Best sports betting sites - top bookmakers for 2023

Top eight best sports betting sites in Britain and Ireland

So you'd like to place a bet but don't know which bookmakers to consider. There are a wealth of online betting sites out there and getting started can be the hardest part. But it doesn't need to be.

If you're not sure how to cut through the vast numbers of betting site offers and find the best place for your wager, read on as we take a closer look at the best betting sites in Britain and Ireland.

We'll provide you with the best guide on where to bet. We'll consider the top online betting sites and sports betting sites and make it easy for you to make all the right clicks.

bet365

Formed in 2000, bet365 is the brainchild of Denise Coates, who remains a majority shareholder, and her brother John.

bet365 is based in Stoke-on-Trent but has offices as far afield as Malta and Australia. Denise's father Peter remains the company chairman. Peter has previously been the chairman of Stoke City.

bet365 is in the big league when it comes to sports betting sites. One of its key strengths is its live streaming of numerous events across a multitude of sports, with commentaries included.

Its opening offer of bet £10 and get £50 in free bets is one of the best betting site offers available for new customers. Not only that but it also offers a simple three-point explanation as to how that offer works in practice.

With sports from American football to volleyball, from horse racing to hockey, plus lotto, casino and virtuals, there is something for every bettor, making bet365 one of the very best online betting sites in the business.

Pros

• Great sign-up offer

• Further offers once you have signed up

• Brilliant live streaming and commentary service

• Betting markets on a massive range of sports

• Excellent user-friendly interface on both mobile and desktop

Cons

• Few promos specific to mobile

For more information read our bet365 review or sign up with bet365 to claim your welcome bonus.

bet365 free bets

Place a £10 bet and get £50 in free bets for new customers at bet365

Minimum deposit requirement. Free bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Minimum odds, bet, and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.

Betfair

Betfair was founded in 2000 and has become the world's biggest online betting exchange.

You can bet with the Betfair Sportsbook or on the exchange, which both have excellent year-round coverage of a huge range of sports. The exchange is Betfair's real calling card, allowing you to be the bookmaker or the bettor at a click of a button.

Pros

• World-leading betting exchange puts you in control

• Wide range of sports

• Choice of betting on sportsbook or exchange

• Very mobile friendly

• Seamless switch between sportsbook and exchange apps

Cons

• Logging in not always fast

• At busy times winnings take longer to reach an account

For more information read our Betfair review or sign up with Betfair to claim your welcome offer.

Betfair free bets

Place a £10 bet and get £30 in free bets

Place a minimum £/€10 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of minimum 1/2 (1.5) and get £/€30 in free bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards or Apple Pay will qualify. T&Cs apply.

Paddy Power

Founded in Ireland in 1988, Paddy Power was formed as a merger from 40 betting shops run by three different bookmakers: Stuart Power, David Kenny and John Corcoran.

The bookmaker initially made its name as shops on the high streets of Irish cities and then expanded into Britain. Paddy Power became known as a bookmaker who was not afraid of a publicity stunt.

A prime example of this was in the 2008-09 Premier League season, when newcomers Stoke City lost to Bolton Wanderers on the opening day and Paddy Power paid out bets on the losers being relegated. Paddy Power also paid out early on the 2011 Rugby World Cup, when New Zealand were the favourites to beat France. Paddy Power paid out all winning bets four days in advance of the final and the All Blacks duly won it.

Paddy Power's fun, quirky adverts have also put a smile on many-a-viewer's face and have done much to fuel the company's brand as an entertaining bookmaker to bet with.

Paddy Power has also been synonymous with excellent customer service if you should ever have an issue that you need to contact them about.

Pros

• Daily odds boosts available

• Excellent customer service

• Great for unusual bets

• Access your winnings instantly

Cons

• Mobile app not always the fastest on old devices

For more information read our Paddy Power review or sign up with Paddy Power to claim your welcome offer. 

Paddy Power free bets

Get up to £50 in free sports bets

Place a single £10 Sportsbook bet and get money back as a free bet if it loses. There are x 5 free bets available. Maximum refund per qualifying bet is £10. Only deposits made via cards will be eligible for the promotion (Apple Pay excluded). T&Cs apply.

Sky Bet

Sky Betting & Gaming is owned by Flutter Entertainment and includes Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, Sky Casino, Sky Poker and Sky Bingo. It also runs a football prediction games known as Soccer Saturday Super 6.

Sky Bet is the sports betting and gaming arm of Sky Betting & Gaming and was formed in 2002, as a rebranding of the online sports betting company Surrey Sports. It is based in Leeds, England.

In 2006, it purchased 365 Media Group, as a result acquiring the online betting companies totalbet and ukbetting.

