WhichBookie is the leading resource for finding detailed up-to-date information about UK bookmakers. We have guides for current bookmaker free bets and promotions, which bookmakers have the best odds, best bookies for various sports or fastest withdrawals and a range of in-depth reviews of major and independent online bookmakers. All of our bookmaker reviews are written by experienced betting. BookMaker Sportsbook offers the best Sports LIVE Betting odds on NFL, College football, NBA, MLB, horse racing and more. Join now and get a 50% deposit bonus, up to $300 at Bookmaker.eu, the leader in online sports betting. Top 100 Bookmakers is a first comparative database of online bookmakers. Top 100 Bookmakers was developed with an ambition to simplify the sports bettors the difficult and time-consuming process of selecting a bookmaker to bet with.
£30 in free bets + 30 free spins
New UK & NI customers only. 18+. Sign up using promo code ‘SPORTS60'. Deposit & place first sports bet at a minimum of £10 in one bet transaction at evens (2.0) +. £30 paid in free bets within 48 hours of bet settlement, expires 7-days after issue. E-Wallet & Prepaid Card restrictions apply. Your first bet must be settled within 60 days of bet placement. SMS validation may be required. Game restrictions apply. Maximum 30 Free Spins on selected games. Free Spins expire after 7 days. Full T&Cs apply.
Detailed Review of the top UK betting sites
Welcome to this article displaying the best online bookies in the UK – all handpicked according to a set of stringent specifications!
| UK Best Betting Sites | Sign Up Bonus | Get the promo |
|---|---|---|
| BET365 | Up to £100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365* | GET OPEN ACCOUNT OFFER |
| Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to the value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. The bonus code 365UK can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. | ||
| BETFAIR | Up to £100 free bets | GO TO BETFAIR |
| New customer offer. Place 5 x £10 or more bets to receive £20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum £100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5). Exchange bets excluded. T&Cs apply | ||
| GENTING BET | £10 free bet refund | SIGN UP AT GENTING BET |
| New Customers. First settled bet £/€10+ (£/€10 E/W+) at odds 2.0+ qualifies. If first settled bet loses, free bet credited within 24 hours of bet settlement, use within 7 days, Stake not returned. Full T&Cs Apply. | ||
| LADBROKES | £20 free bets | GET £20 FREE BETS |
| 18+. UK&Ire customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excluded. Min £5 first bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days on sports, stakes not returned, restrictions apply. T&Cs apply. | ||
| NETBET | £30 in free bets + free spins | GET £30 FREE BETS |
| New players, £30+ deposit, Qualifying bet can be a single or single line multiple bet (2 selections+) T&Cs apply Free Bets and Spins credited on settlement of qualifying bet |
There's certainly no shortage of online betting sites in the UK. As a matter of fact, the UK is one of the most competitive betting industries in the entire world. Betting, whether it be on sports or using online casinos is one of the UK's favorite pastimes, and this means good news for people who fit into this category.
Because of how popular betting is in the UK, the online marketplace is swamped with providers, yet there are a select few that are much better than the rest. We've looked into exactly what separates the best from the rest, and it's all broken down into bite-size categories.
Welcome Offers
If you've never held an account with an online betting site before, you'll be pleased to know that there are plenty of rewards in store. Regardless of the site chosen, you'll typically find an incentive to encourage you to sign up with a particular site – the welcome offer. You can find welcome offers for sports and casino play, and the choice is completely up to you which ones you'd like to take. For now, let's look briefly at the different kinds of welcome offers available.
Deposit Matches
This is one of the most typical welcome offers of them all, all but it can also be one of the most rewarding. A deposit match is a specific boost that is given based on an amount that you deposit into your account. As an example, a betting site may offer you a 100% deposit match on your first deposit, and there will usually be a maximum reward. Say that you went ahead and deposited £50 using a promotion like this, you would receive an additional £50 at no extra cost.
