Last Update: June 18, 2024
Published on June 17, 2024
From competitive odds and enticing promotions to intuitive interfaces and secure transactions, FGG ranked the best football betting sites in the UK.
Best Football Betting Sites in the UK
Details of the review can be found after the ranking.
1. LADBROKES
£20 free bets
18+ New UK+IRE customers. Paypal and certain deposit types and bet types excluded.
Min £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4 x £5 free bets.
Free bets valid for 7 days on sports, stake not returned, restrictions apply.
T&Cs apply.
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2. BETFRED
Get £50 in Free Bets and £10 in Free Spins
New customers only. Register with SUMMER50. Deposit £10+ and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply.
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3. PLANET SPORT BET
Get £10 bonus after betting £10
Applies to new UK/IE customers who sign up via approved partner sites with promo code bet20get10. Place a minimum £20 cash bet at odds of Evens (2.0) or greater and receive a £10 Free Bet 18+ GambleAware.org . Full T&Cs apply Full T&Cs
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4. William Hill
£40 free bets on mobile
18+. Play Safe. When you sign-up via Mobile using promo code N40 and place a bet of £10/€10 or more,
we will give you 4x £10/€10 free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet,
free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is placed,
payment method/player/country restrictions apply.
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Up to £40 money back as bonus + £10 casino
18+ begambleaware.org. New customers only. Min deposit £10. Money back as bonus if first bet loses.
Wagering requirements: sportsbook 3x at min. odds of 1.40 (2/5), casino 35x.
Unless forfeited the sportsbook bonus must be wagered before using the casino bonus.
Bonus expires 7 days after opt-in. No deposit required for NI customers.
Call 08081699314 to claim. Full T&Cs apply.
Claim offer
Get £20 in free bets when you bet £5
18+ New UK+IRE customers. Paypal and certain deposit types and bet types excluded.
Min £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4 x £5 free bets.
Free bets valid for 7 days on sports, stake not returned, restrictions apply. T&Cs apply.
Claim offer
7. BETFAIR
Get £20 when you bet £5 in the sportsbook
Commit £20 via the promo hub on Sportsbook to qualify.
Buy in and Bonus must be wagered 10 times within 90 days. Min odds 1.6.
Debit/credit card deposits only. Full T&Cs.
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8. BWIN
Get a £20 backup bet
18+ | New UK players only | Min deposit req. £10 | Certain deposit methods excluded
Place 1 sport bet (3+ selections) | Excl Horse Racing | Min stake £10 | Max stake £20
Min Odds 1/2 (1.5) for each selection | Max FreeBet £20 for football only
FreeBet valid for 7 days | FreeBet stake not returned | T&Cs apply.
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9. BET365
Claim £30 in free bets
Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available
for use upon settlement of bets to 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 SPORTSMAX can be used during registration but does not change the offer amount in any way.
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10. BETVICTOR
Bet £5 get £30 in bonuses
18+ New customers only. Opt-in, bet £10 at odds 2.00+ within 7 days, no cashout.
Get 3x £10 Free Bets, set events at odds 2.00+. Plus 100 Free Spins on Big Bass Bonanza, no wagering.
Free Bets and Spins expire in 7 days. Card payments only.
T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly.
Claim offer
- 1 Best Football Betting Sites in the UK
- 2 Ladbrokes – Best overall football betting site
- 3 Betfred – Football bonuses galore
- 4 Paddy Power – A great overall selection
- 5 William Hill – A seasoned veteran of football betting
- 6 Unibet – Youthful yet professional
- 7 Coral – nearly 100 years in the UK
- 8 Betfair
- 9 Bwin
- 10 Bwin – Pros
- 11 Bet365
- 12 BetVictor
- 13 Other Honourable Online Sportsbooks
- 14 Key football events to bet on
- 15 How to pick the best football betting sites UK
- 16 FAQs – Key information about football betting sites
- 17 Final thoughts on UK football betting websites
UK Football betting sites: Our top picks
Following our research, Ladbrokes gets a 9 out of 10 as it is one of the best football bookmaker in the UK. It has a wide selection of sports and a seamless interface, enhancing the user experience. Betfred and Paddy Power are right up there with Ladbrokes and, hence, are next in our line of explanation.
