Online Betting in Ireland is Easy!
Find out everything about sports betting in Ireland. Legal bookmakers, independent ratings, and sets of bookmakers based on various criteria. Information about tournaments, matches, and odds. Expert and objective view on online betting — only on Match.Center.
Betting in Ireland
On this page we go into the detail of online sports betting in Ireland. We have evaluated and compiled lists of the top legal bookmakers, providing independent ratings based on the criteria that we think matter the most. Listen to what our experts have to say and consider their objective views to enhance your online gambling experience.
General information about Irish online sports betting – The things you need to know!
A recent 2022 survey by the Health Research Board has been published with the results showing that just under two million Irish citizens (1,900,000 in 2019/20) gambled that year, and the largest spend was on “Placing a bet at a horse or dog race”. Of course we list the best horse race betting sites for you elsewhere on match.center, but you should remember that if you are online betting in Ireland then the bookmakers provide odds on every sport that you can think of though, from all around the world. If you do not like horse racing or dog racing there is a fair chance you will at least want to know best betting site for football.
The licencing situation is a little confusing, with some bookmakers opting to buy a “Remote bookmakers licence” from the Irish Revenue Commisioners whilst others piggyback off their licences elsewhere in Europe to access Ireland as member of the EU.
Regardless of which method they choose, online gambling in Ireland is completely legal and winnings are totally tax free, so long as you are 18+ years of age.
Best Betting Sites in Ireland
Bet365
Bet365 are one of the market leading bookmakers in Ireland and they hold that position for a reason. They have a great well designed website, huge number of sports and markets to bet on, more often than not market leading odds and a huge range of bonuses and promotions for both new and existing customers.
Novibet
Novibet have some great betting odds and a generous new customer Welcome bonus. You can register (or play) via either the desktop version, the dedicated mobile portal or by installing their App onto your mobile device.
Sky Bet
Sky Bet have probably got the best bonuses of all online bookmakers we have reviewed. They can be qualified for with incredibly small first bets and generally speaking Free bets have no expiry dates or other terms and conditions which gives you complete control over them. There is also the quantity of offers to consider, there is a weekly loyalty scheme giving Free bets and Free spins as well as price boosts and cash back offers for existing users almost every day.
William Hill
William Hill have a lot of history behind them and all that experience helps to explain the quality of their site. They have a huge range of payment methods for you to choose from, all with flexible terms, a quality App for betting from your mobile, and a wide range of live streaming to compliment your in-play betting. They have a lot of exciting bonuses and Free bet offers for existing customers as well as a decent Welcome bonus for all new players.
Betfred
Betfred are well known for their bonuses, with the nickname “the bonus king”, and they rarely disappoint. No matter what sport you like to bet on chances are Betfred have a bonus of one form or another. In particular every day horse racing fans can enjoy refunds if your horse comes 2nd and extra place races.
LiveScore Bet
LiveScore Bet are one of the newer online betting sites and they are already making a name for themselves. They provide decent betting odds for 30 sports with a combined number of betting markets in four figures. They have some interesting promotions which reward Acca bets as well as free to play daily games which pay out cash prizes.
Betfair
Betfair have it all, an exchange, a sportsbook, a live casino and, virtual casino and poker room, all accessible from one account. Each area is a quality product in its own right, with the exchange having stand out odds, and the sportsbook providing everyone with a large range of promotions and bonuses when sports betting online. They are financially rock solid, have a large range of supported payment methods and pay withdrawals quickly.
Quinnbet
Quinnbet have a good range of sports including GAA football and GAA hurling! They are packed with bonuses for all sports but focus on football and horse racing. Free plays are Emailed to existing customers almost every week which is a nice way to have an interest in the days racing.
Unibet
Unibet offer sportsbetting, casino, and poker products to over 10 million customers around the world. You can access your account either on a desktop PC or via their mobile App both of which are simple to use and have the full range of Unibet betting features, such as odds boosts, in-play betting and cash out options. They focus on live streaming especially as a value added feature for their account holders and Unibet TV provides one of the largest range of sports streams of all online betting sites.