Free Bets (no deposit or deposit required)
This promotion is reserved specifically for sports betting customers, and the beauty of these is that there are usually no wagering requirements (explained slightly later). In order to get a free sports bet, you are often asked to bet on an event, first of all, in return for a free bet from the betting site. An example of this would be a bet £10 receive £20 promotion, but the numbers, of course, vary from betting site to betting site.
Cashback
If you start things off with a bit of an unlucky streak, this promotion can step in and save you to some extent. When you see a cashback welcome offer, it is usually given as a percentage of net losses sustained during the early days of opening your account. As an example, if there was a 25% cashback offer on net losses for your first 7 days, and you burned through £50 in that time, you would receive £10 back from the bookmaker.
Mobile Specific
The clue is somewhat in the description here, and these kinds of welcome offers are specifically tailored to those who prefer mobile betting. While you will find many kinds of welcome offers on the main desktop site for a bookmaker, there are occasionally more available through mobile apps and mobile platforms in general. The exact welcome offers available can consist of any of the options we've listed right here.
No Deposit Bonus
Some would consider this the holy grail of welcome offers, as you do not need to deposit anything at all to receive this bonus. The amounts that you can receive through a no deposit bonus are often relatively small, however, and there can be high wagering conditions. With that being said, no deposit bonuses do give you the chance to try the site without risking any of your own money.
Understanding Terms and Conditions
Like everything else in life, unfortunately, there is no such thing as a free lunch. This is where the terms and conditions of betting site bonuses come into play, and they can often make or break the potential value of an offer. There are many different terms to look for within the terms and conditions of an offer, and we've broken each of them down below.
Wagering Requirements
Wagering requirements are often misunderstood when it comes to online promotions, so please take the time to read this section carefully. The term ‘wagering requirement' indicates the amount relative to the bonus that you must wager on a site before you can withdraw any winnings resulting from the bonus you were awarded. For example, if you received £20 in bonus funds and there was a 10x wagering condition, you'd need to wager £200 before you can cash in your winnings.
Pre-requisites
It's all well and good when you see a nice welcome offer available, but you need to know how to get it in the first place before it gives you any value at all. This is what is sometimes referred to as a prerequisite or pre-requirement, and it can vary quite substantially across the board. You will often find in the small print that you need to deposit a certain amount, wager a certain amount, or play on a specific game to receive a bonus. This will always be displayed in the terms and conditions, and it's important that you refer to them before trying to fulfill the eligibility requirements.
Expiration Period
The welcome offers and all other bonuses that you can find with online betting sites will always have an expiration period. This is simply a window or timeframe in which you must use the bonus. For example, if there is a deposit match bonus available, you'll often find that you must then make your first deposit within a set timeframe, or you will simply surrender your bonus rights. Expiration periods can be found for basically all types of bonuses, and make sure you read them, for there's no point in simply passing up on a bonus you could have easily received.
Promo Codes
| Bookmaker | Promo code | Rating | Use promo code |
|---|---|---|---|
| bet365 Bonus code | VISIT BET365 | GO | |
| Genting Bet promo code | GENTSPORTS | GO | |
| Netbet bonus code | MAXNET | GO | |
| Bethard bonus code | MAXBET | GO |
This term basically refers to the exact code that you must enter when claiming an offer. Now, there aren't always promo code requirements for every type of offer, but if one is required, you will absolutely need to enter it in order to claim the bonus. It's that simple, and you can often find different promo codes that will entitle you to different offers.
Sourcing the Best Betting Sites
Now that you have a thorough understanding of welcome offers, bonuses, and the associated terms, let's get into how we choose the best sports betting sites in the UK. There's plenty of key features to get through, so let's dive right into it.
Quality of Odds
This is particularly important because you want to make sure that the odds you get at a betting site are some of the best in the market. You wouldn't want to bet on an event that has odds of 1.5 on one site when that exact market is listed at 1.8 on another site. As you can imagine, this doesn't give you the best value, so it's important to find betting sites that give generally appealing odds.
