SportsBettingBros: Comparing the best bookies for online sports betting

Here at SportsBettingBros, we are passionate about providing our readers with a bit of lucidity and critical insight in today’s oversaturated sports betting industry. We are a small, yet very dedicated and passionate team, which keeps an eye on all the current trends. We always strive to bring you the most factual and objective reviews and guides possible. As we are in on what happens behind the scenes of sports betting sites, we thought that before you can commit, you have the right to know as much as we do.

SportsBettingBros Mission

Our main objective from the start has been to provide new punters with trustworthy information. To do this, we aim at ensuring our portal has up to date information, which you can always refer back to for all your betting needs. Information that we provide on our website includes:

Sportsbook Reviews

We always review sportsbook platforms and all their offers. Both new and old platforms are part of our scope. As we are strong believers of transparency, we consistently scrutinize the sophisticated terms and conditions. We do this to ensure that all the important information is available for you, so that you don’t have to stress yourself going through the sometimes tedious info. As an experienced team, we refuse to repeat hollow advertisements that are often marled with outdated or factually incorrect info.

On the contrary, our contributors gather solid information from the source – scouring the sportsbook’s terms and conditions and sometimes having to cross check information with the customer support team. Of course, we always ensure that all our reviews and guides have the latest info.
On our website, you are going to come across reviews on the following bookmakers:

Sportsbook Payment Option Guides

Let’s face it, every one of us was a beginner once – even the most experienced and professional punters. Sometimes, even the most experienced punters need to double check the rules, or perhaps get the necessary help when transitioning from the brick and mortar bookshops to online gambling.

This is why we provide all sorts of guides, including the best payment options that are best suited to make payments online. Whether its debit/credit cards; eWallets; pre-paid cards or other alternative payment options, we have you covered! We’ve even included information on the best sites to visit if you wish to use one payment option instead of the other.

Like sports betting sites, we also have a list of payment options that we’ve reviewed in our guides. They include:

Sports Betting Tips

Among our small team, we have a number of avid football fans – some of whom are avid punters. We also have other sports reviewers in different sporting events who follow annual events globally. Therefore, it’s only natural that we include all sorts of information including eSports, horse racing, golf, tennis, and other betting tips here at SportsBettingBros. We include tips from some of the popular events occurring internationally!

A Guide to Sports Betting

Sports betting can sometimes be a very challenging pass time. However, if done the right way, it can be very rewarding too! From our guide to sports betting, you are sure of finding a number of golden rules with which you can enhance your overall betting experience – and if used properly, make a decent profit on the way. When you avoid some of the petty mistakes, it’s very possible for you to get results without losing the thrill and excitement of sports betting.

What is online sports betting?

While betting in UK is the most preferred experience for most Brits, for those who don’t live close to the betting shops making a trip can often be costly. And most of the punters who’d like to bet find it very inconveniencing visiting the establishments.

Online sports betting brings betting to the coziness of home as it is already enjoyed around the world. While there’s nothing that will ever replace the atmosphere and feeling of a brick and mortar sportsbook, online sports betting gives betting aficionados an unlimited number of opportunities to bet at will every other day of the year.

How reliable and secure are online sportsbooks?

Fear of what to expect and general rumours circulated in the internet planted the misconception that online sportsbooks aren’t safe and secure. There are even people who believe that they are not reliable in terms of the odds that they offer. It’s important to know that online sports betting sites are very safe and secure. To ensure that you are always protected, they have various measures put in place.

Your bank account information, your personal details and transactions are always secured by the sports betting site you choose. This information can only be accessed by yourself. However, to ensure that the site you visit has all that’s required to warrant your safety. Don’t forget to look out for the licensing and eCogra seal of approval, which indicates that the sportsbook follows ethical principles.

How big is the betting market in the UK and worldwide?

In the UK particularly in 2018, bookmakers are a big buzzword, and the number of punters expected to enjoy their services in 2019 is expected to be higher. Easing of laws governing betting almost two decades ago allow for a much freer access to both online and land based bookmakers. The result was a more transparent and accountable industry, which is easily accessed by the ordinary gambler.

And, it’s not just the United Kingdom that’s enjoying an unprecedented boom right now – neighbouring countries in the European Union and the world at large are enjoying it too. While most of the bettors were once forced to visit the back-street casinos, unlicensed bookmakers and crooked establishments to quench their thirst for betting, today’s online sportsbook makers are able to operate much more out in the open thanks to the favourable laws.

While sports betting and online casinos might have once been a things for the ruling classes, they have now become more of entertainment venues where punters are more likely to have a beer, place a bet and watch sporting events.

Is it legal to bet in the UK?

By law, all operators in the United Kingdom have to be licensed, just like LeoVegas, SkyBet, Bet365 among others. This also applies to online bookmakers that operate from outside of the UK, who have to be fully licensed before they can start offering their business to UK punters.

Just recently, there were changes to the online sports betting laws which stiffened the licensing requirements for key players in the industry. Whereas previously possessing a license issued by any internationally accepted licensing body would have been tolerable, all operators are now required to have a license issued by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission.

The work of the UK Gambling Commission is to ensure that all operators abide by the law and protect punters from the rogue sites. It does this by:

  • Ensuring fairness for punters
  • Prevent crime from gambling e.g., by providing cyber security
  • Prevent children from the harms of sports betting

With that said, it means that it’s legal to bet in the UK provided that you’ve met the minimum required age of gambling.

Who can bet in the UK?

Where the UK stands in relation to who can flutter is relatively open. Bettors are free to gamble in whatever way they choose, either in bingo halls, slot games, lottery operators or at the sportsbooks. As a matter of fact, you are free to place a bet with any one of your friend casually as well, with no restrictions whatsoever on the freedom to bet.

This is however, possible only if you have reached the legal age of gambling. According to the UK Gambling Commissioning laws, the age restriction barrier stands at 18 years old – unless you’ve opted to play the national lottery or buy a Scratchcard, in which case you can participate as long as you are 16 years old.

What sports can one bet on online?

Online sportsbook sites offer punters with betting platforms that come with more than 80 different sporting events to bet on. This include the popular football, basketball, tennis, golf, rugby, and horse racing competitions. Visit any one of the sites and choose from a wide variety of leagues, matches and sporting tournaments as you put your sports knowledge to the test.

Understanding betting odds?

The legality of online sports betting in the UK as well as the size of the market has already been noted. But as far as sports betting is considered, there’s the odds factor that one needs to consider before starting to bet online.

Odds can be defined at its core as the probability or chance that something is bound to happen or that a given result will occur. Odds are typically based on the likelihood of a competitor or a certain team winning when it comes to sports betting.

Therefore, once you’ve understood the intricacies of different sporting events, you should be able to take a quick look at the odds and quickly analyze your chances of winning and how much you are bound to make in return. Of course, odds will vary from one sporting event to another, depending on what one sportsbook thinks will come to pass – hence the reason why odds can easily change on the fly.

  • Fractional Odds: In the UK, they are perhaps the most popular form of odds as the majority of people find them really easy to understand. As the name suggests, they are represented in fraction such as 2/1 with the number appearing on the left indicating the amount you stand to win. The number on the right indicates your initial stake. Therefore, for a 2/1 odds at an initial stake of €1, the total return should your event come to pass will be €3, inclusive of the initial stake
  • Decimal Odds: While the majority of the UK punters find fractional odds much more convenient and easy to use, players from other parts of Europe will prefer to use the decimal odds especially when betting online. These odds represent the amount of cash that you’ll receive from your bet. For instance, if you’ve placed a €1 bet at odds of 1.5, then your return, inclusive of the bet will be €1.5 as opposed to the €3 from the 2/1 fractional bet
  • American Odds: These ones are rather different and very unique. All the odds expressed in American format will indicate your return relative to the 100 unit base figure.

So you understand all the types of odds; know the position of the UK as far as the legality of online sports betting is concerned. What next? It’s time to proceed to the next important step, choosing the bookmaker based on a number of factors. Read on discover more!

Okay, I’m interested in trying out sports betting online, how do I start?

New and well established sports betting platforms have their own weaknesses and strengths and most of them will customize their services to suit a particular group of clientele. This is why it’s very important for you to pick a website that fits your betting needs. For instance, there are sites that have hundreds of betting markets, whilst other platforms might offer you awesome bonuses and promotions.

Basically, all sports betting sites in the UK are unique in one way or the other and having a criteria for selecting each is always handy. Below are some of the factors that we at SportsBettingBros consider when selecting sites.

1. The Choice of Markets

Overall, you’ll want to pick a bookmaker that offers you an extensive range of betting markets. This enables you to pick and select your bets, and benefit from unique events.
Having said that, if for instance you are only interested in football betting, a wide variety of markets might not be your top priority. Some players might be looking for a site that has better options to bet on during in-play betting or live betting.

2. Mobile Compatibility

Nowadays, the majority of the top online bookmakers in the United Kingdom have their offering readily available on the mobile platform. This means that you can easily bet on the move using your tablet or smartphone device.

Choosing a site that’s been fully optimized for play on the mobile device is important because it lets you stay up to date with all the bets you plan on placing. This way, you can even bet last minute if there’s need to.

If the sportsbook also has a mobile compatible site, you need to ensure that it performs perfectly. There’s nothing as annoying and tiring as a difficult to navigate site or one that loads extremely slowly. After all, in sports betting, a matter of seconds could be the difference between making a €200 profit or recording a loss.

3. Rewarding Bonuses

A sure sign that you are one of the best online sports betting platforms is if it has rewarding bonuses and promotions. Since the online sports betting industry is somewhat a competitive industry, the majority of the players in the industry will often offer incentives for you to sign up. However, what sets most of the top platforms from the rest is the commitment to continuing to offering you recurring promotions such as odds boost; second or third deposit bonus or insurance bonuses.

4. High Odds

Odds and online sports betting go hand in hand. In fact, sports betting is based on odds and it’s natural that any site with high odds will attract more punters. However, as a team, we always look beyond the high odds. We always want to ensure that our readers are getting boosted odds and consistent pre-match and in-play betting odds.

5. Payment Options are Very Important Too!

Whilst at the majority of the online sports betting sites you can sign up and make your deposit instantly, if you are looking to enjoy all the services and features offered by the site, then you must first of all make a deposit to your account. To do this, you need to choose from a banking/payment option.

In the UK, most of the debit/credit cards are accepted by the top brands such as Bet365, Bet at Home, Ladbrokes etc. However, the debit/credit cards might not be accepted in locations outside of the UK. This is why it’s important that you choose a site that has a diversified payment platform.

Signing Up at The Online Bookmakers – A Step by Step Guide

Now that we’ve highlighted the tips on how you can pick the best sports betting platforms, you may be wondering how you can sign up at any one of them. Luckily for you, it’s extremely easy as the process has been streamlined. The steps below will take you through the process.

  • Pick your most preferred site. We recommend that you pick any one of the sites we recommend here for safety and fairness issues
  • Click on the sign up button. This will re-direct you to a new page where you are required to fill a signup sheet.
  • Fill the signup sheet with all the required information – accurately. Your names need to appear as they do on your government issued ID and your postal code has to reflect your exact location
  • Finish the step by clicking on the create account button.
  • Log into your email and click on the conformation link. This will re-direct you back to the main site
  • Login using the details that you’ve just provided

Best Bookies to Bet on Football

Football is undeniably the king of sports betting. There are so many factors which make it one of the most preferred sports betting event across bookmakers. The game is played all year round, globally and has hundreds of matches being aired. There are different national football leagues which offer a wide variety of bets and as a bonus, there are also friendly matches, European competitions and worldwide competitions such as the world cup. Also, the easy to understand rules in football are reflected in sports betting, which makes it much easy for bettors to venture into it.

How to Bet on Football

Betting on football is so expansive. If we are to write every little detail regarding the same, it would take us another guide, similar to this one, to include all the details. But in short, if you wish to bet on football, there are more than 70 markets that you can bet on. To highlight the most popular ones, we’ve included them below.

Types of Bets you Can Place on Football

  • 1X2 Betting
  • Handicap Betting
  • Totals Betting – Number of Goals; Number of Cards; Number of Corners;

Best Betting Markets – LeoVegas

If you were to select an online bookmaker based on the number of betting markets, then it would be LeoVegas Sports. Despite being relatively new in the industry, LeoVegas excels when it comes to the number of markets, especially during in-play. This same extensive range of markets extends to the mobile platform.

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile App Rating Overall Rating
5/5 4/5 4/5 4.5/5

The Best Odds – Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes is certainly one of the oldest bookmakers in the UK and perhaps the best when it comes to offering lucrative odds. The content is also very good and the overall arrangement of the site makes it easier for punters to find events that they are searching for.

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile App Rating Overall Rating
4/5 4.5/5 4/5

The Best Design – Bet365

In-play sports betting features glaringly on the Bet365 mobile platform, offering you hundreds of thousands of markets across a wide range of sporting events worldwide. With all the markets on offer, one would expect it to be a hassle to bet on the platform. On the contrary, markets and content are well laid out on the platform, making it easy for you to bet. The choice of colour – green and shades of yellow and black – also makes it possible for one to bet for longer times without straining the eye.

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile App Rating Overall Rating
5/5 4.5/5 5/5

Fastest Mobile Platform – Bet at Home

Bet at Home labels itself as the best ‘Online sports betting & top betting odds’ site – a bold claim to make. However, we’d like to believe that it has one of the fastest and user friendly mobile platform in the industry. It might lack a mobile application but the no download platform has been optimized fully to accommodate all sorts of mobile devices including iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry and some of the older versions of Symbian OS devices.

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile Platform Rating Overall Rating
4/5 4/5 5/5

All Rounder – Pinnacle

Pinnacle may not be a well-known brand in the industry as the other bookmaker’s we’ve mentioned before but the bookmaker is up there with the best of the best. The bookmaker offers a wide range of sporting events including the rare to come by eSports and politics bets. However, like most of the other sites, its main focus is on football though you can well bet on golf, tennis and other live events.

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile Platform Rating Overall Rating
4/5 4/5 5/5

Best Bookies to Bet on Tennis

Tennis is widely popular globally. People from different parts of the world enjoy the excitement and adrenaline associated with tennis. Like the actual sport itself, betting on tennis is filled with action and offers you multiple opportunities to place various bets that incorporates a wide variety of outrights, match bets and in-play bets. This section focuses on how you can bet on tennis; the top tennis bets that you can make and the top five bookmakers that offer tennis bets.

How Does Tennis Betting Work?

You can easily bet on multiple sporting events in tennis. From the women’s WTA tour to men’s ATP tour in addition to the competitive and prestigious Grand Slam tournaments, you can choose from hundreds of betting markets. If you are new to tennis, it’s always advisable that you check the world ranking first before you can bet.

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the player ranking, you can then shift your focus to other factors such as the surface of the court; the weather; previous history of the player’s performance on the court among other things. Some players will perform better on hard courts than grass courts, while others will give an average performance across all courts.

Types of Bet You can Place on Tennis

  • Outright Betting
  • Match Betting
  • Tennis Handicap Betting

Top 5 Bookmakers to Bet on Tennis

Best Odds

We award this category to Bet365 and Ladbrokes. According to our expertise, we believe these two offer good odds for tennis betting – in both pre-match and in-play betting.
Bet365 Rating

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile App Rating Overall Rating
5/5 4.5/5 5/5

Ladbrokes Rating

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile App Rating Overall Rating
4/5 4.5/5 4/5

Fast Payouts

One of the new concepts in the online sports betting industry is the speed of paying out winnings. Interwetten, Bet365 and SkyBet sportsbook are just some of the bookmakers that are on forefront to implement it. They have fast payouts, which average between 5 hours to a maximum of 12 hours a day for eWallets.

In addition to this, these bookmakers boast offering impressive odds; fluid mobile platforms that are compatible with different devices and customer support services that make them stand out from the crowd.
Bet365 Rating

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile App Rating Overall Rating
5/5 4.5/5 5/5

Interwetten Rating

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile App Rating Overall Rating
4/5 4/5 5/5

SkyBet Rating

Design Rating Odds Rating Mobile App Rating Overall Rating
5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5

Best Bookies to Bet on Golf

Golf is usually considered a sport of gentlemen. True to this belief, most of the top rated bookmakers in the UK keep betting on golf simple, easy and intuitive. Thanks to the simplicity and the number of events played throughout the year, the sport is quickly gaining a huge following among bettors online. This is the reason why we decided to include it in our review.

How to bet on Golf

We all know how golf is played. You’ll need a golf club, a golf ball, a golf course that has a tee, a bunker, rough, a hole, a fairway, a pin etc. You know the drill. But before you can start betting on golf, you need to know the different types of golf scores and what exactly they mean.

While playing golf, your main objective is to sink the golf ball into the hole, using the least number of strokes. Any golf course usually has a total number of 18 holes, which come with different lengths. How long the hole is determined using its par. Usually, the hole’s par will vary from 3 – 5 pays, but in other instances, it can go up to par-7. The golf score will also vary from home to the other depending on the par of the hole.

Regardless of the golf course that you play, the best score that you can get is a hole in one. This usually happens anytime you sink the golf ball in the hole with a single stroke. Other golf scores are as follows and vary depending on the par of the hole:

  • Albatross
  • Eagle
  • Birdie
  • Par
  • Bogey
  • Double bogey
  • Triple bogey

For example, if you need to score a Birdie on a Par-3 hole, you’ll have to sink the golf ball with only two strokes; four strokes on a par-5 hole and three strokes on a par-4 hole.

Popular Bets on Golf

  • Tournament Bets: For this, you are simply betting on the golfer that you believe will win the tournament
  • Season Bets: These are different bets included on one. You’ll simply be betting on how different golfers will be performing throughout the season
  • Each Way Bets: These ones are much similar to horse racing bets. When you place an E/W bet, your bet will be divided into two – the winner and the place (second position). Since you are placing two bets, your stake is doubled

Top 5 Bookmakers to Bet on Golf

1. Bet365

Having been launched in 2000, Bet365 is already considered as one of the top UK sports betting sites. Offering an astonishing selection of sports events and plenty of markets, this online bookmaker accepts punters of all sorts. Players with a limited budget; high rollers; newbies and avid sports punters can all expect to find a service that will suit their betting needs.

In terms of golf, we rank Bet365 the number one of the bookmakers we review because of the number of betting events and markets they offer.

2. SpinSports

SpinSports was founded exactly one year after Bet365 was launched. The brand started off as an online casino before diversifying its offering to sports betting a few years later. Overtime, they have managed to build a loyal and dedicated customer base, thanks to it’s commitment to offering unrivalled betting experience.

A big part of this commitment, especially in golf betting, leans on their ability to offer generous odds and speedy payouts across multiple payment options.

3. Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes isn’t a new name in the sports betting industry. Newbies and pros alike recognize Ladbrokes as one of the leading brick and mortar sports betting brands in the streets of the UK. Their stellar reputation extends to the online scene, where they are synonymous with safe, secure and fair sports and online casino gaming.

We recommend Ladbrokes as one of the best sites to bet on golf given that the platform offers insane bonuses and promotions throughout the year. Insurance bets, massive odds boost, a no deposit bonus just to name a few.

