Best 29 Football Betting Sites UK Ranked - New Offers December 2023

How We Rank the Best Football Betting Sites in the UK

There are so many betting sites in the UK advertised which all offer different welcome offers, bonuses and promotions to keep their customers happy. With so much choice, fans can find it difficult to choose the ideal betting site which provides the perfect service for each customer’s individual preferences and interests. Here are the most important factors you should look out for before you commit to a betting site:

Licensing and Security	All betting sites should be licensed and regulated by a professional authority such as the UK Gambling Commission. This ensures your personal information is safe and secure and also that the betting site commits to fair gaming.
Range of Football Events	There are lots of leagues and tournaments in football and the best betting sites will offer betting options for every single one with a variety of markets too.
Football Odds	Competitive football odds entice customers to join one betting site over another. They need to be strong and include a wide range of markets to boost the interest of bettors.
Mobile App	More fans now like to bet on the go and so a functional and easy to use mobile app is essential. You can also receive notification alerts and live updates to enhance your betting experience.
Welcome Offers and Promotions	A good welcome offer will encourage new customers to join but the regular promotions also need to keep the bettors interested over time.
Live Streaming	Some betting sites also offer live streams of many of the sports available including football. You can stream matches from Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and even smaller leagues, although the Premier League may be limited due to streaming rights.
Bet Builders & In-Play Bets	A popular form of betting is creating a bet builder in which you can add multiple bets for the same match to increase the prize pot if you win. In-play bets also allow bettors to place a bet during a live event such as a football match.
Customer Support	Customer support via live chat or telephone is essential to help you if you encounter an issue for a quick resolution.

The best football betting sites in the UK might not have all of these features but they should have the majority to ensure all customers enjoy the betting experience with a range of sports and markets along with outstanding welcome offers and promotions to ensure you keep coming back and never get bored.

Best Football Betting Sites

The Pools Football Betting

Pros: 

• Pools betting with big cash prizes on football
• Football pools subscriptions available
  

Cons: 

• Not many regular football markets
  

The Pools says that it offers a unique way to bet on your favourite games. Are they the best place to bet if you want to bet on upcoming football matches?

As well as regular football markets, you’ll find football pools markets too. These offer a different way to bet that you won’t see on most betting sites. Pick from their different pools markets and you have the chance to win up to £3 million, which is very exciting.

If you find yourself betting regularly on the pools, then you can actually sign up for a subscription to a market of your choice. That allows you to make your selections and have them run automatically, so you’ll never miss out.

If you want a more standard football betting experience though, this won’t be the site for you. They do have regular football betting markets, but they aren’t as numerous as what you’d find on other sites. As such, you’ll want to try pools betting if you’re checking this site out.

The Pools offers a different and fun way to bet on football, so as a fan you’ll want to check them out.

Starsports Football

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pros:

• News section keeps you up to date
• Virtual football available

Cons:

• Not many football bonuses available

With football being such a popular sport, it’s something that most betting sites cover comprehensively. What you can expect from Starsports in this regard?

If you’re the type that likes to stay up to date with everything in the football scene, you’ll want to take a look at their news section. This covers all the important happenings in the sport, which is always essential when you’re looking to place the perfect bet.

While they have lots of football markets, covering almost any league you can imagine, you’ll find even more in their virtuals section, too. That gives you even more choice when you’re finding just the right game that you want to bet on.

The one downside to the site is that they don’t have a lot to offer when it comes to football bonuses. While they do have a couple of Build A Bet bonuses, there aren’t many specific football bonuses that you can take advantage of.

With all this in mind, you can see that Starsports are a great place to make your football bets. You can get some good prices, so they should always be on your radar.

RhinoBet

Betzone

Tonybet

bet365

TalkSport Bet

Betfred

BetVictor

Bwin

Coral

Ladbrokes

William Hill

Parimatch

Mr.Play

Karamba

Grosvenor Sports

Unibet

NetBet

Intro to betting

What exactly is betting? Betting is the act of spending money in the hopes of making a larger return in profit. It’s putting money down onto the outcome of an event – typically a sport – and hoping for the game to end how you predicted so you’re not out of pocket and instead win some money. While there are a huge amount of betting sites in the UK, not all are recommended for football fans. When we talk about football betting, it is usually putting a wager on a football match on either an “each way” or “draw” result – though these are not the only ways to bet.

