply. Maximum 30 Free Spins on selected games. Free Spins expire after 7 days. Full T&Cs apply | ||||
Up to £50 Bonus | Read Review | |||
You must be aged over 18 to open an account at the Bethard betting site. Betting promotions open to UK & Ireland residents only. T&C's apply. | ||||
Get 50% Up To £100 | Read Review | |||
New Customers; Min. deposit €20 (no Skrill/Neteller); Bonus=50% of deposit up to €100; 6x deposit and bonus turnover (min. odds 1.60 on singles and 1.40 per selection on combo bets), in 30 days, for bonus release; Each bet contributes max. 50% of bonus for turnover; Some bet types don’t contribute to turnover; Withdrawal before turnover results in bonus cancellation; Terms apply; 18+; MGA licensed (MGA/B2C/331/2016); BeGambleAware.org | ||||
Bet £10 Get £30 Free Bets | Read Review | |||
T&C: New William Hill online customers only. Min. unit stake of £10/€10 at odds of 1/2 or greater. Only the “win” part from EW bets will count. Free bet terms, payment method & country restrictions apply. Free bets credited as 3 x £10/€10. Free bet stakes are not returned as part of the settlement of successful free bets. All Free Bets must be wagered within 30 days. | ||||
£30 FREE Bet | Read Review | |||
1.New Customers Only. 2. Min Deposit: £/€10. 3.1 x wagering at odds of 1.75+ to unlock Free Bet. 4.Credit Card, Debit Card & PayPal deposits only 5.Additional Terms Apply | ||||
Up To £200 in FREE Bets | Read Review | |||
New Players Only. Terms & Conditions Apply. Please see Winner for details. 18+ Only | ||||
£35 FREE Bet | Read Review | |||
New Customers only. 18+.Sign-up and make a deposit into your account.Stake 6 qualifying bets from a min of £10 to a max of £35.Your Bonus Token bonus will be equivalent to your lowest stake during all your qualifying bets.On settlement of your final qualifying bet you should contact customer support to request your Bonus Token.Your Bonus Token will be allocated to your account within 24 hours.Full Terms & Conditions Apply. | ||||
£20 RISK FREE Bet | Read Review | |||
New customers only, limited to one per person. If you’ve previously had a Paddy Power account, you will not qualify for the offer. Place your FIRST bet on any Sportsbook market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is €20. Only deposits made using Cards or Paypal will qualify for this promotion. |
The Guide to Online Sports Betting
Online sports betting is an increasingly popular past-time with punters placing wagers all around the world on a daily basis. Whether it’s a quick bet on the horses or an ante-post punt ahead of the forthcoming football season there are so many markets and sportsbooks to choose from!
The choice of best betting sites in the UK can be overwhelming to new gamblers but signing up can be a rewarding experience and a lot of fun!
We’ve assembled a helpful guide to betting online.
Best Online Sports Betting Uk
New Customer and Sign-Up Bonuses
The best part of signing up for a new account is the sign-up bonus offered by the majority of sportsbooks as they welcome new customers to their service. There are so many to choose from and it’s always best to take your time and browse the offers available before jumping in! It doesn’t take long to sign up for an account and should only take five minutes of your time. Once you’ve submitted personal details and chosen your preferences, it is time to make the first deposit.
New customer accounts will be credited with the bonus upon the completion and confirmation of signing up.
Example – Ladbrokes offer new customers a bet £5 get £20 in free (Ts&Cs Apply) bets when you place a sports bet of £5 or more.
Once you’ve signed up for a Ladbrokes account, find a bet you like and place £5 on it. Whether it wins or loses, Ladbrokes will credit your account with 4 x £5 free bets to use on any sport or event. There are many different offers available with 888Sport’s bet £10 get £30 (Ts&Cs Apply) on your first bet promotion one of the more interesting on the market.
Sometimes it is advised to wait until the beginning of the new football season or the start of a major tournament with many bookmakers tailoring special sign-up offers towards these events. These can often prove more profitable than the standard bonuses.
The Best Betting Sites have Many Existing Promotions
Once you’ve signed up you are likely to receive regular updates from the bookmaker. These will often be promoting special offers and bonuses.
Many companies offer ‘Price Boosts’ which involve enhanced odds to customers betting on significant sporting events. For example – ‘Player X to score first was 3/1 NOW 7/2’
One of the latest promotional trends are money back offers often pertaining to horse racing or greyhounds. These can usually be found on the dedicated horse racing pages.
Many sportsbooks such as Sky Bet now allow customers to ‘Request a Bet’ via their social media channels. This allows punters to select big price, often outlandish looking bets such as ‘Player X to score first, Team B to have over 5 corners and Both Teams to Score in the First Half’ hoping for big returns.
Accumulator / Multiple Betting
One way of securing bigger returns is often to combine many selections. These are called ‘Multiple Bets’ or ‘Accumulators’. Multiple Bets could include 2 x selections (double) or 3 x selections (treble) whilst an accumulator can be anything from four selections upwards.