Betsafe
Betsafe are owned and operated by BLM limited and have a Casino and Poker section but the focus is on sportsbetting. They have a large range of sports and betting markets and it is easy to navigate them, with a handy toggle to list upcoming events between 1 to 12 hours away. There is a blog to provide up to date info and new betting insights which is a nice touch.
BoyleSports
Boylesports have an excellent mobile betting App and it is mobile gaming that they pay most attention to, with the Welcome bonus ONLY available if you join using a mobile device. They stay loyal to their Irish roots and cover Irish sports to a greater degree than many of their UK based competitors. Existing customers are rewarded with regular price boosts and other refunded bet offers.
Best Betting Offers in Ireland
Unfortunately at the time of writing there was not a No deposit Free bet sportsbook for us to add to this list, but we did find plenty of great value Free bets if you are betting online in Ireland credited to accounts either after the first bet is made or has settled. The best online sports betting offers are:
New Bet365 accounts are eligible for the first deposit bonus. You will be awarded a Free bet bonus worth 5x your first settled bet (but no more than €50). You can use the Free bets one at a time , i.e. five €10 bets not one €50 bet. You have 90 days to use the Free bets. There are no minimum odds requirements involved when you place the Free bet but the qualifying bet must have odds greater than 1.2. Any profits derived from the Free bets do not need to be wagered.
When registering, be sure to enter the promo code H30. Bet at least €10 at minimum odds of 1.50. After that, you will be awarded two Free bets of €15 each. You need to bet them in the full amount within 30 days of being received. After using the Free bets, wagering is not required and winnings can be withdrawn.
Sign up and, in the deposit menu, be sure to select ‘Sport Bonus’, to get 100% of your deposit amount (capped at €100). The bonus amount must be wagered 4 times at minimum odds of 1.80. You have 60 days to wager the bonus. If you place several bets on the same event, only 1 bet will go to bonus wagering.
Get a Free bet after your first deposit. Place a bet of at least €15. After that, you will be awarded a €10 Free bet. You have 14 days to use it. There are no specific conditions for bet types and odds. No wagering is required on winnings.
This offer is valid only for new customers. After registration, make a deposit and get a bonus of up to €100 of your deposit amount. To withdraw this amount, you need to wager the bonus amount 9 times. Single bets with minimum odds of 2 or accumulator bets with at least 2 events and minimum odds of 1.40 for each of them are allowed for wagering. You have 2 weeks to complete the wagering.
After registration, select your first deposit bonus from 3 options. To get Free bets deposit at least €20 into your betting account. The maximum amount of Free bets is €50. There is an “Opt-out” option. The Free bet must be used within 7 days.
Place your first bet and get a Free bet. Your first bet stake amount is required to be at least €20. The minimum odds are 1.50. After placing your first bet, regardless of the result, you will be awarded a €20 Free bet. You can use it for any sport and at any odds but it must be within 7 days.
When registering, enter the promo code “First” and get the first deposit bonus of up to €50. 50% of your first deposit will be credited to your betting account. The deposit amount plus the bonus amount are required to be wagered 4 times within 90 days to unlock withdrawals from your account. You can bet on any sports at minimum odds of 1.70.
Get a 100% bonus on top of your first deposit. The minimum first deposit amount is €10, and the maximum bonus amount is €25. The bonus amount needs to be wagered 5 times at minimum odds of 1.50. You can bet on any sports, except for virtual ones and horse racing. System bets do not count. You have 30 day to wager the bonus. Also, after the first deposit, you will be awarded a €10 Free bet. You have 7 days to use it. The conditions for sports and odds are the same.
Pace the first bet of at least €10 on any sport at minimum odds of 2.00 and get 4 €10 Free bets, plus a €20 casino bonus, and 10 free spins in Smoking Hot Fruit Stacks. The minimum odds for Free bets are 1.50, and the maximum odds are 100. You have 7 days to use the Free bets.
Who are we?
Match.Center is a team of betting industry professionals who aim to give readers all the information they need about legal Irish online betting sites. We collate data from many sources, putting it together and refining it into our betting site ratings. Our core values are:
- Responsible gambling. Gambling online should never be seen as a way of making money. Virtually nobody wins online betting in a long run. So please gamble responsibly.