 

EACH WAY BET	DRAW RESULT
An each way bet is when a game has a clear winning team and losing team.	A draw is when neither team wins, but instead both teams finish with the same score.

 

Football Competitions and leagues to bet on

The UK has multiple leagues within football that fans and regular punters bet on. These include the UK Premier League (the most well-known league, The UEFA Champions League, League One, League Two and multiple scottish-only leagues. There is also the well-known FA Cup – which is the oldest football league starting in 1871 – and the EFL (English Football League) which started in 1888.

Even some of the nation’s smaller leagues are able to be bet on so there really is no reason to miss your chance.

If you want to branch out of the UK betting scene there are ample opportunities to bet on other popular leagues such as the UEFA Europa League which branches out to European teams as well as British ones.

 

When can you bet on a match? Pre-match and In-play bets

When you start looking around the football section of a betting site, you’ll probably notice the banners that say “pre-match” betting and “Live” or “In-play” betting. There is a reason these are both mentioned and I want to help you understand them.

A pre-match bet is exactly what it sounds like. It’s when you make a bet pre-match or before the match has started. Let’s use an example: Today is Tuesday, and you would like to bet on the Tottenham v Arsenal game on Saturday in 4 days time. You will be placing a bet on this game days before it has started which means the odds are less likely to change in the short term. Of course, if there is an event that affects Saturday’s game such as important players on one team getting injured or suspended before the match then this can drastically affect the odds. 

Live & In-play bets are pretty much the opposite of pre-match bets. They are bets that are placed after the game has already started and this is when the odds could fluctuate at a moment’s notice. An example of events that affect the odds are whether one team has already scored a goal or two, if any of the top players have been removed from the match due to being given a red card too many times or of course players getting injured.

Popular betting sites that offer football betting

Bookmakers	Football new customer offer	Football reload Offer	Watch live games?
Bet 365	✅	❌	✅
Bet Fair	✅	✅	✅
Bet Fred	✅	❌	✅
Bet Victor	✅	✅	✅
Bwin	✅	✅	Only with cash balance
Boyle Sports	❌	✅	✅
Coral	✅	✅	✅
Ladbrokes	✅	✅	Only with cash balance
William Hill	✅	✅	✅
Tonybet	✅	❌	✅

 

This is by no means a full list, these are just some of the nation’s best football betting sites. These betting sites are often sponsors of football teams and players too so you’ll likely recognise them by name since you’ll see them on billboards and team shirts throughout the seasons. If I were to list every UK betting site we’d be here all day!

What to look for in a site

When you want to start betting on football matches you first want to consider the technical aspects of the website, so you can choose the best football betting site for your needs. First and foremost you want to make sure your money is as safe as can be when using a betting site.

• Are they a legitimate company with the correct licences for betting? This is one of the first things you should look for when choosing the best football betting site otherwise you run the risk of depositing money to an untrustworthy source. Reputable sites make it easy to find their licence information (usually at the bottom of their homepage but can be found elsewhere).

Accessibility features

• Can you use their site on phones or tablets or do they only work on computers? Many people place their bets while away from home whether that be at the pub or on the go. By using a site that has greater accessibility you’ll have a better user experience.
• Are you able to watch live sports events on their site? Many punters prefer knowing they can watch the game they have placed a wager on directly on the website.
• Are there restrictions on any deposit methods? One thing that is not consistent amongst platforms is the ways they accept money into your bet account. The most common ways to deposit cash are via debit card and bank transfer, although some platforms allow paypal too. It can be frustrating when you find a great football betting site and new customer offer only to discover they don’t accept your card type for deposit.

Terms you’ll want to know

Accas – Short for accumulators. An acca is a group of single bets that are combined together to create one single wager. For example you could pick the winning team of 5 matches on 5 different days into one betslip and if you win all 5 the returns are higher than that of single bets.

Bet Builders – Bet builders allow you to combine two similar wagers in one bet that both help each other, in general the best football betting sites will each offer their own versions of bet builders. For example if you bet a final goal score of 3-1 to Manchester United then it’s obvious that team will win the game so you can’t bet on them winning as well as bet the goal scores in a regular acca. Bet builders remove that restriction.

Wager – A wager is the amount of money you “wager” or risk on an outcome in betting. For example if you spend £10 betting on Leeds to win the game then your wager is £10.

