Best Betting Sites UK: Top Online Bookmakers – Updated for February 2025
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Our comprehensive assessment of the best betting sites has highlighted the following UK bookies as being among the cream of the crop.
Top UK Betting Sites Ranked for February 2025
Spreadex
Betgoodwin
Betfred
bet365
Fafabet
Luckster Sport
Sporting Index
Betfair
The bookmaker reviews on this page will provide you with an overview of each betting site’s offerings. You can then sign up with the bookmaker that best suits your individual needs and interests. Whatever betting sites you visit, always remember to bet responsibly.
All of the online bookmakers featured on this page are fully licenced and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, so you can be confident that they are as safe and secure as you’d want them to be. They are also fully featured and offer plenty of betting markets for a wide range of domestic and international sporting events.
Safest Betting Sites is your guide to the best and safest UKGC-regulated betting sites. Our betting experts strive to give you regularly-updated information about the best bonuses, promotions and odds while keeping you safe from non-licensed online bookmakers.
We sometimes use affiliate links in our content, when clicking on those we might receive a commission - at no extra cost to you. By using this website you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy.
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18+ begambleaware.org. Spread betting losses can exceed deposit. Place a qualifying £10 fixed odds bet at odds of 1/2 or greater. Qualifying bet cannot be placed in-play or cashed out early. Free bet stakes not included in any winnings from the free fixed odds bets. Free bets expire in 28 days if unused.
Betgoodwin
50% of First Day Losses Back As a Free Bet Up To £25
New customer offer only. Must have a minimum of 3 bets of £10 at odds of evens (2.0) or bigger on first day. First day losses equals all settled stakes less all returns. Free bets must be used in their entirety and stakes are deducted from returns. If this promotion is withdrawn it will not impact any qualifying bet you have placed during promotional period
New customers only. Register with SUMMER50 between 31/05/24 – 14/07/24. First bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply.
bet365 UK
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365
Registration required. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.
Over 30 sports to bet on with impressive market depth
Great offers for new and existing customers
Best Odds Guaranteed from 08:30
Casino
Cashout
Bet Builder
ACCA Insurance
Cash Out
Odds Boosts
Deposit Methods [ View Fees ][ Close Fees ]
Debit cards
Min. Deposit
Fees
Debit cards
£10
Free
18+ New Customer only. Register with Fafabet and get 50% back as a free bet up to £50+20 casino bonus. Deposit and bet on Sportsbook markets of your choice at odds of evens 1/1 (2.00) or greater is required to qualify for the max free bet, which is based on first day losses. T&Cs apply.
This offer is for new customers only and is available once per household. Max. FreeBet amount: £10 Minimum Deposit and wagering on sport to activate the Free Bet is: £10 Void/cancelled or cashed out bets do not count towards wagering to activate the free bet. Offer valid only to customers making a first deposit of £10 or more.
Place a qualifying £10 fixed odds bet at odds of 1/2 or greater. Qualifying bet cannot be placed in-play or cashed out early. A first free £10 fixed odds bet will be credited upon settlement of the qualifying bet. The second free £10 fixed odds bets will be added to your account on the following day. Free bets must be claimed within 28 days of opening. Free bet stake not included in any winnings. Ts&Cs Apply. 18+ begambleaware.org
New Customer offer. Place a min £10 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £30 in Free Bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly
Place your FIRST bet on any Sportsbook market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is €/£20. Only deposits made using cards will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply
We’ve enhanced our UK Sportsbook Welcome Offer. Get 50% Back as a Free Bet up to £35 (normally £25) plus 10 Free Spins! A minimum of 3 bets at odds of evens (2.00) or greater is required to qualify for the max free bet, which is based on 50% back of first day losses. Even if your account is up, a single £10 Bet at the minimum odds, secures a £5 Free Bet & 10 Free Spins. UK 18+T&C’s
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Best online bookmakers in 2025
These are currently the highest rated online bookies in the UK:
bet365 - Best for football betting
BetGoodwin - Best for betting on horse racing
Fafabet - Best for betting on tennis
Spreadex - Best for betting on cricket
Sporting Index - Best for in-play betting
Paddy Power - Best for betting offers
William Hill - Best Bet Builder
Betfair - Best for exchange betting
Why Trust Safest Betting Sites?
When you participate in online sports betting, you’re trusting companies with both your money and your personal details. Unfortunately, not all betting sites are as trustworthy as we’d like them to be. Safest Betting Sites was set up in 2024 to provide you with a carefully curated selection of the best betting companies, all of which are fully licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). We also highlight the best welcome offers that are available and provide any promo codes needed to take advantage of them. By betting at the sites we feature, you can be completely confident that your money and your data will be in safe hands.
Bet safely and securely with UKGC-regulated sites
Know what to expect before you sign up
Take advantage of the latest bonuses and promotions
In this section of our guide, we’ll examine each of our recommended sites in turn. We’ll tell you about the online betting companies, the sports and markets that they offer, the features you can expect and any bonuses you can enjoy by getting involved.
1. bet365: Best for Betting on Football
It’s almost impossible for someone to have ever bet on football in the UK without being aware of the bet365 online betting platform. Bet365 is the biggest betting brand in the United Kingdom and the one most commonly used for football betting. Of course, just because lots of people use a site doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good one. But we’re pleased to report that bet365 tops our football betting sites list.