Live Streaming
Enjoy betting on your favorite sports and watching them in the same place? We do, and there are plenty of benefits to finding sites that have this option. Live streaming simply refers to the fact that you can watch an event without needing to head over to a third-party site, and it's even better when live streaming has been implemented into a site's mobile platforms. This gives you the chance to be out and about while watching your desired event, without needing to be stuck at home.
Gambling License
This is the most critical element of all, and before you even consider looking at other benefits of a site, it is of paramount importance that a betting site has the required gambling license. This ensures that it adheres to the standards required by the UK Gambling Commission, and it gives a degree of safety for players using that site. Without a license, a site is offering gambling services outside the realms of the law, which is of course, not beneficial to the provider or the player.
Depth of Sports and Markets
Everybody has their own individual sports that they enjoy betting on, and the best bookmakers in the UK understand this. For that exact reason, the best sites have a broad range of sports and the number of markets is usually excellent as well. The number of markets refers to the total number of bets you could make on a particular event, and this keeps sports betting exciting for all.
Number of Promotions
This feature closely ties in with what we've been talking about in the early part of this article, as promotions are a way for a betting site to give back to its members. There are sites out there that have a nice welcome offer but then the promotions simply fade away for existing players. This is obviously not beneficial for anybody, which is why the best sites have a constant stream of promotions on offer.
Mobile Friendliness
In this day and age, people who enjoy betting online basically demand that the mobile setup is user-friendly and extensive. It's quite rare these days that somebody only bets through the use of a desktop site, which is why the best betting sites have now developed professional mobile apps with a series of beneficial features. Simply put, all of your favorite betting types are just the push of a button away when there is a good mobile setup, which is advantageous for everyone.
Cash-Outs
Cash-outs are specific to sports bets that have been made on a betting site. Rather than wait for the completion of an event that you have bet on, the best betting sites will offer you the chance of an early cash-out. This means that you can essentially lock-in in a winning bet without having to wait until the end, but of course, the potential payout here is less than if you had waited for the conclusion of the event.
Fees for Deposits and Withdrawals
This one is almost self-explanatory, but we like to find sites that have near-zero fees for both withdrawals and deposits. Ideally, a site will charge absolutely nothing to perform either of these transactions, which is absolutely beneficial to all players involved. When you avoid fees, this means that you have more money to spend enjoying the site, rather than simply being charged to fund your account in the first place.
Speed of Withdrawals
Because of how popular betting is in the UK, the online marketplace is swamped with providers, yet there are a select few that are much better than the rest. We've looked into exactly what separates the best from the rest, and it's all broken down into bite-size categories.
Welcome Offers
If you've never held an account with an online betting site before, you'll be pleased to know that there are plenty of rewards in store. Regardless of the site chosen, you'll typically find an incentive to encourage you to sign up with a particular site – the welcome offer. You can find welcome offers for sports and casino play, and the choice is completely up to you which ones you'd like to take. For now, let's look briefly at the different kinds of welcome offers available.
Deposit Matches
This is one of the most typical welcome offers of them all, all but it can also be one of the most rewarding. A deposit match is a specific boost that is given based on an amount that you deposit into your account. As an example, a betting site may offer you a 100% deposit match on your first deposit, and there will usually be a maximum reward. Say that you went ahead and deposited £50 using a promotion like this, you would receive an additional £50 at no extra cost.
Free Bets (no deposit or deposit required)
This promotion is reserved specifically for sports betting customers, and the beauty of these is that there are usually no wagering requirements (explained slightly later). In order to get a free sports bet, you are often asked to bet on an event, first of all, in return for a free bet from the betting site. An example of this would be a bet £10 receive £20 promotion, but the numbers, of course, vary from betting site to betting site.