- We follow the industry closely, and note all the changes in promotions, software, websites, etc, to keep you up to date. We will provide you with this information promptly and aim to verify everything from more than just one source.
- We only work with fully licenced and regulated betting sites. This is something that we never compromise on.
- We have unbiased opinions, we are not swayed by any affiliate partnerships that may be in place, our ratings are independently formulated and nobody else controls or can influence them.
We aim to provide a one stop shop when it comes to all your online gambling needs. All the latest information, betting guides, and sporting reviews that you could want, in one place. Our ratings are clear and easy to understand, based on nine published criteria as well as several behind the scenes that have an influence. The final ratings score is derived from the mean average.
Bookmakers Reviews on Match.Center
When we are reviewing and ranking bookmakers we consider many different criteria. The overall ranking will be based on a combination of these and remember there is very unlikely to be a bookmaker who is the best at everything just as there is unlikely to be a bookmaker who is bad at everything. Each individual must decide which bookmaker is right for them based on their own preferences and what they consider to be important.
The main things that we consider are:
The odds
At the end of the day although it is best to always gamble for fun, when your bets win you still obviously want to be winning as much money as possible. It is simply a fact that the better the odds are the more money you win. We look at the average odds using real empirical data but remember that a bookmaker can have the best average odds and never be the best odds available, or the worst average odds and still be the best for the bets that you want to place. Since it is impossible for us to know what bets you will be placing rating a site based on the average odds is a decent place to start.
Range of Sports and Markets
We look at the range of sports each bookmaker covers and importantly how many leagues from how many different countries can you wager on. There is also how many betting markets they have on each game (or match) for you to choose from, because the more choice the better when it comes to ranking a bookmaker.
Bonuses (New and Existing Customer offers)
Not every betting site offers new customers a Welcome bonus, but most of them do. The quality of a welcome bonus is something to consider because in some cases they can be incredibly good value, but joining a site purely for the Welcome bonus is pretty short sighted as it is (usually) finished with after one or two bets. Where bonuses come into their own is when there are existing customer offers and they can be used week in and week out. These bookmaker offers, such as being “Best Odds Guaranteed” for horse races, and paying out as a winner teams who go two up in football games, are both worth a lot more in the long run than any welcome bonus. This is not to mention Free bets credited “if” certain things happen, or Free bets given away as part of a loyalty scheme. All these things we consider when ranking a bookmaker. The more generous they are the better.
Mobile App
In the 21st Century the ubiquitous spread of mobile phones has meant that there is very little these days that can not be done on an App. This applies to betting too, and all the best bookmakers have put a lot of time and money into designing the best sports betting Apps. These are packed full of features and super easy to use, all on a screen that could be as little as 6 inches. If a bookmaker does not have a dedicated App for use on a smartphone, or the App that they do have is clunky or missing key fetures, we will lower their ratings because of that.
In-Play betting and Live Streaming
When placing a bet, it used to be necessary to bet before a game began but these days in-play betting has become popular. There are a number of reasons why and a big part is the excitement there is watching a bet win or lose in real time rather than several days, or even weeks in the future. What makes a great in-play betting site is one that allows this on many different sports, has many betting markets available, brings you up to date statistics of the game so far and, ideally, has live streaming so you can watch what you have bet on and see the game unfold. The more sports and the more games per sport that can be watched live, and with simple conditions for accessing the streams, will see a bookmaker score highly.
Payment methods
It is important to be able to get your money into, and also out of each betting site quickly, easily, and for free. There is a good argument to made that nothing else is as important as this. Betting sites which have a large range of payment methods for you to choose from are rated more highly than one who only has debit cards. For example you can have betting sites that accept PayPal, betting sites that accept revolut, and paysafe betting siteswhich stand out from the crowd. Betting sites that pay quickly and are one of the fastest withdrawal betting sites, who only require the minimum KYC requirements are also the ones that we recommend.
Best 3 New Bookmakers
There are always new Irish sports betting bookmakers appearing on the scene and we keep up to date with who the newest betting sites are. Three of the best that we know about are:
GreatWin – Founded 2022
Welcome Offer: 100% up to €100
The GreatWin site has several nice features such as the ability to cash out bets, create your own multiple bets within the same game with “bet builder” and also they have boosted odds for several markets each day. Unfortunately they do not offer live streaming of any sports or have many existing user promotions, for example there is no Acca insurance available.
