How To Choose The Best UK Online Bookmakers (2023)
Learn how to find out what are the best UK online sports betting sites out there
Stop letting others decide your fortunes…
We’re not going to list the top five online bookies in the UK here, but teach you how to figure out which sportsbook suits you best instead. And the good news is that we'll be using this kind of approach throughout this short guide.
So let's make things more personal. Start by answering these questions:
- What is your betting style, what are you after tennis, cricket, ice hockey, football betting or just the good old Premier League action?
- Are you seeking online bookies with high betting limits, deposits and withdrawals through e-wallets or just the best signup bonuses?
- What’s your piece of cake: sports spread betting, asian handicapping, live betting, fixed odds or exchange bets?
- Do you fancy online casinos, ew betting on greyhounds, odds guaranteed on horse racing, eSports, politics betting, weather betting and other crazy stuff UK gambling has to offer?
Nobody knows these things better than you do…
Wait no more! You can start wagering with the best bookmaker in the UK in less than 2 minutes!
So that’s why you have to decide for yourself where it is best to execute your betting strategies. Just follow this betting guide, and you’ll soon discover where you want to do your betting and gaming. We'll source the very best UK bookmakers, but it will be up for you to decide who to register with!
Quickly navigate to your desired topic:
- Gambling Laws UK
- Betting Limits
- Betting Exchanges
- UK Betting Promotions
- Competitive Odds & Payout
- Reputation & Reliability
Best UK Online Bookmakers: Gambling Laws UK
Have you ever read the national gambling regulations? Do you know if you are authorised to bet with a specific bookie or not? Start by checking out the gaming law. You don’t have to go down to read the whole history of gambling in the UK or your respective country of residence, but you are bound to know where you can bet legally online before registering an account. Find the licensed bookies first to know what your options are and go from there.
We already told you why limiting yourself to only one bookmaker isn’t a good idea, so when investigating options, always take notes and put together a shortlist. Ask yourself what are the most common sports, leagues and markets you bet on. Then compare the bookie’s offers and discover where the payouts are generally higher for the markets you are interested in. I'd recommend you take a look at bet365.com, betfred.com, williamhill.com, betfair.com and paddypower.com.
Best UK Online Bookmakers: Betting Limits
If you happen to bet on leagues or events that are not very popular, you may find that the bookie’s limits for those fixtures are too low for your budget. As a general rule of the thumb, the more popular the event is, the higher the bookie’s betting limits will be.
Bookmakers will cap how much you can wager to stop users from applying Martingale and other progressive strategies, to prevent money laundering and silly bets on fixed matches. Italian water polo is on top of your list? Make sure you check the limits on these markets before committing to anything!
There are only a few bookies that don’t limit winners. However, most of them will seek out the profitable punters to restrict their accounts and do their best to retain constant losers to increase their profits. A way you can get around limitations is to be with more bookies at the same time or to register with internet betting exchange operators.
Betting with high limits? Open your account and start wagering like a pro!
Best UK Online Bookmakers: Betting Exchanges
If you don’t want to be bothered by betting limits, your only option is to look for betting exchange sites. Back in the day sports betting exchange would provide you excellent odds and tons of arbing opportunities, but today, with all the 3rd party apps and traders out there, finding favourable circumstances has become a much tougher job.
Nowadays, betting exchange vs bookmaker has become a close contest in terms of odds (return after deducting commission), leaving you with some other main advantages, such as the possibility to sell odds and bet against a Correct Score for example and the ability to bet as much as you want, without ever being limited by the platform.
Best UK Online Bookmakers: UK Betting Promotions
Although signup bonuses won’t help you too much on the long run, you can always benefit from other types of betting promotions, such as free bets, enhanced odds, accumulator bonus, acca insurance etc.
Some of the available promotions might help you reduce the house edge, so they are definitely worth checking out, but unlike claiming a casino bonus, a no brainer, the best free bets should not represent a key criterion when choosing a bookmaker – as much as they can help you, be sure to research all the aspects before taking a decision.
Don’t forget to analyse other aspects such as live betting, cash out, live streaming, accepted payment methods, customer support response time etc. The critical point here is to think about everything you might be interested in and evaluate the different UK online bookmakers or the online bookies available in your territory (in case you live abroad).
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Best UK Online Bookmakers: Competitive Odds & Payout
Not every online bookmaker that is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission is offering reasonable betting odds, and that’s no mystery. You can see that pretty clearly on those odds comparison betting sites, and we all know that a sports bet without value is a commitment to bankruptcy in the long run. In fact, there are vast differences between the odds offered for the same bet type on the same sporting event, and we’re not talking about odds guaranteed, enhanced odds and other betting promotions, but purely about clean odds from the bet market.
Some world-renowned betting companies are known to provide competitive odds regularly, but unfortunately, some of them are not amongst the regulated bookmakers in the UK. So what can you do about it? Start taking notes and doing your homework: The most popular UK betting sites are featured on our website; compare their odds for the Premier League, World Cup, ice hockey, horse race betting or whatever you’re interested in.
Did you know that the same online bookmaker is very likely to retain different commissions for the same fixture when live betting is on course? That is why you need to analyse and compare live betting odds as well. Don’t get carried away into thinking that a generous live streaming calendar will necessarily mean a valuable in-play betting offer as well.
Best UK Online Bookmakers: Reputation & Reliability
The best online sports betting companies should offer more than just competitive odds and eye-catching promotions, such as proper customer support, secure payment methods, fast withdrawals etc. The punter must surf the web for feedback before grabbing a welcome bonus with a new bookie. The same principles apply for online betting sites that offer exchange bets as well.
You should look for relevant feedback (not biased moaning) when you are trying to find the best bookmakers in the UK the same way you look for betting previews when analysing a match for football betting. Pay particular attention to the messages from the UK betting community, as one online bookmaker’s services can quite drastically differ from one country to another.
Just figured out what my favourite UK bookie was. What's yours? Click To TweetAt the end of the day, choose the best online sportsbook wisely, according to your needs. Make sure you’ll have a pleasant experience by applying common sense and not falling for all those flashy ads and promo codes out there. Go for the safest and most trustworthy betting sites with the most valuable odds if you’re interested in landing a profit in the long run!
High roller? You’re invited to this bookie’s loyalty program and VIP Clubs!