Sports betting is now intrinsically linked to football, with a clear overlap between fans who follow a club and punters who monitor different teams and players to enhance their betting experience.
With the UK one of the most heavily regulated markets in the world, the level of quality is at an all-time high within the industry, particularly due to the UK Gambling Commission’s firm regulation.
An exceptional, trustworthy football betting site can be identified by choosing a licenced and regulated sports betting site who adhere to strict guidelines, ensuring that they operate fairly and transparently.
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With football the most popular sport to bet on and more options than ever flooding the market, we’ve independently reviewed and highlighted the top 10 football betting sites to use in the UK:
| Football Betting Site | Key Features | Welcome Bonus | Min Deposit | Max Payout | Our Rating |
| Bet365 | Industry leading odds, widest choice of leagues/competitions, unparalleled live streaming options | £30 Free Bets | £5 | £100,000 | 4.8/5 |
| Sky Bet | Fantastic ongoing customer promotions, unrivalled customer support, brilliant welcome offer | £40 Free Bets | £5 | £100,000 | 4.8/5 |
| Paddy Power | Strong promotional offering, superb bet builder feature, competitive odds | £50 Bet Builder Free Bets | £5 | £100,000 | 4.7/5 |
| BetMGM | Solid bet builder tool, comprehensive match markets, good in-play betting | £40 Free Bets | £10 | N/A | 4.6/5 |
| Betfair | Operate both a sportsbook and exchange, stellar banking options, wide variety of betting markets available | £50 Free Bets | £5 | £100,000 | 4.6/5 |
| SBK | Excellent mobile app, unbeatable odds, predictions and tips from on-site punters | £40 Free Bets | £10 | £1,000,000 | 4.3/5 |
| Midnite | Varied welcome offer, good live streaming availability, solid free bet club package | £20 Free Bets + 50 Free Spins | £5 | £750,000 | 4.2/5 |
| Betano | Request a bet feature, high quality enhanced odds offering, strong sign up offer | £30 Bonuses | £5 | £250,000 | 4.1/5 |
| Parimatch | Great odds boosts, functional cash out feature, extensive betting markets | £50 Free Bets | £5 | £500,000 | 4.1/5 |
| Betfred | Very good live streaming service, excellent welcome bonus, responsive customer support | £50 Free Bets | £5 | £100,000 | 4/5 |
When evaluating the best football betting sites, considering factors such as a bookmaker’s reputation and trustworthiness, their variety of betting markets, user interface, bonuses and promotions, plus payment options can help you identify a great fit for your own betting activity.
Choosing a licenced and regulated betting site is essential for safety. It ensures that your chosen bookmaker adheres to strict guidelines, and operates fairly and with transparency. In the UK, the Gambling Commission regulates the industry, helping safeguard players by guaranteeing all matters are safe and non-partisan.
The UKGC’s licencing requirements demand that businesses possess an operating licence, which companies must prove that they are preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way, and that children and vulnerable people are protected from harm or being exploited in order to obtain one.
Bookmakers can ensure safe betting by offering secure payment methods such as e-wallets, prepaid cards and bank transfers which all provide high security, as well as protecting users’ information through protected channels such as SSL encryption that guarantees privacy and requires authentication for access.
Competitive odds are incredibly important for maximising betting profits as your returns over a certain sample size could be greater with one bookmaker than they are at another, meaning you’re missing out on extra money by not doing your research. As well as searching for the best possible odds, it’s also crucial that punters place bets when the odds accurately reflect the chance of winning, otherwise you’re being shorted on the potential outcome that you’re backing.
As an example, 50% of Newcastle’s home matches have seen BTTS, while that figure rises to 66.7% across all nine Premier League fixtures ahead of their game with Arsenal. The probability for both teams to score in this match should be priced at odds of 1/2, meaning that any price above this represents statistical value. Bet365 are the market leaders on this particular outcome at odds of 3/4, while Midnite and AK Bets both have it priced up at 8/11. Elsewhere, Betway and BetGoodwin go 7/10 and BetMGM, Sky Bet, Paddy Power and Betfred all offer odds of 4/6.
