Best 16 Rugby Betting Sites UK for 2023 - Ranked By Experts

How we rank the best rugby betting sites

Rugby is an exciting sport, and many things can happen in just 80 minutes. That’s why punters love it. We’ve looked at some of important factors that go into making punters’ experiences on rugby betting sites the best they can possibly be. Here are some of the most important considerations we make when reviewing rugby betting sites in the UK. Our approach is thorough and fair to assessing the best ones.

Tournament coverage	Any credible bookies will cover major events like the Six Nations, Rugby World Cup, Super Rugby, and domestic leagues. Some are stronger than others, however, at providing a more comprehensive list of tournaments to wager on, so we’ll always recommend ones that outperform the weaker ones.
Wide bet selection	A wide bet selection is crucial for rugby betting sites to entice punters. From the ever-popular try scorers, outright match winners, and handicap betting, to more market-leading ones like customisable bets, we take everything into consideration. A wide and varied bet selection can turn a good bookies into a great bookies.
Competitive odds	All bookies offer odds, but not all of them are as competitive as they perhaps should be. Punters want good value for money and to maximise their profits, so they’ll be on the lookout for odds that grant them the best possible chance at that. We will recommend the best bookies that offer competitive odds across major and minor tournaments and other events.
Live streaming	Rugby is not only great to bet on, but is a highly watchable sport with lots of exciting moments. Not to mention, punters betting on rugby are probably fans first, so they’ll want to watch at the same time as betting. Live streaming is in demand as a feature in today’s climate, so rugby betting sites that provide this feature, particularly one that performs well (no lag and high resolution), will entice punters more. It’s a win-win: punters get a more pleasant experience, while betting sites entice them to stay on the site for longer, resulting in more wagers.
Promotions and bonuses	Bonuses and promotions are a punter’s bread and butter and they’ll always be on the lookout for decent ones, both rugby-specific and general ones they can use on their fave rugby events. Bookies need to continually up their game, so while welcome bonuses, free bets, and bet and get offers are great, and will keep punters coming back, the more unique and lucrative ones will separate the good from the great. We’ll recommend rugby betting sites based in the UK that offer the best deals, especially ones that are specific to the rugby.
PC, tablet, and smartphone	In 2023, you can expect punters to be using myriad different ways to bet – we’re just waiting for the day to bet on a FitBit or Apple Watch. Until that time, you can expect the majority of their bets to be wagered on their phone or tablet. A lot of the time and effort goes into ensuring the site performs optimally, which is of course important, but rugby betting sites that prioritise making the smartphone and/or tablet experience amazing, will keep punters happy and, therefore, feature higher in the rankings when we assess them.
Tool good to be true	Punters love variety and they love insights, so any rugby betting site looking to earn their spot at the top of the rankings list will offer a comprehensive set of tools so punters can make informed decisions on their bets. Those include things like betting calculators, odds conversion tables, data-finding tools, injuries and suspension updates, and more are all ones to include.
Crunching the numbers	Betting tools are great and one that rugby betting sites should prioritise is offering a comprehensive stats dashboard. This should include player form, injuries, suspensions, and lots of other things that inform and entice punters. An in-app or on-site statistics and insights dashboard is a crucial piece of the puzzle for bettors, and is high in-demand. Rugby betting sites that offer a high quality and reliable version of this feature will rank highly.
Customer service	Customer service isn’t exciting but it’s one of the most crucial factors to consider as, if bettors have problems that aren’t quickly resolved, there’s no quicker way to turn them away from your site. Things don’t always go as planned and punters know that. But, they expect informed, friendly, and reliable customer service agents, with easy ways to access them, such as the ever-popular live chat function. Email and freephone should also be highly visible and easy to use.

UK Betting sites that allow punters to bet on rugby matches

#1 Rugby Betting Site - Ladbrokes

#2 Rugby Betting Site - Betiton

#3 Rugby Betting Site - Coral

#4 Rugby Betting Site - Betfred

#5 Rugby Betting Site - Paddy Power

#6 Rugby Betting Site - Betfair

So, what’s the difference between rugby league and rugby union?

Rugby league is often referred to as the faster of the two, with the aim of the game simply being to outscore the opposing team by scoring tries (these are worth four points in rugby league). Moreover, in rugby like there is a limit to possession time meaning a team. Can only be tackled six times before possession is turned over to the opposition.

Rugby Union, however, is similar in the main aspects but slightly different. For example, in Rugby union after a tackle, there are rucks and mauls whereas in rugby league these are not allowed with scoring also being slightly different.