MrMega – Founded 2021
Welcome Offer: Bet €15 get €15
MrMega is part of the Aspire global group and as such the odds they offer are decent, with no real weak spots regardless of which sport you are betting on. There is not much else when it comes to betting positives though, they are primarily a Casino who also have a sportsbook, and there are very few (if any) promotions or bonuses for existing players beyond the initial Welcome offer. There are a lot of payment methods available, the support is available 24/7 and they have a dedicated mobile App for betting on the go, which are all general positives when it comes to running your account, and they should not be taken for granted.
CobraBet – Founded 2020
Welcome Offer: 100% up to €100 – Use code WCWB
CobraBet offer odds on a total of 33 sports at the time of writing (Nov 22) and 11 of those sports have markets to bet on “in play”. It is a shame there is no live streaming available for any of the sports. The customer support is available 24/7 and they are licenced in Curacao and accept a dizzying array of payment options.
Best 3 Football Sites
Betfair
The Betfair exchange is head and shoulders above other bookmakers for two reasons. The odds that you can get on improbable events are vastly superior, and no matter what you bet on and no matter how much you win, your stakes will never be limited. The exchange also leads the way for in play betting, again with liquidity to allow big bets that you won’t find elsewhere. You have full control of “cashing out” your bet, and you will be able to do so at much better odds. The sportsbook has competitive odds on the favourites and compliments this with Free bet offers throughout the year for both new and existing customers.
Sky Bet
Sky Bet are a bookmaker who really do reward their existing customers and have the best sports betting loyalty scheme there is. The quality of the bonuses is particularly evident if you are betting on football. There is a weekly loyalty club which you can opt into for various Free spins and Free bets credited each and every Monday, as well as 10% of each weeks in-play football losses being refunded as cash on Friday morning. They have very generous odds boosts which double the available odds on selected bets for all major matches, as well as regular price boosts on several other bets as well. You can cash out bets anytime you want, and if you want a bet not listed you can contact them on Twitter to “Request a Price”.
William Hill
William Hill have a great football betting section, where you can bet on matches from all around the globe be it Armenia or Australia, if a country plays football you can bet on it at William Hill. They have a weekly free to enter football competition to win £200 in Free bets if you predict which games will have 3 or 4 goals in them. They have a huge amount of boosted odds for most games and on the homepage you sometimes get “Epic Odds” which are where something like a 1/5 shot is offered at Evens. There is the unique Acca freedom offer to give your Accas extra value by boosting or insuring, and it is your choice! They are a highstreet bookmaker and if you want your football bet winnings can be paid out instantly as cash from any shop.
Best 3 Horse Racing Sites
Betfred
Betfred have a great product if it is horse racing you are looking to bet on. Every day they have races which they payout an extra place (or even two extra places) on each way bets as well as races that pay refunds as a Free bet if your horse finishes second. They are Best Odds Guaranteed for all UK and Irish races and provide live streaming for each race you have placed a 1 Euro bet on so you can watch along as see if you have a winner.
BoyleSports
As one of Ireland’s premier bookmakers it is no surprise that they offer a large number of bonuses to new Irish customers, including not just the fantastic welcome offer but also many Free bet refund offers, especially during major festivals such as Cheltenham. They have great odds available as soon as the betting market opens and since they are Best Odds Guaranteed on all UK and Irish races there is no reason not to take the Early Price. All UK and Irish races are streamed live and you can use their mobile App to watch anytime from anywhere.
Unibet
Unibet have a separating racing section to their website which shows how seriously they take the sport. They have separate areas for the days “Naps and Tips”, a “Rules” section and also comprehensive racing guides to help you educate yourself. There are several promotions running each day and always look out for their moneyback special races and races with boosted odds.
Best 3 Esports Sites
Bet365
This betting company consistently tops the ratings for the quality of the selection of betting events as a whole. When evaluated solely on Esports, they are also one of the best betting sites for Esports thanks to an excellent selection of tournaments covered and number of markets to bet on for each match.