Odds – Odds show you the chance or probability of an outcome in sports. Let’s say you want to bet on a match with a team who has won many games in their career vs a team who have only won one game. The odds will be lower (lower reward) for the better team and higher (higher reward) for the worse team. The odds determine your winnings based on likelihood of an outcome and are typically shown in decimal or fractional formats.

Reload offer – An offer used to encourage punters with an existing account online to bet, often with a reward of free bets after you make an eligible bet.

Free bet – Free money to use on bets from the betting site to new customers on signup after completing an eligible bet of their own.

Popular Football Betting Events

There is a wide selection of matches, leagues and tournaments in football throughout the year which means you will never run out of matches to bet on! There are also impressive options in the betting markets and the best betting sites in the UK will offer competitive odds for all the choices available. Here are some of the most popular football leagues and events to bet on:

• Premier League

The highest league tier in England, the Premier League is full of competitive fixtures and huge names in football. For the past few seasons, Manchester City has been the team to beat and the league runs from August to May with 380 matches in total.

• La Liga

Another popular league is the competitive Spanish La Liga. This league is often dominated by Barcelona and Real Madrid and has the international appeal that many fans love. It also runs from August to May and includes 380 matches.

• Champions League

This is where the top teams of all the major leagues in Europe compete to try and win a trophy. It consists of group stages, knockout rounds and a final to decide the top team in all of Europe. It has 32 teams and runs from August to May and the final is in a different location every year.

• Europa League

This is the popular second tier European competition in which European teams, who didn’t get into the Champions League, compete for a trophy. It runs from September to May with 32 teams and also has the final in a different place every year.

• FIFA World Cup

The World Cup is the pinnacle of football with a tournament every 4 years with countries trying to become the best team in the world. 210 countries compete in World Cup Qualifiers and this is whittled down to just 32 teams who have to get through a group stage and knockout stages to reach the final. The World Cup is hosted by a different nation every time and usually takes place in the summer.

• UEFA Euros

Also every 4 years, the UEFA Euros is a competition solely for European countries in which 24 teams aim to win the trophy. Set in a different country every tournament, it usually runs in the summer for a month.

There are many popular football events that happen throughout the year and you can find them available to bet on at the best football betting sites in the UK. There is a wide range of betting markets including result, goal scorer, both teams to score and more unique options including amount of corners or yellow cards and handicap.

Comparison of sites offering reload offers for football

BetVictor

Bwin

Boylesports

Coral

Ladbrokes

What is a betting market?

Betting markets are essentially the different categories that you can bet on. They are the more specific actions and outcomes you can place a wager on during a sporting event.

Things to look out for: 90-minutes or extra time

When you’re new to football betting it is always recommended to read the terms of not only the betting site you plan on using, but also the small print of each bet you make. This is because the same outcome for a match could be treated slightly differently depending on the platform you wager the bet on. To give you an example, many new punters get caught out by “each-way” wins by not reading the full terms. Let’s give an example to help understand:

Tottenham vs Chelsea are playing tonight in the Premier League. You placed a bet on Chelsea to win the game. A nice and simple each-way bet. This means that in order for your bet to get returns, Chelsea need to win the match within the 90 minute game play period – not after extra time or penalties. You watch the game later that night, it’s a draw at the 90-minute mark but the game goes into 3 minute overtime and Chelsea score another goal.

Chelsea won the game, but since they did not have the win at the 90-minute mark this cancels out your bet and you return nothing.

Not every betting platform or bet has this rule but it is a very common one that catches people out. If you want to stand a chance at winning outside of the 90 minute mark, this would most likely be made as part of a bet builder.

Football betting markets

We already discussed the two most common ways to bet on football matches – each way and draw results. But these are not the only bets that can be made on a game.

Although you can bet on pretty much anything within a game, the main categories to spread your bets on are as follows:

• Match result – This is when you accurately predict which team will win. You can bet whether the home team or the away team wins as well as bet that both teams end in a draw.
• Winning margin – A winning margin bet is when you successfully place a wager on the difference in goals scored in the game. You could bet on 2 goals being the difference. This could mean the winning team wins 3-1 or 4-2 for example.
• Draw no bet – A “draw no bet” wager is when you don’t have the option to bet on a draw and must bet on the home team winning or the away team winning. If your game does in fact end with both teams in a draw you will be refunded your original stake. Think of this as an insurance bet.
• Goal time – Simply put, this is when you bet on the time within the match that the first goal goes in.
• First goalscorer – This is pretty self explanatory as you can place a bet on the first person to score a goal within a given match. No matter what time of the game it happens in, if they’re the first one to land a goal in the game and you bet on that player, you win.
• Total corners – This is when you place a bet on the number of kicks you think will start from the corner. It is one of the most flexible bets as you can choose literally any number to bet on.
• Penalties – These bets are much less common but this is when you predict a variation of things such as “1st goal scored by penalty” or “1st team to miss penalty”.