Betting sites are constantly introducing new football betting features in order to differentiate themselves from their competition and enhance the player experience. In this section, we discuss the most popular extras offered by companies here in the UK, including cash out, in-play betting, live streaming and bet builders.
The main benefit of live betting is that it allows a user with a firm understanding of the sport to place more informed bets based on current game developments, such as player injuries, tactical changes or momentum shifts.
In-play betting is available on the most popular leagues and competitions in the sport, like the Premier League, Champions League, European Championship and World Cup, with
Having a live streaming option is popular with football bettors because it helps enhance the overall fun and excitement experience when betting, especially nowadays when using a mobile app is the majority’s preferred method of engagement and people tend to bet when they are on the go.
Bookmakers who offer football live streaming in the UK right now are Parimatch, Coral, Ladbrokes and SBK, but the clear frontrunner for this is bet365, who stream over 600k events worldwide every year from Europe’s top major domestic leagues.
Having a cash out option with a bookmaker is an important tool in managing your bets as it allows a user to take a profit, or in some cases, a loss, on bets where an event has yet to be completed and settled.
Partial cash outs operate within single and straight accumulator bets, allowing a player to cash out part of their bet to leave a reduced part of their original stake to run until the event’s completion.
An example of when cash out is useful would be when you can see the momentum beginning to shift in a match with only one goal separating the teams, especially if this tender lead was established early on and the fixture is still in its first half.
A bet builder is a combined bet consisting of multiple different selections and odds from a single sporting event that help form one larger bet – it is an accumulator which solely focuses on one event rather than multiple.
Although bet builders specifically focus on one match, bookmaker advancements have allowed punters to use various same-game multis to create custom bet builders which target various fixtures to create a bet builder accumulator.
Bet builders have become a staple for UK bookmakers, with 15 different bookmakers giving their customers access to this feature: bet365, Paddy Power, Sky Bet, Betfred, Ladbrokes, Coral, Unibet, BetMGM, BetUK, Betway, Betfair, 10Bet, CopyBet, Midnite and Betano.
Bookmakers share a variety of different bonuses and promotions, either to entice new clients or to retain existing ones by rewarding their custom. Some of these which are covered below, include welcome offers, odds boosts, free bets, deposit matches and loyalty programs.
Welcome offers can cover multiple focuses, but typically offer new customers free bets or bonuses in one particular field. The most common sign up offer is a wagering bonus which provides a customer with free bets or bonuses to help increase their initial bankroll. Other welcome bonuses include risk-free bets, matched deposits, free spins and profit boosts.
The key factors involved in welcome bonuses is the minimum deposit which clearly states how much a customer needs to stake, wagering requirements which outlines exactly what the user needs to do in order to unlock their bonus, and eligible bets which details what a punter can stake their qualifying bet on in terms of sport, market and bet type.
Bookmakers also offer existing customer promotions, varied from reload bonuses which are straight up bonuses awarded for daily/weekly/monthly wagering, acca insurance which provides cash or free bet refunds on accumulator bets if one selection loses and enhanced odds which boost prices on selected outcomes and allow customers to receive higher returns on specific events or popular selections.
The benefits of existing customer offers to regular football bettors are that current users are rewarded for their loyalty to a particular bookmaker, as well as being given extra value for their money which they would have been spending anyway through free bets, money back or bonuses.
Loyalty programs in football betting is a retention strategy implemented by bookmakers to entice repeat custom, usually consisting of discounts, free offers or additional perks. There are varying levels of rewards based on the player’s overall value relating to their engagement and spend, which include free bets, cashback, bet insurance bonuses and boosted profits.
As far as VIP rewards go, high rollers often enjoy unique perks, such as complimentary hospitality at sporting events, increased betting limits, enhanced odds and access to exclusive games.
With mobile and app-based betting more important than ever, we’ve ranked the best football betting apps for UK users, based on their app features and iOS and Android user ratings.