Rugby league vs Rugby union

Rugby League	Rugby Union
13 players at a time	15 players at a time
Only allowed 7 substitutes	Allowed 10 substitutes
Drop goals equal 1 point	Drop goals equal 3 points
Penalties are worth 2 points	Penalties are worth 3 points
Tries are worth 4 points	Tries are worth 5 points
Conversions are worth 2 points	Conversions are worth 2 points
70 countries play rugby league rules	101 countries play rugby union rules

 

Rugby’s third variation – What is rugby sevens?

Who would have thought there was yet another rugby variant with even more rules?

Rugby sevens (often played as part of the large Commonwealth games or Olympic events) is known as a “lightning fast” version of rugby union. But that’s not to say it follows all the rules of rugby union, in fact, like rugby league it has quite a few differences. Let’s break it down

Gameplay and length of match

• Rugby sevens is a much shorter game with only 7 minutes played in each half. This means the total gameplay is only 14 minutes. When you include the two-minute interval your total expected time to complete a match is 16 minutes. This is much less than the longer rugby union game which has two 40-minute halves, with a 15-minute interval. Once you account for any stoppages or injuries your average run time is 100-120 minutes.

Number of players

• Rugby sevens only has 7 players at a time and there are only allowed to be 5 substitutes waiting and ready to play. This is also much less than the regular union matches which allow 15 players and 10 substitutes.

Games played

• Rugby union is often played at an average of once a week (unless playing in a specific tournament) however rugby sevens has much shorter matches so they can play up to 6 matches in a single weekend.

Differences in score types

• In rugby sevens a conversion and/or a penalty is classed as a drop goal whereas in the longer rugby union games, conversions and penalties are taken as place kicks. This is one of the more notable differences within the gameplay itself between the two game types.

How to score points in rugby

Luckily for players and watchers of rugby, there are only four main ways to successfully score points during a match, and the general consensus of these are the same. However, the points they amount to in each rugby variant differs. The four ways to score points in rugby are as follows:

• Tries
• Penalties
• Conversions
• Drop goals

Since you’ll be betting on rugby, you should probably understand the scoring system and how each team can score points. That way, you don’t need to wait until the game is over when you check your betting slip to understand if you’ve predicted correctly, you’ll just be able to tell while you’re watching the game. Let’s go into some more detail.

Tries

A Player from “Team A” would score a try by successfully grounding the ball within the parameters of the opposing (Team B) team’s in-goal area. This is on the opposite end of the pitch to where Team A started the match and are defending their own goal area. In Rugby union a try is worth 5 points and in rugby league a try is worth 4 points.

Penalties

Similar to other sports, a penalty is a disciplinary action after a foul has taken place during the game. This means, if a player on Team A breaks the rules of the game while playing, they will be disciplined by the referee. When this happens the ref usually passes the opposing team (Team B) the ball to allow them to make a kick towards the goal of the team that did wrong (Team A). If they are successful then they only have the team that broke the rules to thank! Penalties in rugby union are worth 3 points but are only worth 2 points in rugby league.

Conversions

You might have seen the tall, white “Y” shaped goals on either end of the rugby pitch? Well, a conversion kick is when the ball is successfully kicked from standstill on the ground, over and through the opposition’s goal posts. In order to start a conversion, the ball must be “teed-up” on the ground with the pointy-end pointing straight up. If the ball is moving at the time of the kick, it is not deemed to be a conversion. In rugby sevens a conversion is the same as a rugby union drop goal.

Drop goal

This is probably one of the best-known rugby moves – even by beginners. A drop goal is exactly what it sounds like. It’s when a player has the ball in hand and drops it towards the ground and manages to kick in before it fits the floor. During this kick the aim is for the ball to go through to goal posts and score the team 3 points (if playing union rules) or just 1 point when playing league rules. If the ball is stationary or on the ground at the time of the kick then it is not deemed a drop goal and would instead be a conversion.

What events are there available to bet on?

With Rugby being such a popular sport there are many different events hosted throughout the year. These include several international events such as the world cup, six nations, and even the European rugby challenge cup. Rugby league appears to be more popular in areas in the North of England and France, with events such as the super league and rugby championship being the two main events of the year.

When does each rugby event take place?

Tournament	When?
The World Cup	Every four years – September and October
Six Nations	Every year – February and March
The Heineken Rugby Champions cup	Every year – December and March
The Summer Olympics	Every four years – July and August
Commonwealth games	Every four years – July and August

What markets are available?

