Best Betting Sites UK 2023: Top New Online Bookmakers
We have developed a rating system to evaluate all legal UK betting sites to provide an objective assessment of online sportsbooks. There are nine criteria to consider: the number of events and markets, mobile apps, streaming, new customer bonuses, existing customer offers, sign-up and support service quality, legal information presentation, and ease of navigation. We assessed all the licensed bookies for each parameter and then calculated the average value, which is an objective evaluation of the betting service.
We do not limit ourselves to numbers and describe the offers of the best betting platforms in detail. This page also includes niche ratings (best betting sites for football, horse racing, tennis, etc.).
Let's find out which UK sports betting sites are worthy of your attention.
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List of Online Bookmakers for September 2023
Other legal bookmakers
The position of the bookmaker in this list is determined on a commercial basis. The ratings on Match.Center are compiled as honestly and objectively as possible, so we indicate "Not for sale" to make it clear which are based on merit.
This page contains the best bookmakers chosen by us based on the experience of our Match.Center authors. We are a global project. We evaluate the legal betting businesses of various countries based on best practices . We take into account all the finer details including how they adhere to legislation as well as their day to day business practices. The evaluation criteria doesn’t change regardless of whether a betting company is our partner or not.
Best Betting Sites Free Bets for September 2023
Keep in mind that gambling operators, including online gambling sites and online sports betting sites, are not allowed to accept credit cards as a deposit method. Make sure you read the welcome offer terms and conditions carefully, as using your preferred deposit method may mean you won't qualify for a Free bet or bonus. Look for sections "deposit method restrictions apply" or "payment method exclusions apply".
Best UK Online Bookmakers by Category
Bet365 | |
Parimatch | |
William Hill | |
Sky Bet | |
Betway | |
Betfair | |
Quinnbet | |
Virgin Bet | |
Spreadex | |
VBET | |
Ladbrokes | |
William Hill | |
Parimatch |
15 Best Betting Sites Review
A leader in streaming among online bookmakers, Bet365, offers bets on more than 30 sports, political and cultural events and has a strong fantasy platform. There are around 120 football tournaments, and the range of sports betting markets for the most popular games is up to 1700.
As for horse racing, Bet365 offers bets on races on all inhabited continents, as well as bonuses. Also, this online betting site has the widest range of Esports markets of any legal betting site in the UK.
At Bet365, the minimum deposit is £5, which is rare. That said, you can get an excellent 500% welcome bonus even for such a deposit.
Welcome offer | Wagering requirements | Minimum deposit | Minimum odds to wager | Payment methods |
500% on First Deposit Up to £50 in Free Bets | x3 | £5 | 1/2 | Debit cards Visa/Mastercard |
William Hill is the UK benchmark in football, horse racing, cricket, golf and other favourite British pastimes. The range of sports betting markets for some top football matches is astonishing, with around 700-850 markets giving a total of more than 2000 betting options. With Bet Builder, you can make any combination you like, so the lack of the Request a Bet function is unnoticeable. For Bet Builder combinations, there is one bonus per day to choose from: a risk-free bet or odds boosts. A great addition to the regular price boosts truly "EPIC odds".
There are horse racing events from the UK to South Africa and from Japan to Chile. For most of them, there is live streaming: many streams are available for free, and some even without registration. Bonuses (BOG and Enhanced odds) are available mainly for UK and Irish races, although Extra Places can be for any event.
Welcome offer | Wagering requirements | Minimum deposit | Minimum odds to wager | Payment methods |
Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets | No | £10 | 1/2 | Debit cards Visa/Mastercard |
As Sky Bet has not yet entered the global market, it focuses primarily on customers in the UK and Ireland. Sky Bet is mainly devoted to football and horse racing. There are price boosts for the English leagues and the top divisions. Of the other sports, regular bonuses are also awarded for darts and cricket. Currently, the NBA is the only non-British sport with a great betting offer at Sky Bet, and there are free streams and niche bonuses available there as well.
