Best Sports Betting Sites in the UK

Deciding on the best bookmakers and sports betting sites in the UK is not an easy task. It’s difficult for punters as there are so many variables to take into account.

The usability of a website or app, the value of bonuses and promotions, the security involved and the customer service level are all important factors.

We’ve done most of that work for you. Here, we’ll go through the best bookmakers on the market, how we review them and what sports you can bet on while also answering your top questions about the best sports betting sites in the UK right now.

Sports betting - horse race, football, tennis and golf

Top Bookmakers in The UK Right Now

1
Grosvenor Sport
FANTASTIC BONUSES
Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets
  • bullet-iconThere’s a great VIP programme
  • bullet-iconCustomer support is offered 24/7
  • bullet-iconLive streaming is available
9.9
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New players only. 3x buy-in bonuses. % varies between 50% and 100%. Min £20 cash buy-in per bonus. Max bonus £700 in total. Bonus valid on classic slot games only. Exclusions apply. Max £2 stake. 20x wager requirements on total of buy-in and bonus amount. Bonus valid for 7 days. Keep it fun - set your deposit limit. T&C's apply.

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The Grosvenor online sportsbook is a very appealing website offering a lot to every player. With multiple bonuses and a good VIP programme, this is a sportsbook that means business. Players can bet on a large number of different sports, and watch selected sports being live streamed. If you’re looking for an online sportsbook that has it all, Grosvenor is well worth visiting.

2
mr.play Sport
Welcome Bonus Bet £10 Get £10
  • bullet-iconHuge range of sports
  • bullet-iconGreat website security
  • bullet-iconGood cash out options
9.7
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18+, Welcome Bonus: New Players only, 1st Deposit, Min Deposit: £10, max £15 bonus, valid for 14 days, bets must be placed at a min. odds of 1/1 (2.00) or greater and be settled within 14 days of placement. System bets no eligible. Full T&Cs apply.

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mr.play Sport is a modern sports betting website that offers each player the chance to bet on a large number of games. Offering bettors the chance to bet on football matches, basketball, tennis, horse racing, and more, everyone is in for a treat. It would be hard to write any mr.play Sport review without mentioning how many different matches and games a player can put a bet on.

3
Boyle Sports
GREAT FREE BET OFFER
Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets​
  • bullet-iconMany place races each day
  • bullet-iconFree bet if 2nd to starting price favourite deal
  • bullet-iconAcca Insurance and best odds guaranteed on multiples
9.5
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18+. UK Customers (Excluding NI) only. Cash stakes only. Min £10 stake required for initial £5 free bet. Min odds ½. Max £25 in free bets. Subsequent free bets equal 50% average of each 3 £5 max qualifying bets. 13 settled bets required to receive full £25 free bet. Qualifying bets must be placed on sportsbook within 30 days of opening account. Cashed out bets will not qualify towards your average stake. One free bet offer per customer, household or IP address only. Free bet expires after 7 days. Payment method restrictions apply. T&Cs apply

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Unlike many other bookmakers and online casinos, the word ‘customer’ genuinely comes up plenty with BoyleSports in terms of their positive features, which we, of course, love.

4
ZetBet Sport
NEW SPORTSBOOK 2022
Bet £10 Get £10
  • bullet-iconExcellent live betting
  • bullet-iconVery user-friendly website with excellent navigation
  • bullet-iconSubstantial bet variety and betting odds
9.4
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18+, Welcome Bonus: New Players only, 1st Deposit, Min Deposit: £10, max £10 bonus, valid for 14 days, bets must be placed at odds of 1/1 or greater and be settled within 14 days of placement. System bets no eligible.

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ZetBet are a new name in the online sportsbook market so we’ve checked out all they have to offer in our Zetbet Sports Review

5
Luckland Sportsbook
Free £10 bet Welcome Offer
  • bullet-iconThe level of customer service is very good
  • bullet-iconWithdrawal is quite fast
  • bullet-iconImpressive range of betting markets offered
  • bullet-iconOffers in-play betting options
9.4
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Max. Free Bet Token amount: £10. Minimum Deposit: £10. Minimum wagering on Sport to activate the Free Bet Token: £15. #ad. 18+, begambleaware.org, T&Cs Apply

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Luckland Sports is a very good online sportsbook that has a lot to offer all players. With a good range of sports betting markets and bonuses, this is a site that is worth spending time on. Luckland Sports may not be one of the most popular or well-known sites out there. However, it does have a lot to offer every player.