Sky Bet has been the headline sponsor of the English Football League for several years, its current deal being in place until the end of the 2023-24 season. It is no coincidence that it provides an excellent experience for those betting on football.

Along its others sponsorship interests is the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle, run as the opening race at horse racing's Cheltenham Festival each year.

Pros

• More than 40 sports and non-sports markets

• Lots of promotions for bettors

• Great if you fancy a flutter on football

• Easy to use website and mobile app

Cons

• Doesn't accept customers using eWallet services such as PayPal

• Maximum payouts are lower than some if you are thinking of winning big

For more information read our Sky Bet review or sign up with Sky Bet to claim your introductory offer.

Sky Bet free bets

Get £20 in free bets when you place a £5 bet

New customers only. First single and each-way bet only. Fractional odds of 1/1 (decimal 2.0) or greater. 4 x £5 bet tokens. Free bet stakes not included in returns. Free bets exclude virtuals. Free bets are non-withdrawable. No free bet expiry. Eligibility restrictions. Further T&Cs apply.

Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes, the 'Magic Sign' as this bookmaker was often called by the late TV betting guru John McCririck, was founded in 1886 and is one of the world's leading online sports betting sites, as well as retaining a presence on the high street.

In September 1998, Ladbrokes purchased Coral but was then ordered by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to sell it again, due to their assertion that the purchase was anti-competitive.

Later, in 2016, Ladbrokes did then successfully merge with the Coral Group. In 2018, GVC Holdings (now Entain plc) bought Ladbrokes Coral for a deal reported to be worth up to £4 billion.

Ladbrokes is known for the simplicity of use, whether on your desktop, tablet or mobile. It can also provide generous odds boosts, while both cricket and snooker bettors will be delighted with what it has to offer.

Pros

• Simple to use for beginners

• Easy navigation on the app

• Usually offer some of the best cricket odds

• Provides acca insurance

Cons

• Restrictions on maximum payouts so check before placing an acca

• Customer support is not 24/7

For more information read our Ladbrokes review or sign up with Ladbrokes to claim your introductory offer.

Ladbrokes free bets

Bet £5 and get £20 in free bets

18+. New UK+IRE customers only. Certain deposit methods and bet types are excluded. Minimum first £/€5 bet within 14 days of an account registration at minimum odds of 1/2 to get 4 x £/€5 free bets. Free bets are available to use on selected sportsbook markets only. Free bets are valid for seven days, and the stake is not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply.

Coral

Coral has long been among the best betting sites and most reputable bookmakers, having been established by Joe Coral in 1926. Coral opened his first licensed betting shop in 1961, when it was made legal to do so. By 2015, Coral had 1,845 betting shops in Britain.

Having already acquired Eurobet, an online betting company based in Gibraltar, Coral Eurobet was then bought by the casino and bingo firm Gala. Becoming the Gala Coral Group, the company ranked third as the third largest betting company in Britain and Ireland.

In November 2016, Gala Coral Group was acquired by Ladbrokes, which changed its name to Ladbrokes Coral as a result, before GVC Holdings (now Entain plc) bought the company in March 2018.

Coral and Ladbrokes have continued to conduct business as different brands. It is no surprise, however, that as some of the best bookmakers in the business they share some common positives.

These include the ease of use of the Coral online betting site plus excellent customer service, which is well worth considering when deciding on and contemplating those best betting sites and bookmakers sign-up offers. Coral is also regularly among the best prices on offer across a wide range of sports.

Pros

• Very competitive odds

• Good level of customer service

• Excellent short horse comments from the Racing Post for racing bettors

Cons

• New customer offer could be a little more enticing

• No VIP programme on offer

For more information read our Coral review or sign up with Coral to claim your introductory offer.

Coral free bets

£20 free bet when you bet £5

18+. New UK & ROI customers only. Minimum deposit £5. Minimum first £5 bet at minimum odds of 1/2 to qualify for 1x £20 free bet. Certain deposit methods and bet types excluded. Free bet valid for seven days, stake not returned. Restrictions + T&Cs apply.

William Hill

Like Sky Bet, William Hill is a Leeds-based company and it has a long-established reputation as one of Britain's leading high-street bookmakers, as well as more recently becoming one of the best betting sites.

Established in 1934, it is now one of the leading betting sites in the business, while still offering a customer-facing element through its many shops.

William Hill has changed hands on numerous occasions. In the more recent examples, Caesars Entertainment acquired the company for £2.9 billion in 2020. Caesars then put the European business up for sale and in 2022 888 bought that part of the business for £1.95 billion.

Among William Hill's ambassadors are former Wales international footballer Robbie Savage, former England defender Rio Ferdinand, plus the record-breaking champion jump jockey Sir Anthony McCoy.

If you're considering William Hill, you'll be delighted to know it offers a huge range of bets across a multitude of sports.