Speculative punters often enjoy bundling ten selections together (10-fold) at the weekend as they aim to secure HUGE returns for small stakes.
Other types of multiple are available and these include:
Lucky 15 (4 x selections consisting of 1 4-fold, 4 trebles, 6 doubles and 4 singles). This will command 15 x your stake.
Trixie (3 x selections consisting of 3 x doubles and 1 x Treble). This will command 4 x your stake.
Odds
When setting account preferences shortly after signing up it is possible to select your preferred methods of odds display. These can be Fractional – 4/1, Decimal – 5.00 or US Lines +400.
Every sportsbook will have individual traders who price up the likelihood of each event. These can change as time progresses depending on the interest or lack of in this particular selection. For example a horse could start the morning at 9/1. If many punters start backing this selection, bookmakers will reduce its price to eliminate losses. It could even start the race as 3/1 favourite. If you would like to learn more about betting strategies and odds, then you really need to visit our Betting Guides pages.
Betting Markets
Every sports betting site has hundreds and sometimes thousands of markets to choose from. The majority of sports are covered. Some bookmakers specialise in particular events. Some of the best betting sites such as Coral and Sun Bets rely heavily on their football punters whilst Ladbrokes or Sky Bet often target horse racing customers. Every sport including Bandy, GAA, Curling and Moto GP are priced up by traders and markets are formed days before the event.
It is often fun to assemble a multiple bet consisting of different sports. If you wanted to combine an ATP tennis match with a football match from the Argentinian top flight, it is entirely possibly to do so.
There are also a number of ‘Specials’ markets available with the majority of bookmakers. These include Brit Awards, Oscars or bets on television shows such as Strictly Come Dancing or Big Brother. Political betting is also very popular.
Live In-Play Betting
Live In-Play Betting has become increasingly popular over the past couple of years and punters aim to place bets and find value whilst an event is in progress. Most sports will be offered ‘In-Play’ usually in a dedicated section of the sportsbooks website. Sports which offer continually fluctuating prices are usually very popular including tennis and F1.
Many bettors enjoy betting ‘In-Play’ on the move using mobile betting because it is possible to make some money back if pre-match wagers aren’t going to plan.
Some bets will take a few seconds longer to process if betting in this way as the markets react to events on the pitch, court or table.Often markets will be ‘greyed out’, suspended or not available if there is an ongoing incident such as steward’s inquiry or a referred decision.
Live Streaming
A terrific recent addition to the already impressive offerings by online sportsbooks is the rise of ‘Live Streaming’.
This feature allows customers to access live pictures of a number of sporting events around the world. These include ATP and WTA tennis events on a weekly basis as well as ITF Tour level and below. Many of the top football leagues are also available including La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
Most sportsbooks allow customers who have a credited account to follow the action although others stipulate a bet of 50p or greater must have been struck in the last 24 hours. Horse Racing footage is also available for punters if they place a bet of £1 or more on a particular race. This applies for events at all levels. Some bookmakers offer free-to-air pictures of US racing.
Mobile Betting
Best Online Sports Betting Sites Uk
Mobile betting has become vitally important for bookmakers as they target younger and busier punters. Each company has launched their own unique App which can be downloaded in a variety of ways. The majority are available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry and can be found on the company’s own mobile site or located in the App Store.
The bookmakers aims to continually make their App slicker and quicker each year with punters requiring faster access to markets and odds. Some Apps such as 888Sport have started offering regular promotions and incentives to customers using the mobile App or site offering bonuses relating to their casino or arcade games.
Is Online Betting Safe?
Gambling Online is perfectly safe with millions of satisfied customers placing bets on a daily basis at the best betting sites on the web. Many of the companies are big names in the gambling world and they cannot afford any breaches of security. This would not be good PR for the company.
They spend thousands each year to ensure customer details are not shared and personal information cannot be accessed by hackers.
There are numerous methods of depositing into an account with many punters opting to use online e-wallets such as PayPal or Skrill to avoid inputting credit/debit card details. This often helps reassure customers. If you’re still unsure make sure you read reviews before jumping in! It’s often best to start with a household name. A company who have been around for a number of years and can be trusted.
Other Key Words
Ante-Post– These are bets which are struck in advance of a competition. For example – An Ante-Post bet on the football season can be struck in July. A Wimbledon Ante-Post event could be struck weeks before the tournament whilst it is possible to bet on major horse races such as the Derby a year up to ten months in advance.
Void– A bet could be declared ‘Void’ by the bookmaker if the event is postponed or at the sportsbook’s discretion. This would result in the punter receiving their money back.
Each-Way– This is predominantly found in racing markets. If you bet each way your stake is divided between the selection winning and the selection finishing in the top three. For example £10 on a horse in the 13:00 at Fontwell would see £5 placed on it winning and the other £5 on it finishing in the placings. If there are more than 16 runners, each way betting applies to the first four to finish. Placed runners will be calculated at 1/5 of the odds traditionally although some bookmakers vary. Each Way betting is also available on other sports including Formula One outrights