The Bet365 selection of Esports events includes:
- CS:GO
- Dota 2
- Call of Duty
- League of Legends
- Rainbow Six
- Rocket League
- StarCraft II
- Valorant
- Wild Rift
- Warcraft
- Honor of Kings
- Free Fire
They cover all of the top events, for instance, Bet365 provides over 100 markets for the top tournaments of CS:GO. These are win bets, handicaps, totals, winning margin, race to # rounds, correct score, odd/even. All these markets are offered for the whole match or single maps.
Moreover, Bet365 provides proposition bets on each match not only who wll win, for instance, for CS:GO, it is the number of kills and bombs detonated/defused.
Other advantages of Bet365 in Esports include the availability of video broadcasts, enhanced odds and outrights. However, there are also some disadvantages: the absence of Overwatch and PUBG in such a large selection of betting events.
Betway
Esports have there own place in the menu of the Betway site and app, which reflects particular attention the betting company pays to this area. The Betway selection of betting events is considerably narrower, compared to bet365. The bookmaker offers betting only on popular sports, such as Dota 2, CS:GO, Valorant, Rocket League, Overwatch, StarCraft 2.
At the same time, significant attention is paid to the selection of betting markets, especially bets on statistics. In addition to the main markets, Betway offers several markets to bet on the results of pistol rounds in CS:GO, bombs planted in a round, the victory method, total kills, as well as a separate total for pistol kills.
For Esports lovers, the advantages of Betway are a wide range of betting markets and the availability of streaming. It is also the best bookmaker to bet on Overwatch. Among other interesting features, it is worth noting a themed slot in the Esports section called “One Shot Multiplier”. The game is inspired by CS:GO, and the player’s goal is to kill as many enemies as possible.
Mr. Play
It is a well-balanced Esports bookmaker. The Mr.Play selection of betting events includes Counter Strike, Dota 2, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rainbox Six, Starcraft, Call of Duty, Rocket League and Valorant. It is a big difference, compared to Betway, but it obviously does not reach the level of bet365.
They have a good selection of betting markets but it should be noted that there is also a lack of statistical markets. However, the advantage of Mr.Play over bet365 and Betway lies in a large spread of totals and handicaps for top events.
On the Mr.Play site, there are video broadcasts of Esports matches, as well as outright bets. The disadvantage is the inconvenient location of Esports in the selection of betting events. The bookmaker has no specific Esports section, where all Esports are located and instead you have to look for them among all the other sports.
Best 3 Bookies for Gaelic Sports
Disclaimer. For this page, we reviewed bookmakers at the end of November 2022. The main Gaelic sports tournaments will start in 2023, that is why, in autumn, bookmakers’ selections of betting events mainly consist of friendly matches and outright markets. This means that, at the time of the creation of this article, we cannot fully cover the topic of Gaelic sports on Irish betting sites. The information will be added after the start of the season.
Paddy Power & Betfair
Football and hurling are presented in the “Gaelic Games” section. While this section remains empty on most betting sites, both bookmakers accept bets on upcoming friendly matches at the club level.
We have put Paddy Power and Betfair together for a good reason. These bookmakers belong to Flutter, a single holding company. They have absolutely identical betting offers and odds for Gaelic sports. But they differ in bonuses and betting features for other sports.
By the way, at the time of writing the reviews, even though Betfair is an exchange betting site it has no advantages over the Paddy Power ordinary selection of betting events. In the “Exchange” section, the odds for outrights are still lower, compared to the Sportsbook.
The range of betting markets includes only match winner, handicap betting (one option), Draw no bet and To qualify for the next round.
William Hill
The William Hill odds for Gaelic sports are higher, compared to average Irish bookmakers.
The main William Hill disadvantage is that they offer only 1/X/2 betting. The bookmaker does not provide extra markets for Gaelic football or hurling.
BoyleSports
BoyleSports accepts bets on friendly matches and outrights. The betting company offers more betting markets, compared to William Hill; these are win bets and handicaps. But it is still less than at Paddy Power and Betfair.
The main advantage is Cash Out for Gaelic sports. Furthermore, Cash Out is available both for upcoming matches and outrights.
BoyleSports provides lower odds, but regular price boosts help to solve this problem as long as they boost your desired bet.