Its customer service operation is also one of the best among all betting sites and its betting site offers are plentiful. Its mobile app is very user-friendly and a great tool for inexperienced bettors. William Hill has also operated its own Betting TV service for several years with success.

Pros

• Great mobile app

• Betting TV service

• Plenty of special offers

• Excellent customer service

Cons

• Website not quite as user-friendly

• Odds could be more competitive

For more information read our William Hill review or sign up with William Hill to claim your introductory offer.

William Hill free bets

Bet £10 get £30 in free bets

Play safe. From 00:01 on 13.04.2022. £30 bonus. New customers only. Minimum £10 stake on odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on the sportsbook. Further terms apply. 18+.

Tote

The Tote is Britain's largest pool betting operator and is based in Wigan, England.

Founded in 1928, it was previously under the ownership of the British government. In 2011, it was bought by Betfred for £265 million. Subsequently, it was sold on to the UK Tote Group in 2019 for £115 million.

The Tote has outlets on the vast majority of Britain's 60 racecourses, having first traded on both Newmarket's July course and at Carlisle in July 1929.

In 1972 it opened its first high-street betting shop and at the present time betting with the Tote is accepted in more than 7,000 high-street shops in Britain, most of which are not owned by the company.

However, it should come as no surprise that online the only bets available are Tote bets. And, as you would expect, the Tote's online presence is among the top betting sites available and the company among the best bookmakers.

The initial welcome offer of a £10 risk-free bet is a little miserly compared to some but it is very easy to take up once you sign up and the site itself is also easy to work around and use.

Pros

• If Tote betting is your thing then this is a natural choice

• Easy to take up the initial offer

• Simple website

Cons

• There is no app for Android use

• You are only allowed to bet on the Tote

• No in-play service on offer

For more information read our Tote review or sign up with Tote to claim your introductory offer.

Tote free bet

Bet £5 and get £20 in free bets

New customers online only. Place your first bet on racing pools for a minimum of £/€5 and win or lose you will receive £/€20 Tote Credit. £/€20 Tote Credit rewarded as £/€10 redeemable against racing bets only and £/€10 redeemable against UK and Irish Placepot bets only. Tote Credit cannot be withdrawn, exchanged or substituted and expires after 7 days. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the betslip. Ten to Follow, virtual and football bets do not qualify. Totewin will be the qualifying bet when a Totewin and a Toteplace bet are struck at the same time. UK & ROI customers only. 18+.  Full T&Cs apply.

Best betting site offers and free bets for new customers

So let's cut to the chase and look at the best bookmaker sign-up offers out there and on the market at the moment. As you'll see, these vary in their generosity but always take into account all the other factors we've already focused on before making the choice as to who you sign up with.

bet365

Introductory offer: bet £10 and get £50 in free bets, such as horse racing.

Betfair

Introductory offer: get £30 in free bets when you place a £10 bet on Sportsbook on a multitude of sports.

Paddy Power

Introductory offer: get up to £50 in free bets. Great for horse racing fans in particular.

Sky Bet

Introductory offer: £20 in free bets when you place a £5 bet. Good for horse racing bettors.

Ladbrokes

Introductory offer: £20 in free bets when you place a £5 bet, with the company's cricket and snooker odds always tempting.

Coral 

Introductory offer: get a £20 free bet when you bet £5. Another good offer for the inexperienced punter who fancies a bet on horse racing.

William Hill

Introductory offer: get £30 in free bets when you place a minimum £10 bet. Great offer for football or horse racing fans but note that the bonus expires 72 hours from issue.

Tote

Introductory offer: bet £5 on racing pools and you will receive a £20 Tote Credit. For new horse racing customers.

Make sure to check out our full range of free bets and sign-up offers here.

Best free bets and existing customer offers

bet365

• Six Nations Early Payout offer: if your team goes 15 points ahead you'll be paid out on single bets. For multiple bets the selection is taken as the winner.

• Bet Boost: one horse in every UK and Irish horse race is offered at a bigger price. Also on selected markets for other sports. Well worth checking for this as you could get even better value on your fancy.

• bet365 Price Promise: another superb betting site offer if you like to have a bet on races televised by ITV. bet365 says it will not be beaten on price by Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, Paddy Power, Sky Bet and Boylesports on any win and each-way fixed odds markets up to 15 minutes before the scheduled off-time of any race shown live on ITV.

Make sure to check out our full range of existing customer offers here.

Betfair

• Get a £10 free bet when you bet £10 worth of multiples on Saturday's UK and Irish horse racing. Have a Round Robin, a Lucky 15 or whatever multiple bet you fancy that comes to at least a £10 total stake and you'll get a free £10 bet.

