Football Betting Sites for the UK – Reviewed & Rated
Last updated: by Leon Marshal
We have ranked April 2024‘s best football betting sites that have made it their mission to meet the needs of punters. You can see the latest offers and bonuses, as well as odds, markets, and betting types.
| Bookmaker | Welcome Bonus | Highlights | Rating | Visit Bookmaker | T&C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 YetiBet | Top Odds | Markets: 102, Bet Types: 52, Odds Levels: 94.75% | 5.0 out of 5 | www.yeticasino.com | Full T&Cs Apply! Please gamble responsibly. 18+ |
| 🥈 Betiton | £10 | Markets: 101, Bet Types: 39, Odds Levels: 93.75% | 4.9 out of 5 | www.betiton.com | Full T&Cs Apply! 18+, Welcome Bonus: New Players only, 1st Deposit, Min Deposit,: £10, max £10 free bet valid for 14 days, bets must be placed at odds of 1/1 or greater and be settled within 14 days of placement. System bets not eligible. Neteller,Skrill and Paypal not eligible. |
| 🥉 Grosvenor | x2 Odds | Markets: 98, Bet Types: 35, Odds Levels: 96.25% | 4.8 out of 5 | www.bet365.com | Full T&Cs Apply! min odds 3/1 (4.00) / min 3 selections / free bet valid 7 days / T&C apply / 18+ / Begambleaware. |
| ⭐ NetBet | Get £50 | Markets: 101, Bet Types: 38, Odds Levels: 96.25% | 4.7 out of 5 | www.bet365.com | Full T&Cs Apply! min odds 3/1 (4.00) / min 3 selections / free bet valid 7 days / T&C apply / 18+ / Begambleaware. |
| ⭐ bet365 | Get £30 | Markets: 96, Bet Types: 32, Odds Levels: 96.25% | 4.6 out of 5 | www.bet365.com | Full T&Cs Apply! New Customers only. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you five times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. Registration required. |
| ⭐ Ladbrokes | Get £20 | Markets: 88, Bet Types: 30, Odds Levels: 94.56% | 4.6 out of 5 | www.ladbrokes.com | Full T&Cs Apply! 18+ New UK+IRE customers only. PayPal and certain deposit types excluded. Min £5 bet within 14 days of account registration at min odds 1/2 = 4 x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 4 days on sports, stake not returned, restrictions apply. |
| ⭐ mr.play | Get £10 | Markets: 103, Bet Types: 34, Odds Levels: 94.78% | 4.6 out of 5 | www.mrplay.com | Full T&Cs Apply! 18+, Welcome Bonus: New Players only, 1st Deposit, Min Deposit: £10, max £15 free bet valid for 14 days, bets must be placed at odds of 1/1 or greater and be settled within 14 days of placement. System bets not eligible. |
| ⭐ William Hill | Get £30 | Markets: 98, Bet Types: 43, Odds Levels: 94.69% | 4.6 out of 5 | www.williamhill.com | Full T&Cs Apply! New online customers only, min £10/€10 stake, win only, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 3 X £10/€10, 30 day expiry, free bet/payment method/player/country restrictions apply. |
The following sections will offer a brief discussion of the various KPIs we consider important for ranking bookies in terms of their contributions to the world of football betting. We graded each of our top sportsbooks on several criteria, including betting markets, odds levels, bonuses, live betting capabilities and more. The table above reflects our years of experience dealing with different football betting sites.
Football News & Betting Tips
In order to fully benefit from football betting sites, you have to be up to date with all the latest news. What’s more, we will also provide weekly betting tips in our dedicated news and tips section, which you can find below.
We recommend checking our news feed on a regular basis. We bring all the breaking news and best tips for you to flourish when betting on football. Don’t miss out on our weekly previews!
Football Betting Odds Levels
Let’s start off with one of the most important KPIs out there, i.e., football betting odds levels. We cannot even begin to consider a bookmaker if it does not pass the all-important generosity test. It’s crucial bookmakers display a track record of football odds margins that not only meet but also surpass, the expectation of punters. The task should by no means be taken lightly. The best football betting sites should offer you good returns, check the table below to see how they fare.
| AVERAGE PAYOUT LEVEL TOP TIER FOOTBALL LEAGUES | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookmaker | YetiBet | Betiton | Grosvenor | NetBet | bet365 |
| Premier League | 93.65% | 94.75% | 92.75% | 93.07% | 95.67% |
| La Liga | 94.05% | 95.75% | 93.09% | 92.99% | 96.63% |
| Serie A | 95.75% | 96.71% | 94.93% | 94.55% | 96.42% |
| Bundesliga | 95.83% | 94.83% | 91.94% | 93.56 | 96.77% |
If the stakes are exceptionally high, even slight differences in odds can make massive differences in returns. Try to also bear in mind that betting is not a one-time gig: you’ll be spending a great deal of time on a certain operator. Naturally, even slight differences in odds levels will be much more discernible in the long run. Football betting odds levels can vary across leagues and tournaments (e.g., Serie A, Bundesliga) too. Whether the bet is in play or not is also important. And then of course there is the odds margin, which acts as an insurance policy for the bookmaker against potentially devastating losses. Think of the margin as a generosity factor. If a bookie is offering lower margins, it signifies a more generous payout policy, which means the increased likelihood that punters walk away with more profit at the end of the day.
Markets on Offer, Available Betting Types
The markets an operator offers is another crucial consideration for evaluating football betting sites. What exactly is this meant to denote?
Unfortunately, not all leagues and tournaments are available at each operator. However, there should still be a great selection at the top online football betting sites, such as World Cup betting. Suppose that you’ve attained mastery in wagering on games from the J1 League (the top division of the Japan Professional Football League) but your go-to bookie does not list the J1 League games as an available betting market.
| FOOTBALL MARKETS AVAILABLE AT EACH OPERATOR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookmaker | EPL | La Liga | Serie A | Bundesliga |
| 🥇 YetiBet | 83 | 75 | 88 | 75 |
| 🥈 Betiton | 91 | 88 | 85 | 85 |
| 🥉 Grosvenor | 98 | 95 | 106 | 89 |
| ⭐ NetBet | 105 | 112 | 113 | 101 |
| ⭐ bet365 | 109 | 98 | 95 | 96 |
And what if the full range of bets offered by a company just doesn’t include the type of betting that suits you best? Suppose that you feel sufficiently confident about predicting, with mathematical accuracy, the first goal scorer during a certain Premier League game, but the first goalscorer option is not offered by the operator. You can avoid this unfortunate circumstance by researching sites ahead of time. If you are unfamiliar with what the popular betting markets are, then check out our football betting guide, to find out more. You will then be able to compare the online operators more effectively.
Live Football Betting Arena
Seasoned football punters will have little trouble appreciating just how transformational the in-play option has been for the world of online football betting. With the advent of the internet and live (or in-play) betting, an entirely new dimension has also been introduced into the betting on football experience. Users are now able to place a bet while the game is unfolding. This feature has introduced a lot of thrills and excitement to betting which simply didn’t exist before. Indeed, it has become virtually impossible to imagine a world without live betting. So, it should come as little surprise, then, that when evaluating a football betting site, live-play capabilities are crucial to consider.
The most important aspect to keep in mind is the user-friendliness of the platform. It should be understandable and interactive enough to help you place wagers quickly and accurately. The live betting option is usually lodged firmly in the top left corner of the home page and is effortlessly discernible for football enthusiasts to exploit as they please. The football event may or may not be live-streamed, depending on the fixture. Naturally, being able to see the game as it unfolds is likely to play a key role in increasing your bankroll. It also means that new bet types unthinkable before (e.g., “who will take the next free-kick?”) are now a regular feature of the game. With in-play betting so popular, all our recommended live betting operators offer a great platform, with live infographics denoting the action and a vast array of in-play betting options.
Utilising Cash Out at Football Betting Sites
Having to wait for the final whistle used to be an inseparable part of placing a football bet. And even with the final whistle blown, losing one’s earnings in a split second was still a real possibility. Now, with football betting sites offering early cash-outs, all that is a thing of the past. Punters now have more control over their winnings than ever before. Here’s how it works. Say you’re firmly glued to your TV or mobile screen and the glorious outcome you’d been desperately hoping for has unfolded right before your eyes. This is where the cashout option comes to the rescue: it allows you to guarantee a return whilst you’re ahead, preventing those infamous bad beats.
There is, of course, the value of the cash-out rate, for not all cash out options are created equally. Also of great importance is whether partial cash out is offered. Some bookmakers let you cash out a part of your stake in order to guarantee a certain profit, but they also allow a fraction of your bet to continue running, which is useful when using accumulator betting. Another parameter to consider is market availability. A bookmaker may offer the cash-out option for La Liga games but not for Jamaica’s first division fixtures. If you’re an expert on Jamaica’s National Premier League but your bookmaker does not include cash out for this particular market, your chances of walking away with some cash in your hand have been severely diminished. This should automatically render this bookmaker unattractive in your eyes.
Football Bonuses and Promotions
Bookmakers offer a whole range of betting bonuses and promotions to football betting enthusiasts. The task of comparing bonuses and promotions may at first appear rather straightforward. But if you’ve ever found yourself drowning in an ocean of seemingly meaningless numbers and graphs, you’ll have no trouble appreciating value of promotions and bonuses. Almost all operators offer a welcome bonus for new customers. So make sure you take it into consideration when making a decision. But there are more promotions and bonuses to look out for and it’s useful to first enumerate some of the most important ones we’ll be discussing: (1) the acca bonus (2) enhanced odds and (3) existing customer bonus.
Acca Bonus
As the name accumulator (or “acca” bonus) suggests, the concept is meant to reward those among us who prefer to win big numbers in a short time span. If you have a gut feeling simultaneously about multiple football bets, the acca bonus allows you to make multiple selections while enhancing potential winnings. What does this mean for you? Simple: more earnings. But be careful. Although the winnings are higher, so too are the risks. So, it’s important not to get carried away with acca bonuses and to bet wisely, i.e., striking a balance between risk and return. It bears mention that despite its growing appeal, the acca bonus is usually restricted to certain top tier football tournaments and leagues such as Serie A and Champions League. Furthermore, the acca bonus is in most cases available only for pre-match betting. The table down below provides a rough sketch of the steps that need to be taken when using the acca bonus to one’s advantage.
You can benefit from an Acca Bonus by following these steps:
There are many leagues and competitions that are eligible for these bonus offer types.
Place a bet with eligible leagues and number of selections to receive a winner bonus.
If you’re bet turns out to be a winner, the betting operator will credit you with a bonus percentile.
Enhanced Odds
For various marketing reasons, bookmakers have a habit of announcing the odds for a top-flight football match, and then proceeding to boost those initial odds. But before you start rummaging your (and our) favourite betting sites for enhanced odds, bear in mind that this promotion is usually exclusive to high profile football matches of the day or weekend. So, don’t be surprised if finding enhanced odds on Jamaica’s Red Stripe Premier League feels like a Sisyphean endeavour. Other times, this odds enhancement is restricted to new customers and is commonly referred to as “enhanced” new customer offer.
Existing Customer Bonus
Just imagine a cruel and unjust world where enhanced odds were only offered to new customers. Appalling, we agree. But thankfully, the betting gods have sorted that out for us. If you’ve already become intimate with a certain bookmaker which meets all your betting dreams and desires but still want to spice things up in the betting arena, just look for odds enhancement offers available for already-existing customers. These are commonly referred to as “price boost” offers and tend to be a bit smaller than the enhanced odds offered to new customers. These offers are often available at online bookmakers that accept Google Pay.
Emerging Features in Football Betting
Betting on football boasts a proud history that has been defined by innovation. The advent of the internet in recent years and the unforeseen upsurge in pioneering approaches to gambling have also infused the football betting scene with an innovative character. However, keeping up with the latest football gambling trends is daunting at times – just see the number of options. We are, therefore, always on the lookout for the latest, so you don’t have to be. Below, we’ll briefly discuss some the most epoch-defining trends in the world of football gambling such as virtual and flash markets. We’ll also mention some of the new football betting sites that show promise.
Virtual Football Betting
To an outsider, the world of virtual football betting may be hard to grasp. But to its practitioners, it is just as legitimate, real, rewarding and exhilarating as any other form of wagering. It’s similar to what’s offered on the best horse racing betting sites. They’re just different sports. Virtual betting does what it says on the tin, as it’s essentially betting on virtual football matches that use a random number generator. There are an impressive range of bets and matches, but there is little in the way of skill involved since the outcomes are entirely random.
Flash Markets
The popularity of live-betting as a whole has most certainly undergone a marked spike in recent years. But not everyone experiences the thrill and excitement of live betting in the same way. Within this specific cluster, an even more spontaneous—not to mention creative—genre of in-play betting has emerged. It is now common practice for operators to further electrify live-betting by suddenly introducing betting offers lasting for only a short amount of time. Traditionally, this tends to be available only on mobile apps. During a given football match, the operator will ask users a question along the lines of, “Will there be a free-kick within the next five minutes?” This means that punters have five minutes to participate in the said bet. While there’s no fixed or agreed-upon name for this type of betting, it is often referred to as “flash” betting.
Betting by League
Punters tend to be drawn to certain leagues more than others. One obvious reason is that they’re emotionally attached to the leagues and teams they’ve grown used to throughout the years. But there’s more involved than just emotions and habits. If you’ve built up an impressive body of knowledge about the Premiership, you’re naturally more inclined to place bets on English teams since you’re more likely to win. The following sections offer a quick roundup of four of the world’s most popular leagues when it comes to betting: Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Premier League
Premier League betting sites are by and large the most popular football betting markets in the United Kingdom, and one of the most popular in the world. If Leicester City’s 2016 title proved anything, it was that in the world of football betting, there is no such thing as a safe bet and that anyone can win. Nine months before the start of their Premiership campaign, the odds being offered on them winning the title were 5,000-1 against. For the punters who had put cash on the bet, it meant winning is as much as £100,000. For the bookies, it meant paying out £25 million, in other words, the greatest loss in British history on a single sport market. There is enough uncertainty here to humble the most skilled punter.
La Liga
One of the most popular leagues on planet earth, Spain’s La Liga is home to two of the most formidable names in global football: Barcelona and Real Madrid. The fierce rivalry between the two teams, referred to as “El Classico,” is always a heated affair. Some of world football’s most recognisable names play or have played in various El Classicos throughout the years: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham to name a few. Though always a thrilling spectacle to watch, betting on La Liga games can be a bit tricky since the bigger teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid tend to dominate the smaller ones. This is one reason why handicap betting enjoys more popularity here than in other markets such as the Premier League.
Serie A
The Serie A is one of the most popular leagues in Europe. The football played is typically conservative, slow and defensive. Teams like Juventus and Inter Milan have built reputations of the solidity of their defence. The league is home to some of the world’s best players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Ivan Perisic. When betting on such a league it is important to consider the low scoring level at most matches. Most games typically finish with under 2.5 goals, and there are rarely upsets when it comes to the bigger teams getting beaten by the more mediocre outfits in the division. But the league is packed with exciting moments and Italian football is once again on the rise with a host of young talent coming through the ranks.
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga is the home to one of the best football clubs throughout history. Bayern Munich has long dominated this division, but the tides are turning with clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Hertha Berlin and RB Leipzig taking a bigger share of the points. Betting on the Bundesliga has always been particularly tricky, many games are unpredictable on the surface, and goals seem to be the only market where genuine patterns begin to form. Some of the world’s best players currently play in the Bundesliga, including Thiago Alcantara, Marco Reus and Ondrej Duda. Fans around the world have been longing for the period of dominance from Bayern to subside, it has been a long time coming but it may finally be upon us.
Q&A / FAQ
For more in-depth reviews surrounding the trials and tribulations of online sports betting, have a look at the top betting sites in the UK. We have an abundance of betting resources dedicated to informing our readers.
While we try to make our guides as comprehensive as possible, our readers often have more specific questions, which we answer in the following section. Here are the most commonly asked questions about football betting sites:
What are the best football betting sites?
There’s a whole range of sportsbooks offering various football markets. You can check out our list of top football betting sites for an overview of ones we recommend.
How do football odds work?
Football odds are posted as the fractional ratio of the payout amount compared to the stake. If you have odds of 1:1 then you will receive £1 for every £1 wagered. You can find the top football betting sites by payout here.
Which football leagues can I bet on?
There are several popular betting sites that host hundreds of football leagues. You can check out our bookie by bookie guide to football betting markets for a complete rundown of what's available.
What are some common football betting bonuses?
There are quite a few methods operators use to attract new and seasoned punters alike. Keep in mind the terms and conditions though, as what seems like a generous offer may in fact require a sizeable investment on your part. We listed the most common football betting bonuses, so give it a read if you're curious what types are available.