There are around 1200 options to choose from for top matches, so Bet Builder fans have plenty to get excited about. You can also request your own combination on the site or via Twitter.
Sky Bet accepts a £5 deposit, which is enough for a £30 welcome bonus. For existing customers, there's the best Free bet club on the market.
Welcome offer | Wagering requirements | Minimum deposit | Minimum odds to wager | Payment methods |
£30 in Free Bets When You Place Any Bet | No | £5 | No | Debit cards Visa/Mastercard |
How We Evaluate Betting Sites
We have developed a rating system where we evaluate all legal online sports betting sites in the UK according to nine criteria and provide an overall score. Please read more on the How We Evaluate page.
How do we process the information, and what do we look for?
Licence and Security
Only UK online betting sites officially licensed by the UK Gambling Commission can be a part of our rating. We check if a licence is valid on the UKGC website. We also pay attention to the availability of licensing information.
We do not work with illegal enterprises and frauds. Personal data processing rules, responsible gambling policies, and other official documents of a bookmaker are evaluated for your safety before rating.
Variety of Sports, Markets & Bets
Betting sites also get a rate for the markets they offer. There are 3 criteria that help evaluate this:
The next step after the margin evaluation is assessing the UK sports betting sites based on what odds they offer.
Odds
We take margin into account when we evaluate betting odds. The margin determines a bookmaker’s fee. If the margin is low, the odds are more attractive for the customers.
Every UK online betting site has markets with low, medium, or high odds. This depends on the level of a tournament, the popularity of a market, and the possibility of finding enough information to make the right prediction.
Usually, sporting events with high margins are not good for customers. But at the same time, it may mean that the bookmaker has very little information about this niche sports event. In other words, punters can dig deep to find useful information, which could help them make better predictions. You need to choose what level of risk fits you more.
Betting Offers
We rate online bookmakers’ special offers separately for welcome bonuses and rewards that are aimed at existing customers. Among the Welcome bonuses we highly appreciate rare non-deposit offers. Offers for current users are rated with a focus on loyalty programs, reload bonuses, active contests and other promotions.
Payment & Withdrawal Options
The main criterion in this case is the number of available deposit and withdrawal methods. Good online sports betting sites in the UK have many options, so their customers can pick the one they like most.
Of course, most UK customers use just a couple of payment methods. So, the fact that a bookmaker integrates many payment methods shows that the company cares about its clients. So, UK betting sites with a wide range of payment methods have an advantage.
Customer Service
Every client may face issues with a bookmaker someday. In this case, the way the customer support service works is very important.
Our experts examined how this service operates at each company listed in our rating. They asked a few questions and rated the UK’s online betting sites based on how fast and well-qualified the managers responded.
Extra points were granted to UK betting sites that provide many methods of contacting the customer support service. Email, a phone number, and a live chat are available on the website and in the app.
Mobile Apps
A Betting.co.uk report says that over 50% of UK customers gamble using mobile devices. To make our rating, we analysed the apps that betting sites in the UK provide for smartphones and tablets.
For a better rating, an online bookmaker should provide apps for both Android and iOS devices. Any other software is not counted, as it’s not really widespread. StatCounter reports that Android has 48.9% of the British mobile market and iOS has 50.55%. A bookmaker gets equal points for offering both apps.
Site Functionality
A decent bookmaker should have an attractive and convenient website. We list betting sites in our rating based on the following criteria:
A separate mobile version is counted, too. If a bookmaker doesn’t provide good service to smartphone and tablet users, the company gets a lower rating.
Live Betting & Streaming
Live betting is attractive because it allows you to see what exactly is happening on the field before betting on a team or a player. Today, almost every UK betting site offers a live betting service. We rate online betting sites based on the variety of betting markets they offer.
Streaming demands quite a large financial investment as good technological platforms and broadcasting rights are needed. If all the features for live betting are available, that means that the UK betting site cares about its customers' betting experience.
Extra points are given to online sports betting sites that offer a schedule of upcoming sporting events, a feature to add your favourite sports events to a special list, and other interesting options.
New Betting Sites: How to Make a Choice
To be honest, bookmakers like Bet365 and William Hill are extremely hard to beat. The betting giants put huge resources into their products. Quality coverage with hundreds of leagues, live streaming, and bonuses for new and registered customers all require a lot of resources that new online betting sites don't have.
New betting sites that haven't started until 2019 can't compete on par with the best online bookmakers in every aspect of the betting product, but they can offer something:
No one is forcing you to leave Betfair if that platform suits you, but you can get a welcome bonus from new bookmakers like STSBet or Parimatch.
Another reason to sign up with new betting sites is the restriction on limits for sports bettors with a positive balance. Online bookmakers limit the maximum amount for those who win to cut their own losses. You (and we) may not like it, but business is business. Even the best online bookmakers do this. In such cases, you must look for a new betting site, which is highly likely to restrict account usage after a while too.
Whatever your reasons for paying attention to new betting sites, in 2023 we suggest you start with the following top ten:
Football Betting Sites
Football is a field for betting innovation. No one is surprised by the wide range of betting markets these days. Even mediocre online bookmakers offer football bets on hundreds of tournaments in dozens of countries. The competition is in the technical field. Until recently, Bet Builder (the ability to create a combination of the markets of a single match) was advertised as "know-how", but now it has become commonplace.
In 2023, advanced online bookmakers will allow you to create combinations from Bet Builder bets and even offer to request your own bet via support and social media. We'd like to see more football betting sites with deep statistics and wide streaming coverage.
Here are our picks of the best UK betting sites for football and why we chose them.
We present our top online bookmakers:
Horse Racing Betting Sites
Betting on horse racing is a truly popular pastime for Brits. More than five million people attend the event each year, with even more betting online. It is difficult for a bookmaker to survive in the UK if they do not offer a great horse racing product.
Horse racing betting is attractive because it is available almost 24 hours a day. During the day, you can bet all day long on plenty of races in the UK, Ireland and France. If you can't sleep at night, you can bet on races in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and other countries. But you can only do that on the best betting sites with great coverage.
We have picked the best UK horse racing betting sites for you where you can place bets almost anytime with regular bonuses and watch live streams of races.
Tennis Betting Sites
Tennis tournaments are held all year round with a short break at the end of December. This makes it a great sport to bet on, and it's almost impossible to find a bookmaker who doesn't offer tennis betting. The best betting sites offer a large number of tournaments up to UTR, with a range of sports betting markets for top matches up to 1000 markets. The variety of tennis bets is there almost every day, but where is the best one?
We have highlighted the top best betting sites for tennis:
Golf Betting Sites
Golf is so popular that some football players even favour it over their main sport (yes, yes, Gareth Bale, that's you). Bookmakers are aware of this too, and are looking to expand their golf betting coverage: trying Extra Places, like in horse racing, and even Free bet bonuses specifically for golf betting.
Here are our best UK betting sites for golf betting:
Cricket Betting Sites
Cricket is the second most watched sport in the world after football, and UK bookmakers offer a variety of betting options. In this sport, a single match can stretch over five days and betting is a great way to whet your interest. The best betting sites give you a chance to bet on cricket in the pre-match and live on games of different levels.
Here are our best betting sites for cricket betting:
F1 Betting Sites
Formula 1 betting is gaining traction among bookmakers. We will tell you about the features of the best online betting sites for Formula 1 betting. Traditionally the Formula 1 season starts at the end of March and ends at the end of November. During this period more than 20 races take place in different parts of the world.
Here are thebest UK bookmakers for Formula 1 betting:
Esports Betting Sites
Esports has been around for almost as long as online betting, but the bookmakers have only recently started to develop this fascinating trend. The best betting sites now offer more markets for League of Legends, Dota 2 and CS:GO than for basketball and tennis. On top matches, there is a choice of Over/Under and handicaps. You can also bet on different game events (Baron's kill, whether a rapier will be collected, whether there will be a knife frag and more) or players' stats. The range of events and markets for Overwatch, Valorant, Rainbow Six, Rocket League, FIFA and many other disciplines is expanded. Your favourite game can become your main betting option, but only if you're dealing with decent betting sites.
Betway Bonus: Get £10 in Free Bets
Live Betting Sites
In-Play betting gives bettors the widest possible range of options to choose from, as well as more excitement and, many believe, chances to beat the bookmaker. Of special interest are, for example, quick bets on what happens in the next 5 minutes: a free kick is given, a goal kick, a goal scored or no goal will be scored in the game, and a booking. This format is accompanied by streaming right on the bookmaker's website.
The leaders in the field of In Play betting have not only a wide selection of events, but also provide a quick change of odds without freezing, as well as numerous live streams for registered users.
Here are the best betting sites for live betting:
Cash out Betting Sites
Cash out is an opportunity to buy your bet back before the end of the event. Thus, you can insure yourself if you change your mind and no longer believe in the team’s victory, or if you are in a hurry to get at least some winnings.
It is important to remember that the bookmaker significantly reduces the settlement odds for a cash out option. Immediately after the start of the match, you will only be able to Cash out a part of your bet. You can also Cash out with a profit. For example, if a team is leading 3-1 in the 85th minute of a football match, there is a good chance of them winning. You can Cash out the bet with a profit, but it will always be less than the payout from the bet settlement.
The bet settlement with cash out requested is tied to in-play bets: in fact, it is based on the current odds with a certain penalty. As a rule, if a bookmaker has a good Live service, Cash out opportunities are wider.
More than 70 legal online bookmakers (excluding white labels) support cash out, but not all have several types of this feature and offer a wide range of betting markets with Cash out available.
Unsurprisingly, our top betting sites include only older bookmakers.
Best Betting Apps
Most online bookmakers provide Android and iPhone apps along with the mobile version of the website. As a rule, a betting app has the same functions and looks the same as a desktop version. So choosing an app is first and foremost choosing a bookmaker with good service. To find out which online bookies are worth your attention, check out our selection with pros and cons, reviews, and tops by sport.
However, you can get access to everything you need faster and easier. Additional security options are provided.
The main advantages of a good app are convenient navigation, simple and fast betting features, a statistics section and live streaming. Some online betting sites UK provide the bettors that are registered in an app with additional bonuses.
Quite a few people choose a sports betting site based on the company’s app. However, betting experiences aren't solely determined by the app.
Here are our top 3 betting sites UK with the best mobile apps and features.

Bet365 - 500% on First Deposit Up to £50 in Free Bets
With this app, you'll have the best streaming platform in the world on your phone, and of course, there's plenty to bet on. You can download the mobile software for Android (OS version 8.0 or higher) and iOS from the official app stores.

Ladbrokes - Bet £5 Get £20 in Free Bets
In some ways, the Ladbrokes betting app is even more convenient than the desktop sports betting service: the arrangement of elements on the small screen looks natural, and there is no empty unused space. In any case, the functionality of this top bookmaker is worth trying out, so you can download mobile apps from Google Play or App Store and enjoy comfortable betting.

Virgin Bet - Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets
Even with advertising banners, the Virgin Bet betting app looks much more simple than mobile software from other bookmakers. The laconic design, contrasting text and convenient navigation all make for an attractive mobile app that you want to bet on.
UK Based Bookmakers
For the current generation of bettors, it is not so important where the bookmaker is from. In the online era, most punters prefer to bet online. The most important thing is that the sports betting site is licensed.
All the betting giants settled on the Internet a long time ago, some of them almost immediately. Bet365 was founded in 2000 by Denise Coates, daughter of Peter Coates who owned a network of online sports betting sites in the UK. The company moved into the online sector the very next year and is setting trends for all competitors. New online bookies like ThePools start online right away.
But some online sports betting sites UK continue to accept bets offline as well. Founded in 1934, William Hill is one of the oldest players in the betting market. The bookmaker has a large network of betting shops all over the UK. However, William Hill launched its website back in 1998. Tradition is tradition.
More than half of online bookmakers with licences from the UK Gambling Commission are based in the United Kingdom, so here we will highlight the best.
Betting Offers Available at UK Bookies
Due to the fierce competition in the betting segment, bookmakers offer a variety of bonuses to entice customers. Here are the main types of bonuses offered by UK bookmakers.
Bet and Get
The most common type of bonus is the bonus for activity. These can be Free bets for a certain bet amount or for betting on a certain sport. Such bonuses are usually small and have simple wagering conditions. This is often referred to as a welcome bonus.
Bet and Get is the most popular bonus of UK bookmakers. It is particularly available at Ladbrokes, NetBet, and Parimatch.
Deposit Bonus
Most betting sites UK offer a deposit bonus as a welcome offer for new customers, but sometimes there are also reload bonuses for existing users. Depending on the bookmaker, the % of the bonus to your deposit varies from 50% to 100%. The deposit bonus traditionally needs to be wagered before it can be withdrawn
Dr Bet, 10bet and Fansbet offer first deposit bonuses.
Risk-free bets
Some online bookmakers UK offer insurance for your bet. If it loses, you will get a Free bet. However, you should understand that you will not be able to withdraw the Free bet right away - you need to place a bet and win. The refund of the losing bet in cash is a rarity, but it happens. Of course, it is better than Free bet. The amount of Free bets as insurance usually does not exceed £20.
Risk-free bets are offered by Quinnbet, Avabet and Lottoland.
No deposit bonus
An extremely rare type of promotion. The bookmaker rewards the bettor for registering on the site or in the app, without requiring a deposit. For some promotions, you have to subscribe to the newsletter and social networks. Others require you to download the app and register for it.
Right now, no UK bookmaker offers a no deposit bonus for registration. However, Sky Bet has an "almost no deposit bonus": for a 5p bet, you'll get £30 Free bets (for deposits of £5 or more).
Free-to-Play Games
To earn bonuses, active users can participate in special contests with free entrees. Under the Ladbrokes "1-2-Free" promotion, you need to guess the correct score of three selected matches listed on the promo page. The reward is a Free bet of up to £100. Coral has a similar promotion, the "Football Super Series", with £50 cash and £1 and £2 Free bets. You have to guess the stats of the four matches listed on the promotion page.
Livescore Bet ("Squads") and Virgin Bet ("Virgin FIVES") have free promotions. The conditions of these promotions are the same: you reveal five players who score points with real actions in the specified matches. For every goal scored by a revealed player, you will receive a cash bonus. The cash bonus amount is determined by the spinning prize wheel: you can get from £0.10 to £50.
Free bet clubs
Free bet clubs are regular promotions, usually weekly or daily, when the bookmaker provides Free bets depending on the bets turnover. The size of one bonus for such offers is small - from £1 to £10. However, the reward can be obtained many times - every day, week or month.
Regular users can take advantage of the Free Bet Club at Quinnbet, Betway and Sky Bet.
Cashback
Cashback can be confused with Free Bet Club: the conditions and prizes are similar. But there is an important difference. The basis for calculating the cashback is your losses. The more you lose during a week or month, the more the cashback will be. Depending on the terms of the loyalty program, it may be a Free bet or a refund to your account. But it will always be a refund of a part of the money you have already lost to the bookmaker.
UK betting sites "thank" the participants of the Free Bet Club not for the losses, but for the activity: it only matters how much money you have bet. This is the advantageous feature of Free bet clubs compared to cashback: you can get both winnings from bets and a bonus.
Odds Boost, Acca Boost and System Boost
For loyal customers, there are bonuses to increase the odds in single bets and accumulators. For example, if you add at least five selections in an accumulator, an extra multiplier of 1.10 will be applied to the bet, which means that the odds of the entire accumulator will increase. Sometimes the enhanced odds are also available for systems.
Enhanced odds for single bets and accumulators are offered by Bet365, Paddy Power and Coral.
Payment Methods Available At Best Betting Sites
Online bookmakers offer a large selection of deposit methods: via debit cards, e-wallets, transfers from a bank account, as well as cash at land-based payment outlets. Here are the most common payment methods on UK betting sites.

Debit Card
The most popular deposit method is bank cards. UK betting sites accept Mastercard and Visa debit cards. Support for the cards issued by other payment systems is rare. Some betting sites do not accept cards issued outside the UK.
All online bookmakers accept card deposits. The only difference is the minimum deposit amount. At Bet365, William Hill, Unibet and some others, the minimum deposit amount is £5, but 32red, Copybet and some other online bookies allow you to deposit at least £10 by card.

Apple Pay
A payment system from Apple Corporation. Supported by most iPhones and other Apple devices. It increases the security of offline transactions and allows you to quickly make payments into online betting accounts from your Mastercard, American Express or Visa debit card online without entering your card details.
Bet365, William Hill, Coral and other best online betting sites UK accept deposits of at least £5 through Apple Pay. But UK online betting websites are free to set other deposit limits.

Google Pay
An electronic payment system created by Google and aimed at Android mobile device owners. It supports payments in conventional and online retail outlets. Two-factor authorisation is used to secure transactions.
Only some betting sites UK accept deposits via Google Pay. In particular, Bet365, Sky Bet and Ladbrokes support this payment system. In all three betting companies, the minimum deposit is just £5.

PayPal
PayPal is a giant in online payments. It operates in more than 200 countries and is among the most popular payment methods for UK betting sites, along with Mastercard and Visa debit cards. It is in demand among UK betting enthusiasts, and there are plenty of legal betting sites that support deposits via PayPal.
The betting companies accepting deposits via PayPal:
Other betting sites may have different minimum PayPal deposit amounts.

Skrill
An e-wallet with a high degree of protection and security. Supported by many UK betting sites. Before making a deposit from your Skrill wallet, its balance must be topped up with another payment system.
Please note: at most betting sites, users who deposit via Skrill are not allowed to participate in promotions. Be sure to clarify this point if you intend to use a bonus.
Deposits via Skrill are accepted by Betfred, 32red, Boylesports, Leovegas and other betting sites UK. The minimum deposit amount is usually £5, but at 32red and a few other online bookmakers, it's from £10.

Neteller
The payment system is supported by almost all UK betting sites. You must first top up your Neteller wallet by any convenient means, and only then use it to make a deposit into your betting account. You actually do double work: you deposit Neteller first and then the bookmaker's account. However, if there is already money in the Neteller wallet or you do not want to make the card details public, this method can be used.
You can deposit via Neteller at William Hill (from £10), Paddy Power (from £5), 32red (from £10) and many other best sports betting sites.

Paysafecard
The largest issuer of prepaid cards. They are available in supermarkets and shops everywhere in the UK. On the betting site, all you have to do is enter a 16-digit top-up code. Paysafecard has one serious disadvantage - it is not suitable for withdrawals.
Usually, you can make a deposit of at least £5 through paysafecard. Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and the most popular betting sites UK have such terms and conditions. But 32red and some other companies have a slightly higher minimum deposit through paysafecard, starting at £10.

Trustly
Trustly is a system that allows you to pay for purchases from your bank account without using cards or apps. It was established in 2008 and now provides services to TransferWise, PayPal and other companies. In order to make a deposit through Trustly, the system needs to be supported by both the betting site and the customer's online bank.
LeoVegas, William Hill and some other betting sites have the logo on their sites, but only people from certain countries are allowed to deposit via Trustly. The UK is not one of them.

Boku
A fast payment service from a mobile phone account. Eliminates the need for a card or e-wallet to make a deposit. In the UK, Boku is available to EE, Vodafone and O2 customers.
Boke's service is not very popular. We found this method only at NetBet and Boylesports.

Bank Transfer
A bank transfer is the classic method of payment. The money is transferred between the bettor's and the bookmaker's accounts via online banking or a branch of a financial institution. The money is credited within 3-5 days.
With William Hill, a bank transfer can be made from £25 and with Paddy Power from £5. It is important to highlight two points. Firstly, not all betting sites support this method. For example, PokerStars Sports pays winnings by bank transfer, but does not accept deposits by bank transfer.
Best Betting Sites Features Comparison
Most betting sites will have adapted Cash Out and Bet Builder functions by 2023. This is no longer news. But there are features that are still unique or at least unusual, and we will observe if the market will welcome them.
Bookmaker | Fixed odds betting (Live and Pre-match) | Exchange | Fantasy Sports | Spread Betting | Request a bet | Bet Builder | Cash out | Selling tips platform |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bet365 | X | X | X | X | ||||
Betfair | X | X | X | X | ||||
BETDAQ | X | X | X | X | ||||
Ladbrokes | X | X | X | X | ||||
Sky Bet | X | X | X | X | ||||
FanTeam | X | X | X | X | X | |||
Paddy Power | X | X | X | |||||
Spreadex | X | X | X | X | ||||
Sporting Index | X | X | X | X | X | |||
CopyBet | X | X | X | X | X |
Let us briefly describe the possibilities of betting sites:
Safe Betting Sites — What to Look Out for?
Security is key for websites that process users' personal and financial data, including betting sites. Three aspects are important for a good experience from registration to withdrawal of winnings:
How do you evaluate how much effort a bookmaker puts into this? It is difficult to do that in advance. Circumstantial signs are important and this is what we are looking at.
Licence
Match.Center only provides information about legal UK bookmakers. The UKGC has proven to be a strict regulator, who does not shy away from issuing multi-million dollar fines to big companies, and that's a good thing because the price of negligence for a bookmaker is very high.
The licence is a sign to us that the betting company has paid millions just with the intention of entering the UK market. Presumably, the bookmaker has no plans to lose it. With that in mind, we can expect the company to behave gentlemanly when dealing with a user who withdraws their £300 winnings.
In the footer of a legal betting site, there is always information about the company's licence and clickable links to the regulator's website.
Detailed rules
In the Match.Center ratings, we separately assess the presentation of legal info on the betting site. This is boring, but very important. If the rules are detailed, this shows that the legal and security teams are very experienced. If they are explained in a clear way, it is also an indication that they are attentive to users - because the rules are written for us.
The best betting sites will have many different documents in the public domain: general terms of operation, privacy policy, rules for settling bets by sport, general rules for promotions and rules for crediting each specific bonus, responsible gaming policy, etc. And that's the minimum list.
If something is not stated properly, it means that the bookmaker either doesn't have enough experience, doesn't have the money to pay lawyers, or doesn't declare publicly how they solve certain issues. These are all red flags. That's why we like reading the rules so much.
Payment methods
The legal website will certainly ask for your details as part of the KYC process. But whether or not to hand over your debit card information is something you can decide for yourself. So the choice of payment method is one of the few procedures where you can influence the security of the betting site. (Also, never write down passwords on a piece of paper!)
Above we have described safe ways to deposit your betting accounts, such as Paypal or paysafecard. If the bookmaker accepts them, it is good for security.
Furthermore, merchants who accept these payment methods are verified by, for example, PayPal when they connect.
What we ignore
And there are two things we do NOT look at. Many other sites will assure you that they give it top priority. It would be curious to see how they rate it - because we at Match.Center find it almost impossible to do so objectively.
Reputation. Firstly, the bookmaker's marketing efforts are hard to separate from the facts here. Secondly, the bookmaker's reputation won't help if it is you who will be subject to a lengthy security check. But the meticulously written rules, which exhaustively describe the process and requirements, are very helpful.
Reviews. As with other online services, reviews of bookmakers are most often written by unsatisfied users. If everything works as you expect, you're just taking advantage of it. After seeing only negative reviews (which is understandable), some betting websites start praising themselves, publishing hundreds of purchased reviews. Then the objective picture is completely distorted. This is why we don't rate reviews. Perhaps the situation will change if we at Match.Center start collecting, verifying and publishing reviews ourselves.
How To Sign Up At Betting Sites
According to UK law, only people over 18 can register with a bookmaker. If you are an adult citizen, you should have no problems with registration. When creating an account with a UK bookmaker, the customer must provide the following details:
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to create a betting account:

Homepage. Paddy Power

Account Details. Part 1. Paddy Power

Account Details. Part 2. Paddy Power

Your Details. Part 1. Paddy Power

Your Details. Part 2. Paddy Power
How To Place A Bet At Online Bookmakers
After registering on the website, you can start betting straight away. Log in, make a deposit and then go ahead:

Homepage. Paddy Power

Select a sport. Paddy Power

Choose a market. Paddy Power

Enter the bet amount and press "Place Bet". Paddy Power
How To Get the Most Out Of Sports Betting
Sports betting is a gambling hobby, but as with other intellectual activities, it is much more enjoyable to bet knowing that you fully understand the subject and are doing everything (or almost everything) right. Let's dispel the most popular myths among beginners: how to choose a bookmaker, whether to pay attention to bonuses and what really matters, whether to get carried away with accumulator bets and how to control your bankroll.
Choosing a bookmaker
We evaluated more than 70 original bookmakers for our rating. Among those who received the highest scores are:
These are all giant companies and pillars of the UK sports betting market. And from this list, you can see that most people choose a UK sports betting site based on brand strength and popularity.
But there are a number of other criteria that are good to consider:
Bookmaker’s promotions
For many people, the key factor in choosing a sports betting site is the availability of a good welcome bonus. For example, a Free bet for the first real money bet.
And yes, bonuses are nice. It's pleasant to bet with the bookmaker's money, and win, too.
But be careful: it's always important to understand what's "under the bonnet" of the promotion before you sign up. To illustrate, consider the following two promotions that appear to be identical at first glance. In fact, they are very, very different.
Does everybody like accumulator bets? No
At first glance, an Acca (or Parlay) seems to be a good deal for the bettor. You can put a number of events together in one bet and increase your bankroll by several times. However, at a distance, Acca bets are more profitable for the betting site than for the punter. The main reason for this is the bookmaker's margin.
Margin is the commission that is put into each betting market. The betting site takes this 2-10% from every bet won, at a distance of 90-98% instead of 100% of the fees collected. It doesn't matter to the company whether the client wins or loses now. Every odds already has a profit in it.
And if you place an Acca, you pay that margin multiple times - from every selection you include in the accumulator.
How to manage your bankroll
You will read on every betting website how important it is to manage your budget properly. But what does it mean?
We'll dispense with nerdy terms like "Kelly Criterion" or "Martingale System", especially as these approaches don't work for most people.
Our approach works. The rule is very simple: allocate a specific amount of money within your entertainment budget for sports betting. If you win, great. But if you lose everything you've allocated, that's the end of the story. Wait for next week or month - depending on what period you're planning for. By the way, many betting sites offer a weekly/monthly deposit limit.
Even though betting is an intellectual hobby, it is still a gambling hobby. And in order to control your bankroll, it is important to know how to:
Odds and markets comparison
A good way to find favourable odds is to register on several online betting websites. Very often there are situations where betting sites estimate the probability of the outcome of the same event differently. This means that someone may have higher odds on the same betting markets. It's worth fighting for every 0.01. It may look petty now, but even at the distance of the month you'll feel it if you bet at odds of 1.87 instead of 1.86.
Summary Of UK Betting Sites
We've done everything we can to make sure you choose the betting site that suits your needs best. In the selection, we have presented the best 35 online bookmakers according to our comprehensive rating.
We have prepared 15 reviews of betting sites so that you can get to know more about their functionality and strengths. We have also chosen the best platforms for betting on different sports: Football, Tennis, Horse Racing, Cricket, Esports and Formula 1. We have picked the best betting sites with mobile apps, Cash Out and live betting.
To sum it up, we would like to show you the betting sites that got the highest score in our rating in 6 out of 9 criteria, where high scores are the most difficult to achieve. Here are our top scorers:
Betting Sites FAQs
According to the Match.Center rating, it is Bet365. This bookmaker received the highest score based on 9 criteria. However, it did not get the highest score in every metric, which is one of the reasons to check out other betting sites. Explore our reviews and tops for the bigger picture.
Among the most trusted betting sites are Bet365, Sky Bet, Ladbrokes, Coral and other betting giants trusted by hundreds of thousands of UK customers. To be honest, it's hardly possible to objectively measure the reliability score, so we don't take that into account. Firstly, such a recommendation would be useless if the security team decides to check you specifically, freezing your withdrawal for a couple of weeks. Secondly, let's be honest, it happens on every betting site from time to time.
All licensed UK betting sites are safe, and these are the only sites we write about on Match.Center. Legislation imposes clear requirements on all legal betting sites, and the UKGC strictly enforces them. Legal betting sites support modern encryption protocols to protect data and operate with secure payment methods.
We would call Bar One Racing the best new bookmaker. In our opinion, the best new betting site is more likely to be the one that offers the best welcome bonus. Right now it's Bar One Racing that has the best welcome offer with reasonable conditions — for a £10 qualifying bet you can get £50 Free bets.
More than 70 original betting sites operate online in the UK, as well as numerous white labels — copy sites operating under different names. The number of legal bookmakers is changing, with some coming to the UK and others leaving. We regularly update our list on this page and evaluate newcomers.
According to our estimation, VBet has the best odds. The average margin on football is around 3% there. That's a really awesome figure. The giants like Bet365, William Hill and others offer average conditions.
You should avoid betting sites without a licence where no one protects your rights. We remind you that Match.Center only evaluates services and bonuses of online bookmakers regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. We are for fair business and fair bet settlement.
Most legal betting sites offer Free bets. On this page, we have listed the most attractive bonuses and described the conditions for receiving them. Make sure you read the rules before accepting the offers.