Ladbrokes – Best overall football betting site
Ladbrokes first emerged as a top-tier horse racing bookie, but football is just as good. It offers price boosts for popular football games and supports live streaming. Our Ladbrokes football betting article details what the bookmaker has to offer for this sport.
Ladbrokes top features
- On Ladbrokes, you can edit accumulators while in play
- They have significant visibility in the UK market – one of the most recognizable bookies nationwide
- There have been notable improvements to the app recently
Betfred – Football bonuses galore
The football-mad country was still ecstatic when Fred Done opened his first Betfred shop just one year after England’s World Cup-winning triumph. The Warrington-based company is a multi-billion pound operation, stacked with promotions and offers. Specialising in football, it is a one-stop shop when it comes to covering your sports betting needs.
Pick Your Punt is a great bonus that Betfred has used for a long time, allowing people to specify the terms and conditions of their wager and giving those fans who meticulously browse through stats to try and find value in their bet. In football alone, Betfred offers markets for more than 40 global leagues. In those leagues, a regular football game can commonly carry over 100 markets to bet on.
My preferred Betfred features
- Top odds boosts on certain fixtures
- Highly rated app for iOS and Android devices
- A longstanding, trusted UK brand
Paddy Power – A great overall selection
Paddy Power holds a huge reputation in the betting industry regarding horse racing. But they are so much more, with football being the second most popular sport on the platform. Paddy Power covers all the major football leagues from across Europe. We’re discussing the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A. All the giants of the game are included. However, the bookmakers’ football offers do stretch globally, from leagues with high levels of popularity to the lower leagues in the footballing pyramid. Paddy Power’s range of markets is truly impressive.
Pros of betting on Paddy Power
- Known for engaging players with a combination of social media humour and statistics to create engagement
- Excellent reward scheme, bonuses, and promotions for existing customers – not just focusing on new ones
- Expansive niche markets in an array of different sports
William Hill – A seasoned veteran of football betting
William Hill naturally made our list as one of the UK’s oldest and most reputable brands. While horse racing is what made William Hill such a success in the early days, football betting has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. With regular free bets and some of the best odds you can find with any online sportsbook, William Hill has to go down as one of the top football betting sites in the UK.
Best William Hill features
- Often cited as the top website and app for customer service in the UK – multiple routes, including live chat agents and e-mail, are renowned for quick response and solution times.
- It is one of the most extensive sports betting markets, continually adding fresh, nice, professional competitions you can bet on
- It has an exclusive radio station for customers to listen to tips and pointers on upcoming sports bets.
Unibet – Youthful yet professional
Unibet is a vibrant betting site with members who actively engage on the Unibet blog with their own football predictions. Besides this community vibe, the Unibet football offers are highly professional, such as their promo code. You can often find 300+ markets for major Premier League games, and for the overall events covered each year, it is well above 50,000. This is remarkable compared to other football betting brands; the bonuses are fairly good.
Perks of signing up with Unibet
- Fast payouts, regardless of the deposit and withdrawal system you use
- Excellent reward scheme, bonuses, and promotions for existing customers – not just focusing on new ones
- The website is well-known for being smooth and slick, with very minimal, if any, latency issues
- Many online bettors often rate the mobile app experience as the high point of the service
Coral – nearly 100 years in the UK
If you’re somebody who shops around to find the best prices for their bets, football betting websites will often run bonuses or promotions that match or better their rivals. Arbitrage betting is big news; shopping around is always wise to get the best price for the same football bet. Like Bet365, Coral is a stalwart of the UK football betting industry.
With multiple sponsorships on all levels of the English and Scottish game, Coral is well known for providing some of the top bonuses. Now that they’re just shy of a century of service in the English market, few companies in the world can boast the sports betting prowess of the London-based gambling giant. Their continued success is a testament to their phenomenal domestic and international football range.
Best features of the Coral betting site
- Coral likes to pay credit bonuses to existing customers with no strings attached; you can use it for whatever bet you like and withdraw it
- Coral Racing Club caters exclusively to horse racing bettors; although other sites have similar avenues, Coral’s is synonymous with their all-around quality sportsbook.