6
The Pools
£5 free bet when deposit and wager £10
  • bullet-iconMany different bonuses and promotions
  • bullet-iconGood range of esports
  • bullet-iconCompetitive odds
9.3
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18+, UK only. Deposit and place a minimum £10 cash bet at single or accumulated odds of 1/1 or greater and we will give you 1 x £5 in free bets plus an extra 3 x £5 Free Bets the following day. Applies to first cash bet only. Free bets credited as 4 x £5 bets to use on 3x Any sport & 1x Virtuals. Cashed Out, Void or Draw No Bet wagers do not qualify for this promotion. 1 x £5 Free Bets are credited upon qualifying first bet settlement, other free bets credited by midday the day after your first bet settles. 7-day free bet expiry. Available once per customer. This offer cannot be combined with any other promotion.

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Our The Pools review will show you what you need to know and what the sportsbook has to offer. We will be taking a look at the site’s security, customer service, range of sports, bonuses, and more. We do this so that you have more of an idea about The Pools and how good it is.

7
888sport
MOST POPULAR SPORTSBOOK
Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets
  • bullet-iconGreat live streaming
  • bullet-iconFilter horses using the BetFinder tool
  • bullet-iconEach way + deal for every horse
9.3
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New customers & 18+ only. Min deposit £10. A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10. Min odds 1/2 (1.50). Free Bets are credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days. Free Bet stakes are not included in returns. Additional T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly

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888sport offers a comprehensive list of betting markets and promotions on a daily basis. Comfortably sitting within most people’s lists of the best betting sites on the market, this brand is one of the more popular firms around, and in our 888sport review, we’ve delved a little bit deeper into exactly what they offer.

8
Betfair Sportsbook
Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets
  • bullet-iconVery High Liquidity
  • bullet-iconExchange and Sportsbook
9.2
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Betfair is a good sportsbook site that puts others to shame. With almost 23 years in the betting industry, it’s safe to say that Betfair knows what it’s doing. In fact, this Betfair review has been a pleasure to research and write. With multiple payment options, a wide variety of sports available, and live streaming options, Betfair really is here to stay.

9
William Hill
#1 UK TRUSTED SPORTSBOOK
Bet £10 get £30 in Free Bets
  • bullet-iconDaily horse racing bet boost
  • bullet-iconLengthen your odds/Pick your places
  • bullet-iconExtra place races
9
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New customers & 18+ only. Min. deposit of £/€10. Qualifying real money bet of £/€10. Min odds greater than or equal to 1.5 required. E/W bets excluded. Offer credited within 48 hours. Additional T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly

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Slot Boss is a casino that caters for players based in the United Kingdom. Formally part of the IPS group, Slot Boss, along with other IPS casinos such as Pink Casino and Bet UK, was purchased by the LeoVegas group in 2018 in a deal worth £65million.

10
Betfred
Bet £10 Get £30 Free Bet
  • bullet-iconBrilliant customer service, available 24/7
  • bullet-iconGood ongoing promotions and bonus
  • bullet-iconExtra places races
9
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New customers & 18+ only. Min. deposit of £/€5. Qualifying real money bet of £/€10. Min odds greater than or equal to 1.5 required. E/W bets excluded. Offer credited within 48 hours. Additional T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly

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Given that it hasn't stood still and carry most of the features we’d expect, Betfred is very much within the best betting sites in the game and now we’ve taken an in-depth look at everything they have to offer online.

Our Review Process

When we review any online sports betting sites, including traditional bookmakers, we have to take a number of things into consideration.

This review process must be vigorous in order to determine that bookmakers, especially new sports betting sites in the UK, are not only trustworthy and legal but also that they offer a wide range of features and services to make sure you are getting good value for money.

Here are some of the factors we consider and make allowances for when deciding on what are the best sports betting sites:

Current and previous reputation

This is based on public user reviews along with our own experiences of having used a specific online betting platform.

Customer Support

We check carefully the level of service offered, whether it is 24/7 and how players can get in touch, i.e., via live chat, email, phone or social media.

Guarantee

Bookmaker licences

We always ensure that any bookmaker or online casino is fully licenced by the Gambling Commission to operate in the UK.

Betting payment options

Deposit and withdrawal options are crucial, so we check on how many options a bookmaker has, their fees, timings and bet limits.

