The aim of this website is simple, to bring you the top betting sites for sports! With over 25 years’ experience in gambling in both high street bookmakers and online, we know what makes a site great or poor. Being an independent site means all our views are unbiased, trustworthy and informative.
| 1. | Claim Now | Betway * Great | £30 Free | No Wagering RequirementAcca Insurance£30 Free Bet | |||
| 2. | Take Bonus | 888sport * Great | £10 Free Bet | Treble Winnings on First BetBet & WatchBest Promotions | |||
| 3. | Take Bonus | Ladbrokes * Very Good | £50 Free | Best Welcome Bonus Trusted BrandNo Wagering Requirements |
A question I get asked a lot by friends is “what is it that makes a site truly great?” and the answer I always give is “a combination of things”. To steal a horse racing saying, “it’s different horses for different courses”, here are just a few examples of the criteria we use when assessing a site;
- The quality of the welcome bonus
- Free bets
- Ongoing promotions
- Wagering requirements
- Safety & security
The type of sport you want to bet on will also have an impact on what site suits you best, some sites have a huge range of markets to choose from and others have a lot less and concentrate on the most popular.
Your Safety & Security at Online Betting Sites
This is one of the most important features to consider when finding the perfect betting site. It’s no good having great bonuses, the best odds and an amazing site if it not passionate about keeping your personal and financial details safe.
The three websites we recommend comply with the stringent licensing terms of the UK Gambling Commission, they are all audited by external experts and invest in state of the art encryption and use SSL which stands for Secure Sockets Layer. SSL is the security technology for creating an encrypted link between the bookmakers’ web server and your browser. This secure sockets layer link ensures that all data passed between you and the company remains private and cannot be intercepted. On this site we don’t deal with rogue sportsbooks, each of the sites here has an impeccable reputation and are trusted by millions of players.
If for any reason you are hesitant about sharing your credit or debit card details, then you could use a method to fund your account such as Skrill or PayPal which adds another layer of safety for you.
Good Betting Bonuses at the Best Betting Sites
It is really easy to get enticed to play at a site that offers a big headline bonus but one of the biggest mistakes that both novice and more experienced punters make is not understanding how bonuses work.
Some sites impose what is called a wagering requirement (also called play-through), this is in place to stop you receiving a bonus and cashing it out instantly. Not that any of us would do anything like that, would we? (haha)
One of the biggest complaints against online bookmakers is the wagering requirement, so having even just a basic understanding of them can ensure you enjoy your experience without you feeling cheated or misinformed. We will take a more detailed look at these later in this article but first let’s have a look at some of the different types of bonuses you can receive.
Matched Deposit Bonuses
The matched deposits are usually for new customers only, although some sites have ongoing promotions in which they will match further deposits.
The idea is really simple, you deposit money and the company will match it.
It’s worth noting that not every bonus is the same, some sites offer a deal that matches the amount of deposit you make. The percentage offered can vary from site to site. Usually ranging from 50 – 100%.
| Deposit Amount | Matched % | Total Amount Playable |
|---|---|---|
| £10 | 50% | £15 |
| £20 | 50% | £30 |
| £50 | 50% | £75 |
| £100 | 50% | £150 |
| £10 | 100% | £20 |
| £20 | 100% | £40 |
| £50 | 100% | £100 |
| £100 | 100% | £200 |
Enhanced Odds Offers on Sporting Events
There are two types of enhanced odds deals, instead of a matched deposit, 888sport offer you the chance to treble the winnings on your first bet. This can make a massive difference to your winnings and we are great fans of this offer.
| Event | Normal Odds | Normal Winnings on £10 | Boosted Winnings at 888sport |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal to win the Premier League | 11/1 | £110 | £330 |
| Zlatan to be top scorer in the Premier League | 3/1 | £30 | £90 |
| Sevilla to win LaLiga | 100/1 | £1000 | £3000 |
| Ludogorets to win their group | 20/1 | £200 | £600 |
The other type of enhanced odds is used extensively on most sports betting sites to encourage you to play there, it consists of a “price booster” and the prices offered will be boosted. For example, Liverpool are playing Tottenham and the normal price for Adam Lallana to score the first goal and Liverpool to win is 20/1, you will often see online bookmakers increase the price to say 25/1.
*** 888sport Treble your Odds – Turn a Favourite into an Outsider ***
We are great fans of these offers, the fact that they are open to everyone and not just new customers means it is worth shopping around for these deals.
Free Bets & Bet Refunds at Sports Betting Sites
Free bets are used a lot by betting sites to encourage you to bet on a certain event. For example, during the Grand National you will see bookmakers offering you a free £10 bet if you place three or more £10 bets the day before. These work really well if you were going to bet on the race anyway.
Another promotion that the best betting sites have are bet refunds, this gives you money back as free bets if a certain event happens. For example, betway may say “During the Manchester United v Hull City game we will refund all losing first goal scorer bets if Rooney scores the first goal”. I bet £10 on Paul Pogba scoring first but Rooney does indeed score the first goal so they will give me a £10 free bet. It’s like having a free cover bet and has saved my stake a few times.