With so many different events available to bet on, what and how many markets are available?

1. Money line

A money line bet is the same for both rugby league and rugby union and is the simplest form of bet available within the sport. Money line simply refers to who you think will win the match. For example, betting on England to win against Ireland. If England wins your bet will be successful and if Ireland were to win your bet would not be successful.

2. Handicap

More often than not your average better will move from money line to a more interesting market, this is known as handicap betting. Handicap betting offers greater value and more money to be made, the handicap places an advantage to one team in order to make the game more balanced.

Handicap bets work by hosting the negative handicap team to win by more than the expected figure in which the rugby betting site set (not the actual rugby score), whereas the team with the positive handicap must win, draw or lose by less than the expected figure in order for them to win. Handicap bets allow for more interesting gameplay, especially when the odds are favoured to one team prior to the match.

3. Tournament bets

Tournament bets are often a common favourite. These are available both in an each way format or by choosing an outright winner. Choosing an outright winner means places a bet on a team to win a specific tournament or championship, usually done prior or the beginning of the tournament/championship to offer the best odds. If unsure of the result, an each-way bet provides a little more certainty with money received if your backed team places.

4.  Highest scoring half

Another particularly popular and exciting bet to place on the rugby is the option of the highest scoring half. This is concerned around predicting which half of the game will contain the highest number of points to be scored, whether this is the first half, second half or a tie. If there is a tie this means the same number of points will be scored in both the first and second half of the match.

5. Draw-no-bet

Draw-no-bet erases the draw as a final outcome to the match. Instead, you are to choose a team to win the match. If, however, the match ends in a draw the bet will be seen as void and you will receive your money back. If instead, your selection wins you will make a profit and if your selection losses then you will lose the overall bet. These types of bets are useful If the two teams are of similar skill level, allowing you to erase the draw and focus on an outright winner.

6. Double Result

Doublet result is a double bet. This is concerned around predicting who will be in the lead at half-time of the game (win, draw, loss) and finally betting on the final outcome of the game (win, draw, loss). This bet technically combines two bets into one increasing the odds and the final pay out if the bet you place is successful.

7. Various other bets

As well as those listed above there are also various other bets available to bet on for both rugby league and rugby union. For example, other bets include total-2-way, total-3-way, totals, number of tries and score cast with many, many more betting options available.

How should you choose a rugby bet?

Before choosing a rugby bet it is important to know whether you are betting on a rugby league game or a rugby union game since the rules are slightly different. Before placing your bet, ensure to find a good rugby betting site for the outcome in which you wish to bet on. For example, if you are betting on England to win a tournament such as the six nations then you will want to find a bookmaker in which offers the best odds for England to win, offering great value for money.

The majority of bookmakers will offer great odds on rugby, especially with it being a very popular sport in England and across the globe. Consider searching for free bets if new to betting, these are often available on big name sites such as Coral or Ladbrokes, allowing you to get a taste of the action for free. Alternatively, extra credit or free bets can be earned through betting a specific amount (think of it as a loyalty scheme), allowing you to make the biggest bang for your buck whilst watching your favourite teams battle it out.

How to bet on rugby

Step #1 Choose a bookmaker to bet with

As with any types of bet you make, you’ll need to decide on one of the rugby betting sites available. The general few things you need to look for in a rugby betting site are their licensing, security, whether they allow rugby bets, markets available and payment methods. Luckily for you, each of the sites discussed above are some of the top sites in the UK that you can use to bet on rugby. Now to decide which of the sites you prefer.

For this example, we will use William Hill.

Step #2 Create a new account or log in 

From the William Hill home page, you have two options. You can either start to create your account if you are a new customer to their site, or you can simply log in if you have used them before. You can find each of these buttons in the top right-hand side of the screen. Let’s assume you are a new user of the site and start registering your account.

As you can see, you will be met with a form to start filling out. The first page requires your personal details such as full legal name, date of birth, email address, phone number and postcode. As you type in your postcode you will have the option to find you actual residential address too. Once complete you must click continue and then the next page will open.

This second form page is where you input a chosen username and password. You will also be prompted to fill in your security question and answer details which will help secure your account and keep your profile safe. If you would also like to keep a maximum deposit limit on your account to practice safer gambling, then this is the page where you can set your allowed parameters. If you have a welcome offer promo code then this will be the last part to fill out before completing the registration form.