Mobile compatibility and app functionality are two key components for live betting as the ability to process real-time data allows for more accurate in-play betting on football. The same applies to navigating a bookmaker to place a bet since most users now do so using a mobile device and therefore optimising the user journey for this platform ensures the smoothest possible experience.
| Betting Site | iOS App | Android App | In-App Features | IOS User Rating | Android User Rating |
| Bet365 | Yes | Yes | Live streaming, bet builder | 4.7/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Sky Bet | Yes | Yes | Request A Bet, bet boosts | 4.6/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Paddy Power | Yes | Yes | Wonder Wheel, Beat the Drop | 4.7/5 | 4.5/5 |
| BetMGM | Yes | Yes | MGM exclusives, The Club | 4.4/5 | 3/5 |
| SBK | Yes | Yes | Tipster zone, community hub | 4.6/5 | 4.1/5 |
| Betfair | Yes | Yes | Sportsbook, exchange | 4.7/5 | 4.5/5 |
| Midnite | Yes | Yes | Acca Assist, Specials | 4.4/5 | 4.6/5 |
| Betano | Yes | Yes | In-play betting, Lucky Dip | 4.8/5 | 2.5/5 |
| Betfred | Yes | Yes | Free-to-play zone, live streaming | 4.5/5 | 4.2/5 |
| CopyBet | Yes | Yes | Betting tips, promo portal | 4.2/5 | 2.8/5 |
Here we’ll run you through the most popular payment options for UK football betting sites, which are commonly qualifiable methods for new customers, as well as insight into general transaction times.
There are a number of standard payment options offered by UK bookmakers: debit cards powered by Mastercard or Visa, e-wallets such as PayPal and Skrill, prepaid options like Paysafecard, and bank transfers. To be on the safe side it’s recommended to use debit cards for both depositing and withdrawing as this means you’re always covered to qualify for a welcome bonus.
In general, transaction times vary between bookmakers, however, they’re almost always immediate when funding your account through debit card, e-wallet and even prepaid options. As for withdrawal times, these range anywhere from 4 hours to 48 hours, operate on a working day basis and could be shorter or longer than this period based on your method.
Deposit and playing limits monitor how much you can spend with a bookmaker or how long you can play on any given session before being prompted to either continue playing or to offer you a reality check on your experience. Timeouts and self-exclusion options are implemented when a customer actively tries to cut down on, or avoid, gambling, with the former offering a short cooling off period, while the latter enforces an outright ban with a particular bookie. These tools are all encouraged and promoted by UK-based organisations GambleAware and GamStop who both support responsible gambling within the industry.
Setting limits on your betting budget, avoiding chasing losses and never betting more than you can afford to lose are practices which should be remembered and followed by all UK punters. When setting your limits it’s important to budget in your general life before you can bankroll your gambling activity. Only then can you establish unique limits for yourself which allow you to produce sustainable betting practices, which are important in avoiding any financial difficulties and to prevent you from developing a gambling addiction.
The minimum legal age for football betting in the UK is 18 years old, which applies both online and in betting shops.
Betting sites that can be deemed safe are first and foremost always licenced by the UK Gambling Commission, in addition to having the latest security software, such as SSL encryption and two-way authentication. Furthermore, the operator will provide secure payment methods for depositing and withdrawing funds and will provide their users with all necessary responsible gambling tools.
Yes, you can use multiple betting sites to place your football bets. The only problem you may run into is if you were incredibly successful across a number of operators all owned by the same company, however, this isn’t a common issue.
Bet365 are undoubtedly the best betting site for live streaming football, with the sport a part of their 70,000 sporting events live streamed every year across Europe’s major leagues and competitions.
There can be fees involved with deposits or withdrawals on UK football betting sites depending on your chosen method. Debit cards typically have no fees attached for either, as is the case with e-wallet payments, Bank transfers are usually free for deposits but users may incur a small cost if withdrawing via this method.
Cash out allows a player to settle a bet for either a profit or a loss mid-event when believing that your selection’s chances are greatly reduced.
Generally speaking, almost all betting sites offer mobile apps, certainly the well-established ones. In today’s market, if a small newcomer arrives in the industry, they will also be at least developing a mobile app if it isn’t already widely available.