Cashback
If you start things off with a bit of an unlucky streak, this promotion can step in and save you to some extent. When you see a cashback welcome offer, it is usually given as a percentage of net losses sustained during the early days of opening your account. As an example, if there was a 25% cashback offer on net losses for your first 7 days, and you burned through £50 in that time, you would receive £10 back from the bookmaker.
Mobile Specific
The clue is somewhat in the description here, and these kinds of welcome offers are specifically tailored to those who prefer mobile betting. While you will find many kinds of welcome offers on the main desktop site for a bookmaker, there are occasionally more available through mobile apps and mobile platforms in general. The exact welcome offers available can consist of any of the options we've listed right here.
No Deposit Bonus
Some would consider this the holy grail of welcome offers, as you do not need to deposit anything at all to receive this bonus. The amounts that you can receive through a no deposit bonus are often relatively small, however, and there can be high wagering conditions. With that being said, no deposit bonuses do give you the chance to try the site without risking any of your own money.
Understanding Terms and Conditions
Like everything else in life, unfortunately, there is no such thing as a free lunch. This is where the terms and conditions of betting site bonuses come into play, and they can often make or break the potential value of an offer. There are many different terms to look for within the terms and conditions of an offer, and we've broken each of them down below.
Wagering Requirements
Wagering requirements are often misunderstood when it comes to online promotions, so please take the time to read this section carefully. The term ‘wagering requirement' indicates the amount relative to the bonus that you must wager on a site before you can withdraw any winnings resulting from the bonus you were awarded. For example, if you received £20 in bonus funds and there was a 10x wagering condition, you'd need to wager £200 before you can cash in your winnings.
Pre-requisites
It's all well and good when you see a nice welcome offer available, but you need to know how to get it in the first place before it gives you any value at all. This is what is sometimes referred to as a prerequisite or pre-requirement, and it can vary quite substantially across the board. You will often find in the small print that you need to deposit a certain amount, wager a certain amount, or play on a specific game to receive a bonus. This will always be displayed in the terms and conditions, and it's important that you refer to them before trying to fulfill the eligibility requirements.
Expiration Period
The welcome offers and all other bonuses that you can find with online betting sites will always have an expiration period. This is simply a window or timeframe in which you must use the bonus. For example, if there is a deposit match bonus available, you'll often find that you must then make your first deposit within a set timeframe, or you will simply surrender your bonus rights. Expiration periods can be found for basically all types of bonuses, and make sure you read them, for there's no point in simply passing up on a bonus you could have easily received.
Promo Codes
| Bookmaker | Promo code | Rating | Use promo code |
|---|---|---|---|
| bet365 Bonus code | VISIT BET365 | GO | |
| Genting Bet promo code | GENTSPORTS | GO | |
| Netbet bonus code | MAXNET | GO | |
| Bethard bonus code | MAXBET | GO |
This term basically refers to the exact code that you must enter when claiming an offer. Now, there aren't always promo code requirements for every type of offer, but if one is required, you will absolutely need to enter it in order to claim the bonus. It's that simple, and you can often find different promo codes that will entitle you to different offers.
Sourcing the Best Betting Sites
Now that you have a thorough understanding of welcome offers, bonuses, and the associated terms, let's get into how we choose the best sports betting sites in the UK. There's plenty of key features to get through, so let's dive right into it.
Quality of Odds
This is particularly important because you want to make sure that the odds you get at a betting site are some of the best in the market. You wouldn't want to bet on an event that has odds of 1.5 on one site when that exact market is listed at 1.8 on another site. As you can imagine, this doesn't give you the best value, so it's important to find betting sites that give generally appealing odds.
Live Streaming
Enjoy betting on your favorite sports and watching them in the same place? We do, and there are plenty of benefits to finding sites that have this option. Live streaming simply refers to the fact that you can watch an event without needing to head over to a third-party site, and it's even better when live streaming has been implemented into a site's mobile platforms. This gives you the chance to be out and about while watching your desired event, without needing to be stuck at home.