So much of bet365 is geared towards football that you might think it is less relevant for betting on anything else. That is not the case at all. No matter what you want to bet on, you’ll be able to do so here. One key thing to note concerning any bet365 football bet on the match result: if the side you’ve backed goes two goals up, your bet is paid out no matter what happens afterwards! Bet365 is completely and utterly a UK company, based in Stoke-on-Trent, with the UKGC licence number 55148.
What You Need to Know:
Minimum Deposit
£5
Maximum Withdrawal
£100,000 (Trustly, Wire Transfer)
Bet Builder
9.8/10
Cash Out
9.7/10
Betting App
9.8/10 (iOS & Android)
Betting Markets
9.9/10
Odds
9.8/10
Bonuses & Promotions
9.7/10
Support
FAQs, live chat, email, snail mail
Payment Methods
Debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal, Trustly, PaybyBank, PaysafeCard. Click to pay, Wire Transfer
The bet365 welcome offer is well worth claiming because £30 in ‘free’ money should never be sniffed at! To get your £30 bonanza, sign up at bet365 and make a minimum £10 deposit using a debit card within 30 days. The next step is to place a bet at odds of 1/5 (1.20) or greater. (In the case of a multi, at least one section must have odds 1/5 or greater). Once that bet has settled, you will receive £30 in free bet credits. Bet credits do not seem to come with any limitation criteria, but it’s best to check the latest T&Cs at bet365, just in case.
Peter Addison
Why We Recommend bet365 for Football Bettors
Bet365 has one distinct football betting offer that not many other sites can match. If you back a team to win in a match, and that team takes a two-goal lead at any time, then bet365 will pay out your winnings immediately. Your backed side can go on to draw or even lose the game and it does not matter – you will still get paid. Not all football competitions are covered, but the vast majority of them are.
Reasons to Sign Up:
Ideal for football betting
Win bets are paid immediately if your team goes 2 goals up
People who indulge in horse racing betting online may be well aware of ‘Goodwin Racing’. In ye olde days before the internet, if you couldn’t visit a real-world bookie in the UK, you had the option of using a telephone betting bookmaker. You called them up, opened an account, made a deposit by debit or credit card and placed your bets. Your winnings would then be credited to your account if your horse racing bet won.
Goodwin Racing were one of the biggest, if not the biggest telephone betting bookmakers. They still are! But, Goodwin Racing recognised the power of the internet in 2022 and opened up the BetGoodwin online sports betting site. This site reflects Goodwin Racing’s horse racing pedigree because the main focus is still on backing the nags. All manner of betting options are available though, and there’s a huge quantity of them! BetGoodwin is registered with the UKGC, licence number 2927.
Don’t worry if you aren’t a horse racing fan because you can also use the BetGoodwin welcome offer on other sports. It’s a simple offer to understand. When you sign up to BetGoodwin and make bets, you will get 50% back on any first-day losses, up to a maximum of £25. So, if you lose £40 you will get back £20, and if you lose £60 you will get back £25. And if you end up in the black on your first BetGoodwin day then you won’t need the cashback!
To qualify for this offer you must make a minimum of three bets of £10 or more each on your first day. Each bet must also be at odds of 1/1 (2.00) or higher. Once your first day is over, any free bets due to you will be credited to your account within 24 hours. Your free bet stakes won’t be returned if you succeed with them – only your winnings. We think that covers most of the important terms but check for updates at the BetGoodwin site.
Peter Addison
Why We Recommend BetGoodwin for Horse Racing Bettors
With BetGoodwin’s background from Goodwin Racing it’s no surprise horse racing is very good here. We particularly like the live streaming from places as far-flung as Argentina and Brazil.
Tennis is an extremely popular pastime in the UK. There are tennis clubs in every city and town, and UK life is completely taken over by Wimbledon for two weeks every summer. You may be wondering then, why we have recommended a non-UK site as the best to bet on for tennis. Well, despite the name ‘Fafabet’ is a UK site, and it’s run by a UK (Reading) based company called… TaiChi Tech. Honestly, we give up.
Despite all this confusion, Fafabet is tops among UK betting sites for tennis. It particularly excels when Wimbledon swings around, but has fantastic coverage of all the four tennis majors and the main WTP and LTA tours, all year round. Look out for special deals such as enhanced odds, favourable cashout deals and free strawberries and cream (might not be true). Fafabet has been running in the UK since 2021 under licence number 57385 from the UKGC.
The welcome offer available at Fafabet is very generous and could be worth up to £50. A £10 qualifying bet at minimum odds of 1/1 (2.00) will generate a £5 free bet and a £5 casino bonus. You can double both with a £20 or greater qualifying bet, or max it out with a £100 bet which will gain a £20 free bet and a £10 casino bonus. Alternatively, you can choose to have half of your first-day losses paid back, up to £50. plus a £20 casino bonus.
Naturally, plenty of T&Cs apply, including free bets expiring seven days after receipt and free bet stakes not being returned as part of a winning bet. We suggest you pop across to the Fafabet site to check out all the terms and conditions for yourself.
Spread betting rewards accuracy and penalizes inaccuracy. Among the spread betting sites in the UK, we consider SpreadEx the best. Spread betting suits sports with high scores, making cricket an ideal choice. We recommend SpreadEx as the top pick among cricket betting sites due to cricket’s numerous measurable statistics. You can bet on markets like total fours or sixes, players scoring 50+ runs, centuries, or individual player scores in an innings. However, be cautious, as spread betting can exceed your initial stake if your predictions are significantly off.