Cash out

Betting markets

The best online bookies offer not only a wide range of sports for customers to bet on, but also whether they are available live, in-play..

Best Odds guaranteed

Standard of odds

Not all bookmakers offer the same odds so you always need to ensure that you get the best possible value for money. Football betting prices may be strong with one site, though their horse racing odds may be weak so we check that out.

Betting offers

While casino bonus offers are usually generous, good sports betting promos are trickier to come by. We check the standard and regularity of betting offers with the best online sports betting sites.

Mobile betting

We check on how good the mobile websites and/or apps are. The majority of racing and football bets, as well tennis betting, golf betting and many more wagers are now done via mobile devices so we check which bookmakers have the best apps and mobile sites.

Live streaming

Live betting is crucial, now more and more punters want to watch and bet in the same place. We check on which bookmakers offer live streaming, which sports they show and whether any charges are incurred for watching.

Bonuses/Promotions/Free Bets

We are always on the lookout for the best new betting offers, ongoing promotions and free bets. We like to show our members how to lock in a profit from any free bets and other promos.

With that in mind, we consider ourselves to be knowledgeable on free bets and welcome offers. In all of our bookmaker reviews, you will find details of all welcome deals and promotions for existing customers along with advice on how to get the best out of them.

Football

The most popular sport in the world is now the most bet on sport too. Football now provides the widest range of different betting markets for customers, whether betting on one game at a time or backing numerous teams to win in an accumulator:

1X2

also stylised as WDW (win-draw-win) and HDA (home-draw-away), this represents the most basic bet. Online bookies will price up a game with the odds for the home team to win, the away team to win and the draw. As there are only three possibilities, odds tend to be restrictive which is why punters tend to place numerous teams into win accumulators, betting on several teams to win to up the odds.

Goal scorer odds

Goalscorers

more enticing is the odds on specific players to score. Punters can bet on a nominated player to score first, last or at any time during 90 minutes with odds varying accordingly.

Both Teams to Score

one of the most popular coupon bets now in existence. Instead of betting on teams to win, backers now place bets on BTTS – both teams to score. By effectively placing an accumulator featuring games with both teams to score, players can get big payouts as long as both teams in the nominated games do indeed score at least once, making the winner of the game irrelevant.

In Play betting feature

Others

markets exist on the number of cards, corners, free-kicks and goals, along with the half-time score, double chance (win or draw) and half-time/full-time which means betting on a team to be leading at the interval as well as at the end. Many other markets may exist, depending on your bookmaker and the popularity of the match in question.

Horse Racing

Traditionally horse racing was the bread and butter of the bookmaking industry. To this day in the UK horse racing is still the second most watched and bet on sport in the country.

The Grand National is the single biggest betting event of any type in Britain, while major meetings such as the Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot bring in hundreds of millions of pounds in betting revenue.

Horse racing is an everyday sport too, meaning dozens of markets are given every day of the week on domestic races as well as many more around the world. Here’s what you can bet on:

Win market

odds are displayed for every horse in a race to win. If you think a 4/1 shot has just as good a chance as a 2/1 favourite, then you can consider yourself to have found a good value bet.

Each-Way Betting

very popular in horse racing is each-way betting. Betting on a horse not only to win, but also to finish in the first 2, 3 or 4 adds some insurance in case not all goes to plan.

Full Cover Bets

punters can not only bet in win or each-way accumulators, but also compile full cover bets such as Luck 15’s. These bets involve the punter picking numerous horses, with bets multiplied to cover doubles, trebles, 4-folds etc. This way, not every horse in the bet has to win for the punter to get a pay-out.

Greyhounds

For many years the darling of the everyday betting shop punter, greyhound racing remains very popular in the online era too. A greyhound bet will basically mirror what is available in horse racing, though here things like forecasts and tricasts (picking the first 2 or 3 in order) or more popular given that win odds are more restrictive in 6-runner races.

American Football

While not traditionally popular in the UK, the NFL and of course the Super Bowl have become major betting events on these shores. Many markets are available to bet on, with handicaps most popular meaning it’s about the number of points scored and margin of victory, rather than who will actually win.

Other Popular Betting Sports

Some sports maintain their popularity all year, while some are seasonal and cyclical.

Cricket

Cricket has a strong following which is boosted massively when the Ashes is on or a World Cup is in play, with markets including ‘top batsman’ or ‘margin of victory’. Cricket betting is growing in popularity all the time.