Gambling License
This is the most critical element of all, and before you even consider looking at other benefits of a site, it is of paramount importance that a betting site has the required gambling license. This ensures that it adheres to the standards required by the UK Gambling Commission, and it gives a degree of safety for players using that site. Without a license, a site is offering gambling services outside the realms of the law, which is of course, not beneficial to the provider or the player.
Depth of Sports and Markets
Everybody has their own individual sports that they enjoy betting on, and the best bookmakers in the UK understand this. For that exact reason, the best sites have a broad range of sports and the number of markets is usually excellent as well. The number of markets refers to the total number of bets you could make on a particular event, and this keeps sports betting exciting for all.
Number of Promotions
This feature closely ties in with what we've been talking about in the early part of this article, as promotions are a way for a betting site to give back to its members. There are sites out there that have a nice welcome offer but then the promotions simply fade away for existing players. This is obviously not beneficial for anybody, which is why the best sites have a constant stream of promotions on offer.
Mobile Friendliness
In this day and age, people who enjoy betting online basically demand that the mobile setup is user-friendly and extensive. It's quite rare these days that somebody only bets through the use of a desktop site, which is why the best betting sites have now developed professional mobile apps with a series of beneficial features. Simply put, all of your favorite betting types are just the push of a button away when there is a good mobile setup, which is advantageous for everyone.
Cash-Outs
Cash-outs are specific to sports bets that have been made on a betting site. Rather than wait for the completion of an event that you have bet on, the best betting sites will offer you the chance of an early cash-out. This means that you can essentially lock-in in a winning bet without having to wait until the end, but of course, the potential payout here is less than if you had waited for the conclusion of the event.
Fees for Deposits and Withdrawals
This one is almost self-explanatory, but we like to find sites that have near-zero fees for both withdrawals and deposits. Ideally, a site will charge absolutely nothing to perform either of these transactions, which is absolutely beneficial to all players involved. When you avoid fees, this means that you have more money to spend enjoying the site, rather than simply being charged to fund your account in the first place.
Speed of Withdrawals
Who enjoys waiting a long time to receive the money that they have rightfully won? Well, nobody is the answer to that question, which is why the speed of withdrawals is an important factor. Some sites these days will process withdrawals in under 24 hours through popular e-wallet methods, and some will pay out money in just a few days. Of course, we look at the ones that do so in the quickest manner possible.
FAQs
Why should I trust the information on your site?
Well, our team consists of people who have more than 10 years of experience in this industry, and we make all of the information given as transparent as possible. We never aim to mislead, provide glorified site details, or misguide you in any way.
How can I generally fund my betting accounts?
You can often do this through payment methods such as e-wallets, Visa/MasterCard, PayPal, online bank transfers, and a few other methods.
Are there any red flags I should look out for with online betting sites?
Absolutely – if a site doesn't have a license this is a major red flag, as are sites that have a series of extremely negative reviews. Check the UKGC site to get the most up to date list of blacklisted betting sites.
What are the requirements to open an account with these sites?
Since all of these sites operate within the UK, you must adhere to the UK gambling laws to open an account. This means that you must be over the age of 18 and be a resident of the UK to bet with real money on these sites.
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle Englishbokmakere, boke maker, equivalent to book + maker. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /ˈbʊkmeɪkəɹ/
Noun[edit]
bookmaker (pluralbookmakers)
- A person who prints or bindsbooks.
- A person who compilesbooks from the writings of others.
- A person (or a business) who calculatesodds and acceptsbets, especially on horse racing; a bookie.
Related terms[edit]
Bookmaker.eu Reviews
Translations[edit]
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See also[edit]
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Englishbookmaker.
Bookmaker Eu
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /buk.mɛ.kœʁ/
Audio
Noun[edit]
bookmakerm (pluralbookmakers)
- bookmaker (betting)
Italian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Englishbookmaker.
Noun[edit]
bookmakerm (invariable)
- bookmaker (betting)
Synonyms[edit]
Bookmaker Offer