Step-by-step guide: Football betting and successfully making your first bet

Step #1: Choosing a site

In order to successfully make bets you will first need to find a site that you like the look of. Make sure it has clear licensing and a good new customer offer that peaks your interest. You can always read the terms of a new offer before actually taking part so you’ll know what to expect.

For my example of a new customer offer I will use Bet Victor to show you how to register an account.

This is the homepage. To find the offer we are going to use in the example you can click the three horizontal lines next to the “Bet Victor” logo at the top of the page. This will create a drop down menu. Click on offers toward the bottom of the menu and scroll down to the “triple x3” offer we spoke about above. At the time of writing it is the 4th offer on the LEFT side.

Step #2: Registering as a new user

When registering for this offer, you can simply click on the image and it will bring up the terms and conditions of the offer along with step by step what to do.

In step one, click the “create your account” button in bright green next to the offer. This will bring up the registration form.

The form to fill out to create your account is only 3 pages with just 11 fields to fill out plus two tick boxes at the end. You must use the same correct spellings in your account as are written on your formal ID. This is a requirement by law.

Once you have finished filling out your account details you will be taken to the homepage to then start your next step.

Step #3: Depositing your funds

Now that your account is created it’s time to deposit your funds. At the top of the homepage you will see the green “deposit” button to start the process. As you can see, you are also able to see your current balance (£0.00) just underneath.

As you can see it will automatically populate a daily deposit limit. But this can be changed at the top of the deposit screen. This is the small window that will allow you to choose a value if you would like to deposit more than the auto-populated figure. Once you have put in your card details your available balance will show on the top bar of the homepage.

Step #4: Pick your market and bet type

Usually this is the point you would go into the sportsbook to find a match and market to bet on. Since we are working towards the new customer offer we already know some of the rules. We must place a single sports bet of at least £5 in order to qualify for the triple return offer. Head over to the football section of the site by clicking the “sports” button in the image slider. Once there you will see the horizontal list of sports that you can bet on. Football is the first option.

When you first arrive at the football section of the site you will see another list of different categories within football betting. Look around, find a match you want to bet on and click it. For this same example we are just looking to wager a single bet on one team to win. We are going to use Premier League and “match betting” for the standard bets.

Step #5: Place the bet

I have chosen the Brentford vs Leeds United game taking place in a few days time. To place a bet, click the square of the outcome you want to bet on. The left column is the first team listed as winning (in this example Brentford is column 1). The middle column stands for a draw game and the third column stands for the second team winning (Leeds). We will be placing a bet on Leeds winning so we will click the box that has odds of 9/5 in it.

As you can see, this opens the bet slip on the right side of the screen. This is where you will place your stake (bet amount). You only need a minimum of £5 to qualify so you are able to wager £5 or higher. Once filled in, click “Enter a stake” and the system will keep your betslip safe until the game has taken place. You can find all active bets in the “My Bets” button at the top of the betslip. There is nothing now to do but wait until the bet has settled at the end of the game.

Step #6: Settlement of a bet

Once the game is complete in a few days time and your bet is settled you will be notified of any updates to your betting status in the notification bar. This can be found at the header of the page between the Betvictor logo and your current account balance. If you have a message you will be notified through the messages tab which you can find by clicking the white envelope.

Since placing the bet and using my full £5 account credit you can see the account balance is back down to £0.

The platform will notify you of any outcomes of a bet – whether in your favour or not – and will let you know of any rewards you are eligible for and when they have been credited to your account. Congratulations, you have successfully placed your first football bet!

Some highly rated football bookmakers;

Summary of Football Betting

Football betting is like an art for sports fans. It’s meant to be a fun way to feel more involved in the sporting events you enjoy. If you follow the instructions and always read the betting terms you’ll always be aware of what to expect with no nasty surprises.

You may not predict every sporting outcome correctly but that’s all part of the fun.

Be sensible, know your betting limits and be prepared for any outcome!