Betfair
For those with a few grey hairs in their beard or on their head, you might remember back to just over twenty years ago when Fulham FC cemented themselves into the history books and became the first English club to sign an endorsement with a gambling company. Although the team themselves hardly set the world on fire, this iconic sponsorship over 20 years ago should indicate to you just how revered Betfair is amongst the UK football betting fraternity.
Betfair continues to be one of the UK’s most popular football betting sites. They pioneered the art of the exchange, meaning you could bet against other punters rather than at the rates set by the provider. Many punters find better odds for specific footballing bets, such as the size and popularity of football betting in the UK. And while the London-based company doesn’t handle the same volume of bets as some of the other names on this list, they’re the biggest sports-specific betting exchange with a huge role in developing fairer markets for football bettors in the UK.
Betfair’s competitive edge
- Largest exchange on the internet – allowing you to find value in markets with other bettors
- Excellent live streaming options, in particular, across the lesser-watched sports
Bwin
Hawk-eyed football fans will be aware of Bwin because of their high-profile partnership deals with some of the biggest clubs in Europe – such as Real Madrid and Juventus. They also sponsored Inter Milan when the team was under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho, one of the powerhouses on the continent. While Bwin doesn’t have the market presence of Bet365, they do have a command over several top European markets.
They’re one of the most popular football betting sites in many different countries, and with deep-rooted connections specific to football, Bwin has had a great 2023. Their emphasis on finding the best odds for Premier League games and English domestic and international cup competitions has allowed them to find their feet with UK bettors.
While the Bwin app might not be up to the same standard, there’s no disputing the quality they have when it comes to choice and if you’re somebody who explores arbitrage betting, it’s one of the most prominent names, offering some of the fairest prices you can find.
Bwin – Pros
- Strong European presence, one of only a handful of sportsbooks based on the European continent with a global name.
- Top football betting markets.
- Their website has won multiple awards for its design
Bet365
Sports gamblers flock to Bet365. There are now nearly 100 million punters using Bet365 and its extensive services; they’re one of a select few companies highlighting the potential of digital sports betting, and their passion to deliver keeps them in this top bracket continually. Their cash-out system is arguably the best in the UK market; regardless of how many choices are on your accumulator, it’ll calculate it and cash out instantly.
New football betting sites often explore the football betting ideas that Bet365 pioneered, such as an emphasis on fast cash out and paying out when a team takes a 2-goal lead. If you’re a customer of Bet365, you’ll know that they have a carousel of welcome offers for new customers and those who regularly use their service. The Stoke On Trent firm commands over a quarter of the entire UK market, head and shoulders above their rivals.
Pros of choosing Bet365
- The world’s most extensive sportsbook, with the largest customer base of all sports gambling companies
- Innovative features include a 2-goal early payout, which several providers have since copied.
- It has an impressive cashout feature on accumulators that allows you to cash out instantly without latency problems.
BetVictor
Finally, BetVictor deserves its place on our top UK online sportsbooks list.
Top BetVictor features
- Renowned for their extensive virtual markets, including greyhounds and horses
- Big changes to the quality of the live streaming, especially on the desktop site
- They are making significant inroads into the US market
Other Honourable Online Sportsbooks
Key football events to bet on
Champions League
The Champions League is undoubtedly the world’s most prestigious annual football competition. We’re talking Manchester City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, and many more. The top clubs in Europe clash throughout the season in simply mouth-watering fixtures that keep football fans on the edge of their seats.
Look at Group F from this year’s competition. Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, and Newcastle United are all going head-to-head in an unpredictable group. Even after four games, who will qualify is anyone’s guess, with all the teams separated by just three points.
2024 Champions League dates to remember
- 1st qualifying round: 9-10 and 16-17 July
- 2nd qualifying round: 23-24 and 30-31 July
- 3rd qualifying round: 6-7 and 13 August
- Play-offs: 20-21 and 27-28 August
Premier League
For British punters, this is the event to keep an eye on. It is arguably the largest and most prestigious league of all, and with teams like Manchester City and Liverpool making headlines right now, it’s a great time to become familiar with the Premier League.
Games are played each season from August to May and span 38 weeks.