Step #3 Depositing your funds into your account

Once you have finally created your account and been taken back to the homepage it’s time to check your account balance. As you can see, next to my “deposit” button is the balance which currently sits at £0.00

To start the deposit process, you must click the “deposit” button. This will then open a form to allow you to add money to your William Hill account.

This page will give you multiple options. The automatic assumption the site makes is that you will be paying with a debit card. If this is not the case and you would prefer to pay with PayPal or another method, then you would need to choose one of the options from the list on the left side. If you do want to use a debit car then you need to carefully input your card details with no mistakes. If you enter the details wrong then your deposit will not go through. Input your sash amount, long card number, expiry date and finally the last 3 digits on the back of the card. Once happy, press deposit and you will now see your new balance in the top right of the homepage.

Step #4 Search for rugby in the Sportsbook

So, your account has a positive money balance so now it’s time to find rugby in the sportsbook. Luckily for users of William Hill they list all their available sports in alphabetical order on the left side of the page. All you need to do is find ruby in the list and then click it. This will probably require you to scroll down the page slightly.

As you can see there are actually two different options for rugby betting. You will need to know which style of rugby you wish to bet on as you will need to select the correct one from the list. If you remember from earlier on in our article, we spoke about the differences between rugby league and rugby union. If you are hoping to bet on the rugby world cup for example, then you are most likely referring to rugby union as it is the most popular of the two.

Step #5 Find a match and betting market

After clicking on rugby union, you will be brought to the page that holds all of the different rugby matches coming up in the near future as well as the markets available to bet on. Browse through the options and select the match you want to bet on. In this instance I will show you how to place a bet on the Stormers vs Bulls (match) for an outright win (market).

Since all betting sites layout their bets in a similar way, it’s worth noting that you will always read the bet choices from left to right. In this instance the Stormers are the first name so are listed as the “home” team which is the first box on the right. Bulls are the “away” team so backing them would require you to click the 11/8 box which is furthest on the right. If you don’t think either team will win the game and instead, they will end in a tie or draw game, then you would need to select the middle button at 16/1 odds.

Step #6 Creating your rugby bet slip

Since neither of the odds are particularly high, I want to bet on the Bulls winning this game

In order to add the Bulls, win to the bet slip we simply click the blue 11/8 button which will look something like this:

This little pop-up bet slip window will appear in the bottom right side of the screen. The site automatically works out your bet calculations so you don’t have to. This means when you type in the amount you want to bet (we will say £10 for now) the system will show you the potential returns you’ll get if the bet is predicted correctly. Once you are happy, click the yellow “place bet” button. Congratulations you have successfully placed a pre-match bet.

If you predicted correctly, you will win £23.75 back from your £10 bet. That’s £13.75 in profit.

Step #7 Wait for the bet to settle and complete

Once you have successfully placed a bet, the only thing left to do is wait for it to settle. There will be nothing you can do until it is time for the game to start. If you are a fan of watching the games you bet on then you can often live-stream the event through your chosen bookmaker. William Hill has a great selection of live-streams and often shows highly anticipated rugby matches on their site.

In order to find the stream at the time of the match, click “in-play” on the left sidebar of the screen. This will show you the sports that have active live streams. You can narrow down by sport category and should you be on time to watch, you should have your available sport available in their streaming section. If you’re feeling confident you can even make an extra bet while the game is taking place.

*Please note, you must have an active balance or active bet to be able to watch live-streams on William Hill* 

Step #8 Cashing out your winnings (if your bet wins)

If you need to check on your bets before they settle you can check all active bets in the “my bets” section of the site. Simply click your cash balance in the top right and on the drop down you can click my bets. This is where you can also see any betting history down the line.

Once you have a settled winning bet, you can go to the same menu and click on “withdraw”. This will allow you to take any money from within your William Hill account and transfer it to your bank account. It is strongly advised to make sure you enter your bank details correctly so there are no issues when receiving your funds. It can take 3-4 working days to arrive in your account (depending on the banking institution you use).

You can repeat these steps however many times you like now that you know the process of betting on rugby!

Final thoughts

Rugby is an aggressive to watch but much-loved sport by countries including the UK. It’s a sport whose players seem stronger and more capable than that of other sports as they don’t just stop the game for a mild injury.

It’s a game with events all throughout the year so for your die-hard fans you don’t get that much time of the year when rugby isn’t playing. Isn’t that great!

By paying attention and keeping up with the calendars on your chosen betting sites you’ll easily stay on top of the matches and results and hopefully pocket a few wins!

Choose your event, find your matches, place your bets and watch the results come in. Good luck!

Some highly rugby bookmakers;