UFC betting sites

UFC

UFC betting is naturally stagnant until an event is live when it explodes, while golf betting really surrounds the majors such as The Open.

Tennis

Retains a huge following, including within the sports betting world and in fact along with football is the most streamed sport on sports betting platforms. Once again, it reaches a peak when Wimbledon is on, along with the other three Grand Slam tournaments. Backing a specific score, i.e, 3-1 to Murray, is usually the way punters go.

Rugby

Betting is also relatively quiet until the weekend, and peaks during the World Cup and of course each year when the Six Nations is played. Here, unlike in football, betting surrounds the handicap with the perceived stronger team given a points disadvantage in the betting.

Snooker

A uniquely British sports betting activity, snooker betting retains a big following, and most action occurs during the annual World Championships. Given that most of the successful players come from the UK, there are always opportunities for bets. Go for broke and bet on a 147!

Boxing

Boxing betting always attracts betting attention, especially if there are big heavyweight battles involving British fighters. Here the betting revolves around an outright winner as well as the method of victory.

Darts

As a spectator sport, darts have come a long way, and this has been partly down to a concerted push by sports channels televising key events, which in turn has brought darts out of the stone age. Interest continues to grow, and darts betting is a rapidly growing area of sports betting, not least because, as a sport, it works perfectly in the in-play live betting market.

Betting Odds

So often the most crucial thing about betting is lost among all the fancy adverts, bonuses and promotions; the odds.

When compiling odds, bookmakers take many things into consideration. From comparing other bookmakers’ odds to previous form and results, player injuries, weather and other factors.

The odds set are then a supposed representation of the chances a specific outcome has of coming true and it’s up to us and you to determine whether or not they are accurate. If you think a horse should be 2/1 favourite and it is priced up at 3/1 for example, that would definitely be a good value bet.

While fractional odds are by far and away the most popular in the UK, betting on American sports will lead to a different layout and betting on horse racing in France or Australia for example may require decimal odds. Here are the three main types to get used to:

Fractional Odds

for example 7/2. Divide the first number by the second to get your price, in this case 3.5 to 1. This means a £10 bet at these odds would return £35, plus the £10 stake.

Decimal Odds

the same odds as above in a decimal format would read 4.50, as this takes the basic stake into account. A 10/1 shot would therefore be displayed as 11.00.

American Odds

known as ‘Moneyline Odds’, they work differently for favourites and underdogs. For the former, the prices work by showing the amount you would need to bet to win £100, while for the latter, the positive number shows the potential win for risking £100.

In-Play Betting

In-play betting is ever increasing in popularity. In-play, or in the case of horse racing ‘in-running’ betting, is helping those who don’t have a huge amount of knowledge of a particular sport to make more accurate choices. It also helps people to simply enjoy their live sport viewing even more by placing a small bet.

Bettors can now worry less about doing their research on teams, players and horses and can bet without in-depth knowledge of form or history.
Instead, it is possible to wait until an event gets underway, see the pattern of it and decide which way it appears the event is going, i.e., when a football team makes a great start and is playing up to the atmosphere in the stadium. At that point, the customer can place a live, in-play bet at whatever odds are shown at the time.

For our part we check on the choice of in-play bets a bookmaker offers, what sports they offer them on, their timing and accuracy, whether those odds are truly up to the second, whether they are good value compared to other live odds offered elsewhere and also their volatility.

Some bookmakers are a little quick on the trigger, suspending all betting when a football team so much as reaches the penalty box which is frustrating for live backers, while others offer an excellent live betting platform that enhances the enjoyment of a game.

Online Bookmakers with Live Streaming

Live streaming is becoming one of the most important factors customers look at when deciding on whether or not to join a bookmaker.

Streaming is usually offered these days in high quality with commentary. The best bookmakers in the business all offer streaming on a number of sports, most notably horse racing, football and tennis, with the service available in the same quality via their apps and mobile sites which we love.

Some bookmakers offer a bigger live streaming library than others, and it’s always important to note that some come with charges. Those charges can take different forms, from requiring the watcher to place a £1 bet on a horse race in order to watch it, to simply having a funded account with a positive real-money balance.

Among others, these are the major bookmaking brands offering some of the best live streaming in the industry:

bet365

one of the best all-round bookmakers in the business also has arguably the best live streaming offering. bet365 streams more than 200,000 live events every year including FA Cup football games, all major tennis tournaments and every single British and Irish horse race every day.