• Get a completely free £2 bet builder on any English Premier League games this weekend. Simply click 'claim' and work through the steps on your bet builder.

Paddy Power

• Free bet if one leg of your 4+fold acca or same-game-multi lets you down. This applies to 4+fold accas or bet builder bets. Maximum acca free bet is £10. An extra little bit of insurance against that dreaded result that goes the wrong way.

Sky Bet

• Promotions change on a daily basis but look out for Sky Bet's enhanced accas, which could enhance your profits, should all selections win. Here's the one on the day we reviewed their offers – click here for more details.

Ladbrokes

• Ladbrokes offer you the chance to win £100 on a free football bet. Simply enter your three correct scores for the three matches nominated and without staking a penny you'll win £100 if you get it spot on! You'll also win free bets if you only manage to name either one or two correct scores.

Coral

• Win £50 for free. Predict four correct match stats on the nominated match and you'll win £50 without having to put any money on.

• Win up to £25,000 every Saturday with the free-to-play Racing Super Series. Pick one horse to place in all of the seven nominated races on a Saturday. If all your selections place, you'll win a share of the guaranteed £25,000 prize-money.

William Hill

• Acca Freedom: boost the odds of your acca or insure it against one result. Here, you could win more by boosting your acca odds or choose to insure against one bad result when you'll get your money back as a free bet of up to £20.

• Place up to £5 on any rugby union market and get up to a £5 matched free bet to use on rugby union. Place a minimum £1 bet at odds of at least 1-5 and then add any rugby union market to your betting slip to see your free bet.

Tote

• The Tote Guarantee: an excellent and ongoing offer where if the Tote dividend is bigger than the SP you'll receive winnings on that basis.

Best betting sites in Britain and Ireland

All the online betting sites listed above are accessible in Britain and Ireland. This is one of the global hubs for betting and is a long-established and legislated market that is known for trusted and secure bookmakers. All of those on the British and Irish betting sites list are reputable companies with long-term commitments to sports betting.

Why choose online betting sites?

Online betting sites offer the convenience of betting from wherever you are, whether on your desktop, tablet or mobile, so you never need to miss out on having a flutter on your fancy.

With the offers available when betting online, you may also be able to win more than an equivalent bet in a shop.

Many bookmakers now offer live streaming and in-play services, so you don't have to walk into a shop and bet before an event has started.

The range of sports and events you can bet on is often more extensive online than you can find on the shop floor.

It's easier to check the odds on your bet across a range of bookmakers online than it is when you are situated in a shop.

Online bookmakers have become very safe environments in which you can place a bet. You also don't need to hand cash over the counter when betting online, so there is naturally more choice in terms of options for payment, both in terms of your deposits and your withdrawals.

Sports betting sites

All the online betting sites listed above are also sports betting sites. Sports betting allows bettors a huge amount of freedom to choose how to place a bet, from how many yellow cards a football team might receive to how many corners will be taken, and to competitions that were previously only heard of by name but which now take on a new meaning as a vehicle to place a wager.

Some sports bookmakers are superb across a wide range of sports. For example, bet365 offers live streaming or commentaries on the likes of horse racing, football and cricket, enhancing the experience. William Hill has a great reputation for its horse racing and football markets, while Ladbrokes are excellent for snooker and cricket.

In addition to all of that, there are other opportunities to bet on casino, poker and bingo, with Sky Bet among those offering this, as well as their own Sky Vegas.

How to choose the best online betting sites for you

Ultimately, as a new customer you need to weigh up the many options we've talked about and make your own informed choice as to which is the best betting site for you.

Consider which sports you are most likely to bet on and check out the new customer offers at the time you are about to sign up. You may be able to get off to a flying start with the best of those but do also consider the odds on offer, as above, can regularly be more competitive with some bookmakers than others.

Check out the number of markets on offer on your favourite sports. If, for example, you are most likely to be a regular cricket better, then a betting site with more choice may be preferable to one that perhaps considers only one event.

Live streaming is also a great way to keep up with how your bets are performing and if you want this benefit then check out how many events each bookmaker on your shortlist is streaming before making the decision as to which betting site suits you best.

FAQs

Which is the best online sports betting site?

A bit like your favourite food or drink, the best online sports betting site is ultimately down to personal choice, depending on your own sports preferences. The above guide provides you with a list of the very best online sports betting sites, while there are also other factors such as customer service to take into account when making your choice.

How many online betting sites are there in Britain and Ireland?

At the last count there were over 40 different betting sites in Britain and Ireland, which is why we have narrowed it down to a list of the very best online betting sites.

What is the safest online betting site?

All of the above online sports betting sites discussed are safe, secure and trusted.

See more free bets and betting offers from our trusted partners to get a head start on your sports betting, or download our horse racing app to sign up for exclusive new customer offers. Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing.