Start betting on your favourite sports at top-rated online bookmakers. All our recommended sites offer great odds on a range of sports, including horse racing, football, rugby, golf, tennis and more. Start betting now or read on for our expert guide to online sports betting in the UK.
While there are many outstanding bookmakers available to UK punters, you’ll also find some sites where the betting experience is not so good. Whether they have a reputation for poor customer service or limiting your account after a big win, it’s best to avoid the bookies on our blacklist below.
British betting fans enjoy gambling on a huge variety of sports in 2022, but there are some that always prove particularly popular online.
To say that football betting is popular in the UK would be an understatement. From Championship and Premier League betting, to European leagues and top international tournaments – any UK bookmaker will have markets on every match you can imagine.
No sport has a richer betting heritage in the UK than horse racing. British punters have been piling into classic events like the Epsom Derby or St Leger for centuries! Away from elite thoroughbred flat horse racing, the National Hunt scene also attracts huge betting interest – especially the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National at Aintree.
UK bettors love Wimbledon, but the grass court Grand Slam is just the tip of the iceberg these days. A full betting service is available on all the other majors, as well as ATP and WTA Tours right through from junior challengers to the Tour Finals.
Golf has been a popular sport for centuries in the UK, so it’s no surprise that this also applies to online betting. With numerous competitions and tournaments taking place all around the world, you’ll find plenty of golf events to bet on year-round.
The UK is the home of darts as we know it today and the popularity of darts betting is on the up. Fans enjoy numerous professional and amateur tournaments throughout the year, culminating in the World Championships at the famous Alexandra Palace.
Cricket is another sport that dominates the UK betting market. The Ashes tournament is one of the most popular sporting events for cricket, with the likes of the T20 World Cup and IPL following closely behind.
Whether it’s Union or League, rugby has dozens of competitions for UK bettors. The most popular tournaments are undoubtedly the Rugby World Cup which comes around every four years, as well as the annual Six Nations Championship. There’s also a growing interesting in the Rugby Championship which is focused on four southern hemisphere teams: Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
Fans of pro-cycling will know that cycling betting is an up-and-coming market. The sport covers a number of tournaments with the Olympics, Tour de France, Grand Tours and World Cycling Championships gaining huge betting interest. UK bettors can expect a range of betting markets for all of the most popular competitions.
While bookies still have a presence on the UK high street, more and more punters are now placing their bets online. Below, we’ve picked out the key benefits to online sports betting in the UK.
To get a top spot on our shortlist, a UK betting site has to live up to our strict criteria. We independently review every bookmaker based on the below.
Bonuses are key to any great betting site. We’ll be looking for a strong welcome offer as well as regular free bets that reward loyalty. On top of that, we expect to see features like odds boosts, money-back deals and best odds guaranteed as standard.
Online bookmakers in the UK should offer a range of payment options. We want to see debit and credit cards accepted as well as more modern options like e-wallets, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Top bookmakers will also offer speedy withdrawal times with no fees included.
Each betting site on our shortlist has undergone extensive background checks. We make sure each recommended bookmaker is fully certified and licenced by a reputable authority. We also factor in a betting site’s reputation and assess if the security measures in place are reliable.
Competitive odds are crucial. We compare odds across every online bookmaker we review to make sure they live up to the industry average. If an online bookmaker isn’t offering competitive odds, we won’t recommended them.
The best online bookmakers in the UK will have a quality betting app. We expect to see a full range of bets and markets as well as access to live streaming, in-play markets and more. Bonus point will go to betting sites that offer virtual sports like horse racing.
When using different sportsbooks, you may have the option to toggle the odds format. This is simply a matter of personal preference in most cases, but your options may also depend on the type of sport you’re betting on. Broadly speaking, you’ll encounter one of the three types of sports betting odds listed below. If you’d like to know more about the different odds formats, visit our sports betting odds page.
Fractional odds indicate the ratio of profit to stake for a wager. They are displayed as two numbers separated by a slash: the number on the left indicates how much a bettor can win, while the number on the right indicates the stake needed for a payout. For example, if you place a £1 bet at odds of 3/1, you would receive £3 in winnings plus your stake back. Fractional odds are widely used in UK sportsbooks and are the standard odds format used.
Decimal odds are shown as two figures separated by a full stop. To figure out how much you could potentially win from decimal odds, simply multiply your stake by the odds shown. For example, placing a £1 bet on 2.00 odds would give a return of £2. Decimal odds are also known as European odds and are popular in continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Moneyline odds refer to which team is more likely to win a game. The odds for the favourite to win are indicated by a minus (-) sign while the underdogs are represented by a plus (+) sign. The minus number is the amount that a bettor would have to wager to win $100, while the plus sign shows what a bettor would win if they bet $100. Moneyline odds, also known as American odds, are typically only used at North American sportsbooks.
Betting online has resulted in huge development when it comes to the bet types and range of markets available. The choice of wagers you can place has never been larger for UK punters, so let’s take a look at some of the most popular types of sports bets and markets available.
This is the most straightforward type of bet you can place. A single bet involves selecting just one market for one event. By predicting the outcome of that one market correctly, you’ll win the bet. This type of bet keeps things simple, with a win not being dependent on any additional factors or events.
This is as traditional as sports betting gets. You place a bet predicting the outcome of an event (home team to win, away team to win or a draw). If your prediction is correct, you win the bet. As this bet type is fairly straightforward, it’s particularly suited to new bettors.
Online sports betting in the UK is now more popular than ever. We’ve noted a few key figures here, to give some insight into what UK gamblers prefer and how often they’re betting.
Around 66%
of the adult population in the UK place at least 1 bet per year
Almost 40%
of all UK sports bets are on football
800 licences
The UK Gambling Commission has granted about 800 licences to operate in GB and Northern Ireland
Over 80%
of all tennis bets are placed on in-play markets
The simplest way to calculate your winnings with fractional odds is to first convert them into decimals. To do this, follow the steps below:
For example, if you bet £8 on a team to win at odds of 11/4, then for every £4 you put on at that price you would receive £11 back in winnings, plus your stake. The total return on this wager is £30 – £22 of profit, plus the £8 original stake.
Doubles and accumulators are calculated in a similar way to single bets. Again, you start by converting your fractional odds into decimals:
For example, say you’ve backed two horses both to win at 4/1 and 5/1 with a £5 stake. You get a predicted return of £25 from the first leg, then that rolls onto the second leg as the stake. This double thus returns a total of £150, with £145 of that being profit.
Online bookmakers offer bonuses and promotions to enhance your online betting experience. The most common offer is a free bet. The table below gives a quick introduction to all of the biggest promotions to look out for and how they work.
| Bonus | Bonus Description |
|---|---|
Sign-Up and Welcome Bonuses | Most betting sites will offer a sign-up promotion. Typically, this includes a free bet or bet credits just for registering a new account or making a deposit. Sign-up bonuses usually have minimum odds but are free to use against any bet. |
Free Bets | So-called "free bets" are available to both new and existing customers, often when sportsbooks offer a promotion on a leading sports event. Remember, you will not receive your stake back off a free bet bonus token. |
Cashback/Money Back | This type of promotion is designed to mitigate loss. Acca or fallers insurance are popular examples of this for UK sportsbook customers. This can also overlap with a free bet refund, which you may be offered instead of cashback. |
Enhanced Odds/Price Boosts | Extra value can be had on certain bets via this promotion. Usually accompanied by a strict maximum stake, these can either be singles or multiples and are also known as Flash Odds because they’re often only available for a short while. |
Loyalty Bonus | Most commonly found in the UK as a VIP or Free Bet Club, if you meet the terms by placing a certain number of bets over a specified amount of time, then you qualify for additional bonuses. |
T&Cs apply to all offers – please check at the relevant sportsbook website.
If you’re new to sports betting sites or are just interested in improving your strategy, our simple betting tips can really help to transform your online betting experience.
Sign Up and Receive a Welcome Bonus
Any bookmaker worth their salt will incentivise you to sign up, and they'll most likely use a welcome bonus to do this. Simply register for an account with the sportsbook of your choice, then follow their instructions to qualify for the sign-up offer. This may give you free bets or bonus tokens to use before risking further capital.
Stick to a Budget
Being reckless with your balance is not a good strategy. If you want to be successful long-term, then you need to be sensible and gamble responsibly. That means operating within and sticking to a defined budget. You should never bet more than you can afford to lose - remember, when the fun stops, stop.
Get on Early
It sometimes pays to take an ante-post bet or long-term punt. These do however require patience, as cash out options may or may not be available. Placing wagers as early as possible may also see you get the best of the odds, especially if the traders behind a sportsbook haven’t yet cottoned on to something you’ve realised. Whether it’s a gut feeling, based on what you’ve seen previously or discovered through extensive research, the key is to react quicker than the bookies. Nothing tastes sweeter than beating them at their own game!
Shop Around
While some sportsbooks will do more than others to reward your loyalty as a customer, you are not obliged to place all your bets online with just one firm. Explore your options and open another account elsewhere, especially if they are offering an attractive welcome bonus or promotion on a sport that interests you. Holding multiple accounts is common sense - accessing as much of the market as possible means you’re more likely to get a better deal or price.
Mobile play is an important part of our criteria when assessing an online sportsbook. All good bookmakers should offer apps for iOS and Android devices as well as mobile-optimised websites so that you can bet on the go.
Whether you prefer to download a betting app or play using a web browser, any sportsbook from our shortlist above will offer something for a smaller screen. Provided you’ve got an internet connection, you can place sports bets anytime and anywhere.
The sportsbooks that offer the quickest payouts include Betway Sports, 888Sport and Mansion Bet. Each of these sportsbooks promises a payout within 1-2 days of the bet being settled and can be withdrawn through most popular banking methods. The fastest withdrawals are usually made through methods such as Skrill, Paypal or Neteller which can be processed in as little as 24-hours.
Absolutely. The Gambling Commission regulates all kinds of real money wagering in the United Kingdom. This is done through the government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) under the Gambling Act of 2005. Of course, you must be aged 18 and over to have a betting account on any British site.
There is no limit to the types of sports you can bet on. British sportsbooks accept wagers on anything from football to horse racing, rugby, basketball, tennis and much, much more.
Football betting is by far the kingpin with British bettors. Horse racing is also a firm favourite at the bookies, with certain events such as the Grand National even attracting thousands of punters who don’t usually bet.
You'll be pleased to know that just about all UK wagering sites offer special rewards, bonuses, and promotions to those who have just become members as well as existing members. If you come across a sportsbook without any betting offers, then it's not worth your time.
You’ll find a list of the best betting sites in the UK right here on this page. Make sure to check regularly - we update this page to bring you all the most recent information about the best betting sites, as well as the ones to avoid on our blacklist.
The format of most sportsbooks is the same. A sports menu, usually listed from A to Z, appears down the left-hand side of the screen. In the middle, meanwhile, are the markets and odds for the sports. Click or tap the price on the bet you like the look of, and it should appear on the betting slip on the right-hand side. Now enter your stake, view potential returns and hit place bet. It’s as easy as that.
Betting odds indicate the likelihood of a particular outcome of an event. From betting odds, you can figure out the payout you could get from a bet you place, should it win. You’ll find betting odds displayed in different formats at different sportsbooks, with common formats being fractional, decimal and moneyline. Regardless of which format you prefer to use, each format will indicate the same potential payout.
The best apps for online sports betting include Betway Sports, 888Sport and Mansion Bet. Head to our shortlist to find more of the best apps for betting in the UK.
Odds are set by the bookmakers themselves. The odds are typically calculated by taking into account insights such as player data, form, history, public opinion and more.
Spread betting is where a team needs to either win or lose by a specific number of points or goals. Spreads will come in American odds and are only typically attached to North American sports such as American football or basketball.
SU is an abbreviation for ‘straight up’ and refers to if a team has won a game regardless of the point spread.
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