William Hill

one of the oldest bookies around has a strong, modern online platform. That includes a good streaming service with more than 60,000 events shown. While the overall number is lower than bet365, it does cover a very wide range of sports meaning there is something for everyone.

Ladbrokes Coral

no matter which of the two sister brands you choose, you’ll get a similar streaming experience. As traditional bookies their focus is on horse racing and football so in that regard, you’ll find a similar expanse of events to bet365, while in total they each stream around 100,000 sporting events per year live with full betting markets available on all of them.

Betfair

as part of their overall revolution of betting, Betfair offers a good live streaming platform with thousands of events available to bet on as you watch live.

Sports Betting Software Providers

It’s well known that online casino games are actually provided to casino brands by a bunch of specialist games developers. The likes of NetEnt, Evolution and

Yggdrasil are known and appreciated by players of slots and virtual table games for example.

What many don’t know is that a lot of sports betting software is also provided to bookmakers by similar development firms.

Gambling software providers are responsible for providing flexible, modular sportsbook solutions to horse racing betting sites, online bookmakers and the like. These companies develop systems that can be tailored to the brand in question, offering odds compiling, event selection, risk management and cash out features etc.

Some of the better-known sports betting software providers are:

NSoft

As well as providing technology for betting terminals within land-based bookmaking establishments, NSoft also develops pre-match and in-play betting software with a wide range of betting options for online bookmakers.

Their sportsbook services are developed to meet an ever-increasing standard within the online sports betting niche. Using stats and data from partner Betradar, NSoft brings together cutting-edge technology to offer a betting platform that allows a bookmaking brand to offer a great all-round service to their customers with odds compiling an option should the firm in question not always wish to use traders.

GammaStack

GammaStack labels itself as a one-stop solution. They have a team of professionals on hand to develop sports betting platforms that come with various features, ready for an online sports betting brand to use.

Sports betting clients are empowered by GammaStack to offer a quick, easy to use betting platform with a friendly interface. GammaStack’s sports betting solutions are built to be used by experienced gamblers and newbies alike, so can be integrated to the major bookmaking platforms which try to cater for all.

SoftGamings

Well-known developer SoftGamings offers online bookmakers three ways to integrate their sportsbook solutions, all of which run in the background with the punter simply seeing the bookmaker’s logo and odds.

Bookies choose from White Label, Turnkey and Self-Service options but to the punter, all we see is the fact that many sports, odds and in-play options are listed with a betslip integrated for us to be able to place our wagers.

FAQ

Just like in a betting shop or casino. The bettor and the betting site agree on a bet. The bettor bets on whether something will or won’t happen in a sporting event, such as a football team winning. Odds are the perceived chances of the bet winning; if the bet is successful, the bettor is paid out accordingly.

This depends on your bet type and what odds are offered at the time. Some sites offer great bonuses, others don’t. Major firms such as bet365, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and Betfair have great features but it is always best to shop around according to your own needs.

Events differ, so always shop around. On average, BetVictor, bet365, Betfair, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Betway and Marathonbet are proven to have the highest odds on average.

Odds compilers and traders assess each event and come up with odds accordingly. Sports betting sites can also use software developers to make systems that calculate online sports betting odds automatically.

There is no set formula, but always do your homework on the teams involved and make sure you get good value as betting on football favourites doesn’t always mean you will win.

All major online bookmakers have horse racing markets. Head to the horse racing section, take a look at each race and click on the odds offered to place your bet (horse) into the betslip.

The best offers are those that aren’t expensive. Sometimes £20 in free bets may be offered, but you may have to wager many times that to receive the bonus. The best offers are 100% matched bonuses, so a £50 deposit would mean a £50 bonus too.

We review bookmakers based on reputation, their support, security, banking options, betting markets/odds, their mobile offering and their extra features.

All major online bookmakers accept major debit cards, while many also accept eWallets such as Paypal, Neteller and Skrill. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also increasingly popular.

Each individual bet has to have value, but horse racing offers the biggest realistic betting odds. If you know how to read the form, winners at 10/1, 20/1 etc are realistic to come by which you generally can’t get if you bet on football games, tennis or rugby for example.

If they are licenced by the Gambling Commission, yes. But our reviews help you to understand which individual brands are the safest to bet with.

The first thing is to contact the bookmaker’s complaints or customer service department. If a disagreement remains ongoing you can contact IBAS, the Independent Betting Adjudication Service with whom you can raise a dispute.