Please be aware that SpreadEx offers traditional fixed odds betting too. The site runs under UKGC licence 8835, active since 2009.
What You Need to Know:
Minimum Deposit
No minimum
Maximum Withdrawal
No maximum
Bet Builder
9.8/10
Cash Out
9.6/10
Betting App
9.6/10 (iOS and Android)
Betting Markets
9.6/10
Odds
9.6/10
Bonuses & Promotions
9.5/10
Support
FAQs, Live chat, email, phone
Payment Methods
Debit cards, credit cards (spread betting only), bank transfer, cheque
Note: Spread betting is seen as a form of trading and is regulated by the Financial Services Authority, not the United Kingdom Gambling Association. This is why you can fund your spread betting account with a credit card. As with all good betting sites, you cannot use credit card funds at SpreadEx for fixed odds betting
SpreadEx’s Sign-up Bonus Offer
There is a welcome bonus at SpreadEx, but it can only be used for the fixed odds betting side. Create your account then deposit £10 at least. Then, place a fixed odds bet at minimum odds of 1/2 (1.50). Once that qualifying bet has settled you will receive two £10 fixed odds free bets, four £5 free spread bets and a £1 race index spread bet.
Free bets expire in 28 days if they are not used and as is usual with these types of betting promotions, your free bet stake is not returned in any winnings. There are other T&Cs to be aware of and we suggest you take a look at them at the SpreadEx site so that you know you are fully up to date.
Reasons to Sign Up:
The UK’s leading spread betting site
Spread betting is ideal for cricket betting experts
In-play or live betting allows you to bet on events already in progress. You can wager on the next goalscorer in football, the next player to hit a six in cricket, or the next server to make a double fault or ace in tennis. Live betting often includes a cash-out option, enabling you to secure a win before the event ends, though at reduced odds.
We rate Sporting Index as the best for in-play betting on our best online bookmakers list. Like SpreadEx, it’s a spread betting site and uses the same sports spread betting software. In addition to spread betting, you’ll find fixed odds prices. Simply click on the ‘In Play’ menu for all current sporting events. All major sports are covered, with a focus on football, and there’s even an in-play betting section for eSports! Sporting Index is run in the UK under UKGC licence 27343.
What You Need to Know:
Minimum Deposit
£10
Maximum Withdrawal
No maximum
Bet Builder
9.6/10
Cash Out
9.8/10
Betting App
9.6/10 (iOS & Android)
Betting Markets
9.6/10
Odds
9.5/10
Bonuses & Promotions
9.4/10
Support
FAQs, email, live chat, phone
Payment Methods
Debit cards, credit cards (spread betting only), bank transfer, cheque
Full Review
Coming Soon
Credit cards can only be used for spread betting deposits at Sporting Index, as spread betting is regulated by the FSA and not the UKGC.
Sporting Index’s Sign-up Bonus Offer
It’s a case of £20 in free bets when you complete your sign up at Sporting Index. The next step is then to make a minimum £10 deposit, followed by a minimum £10 bet at odds of 1/2 (1.50) minimum. Once that bet has settled you’ll be in receipt of two £10 free fixed odds bets. Note that your qualifying bet cannot be placed on in-play bets, and if you cash-out your pre-event bet it will lose its qualifying status. That’s the case with all of the best UK bookmakers. You must claim your free fixed odds bets within 28 days of opening an account.
You can use your free bets on in-play events, but you cannot cash them out early if you do and, aside from that, that’s about it for T&Cs with this deal. This makes Sporting Index one of the most user-friendly betting websites with welcome bonus T&Cs!
There’s little chance that any sports betting people in the UK have not heard of Paddy Power. This is one of the top bookmakers in the country, and while they have toned down their ‘controversial’ advertising efforts of late, who can forget the fake launch of Huddersfield Town’s Paddy Power-ed new home kit, or when they turned up at Calais with a huge truck with the slogan ‘Immigrants, Jump in the Back! (But Only If You’re Good at Sport)? Paddy Power have always been one of the best gambling sites as far as innovation is concerned, but they are especially inventive when it comes to betting offers, so they are tops among UK betting sites in our eyes for special deals.
As well as the welcome deal (details below) and bespoke offers for regular customers at the Paddy Power site, your Paddy Power online betting experience will be enhanced by ‘Power Prices’ which are enhanced odds for specific bets. These prices are so good they are often doubled! Also, unlike other price boost offers from other sites, any money won at the enhanced price is paid out as real cash, and not the ‘enhanced’ cash paid out as bonus money. Paddy Power has had a UKGC licence since 2015, number 38939.
What You Need to Know:
Minimum Deposit
£5
Maximum Withdrawal
£10,000
Bet Builder
9.9/10
Cash Out
9.4/10
Betting App
9.6/10 (iOS and Android)
Betting Markets
9.6/10
Odds
9.6/10
Bonuses & Promotions
9.9/10
Support
FAQs, email, live chat
Payment Methods
Debit cards, ApplePay, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafecard, Rapid Transfer, Much Better, Bank Transfer
Let’s get into the details of Paddy Power’s latest sign-up bonus offer. All you need to do to gain £20 in free bets at Paddy Power is to complete your sign up and you will gain £20 free bets if you use the betting sites promo code ‘YSKARZ’. Note, your qualifying deposit must be made using a debit card within 30 days of signing up, and a £5 minimum bet must be placed at odds of at least Evens (2.00). Once that bet has settled, you will receive a free £20 sports betting bonus.