Accumulator Insurance – Protect them Accas
Nothing can get the heart pumping and your pulse racing like accumulators can. Some serious money can be won by picking even just 5 medium priced winners. Accumulator Insurance comes into its own when just one leg of your bet lets you down.
For example, I am betting at betfair and have a five-fold accumulator on the football. I have picked Tottenham to beat Liverpool, Chelsea to beat Burnley, Everton to beat Stoke, Leicester to beat Swansea and Hull City to pull off a surprise result against Arsenal. I place a £10 bet and receive odds of 47/1.
Everything is going well and in the early kick off the first prediction comes true, the 3pm kick off’s also do me proud and I am left sweating on the result of the later kick off game. Despite Hull City playing like their nickname “The Tigers”, they only achieve a draw. My bet is lost but due to the Acca insurance, I receive my stake back as a £10 bet. Yes, I know it’s not the £470 I could have won but at least it gives me my stake back for another attempt.
The acca insurance isn’t just about football and horses, at many UK betting sites you can also get this protection on basketball, ice hockey and even darts.
Ongoing Promotions at Online Sports Sites
As the welcome bonus is the most generous of all offers at online bookmakers it is pretty normal to feel a “betting comedown” once you have exhausted the initial introductory offer. To counteract this, most sites put a lot of thought and effort into bringing ongoing offers to keep you betting with them.
These promotions change very regularly and will match the sporting calendar. For example, in football you will find numerous offers during the Euros, World Cup, Champions League matches, FA Cup etc.
In horse racing you can expect to see great promotions at any of the major meetings such as the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood and of course, the Grand National.
Best Price Guaranteed / Best Odds Guaranteed
Many years ago when I started betting regularly, often the best prices for a horse or dog were offered early. This encouraged you to plan ahead and get your selections in advance of a race. This often led to a situation in which a horse’s (or dog’s) price would drift. This could mean a 10/1 shot becoming a 15 or even 20/1 price. This was of course infuriating if your selection won.
Thankfully you don’t need to have this dilemma anymore as all the sites we recommend offer “Best Odds Guaranteed” or BOG as it is affectionately known. It couldn’t be any simpler, place your bet and if the starting price (SP) is higher than the price you were given, they will pay out at the higher price. What a wonderful time to be alive!
Wagering Requirements for Sportsbooks in 2024
I mentioned before that wagering requirements can have a huge impact on how you play and also it has a big influence on how we rate a sportsbook.
Let’s imagine a scenario in which a bookmaker imposes a 10x wagering requirement, this means that if you receive a £30 bonus, you have to wager or play through the bonus ten times before you can cash out the winnings. That is £300 you have to place in bets, suddenly that £30 bonus doesn’t seem so great does it?
So, for the good news! The three sites that we mention on this page, betway, 888sport and Ladbrokes have no wagering requirements at all. There are not that many UK bookies that don’t impose a wagering requirement so we are absolutely delighted that the ones we recommend don’t.
Qualifying Bets for Sports Bonuses
An important consideration is that free bets and matched deposits may contain stipulations on the minimum odds that an event has to have. This is to prevent consumers cashing out free bets on dead certainties (is there such a thing – ED?). So very often you will see that the minimum odds are set at something like 1/2 (1.5 for decimal lovers). You may also find that some markets or bets are excluded, for example the triple the odds offer at 888sport cannot be used for multiple (acca) betting and tote betting and pool bets are often excluded from special offers.
No Deposit Bonuses Online
“Back in the old days” it used to be possible to take a no deposit bonus, this allowed you to have a no risk, no deposit bet. Unfortunately, these are extremely rare nowadays. Although if I am totally honest, the no deposit bonuses used to cause more problems than they were worth due to the extortionately high wager requirements that these bonuses came with, so I’m glad we have higher quality promotions at the best betting sites rather than cheap gimmicks.
Mobile and Live Betting at Sports Sites
If you are like me and you are a self-confessed mobile addict, then you will love betting on the move. The top online bookmakers have embraced new wave technology and have simplified the betting experience for the smaller screen. No matter where or when, within a few taps you can place a bet. In the majority of cases, the mobile version has the same content as it’s big screened cousin.
Live betting is a huge favourite personally, no more do you have to race to a bookies before a match or race starts, now you can bet in-play and take advantage of and react to what you are seeing happening. It’s great fun and because the odds fluctuate all the time, it is possible to get value bets at the best online betting sites.
Conclusion – Our Top Online Bookies
When designing this site, we decided we didn’t want to bring you a huge list of options, we just wanted to bring you the best. After sampling over 50 sites in researching this page, we believe our top 3 are the best in the business.
They all take security seriously, have great reputations, offer great welcome deals and as mentioned in the text, none of them have wagering requirements. We know whichever betting partner you pick from this page that you are in safe hands.