Euro Championships
Besides maybe the World Cup, this is the biggest event in football. It takes place once every 4 years.
Here is where the very best international teams in Europe come and battle it out for this prestigious crown.
Copa America
While the Euros are the pinnacle for international teams based in Europe, Copa America is the equivalent for South American teams. This is where football giants such as Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay all clash to fight it out for the title.
Like the Euros, it doesn’t happen very often, so bookmakers will regularly promote this tournament.
2024 Copa America match schedule
- 20 June – 14 July
How to pick the best football betting sites UK
Based on our research, we can pinpoint the following points:
1. Look for a site with competitive odds
Every betting market has odds assigned to it, and by finding sites that give higher odds than others, you’ll win more when you do win. It is that simple, and different UK betting sites always price events at different odds. The trick is to find a site where the average odds are high, as this gives you plenty of value.
2. Search for the best welcome bonus
Signing up with a new site leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth if you aren’t greeted by a large bonus. This is precisely what you should be looking at before signing up with any site, as the welcome bonus usually indicates whether a site gives out good bonuses overall.
3. Check if they have a reload promotion
New player promotions are always nice, and usually the largest, but once you’ve progressed through them you depend on reload promotions. This is why this is such an important factor, as football tends to attract some of the most regular reloads out of all other sports. Therefore, there is no excuse not to pick a site with plenty of them available.
4. Test out the live-streaming function
Today, almost all the best betting sites in the UK are expected to use live streaming. This provides a bit of a one-stop-shop solution to bet on your favorite sports games and watch them live, too. Usually, live streaming isn’t free, as you must have some money in your betting account to view them.
5. Try the accumulator insurance and boosts
Accumulator insurance and boosts are also good factors to consider when looking for the best football betting sites. This feature rewards riskier bets with increased odds, while the insurance option usually offers you a refund if your bet loses. All in all, it is a good way to strike a balance between the risks associated with accumulator bets and larger winnings.
6. Verify their early payouts
This promotion may be offered by some bookmakers, it allows you to settle your bet as a win before the event has finished, for example, if the result has a substantial lead but the event is still running. You will collect your winnings before the end, reducing the risk of a late upset.
FAQs – Key information about football betting sites
How can I check that a site is above board and legal?
Typically, you’ll see a betting license listed somewhere on the homepage. Given that this is a legal requirement, it allows you to check if a site is operating as it should easily. You can also check this out on the main UKGC webpage for further verification.
Can I bet on football with my mobile device?
Of course. The top UK betting sites now have mobile apps that can be downloaded on almost any smartphone for free. Plus, you’ll almost always be able to make sports bets from an optimized mobile site.
How often are football markets available?
Well, football usually takes place somewhere in the world. For Europe, the markets are much livelier between August and May, yet there are also football events during summer.
What are some common football bets to make?
Some of the most common and popular bets to make for football include 1×2, both teams to score, accumulators, correct score, spread, and over/under.
Do I need to wait long for winnings to reach my account?
Not at all. If you can bet correctly on any football market, your winnings should show up in your real cash balance within a minute or so. If, for whatever reason, this doesn’t happen, you can refresh the page for it to go through.
What is the minimum deposit amount on these sites?
When making a deposit, you’ll usually need to spend at least £5 to accept it. On some sites, this limit is increased to £10, which will always be shown in the banking section before you deposit.
Is it quite easy to livestream games?
Yes, although there is usually a requirement that you have made a bet in the last 24 hours or at least have money in your account. Providing that either of these conditions is met, you can livestream games without any trouble. Find a game to stream, click the play button, and the stream should instantly begin.
Are there any ‘special’ football bets to make?
Yes, in addition to the main football markets, you can also bet on the top goalscorer, the next manager to be sacked, and plenty more.
Final thoughts on UK football betting websites
You can’t go wrong with any of these football betting websites we’ve explored today. They all provide top-notch bonuses and football betting markets. They’re part of a small list of bookmakers making this industry’s bedrock by continuing to develop and improve their already extensive sports betting markets.
Nick Gallagher is a betting expert with six years of experience writing content for sports betting in the United Kingdom. He grew up playing competitive football and studied at the University of York, so he knows and loves the ins and outs of sports, writing about sports, and betting on sports.