Your free bet must be used in its entirety within 30 days of signing up and cannot be used on system bets such as Canadian, Trixie, and Yankee bets. That’s about it for the latest T&Cs for this deal, but check the Paddy Power site before claiming it so you are fully up to date.
A bet builder is a tool that’s been phased in over the past couple of years at all the top UK betting sites. It allows you to combine several single bets on the same event to create a multiple bet. You can then watch the event and hope that all your singles come true to win you a decent amount of cash for a very small stake. Fans of William Hill betting online will know all about Bet Builders, as this bookie’s Bet Builder is one of the best in the betting business!
The Bet Builder at William Hill is called ‘#YourOdds’. Select any football match and then the ‘#YourOdds’ menu item to see what’s on offer. An extensive list of ‘#YourOdds’ offers will be available, but if none of them get you excited, you can easily create your own! Just click the ‘Build #YourOdds’ for a full list of options. You can then combine them in multiple ways to create your own bet.
William Hill itself really of course needs very little fanfare. This UK bookie has been around since 1934, and is licensed in the UK with UKGC licence number 39225 since 2014.
What You Need to Know:
Minimum Deposit
£5
Maximum Withdrawal
£99,000
Bet Builder
9.9/10
Cash Out
9.5/10
Betting App
9.5/10 (iOS and Android)
Betting Markets
9.7/10
Odds
9.6/10
Bonuses & Promotions
9.6/10
Support
FAQs, email, live chat.
Payment Methods
Debit cards, PaysafeCard, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Payz, ApplePay, Fast Bank Transfer.
The William Hill welcome deal is not centred around their Bet Builder, which will please some but will no doubt displease others! It is actually a fairly standard sports betting site welcome offer – bet £10 and get £30. To gain this offer, you must make a minimum £10 deposit at the site using a debit card, then place a single £10 wager on any event with minimum odds of 1/2 (1.50). Once that bet has settled you will receive three £10 free bets.
The William Hill free bets will remain in your account for seven days. As far as we can make out, there are no other restrictions on your use of the William Hill free bets, other than the usual one that your free bet stake money is not returned should the stake be used for a winning bet. Check the site’s last details to make sure you are completely up to date.
Reasons to Sign Up:
Build #YourOdds, the best Best Builder around
Well established, trusted betting name
Huge range of markets
Reasons to Avoid:
Too much info on site you’re unlikely to be interested in
If you have ever wondered what betting exchange sites are, and how they differ from fixed odds betting sites, then here is an explanation. With a fixed odds betting site you are betting against the bookie. If your bet wins, the bookie pays out. With a betting exchange site, you are betting against your fellow site users. If your bet wins, then the site users who were betting against you pay out. The betting site makes their money by charging a small commission on every winning bet.
Betfair is by some considerable distance the biggest exchange betting site in the UK. The site will accept any bet you place and match it against a bettor or bettors who are betting on a different outcome. You can even, with Betfair, set your own price! Note though, if no one accepts your price, you won’t get paid even if your bet wins (although you will get your money back). Just in case exchange betting still flummoxes you, Betfair operated fixed odds betting too. Betfair is now merged with Paddy Power, and has a UKGC licence (39439) first issued in 2014.
The current sports betting welcome offer at Betfair is only for the fixed odds aspect of Betfair. Once you have created a new account at Betfair (exchange or fixed odds, they are the same) using the code ‘ZSKANH’ you then need to deposit a minimum of £10 using a debit card and place a minimum qualifying bet of £10 on a single market outcome at minimum odds of 1/2 (1.50). Once that bet has settled, you will receive £30 in free bets to use on the site’s Bet Builder.
All free bets are valid for 30 days, so if you have not used them by that expiry time, they will vanish from your account. There are a few other T&Cs you need to be aware of surrounding this offer, but you will not find them that troublesome. We suggest you check the Betfair site for the latest details.
Those of you who enjoy spread betting will find no better site in the UK than Spreadex. The brand has been around since 1999, and sports spread betting was introduced in 2006. More than two dozen sports are available for betting, and while we’ve already recommended this site for cricket, you can also bet on football, tennis, basketball and even horse racing. Spread bettors who appreciate getting maximum value will also enjoy having the chance to earn a spread-free bet in certain markets.
Spreadex Sign-Up Bonus Offer
Open a new account as a spread betting customer, and you can get two free £5 spread bets. You can also get up to £300 cashback on certain spread bets. To qualify for your free bets, make a fixed odds bet of £10 or more on an outcome priced at 1/2 or bigger. For the cashback offer, you’ll need to stake £300 or more on qualifying spread betting markets within 28 days of signing up. That will earn you £300 in your account or, if you prefer, you can request an iPad as an alternative. See the promotions page at Spreadex for more details.
Betfred is a famous name on UK high streets, having been around since 1967. It has been operating online since 2004 and offers a fantastic range of betting markets on all of the most popular sports. Its cash-out feature is available in most markets, and it can accommodate partial cash-outs up to ten times for single best or up to five times for multiple bets. An automatic cash-out option is also available.
Betfred’s Sign-up Bonus Offer
Sign up as a new bettor with Betfred, and when you make a first bet of £10 or more, you’ll get £30 in free bets. Your first bet must be placed within seven days of registering, and the odds of your selection must be 1/1 or bigger. Your free bets will be credited to your account within ten hours of your first bet being settled.
When you bet with a bookmaker that offers Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG), you can make your bets early in the day without worrying about missing out on a bigger SP. With this offer, if the SP is bigger than the price taken earlier in the day, your bet will be settled at the more generous price. Many bookmakers offer Best Odds Guaranteed, and BetVictor is one of our favourites. Here, the BOG offer is valid from 9 am on all UK and Irish horse and greyhound races.
BetVictor’s Sign-up Bonus Offer
If you decide to sign up for an account and start betting with BetVictor you’ll receive a great welcome offer. Simply opt-in to the promotion, make a deposit via Debit Card or Apple Pay, and place a qualifying bet. That means a horse racing bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/1 or bigger within seven days of registering. You’ll then get four free £5 bets to use on a variety of horse racing and virtual horse racing markets.
Most of our best betting sites offer mobile apps, but we’ve selected CopyBet as our featured mobile site because of its unique social features. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices and provides all the functionality of the regular desktop website. That includes the ability to follow and copy the bets recommended by your favourite tipsters and become a CopyBet tipster in your own right.
CopyBet’s Sign-up Bonus Offer
CopyBet is currently offering new customers a Bet £10 Get £50 deal. This is as straightforward as it sounds. Sign up for a new account, make a deposit and place a first bet (either a single or an acca of two or more selections) at odds of 1.90 or higher. The bet must be placed and settled within seven days of you signing up. You will then get five free bets worth £10 each for football, horse racing and accumulators.
The UK online betting scene is a very competitive one, but that does not stop new sports betting sites from springing up all the time. Around half of these sites disappear just as quickly as they appear, but many successful sites have survived the initial difficult phase to become key members of our list of online bookmakers that we recommend.
We also recommend that you check out new online bookmakers as they appear. They just might have a new way of doing things that really suits your betting preferences, such as concentrating on a specific betting discipline that you bet with the most frequency upon. You might just like the design of their site or app. At the bare minimum, new bookmakers will have betting sites with welcome bonus offers you’ve so far not taken advantage of.
To get the betting ball rolling, here are four of the best new betting sites that have appeared on the betting scene over the last couple of years.
CopyBet – Choose your own bets, following another punter’s, or become a tipster!
Fitzdares – The online version of a private Mayfair betting club
BetGoodwin – Famous telephone betting service now available online
Luckster – The leading online betting site from Marketplay Limited
Award-Winning UK Bookmakers
At Safest Betting Sites, we do thorough reviews to ensure that we recommend the very best online betting sites. But it’s not just our bookmaker reviews that guide you to the best sports betting sites in the industry – some betting sites are recipients of prestigious awards for their exceptional products and services.
bet365 – Online Sports Betting Operator of the Year (2024 Global Gaming Awards) Paddy Power – Retail Operator of the Year (2024 Global Gaming Awards) William Hill – Football Betting Operator of the Year (EGR Operator Awards 2023)
How We Test UK Online Bookmakers
We’ve outlined our general approach to assessing betting sites in How We Rate Bookmakers. Our team of expert reviewers have decades of real-world experience in sports betting, and take pride in being as objective and unbiased as possible. That means we take an equal approach to all online bookmakers regardless of affiliation. In addition, all of the information provided by Safest Betting Sites is regularly fact-checked and updated to ensure it’s as reliable as possible. Here are just some of the areas we look at:
Market Coverage
Betting on football and horse racing is widely available, but if you’re into more ‘niche’ sports such as UFC/MMA, eSports, or Pesapallo (Finnish baseball, in case you are wondering), you’ll need to be a bit more picky. We look at how many sports a bookmaker covers, and also at the variety of markets that are available for those sports.
Competitive Odds
No single betting site always offers the best odds, but it’s important that the odds on offer are broadly competitive with those available elsewhere. We look at the general bet website odds being made available and also take into account odds-enhancing offers such as price boosts and Best Odds Guaranteed deals.
Payment Methods and Payout Speed
All UK online bookies accept debit cards, but what if you prefer to use an alternative? Not everyone wants to type their card info into the internet. If you want to use PayPal, for example, then you need to sign up with a site that accepts PayPal payments. Our reviewers look at all the options that are available, and also provide information on how long it takes for withdrawal requests to be processed.
Betting App
The only time most of us spend time sitting in front of a PC or laptop is at work. If you don’t want to bet via PC, then you’ll need to do it on a mobile device. We look at whether a betting site has dedicated apps available for Android and iOS, and how good they are. Where no app can be downloaded, we check to see how the regular betting company website performs in mobile browsers.
Live Play and Streaming
If you are a sports bettor who likes to bet on live events, you’ll want to bet with a bookmaker who has plenty of in-play betting options. We assess how much live betting is available, whether events can be watched via live streaming, and whether or not you can cash out bets before an event has reached its natural conclusion.
Customer Support
In an ideal world, no bettor would ever have the need to contact customer support. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world, and there may be times when you need help or assistance or even just an answer to a query that you might have. We check out the support options on your behalf so that you know exactly what to expect.
Signup Bonuses and Existing Customer Offers
Any online betting site worth its salt should go out of its way to give new customers a warm welcome and keep existing customers happy. That’s why we examine the promotions that are available. We like to see a generous sign-up bonus being offered to those who choose to open a new account, and also regular deals being made available to loyal bettors who stick around.
Licensing and Security
Online betting is only safe when you bet with a site that is properly licensed and sufficiently secure. We only recommend bookmakers that are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, which is one of the strictest gambling regulators in the world. Our team also checks to make sure that your sensitive personal and financial data is transmitted and stored in a secure manner so that it can’t be accessed by unauthorised parties.
Industry Reputation
The gambling industry is a close-knit community, and word quickly gets around about any sites that let down the team in some way. For that reason, we also look at what kind of reputation a betting site has among its peers. A site that is well-regarded will receive a much better rating than one with a less than glowing reputation.
Ian Bruce
How to Choose the Best Betting Site
When you come to choose the best betting site for you, it makes sense to consider all the areas that we’ve just discussed. For the best possible experience, make sure that you only bet with a site that is properly licensed and regulated and has a reputation for being trustworthy. You’ll also want the site to be accessible and easy to use. In addition, don’t be afraid of digging into their terms and conditions to see how player-friendly they are.
Betting Welcome Bonuses
Both established and new UK bookmakers make some kind of offer as an incentive to sign up with them. There are many different kinds though, and here we first outline the different types, and then the key terms and conditions associated with them.
UK Online Bookmakers Welcome Bonus Types
Free Bet – A reward if you make a bet using your own money, i.e. ‘Bet £10, Get £30’.
Deposit Bonus – Your initial deposit at a site is matched by the same (or half, or double) amount of bonus money.
Cashback – A percentage of your losses over a set period of time is paid back as bonus money.
Enhanced Odds – Hugely improved odds over the normal odds for a specified event. Sometimes, the money won in excess of the normal odds is paid as bonus money.
UK Online Bookmaker Welcome Bonus Key T&Cs
Expiry Date – Set time periods by which you must claim then use any bonus, and then meet any playthrough requirements.
Minimum Stakes, Maximum Returns – The minimum deposit and stake needed to claim a bonus, and the maximum return cap from any bonus.
Payment Methods – Some payment methods such as eWallets cannot be used to make payments to claim bonuses.
Minimum Odds – The lowest prices you can use when making qualifying bets, and when using free bets or bonus money.
Markets – A small number of bonuses may restrict the markets they can be used on.
Stake not Returned – Free bet and bonus money can never be cashed out, only any winnings generated.
Playthrough – Rarely you may need to place bets using your own money based on a multiple of your free bet or bonus award before you can cash out.
Restrictions – System bets and cashed-outs bets frequently do not count as qualifying bets.
Deposits and Withdrawals on Betting Sites
The key aspect of betting is that you find it entertaining. Once it stops being entertaining, you should stop betting. However, another key aspect of betting is winning money – it’s really more rewarding if you are betting on horse racing and have a stake on your chosen mount, or are betting money on any competitor to achieve the outcome you are betting on.
To this end, you will need to get money into your betting account. All the best UK online bookmakers offer multiple payment methods by which you can make deposits and withdrawals, but their hands are tied when it comes to certain financial functions. Here we take a look at which UK payment methods are legit, and which can’t be used at UK online bookmakers.
Can Be Used
Debit cards – All online bookmakers in the UK accept debit card payments, Visa and MasterCard. Don’t be worried about typing your details into the deposit page – card details are encrypted when you send them. If your card details come ‘pre-filled’ when making a deposit it’s because they’ve been saved by your browser. The betting site does not save information about your cards.
Ewallets – The three major eWallets for sports betting in the UK are PayPal (NOT PayPal credit), Skrill and Neteller. Just maintain a balance in your eWallet account then use that to make deposits, keeping your card and bank account details safe. Other ‘betting friendly’ eWallets in the UK include Payz (formerly ecoPayz), AstroPay and MuchBetter.
PaysafeCard – This ‘virtual card’ allows you to load real world cash that you can then use online. You can also now maintain a PaysafeCard account online too. Note, PaysafeCards cannot usually be withdrawn to.
ApplePay – Not strictly an eWallet as ApplePay connects a card or bank account to a merchant. Some sports betting sites accept ApplePay, but it’s a small number.
Bank Transfer – Some of the top betting sites allow you to transfer funds into your betting account straight from your bank account. This is also a one-way process and bank transfers for withdrawals are not commonly available.
Can’t Be Used
Credit cards – All credit cards were banned from online sports betting sites in the UK by the UKGC in April 2020. Credit ‘by stealth’ (i.e. PayPal Credit) is banned too. You can though use credit cards to fund spread betting accounts, as spread betting is regulated by the FSA.
Cryptocurrencies – Although cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Doge and Ethereum are not officially banned by the UKGC, you will not find any UKGC-licensed online casinos in the UK that accept them. The common thought is that it is too easy to launder money using crypto at online gambling venue, and failing to prevent money laundering can see UK online bookmakers heavily fined. This is why Bitcoin and company are not accepted.
Pay-by-Phone – Again, not outright banned by the UKGC, this once-popular payment method has largely been dropped by online bookies in the UK. Such payments are made via a phone bill and are a type of credit payment, as the bill is paid later on. Despite the £30 daily limit, a bill of around £900 per month can still be racked up easily.
Google Wallet – It is easy to link a credit card as your main card to Google Wallet, which is a way of ‘gambling on credit’, so UK betting firms tend not to accept Google Wallet. ApplePay has tighter restrictions on identifying if a credit card is linked to its services. Some bet sites though do accept Google Pay payments, but there are very few.
Revolut – this payment system allows you to link several debit cards, credit cards and bank accounts via a single application. Because of the ability to link credit cards, Revolut themselves announced Revolut accounts would not be available at online gambling sites following the UKGC ban in 2020.
How Bookmakers Calculate Odds
The odds that betting sites offer about a player or team in a betting market reflect their perceived chances of winning. We explain this in detail in our guide to betting odds, but for now, we can give you a simple example.
Imagine that there’s a tennis match between two players, and the bookmakers think they both have an equal chance of winning. The total of all probabilities in an event must be 100%, so in this case, each player has a 50% chance of success.
The bookmaker would then set odds that reflect that chance, which would be 1/1 for each player. He would then trim those odds a little to give himself a profit. The final odds being offered to his customers might therefore be 10/11 for Player 1 and 10/11 for Player 2.
How to Open an Online Bookmaker Account: Step-by-Step Guide
When you have chosen a betting site that you’d like to use, you will need to sign up for an account before you can start betting. This is a simple process that should only take you a couple of minutes. Here’s how to go about it:
1. Visit Your Chosen Betting Site
First, visit the betting site you want to sign up with. We have provided visit links for every site recommended on this page. Tap the relevant link, and the site will open in a separate browser tab. You can then refer back to these instructions as you proceed.
2. Tap the Join Button
Every betting site has a Join or Sign Up button for those who want to open a new account. This button is normally located at the top of the screen on the right-hand side. It is also usually brightly coloured so that you can spot it easily. Tap the button and a registration form will open.
3. Enter Your Details
The registration form that appears will ask for some basic details that are required by law for you to open an account. Those details will include your name, email address, date of birth, and so on. Enter your details accurately, using your full name rather than any nicknames, or you might have trouble providing ID verification if it is ever requested in the future. When you have completed the form, submit it, and your account will be opened on the spot.
4. Log In and Deposit
You should now be able to log in to your new account and make your first deposit. Remember to check the terms and conditions of any welcome offer you want to take advantage of so that you can make sure your first deposit and your first will qualify for it.
The Advantages of Online Betting Sites vs High Street Bookmakers
The popularity of online betting sites has exploded in recent decades, and that’s because they offer a number of advantages that you simply won’t get when betting with bookmakers on your local high street. Here are just a few of the main ones:
Broader Choice
When you restrict yourself to betting at land-based shops, the range of sports and markets that you can consider is limited by the bookmakers that happen to be available to you. This isn’t the case when you bet online. There are hundreds of legal online betting sites that you could join, and that allows you to pick one or two that perfectly suit your betting needs and preferences. In short, online betting gives you a much broader choice than you’ll get offline. Should you need help choosing the best bet for, let’s say, horse racing, we suggest you check out these horse racing betting tips.
Better Odds
With access to a broader range of markets, you can shop around for the best possible odds on each of your bets. As you’ll know, the better the odds you can get when betting, the more chance you have of making a profit over the medium to long term, so this is an important advantage. It will also make it easier for you to practice value betting.
More Promotions
Online betting is a competitive industry, so you’ll find a lot more promotions running at online bookies than at high street betting shops. You can pick up a welcome bonus just for signing up with a site, and there will be plenty of special offers available to you as an ongoing customer. Those might include price boosts, Best Odds Guaranteed and more.
Greater Convenience
When you bet online, you can do so from anywhere with an internet connection and at any time. There’s no need to trudge to the local betting shop in miserable weather or to miss out on a betting opportunity just because you forgot that a certain event was scheduled to take place. Instead, you can use your computer or smartphone to log in to your favourite online betting site and place your wager from the comfort and convenience of your own home or workplace.
The Importance of Responsible Gambling
Gambling can be addictive. A winning bet causes the human brain to release endorphins – the body’s ‘feel good’ chemical. The levels of endorphins released vary from person to person, and for some, that release becomes intense, triggering a ‘want’ that becomes a ‘need’ which is how habits are formed. For some, the ‘need’ becomes something that cannot be lived without.
Naturally, gambling is linked with money, and for some people the winning or losing of money becomes much less important than the actual act of gambling itself. Before they know it, such people can find themselves significantly in debt, losing friends, family, their livelihood and even their homes along the way.
This is why responsible gambling is so important. The three key aspects of gambling that you must keep in mind at all times are as follows:
Is gambling bringing genuine joy into your life? If not, then stop gambling.
Do you think you might have a gambling problem? Then it’s very likely that you do.
Do those close to you tell you that you have a gambling problem? Then you most definitely do.
Like all addictions, gambling is a very strong denial generator. The easy way to maintain any destructive behaviour is to deny that it is harmful, or that it is even happening. This is why the admission of a problem is the most important step in any addicted person’s road to recovery.
In terms of genuine solutions, there are plenty of helpful organisations available if you have identified that you may have a gambling problem:
If you do feel you need to take a break from gambling, then GAMSTOP will really help. This is an independent organisation tasked with overseeing general access to gambling websites by individuals. If you become a member of GAMSTOP, then your access to all UKGC-registered gambling sites, including new UK sports betting sites, will be revoked. This is called self-exclusion.
Self Exclusion
Here is how to self-exclude:
Head to the Site
The GAMSTOP site can be found at gamstop.co.uk (see the link above). Once you are at the site look for the ‘Register’ item on the menu.
Add Your Details
The more information you can supply GAMSTOP with the better. This information should include your current address and postcodes, previous addresses and postcodes, your date of birth, current and past email addresses and current and past mobile numbers.
Choose for How Long
You can select how long you wish to self-exclude for. You can choose six months, one year or five years. GAMSTOP is unable to self-exclude you permanently.
Wait for Confirmation
It can take up to 24 hours for your self-exclusion to be applied. You will receive an email confirmation from GAMSTOP once your period has begun. You should also receive emails from sites where you are registered telling you that access to your account(s) have been suspended.
Once Your Period is Up
Your self-exclusion period will not be lifted automatically. If you wish to be able to use UK gambling sites again, you will need to apply to GAMSTOP for your self-exclusion to be lifted. If, at the end of your self-exclusion period you still feel you need to keep away from online gambling, then simply do not ask for your self-exclusion period to come to an end.
The Best UK Online Bookmakers – Facts in a Nutshell
Need to make a direct comparison between all the best UK betting sites? We are here to help. Below you will find a table outlining all the most important factors of all the best online bookmakers in the UK, as selected by us and our rating for each where applicable.
Brand
Min. Deposit
Max. Withdrawal
Bet Builder
Cash Out
Betting App
Betting Markets
Odds
Bonuses
Support
Payment Methods
bet365
£5
£100,000
9.8
9.7
9.8
9.9
9.8
9.7
FAQs, live chat, email, snail mail
Debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal, Trustly, PaybyBank, PaysafeCard. Click to pay, Wire Transfer
BetGoodwin
£10
£100,000
N/A
9.7
9.7
9.7
9.8
9.7
Live chat
Debit cards
Fafabet
£10
No max
9.8
9.7
9.6
9.6
9.7
9.6
Live chat, email
Debit cards
Spreadex
No min
No max
9.8
9.6
9.6
9.6
9.6
9.5
FAQs, Live chat, email, phone
Debit cards, credit cards (spread betting only), bank transfer, cheque
Sporting Index
£10
No max
9.6
9.8
9.6
9.6
9.5
9.4
FAQs, email, live chat, phone
Debit cards, credit cards (spread betting only), bank transfer, cheque
Paddy Power
£5
£10,000
9.9
9.4
9.6
9.6
9.6
9.9
FAQs, email, live chat
Debit cards, ApplePay, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafecard, Rapid Transfer, Much Better, Bank Transfer
William Hill
£5
£99,000
9.9
9.5
9.5
9.7
9.6
9.6
FAQs, email, live chat
Debit cards, PaysafeCard, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Payz, ApplePay, Fast Bank Transfer
Our guide to the best betting sites UK is designed to help you find the safest online bookmakers that suit your preferences.
No matter your particular sphere of interest, you should now have a precise idea of the site or sites that are best-placed to meet your betting needs. Consider what you need from a bookie and explore our detailed bookmakers’ reviews for more information on each site.
Most importantly, keep your betting enjoyable by gambling responsibly. Be sure to regularly check our list of betting sites for the latest rankings, as we frequently update our list with new findings about new features and bonus offers.
FAQs
Which new betting sites are good?
One of the best new betting sites around is Fafabet. This site was launched in 2021, so it’s only been around for a few years, but it has plenty to offer in terms of markets, odds, features and promotions for new and existing customers.
Which are the biggest bookmakers?
The biggest UK bookies are household names such as William Hill, bet365, Betfred and Paddy Power. If you’re looking for an online betting site that’s as well-established as it is safe and trustworthy, you can’t go wrong with any of the brands just mentioned.
Which betting sites give you free bets?
There are plenty of UK sports betting sites that give free bets to their customers. Take a look at our Betting Offers page for examples of betting sites new customer deals and more.
Are online betting sites safe?
All of the online betting sites that we recommend are safe and secure. They are licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, one of the strictest regulatory bodies in the world.
What documents do I need to open a bookmaker account?
You won’t need any documents to open an account with a UK sportsbook online, but you may be asked to verify your identity before you can make a withdrawal. Acceptable documents that you can use to do that include copies of your passport or driving licence and a recent utility bill.
I won with a £10 free bet at odds of 2/1 but was only paid £20! How come?
With any free bet deal from online sportsbooks, your stake is not returned if your free bet is a winning one. If you bet £10 at odds of 2/1 with your own money, your returns would be £30. However, with a free bet your stake is not returned, hence your returns become £20.
Why can’t I use my credit card at bet365 or William Hill?
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission outlawed the use of credit cards to make or receive payments at UKGC-licensed betting sites in 2020. You won’t be able to use a credit card (or PayPal credit at PayPal betting sites) at any online sportsbook in the UK.
Ian Bruce
Senior Editor
Ian Bruce joined Safest Betting Sites in 2024 as Senior Sports Editor to oversee the quality and usefulness of its gambling content. He originally developed an interest in betting after landing a winning Yankee on his first attempt. He then spent years figuring out how to replicate that success. Along the way, he became one of the UK’s leading writers on the topic of betting and gaming. Ian’s career has now spanned more than three decades, and his enthusiasm for systematic and responsible betting hasn’t waned one bit. However, his preferred approach to winning these days is Dutching, for the simple reason that “It’s a lot easier than landing Yankees.”
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