4. LeoVegas

LeoVegas is perhaps one of the newest online sports betting sites, which dominated the online mobile betting platform. The site has a number of awards to show for their mobile friendly website, which extends down to the mobile apps.

With an awesome roaster of golf events existing in the user friendly and fully functional mobile platform, LeoVegas is a must try platform for every player.

5. Interwetten

Out of all the platforms that we’ve enlisted above, Interwetten is the oldest and one of the first platforms to go online back in 1997. Since then, it has been a journey that has witnessed the site grow to become one of the largest brands online. If you are the type of punter who signs up at a bookmaker because of its cutting edge look, then Interwetten wont float your boat.

But like a solid 4-4-2, sometimes the simplicity is what gets results as navigation and placing bets on the site is seamless. In-play betting and cash out features respond smoothly and faster. This means that with proper timing, you can make loads of profit from the bookmaker thanks to the fast in-play betting.

What are the Major Differences between Betting at the Shops vs Betting Online?

Surely, there are plenty of advantages when it comes to online betting as compared to visiting the shops for a quick flutter. It’s unquestionable that there’s a reminiscence of walking to the shop to bet but the number of advantages involved when online betting is involved can’t be disregarded. Betting online gives the edge of betting live as the events happen not forgetting the opportunity of cashing out on your bet. These are opportunities that betting shops don’t offer.

There are also online betting exchanges that add even more advantages to betting as compared to betting at the shops. Instead of holding money to bet against the punter themselves, betting exchanges online play the role of financial market. This makes it possible for you to bet on and against the result of an event. This is something that the betting shops won’t offer you.

There’s a feature referred to as in-running betting or live betting. Thanks to this feature, you can bet on a sporting event as it unfolds. Unless you are physically located at the betting shop, and watch as the events unfold, you can’t get the best odds not unless you are betting online.

If you visit the top online sports betting sites, you’ll realize that they often accompany their offerings with live streams and statistics. This is meant to enhance the punter experience as well as empowering you to make well decided bets on the wide array of markets. Meanwhile, the odds will be updated moment-by-moment, depending on how events unfold. And you can easily cash in even before the end of the event with the cash out feature. All these are features that are not offered by the brick and mortar shops.

Tips to Boost Your Chances of Winning a Sports Bet

If this is your first time betting online, it would be a smart move to have a few tips, which will help you pick up a site where you’ll be going to stake your cash. Fortunately, these tips are very easy and straightforward to implement and will bolster your chance of winning money significantly.

Understand the Odds

Odds in sports betting are the alpha and omega – a fact often underestimated and forgotten. It’s important to remember that long shot odds hardly come in, which is why they are long in the first place! To increase your chances of winning, always go for smaller odds and form an accumulator bet to boost these odds.

Do your Homework Right

Just because one of your mate got lucky and won big after putting his money down on a random 12-team accumulator doesn’t mean that you should also do it! Not unless you are following the form of the team that you are planning on betting on, then don’t do it! After all, the more teams you include on your accumulator, the less likely you are likely to win.
As a rookies, when it comes to betting on sports, the old Chinese saying ‘every journey starts with a single step’ should come into your mind. An effective way of knowing the best team/side to back up is carry a thorough research on the subject. Keep an eye on the following things:

  • Keep an eye on the form
  • Analyze the previous meetings
  • Understand the value of the bet you are about to place
  • Most importantly, analyze the stats, they are never wrong!

Bonuses and Free Bets

With the increasing competition among sports betting sites, free bets, bonuses and other promotions have become a common thing, especially for the first time punters. These freebies are without doubt worth going for – but always bear in mind that there is rarely anything such as free money.

Almost each time you receive a ‘free’ deposit bonus, there’s a turnover that might be as big as 5× the deposited amount that you have to meet. This implies that you’ll first have to meet this turnover before you can withdraw the free cash.

However, if your methods and strategy aren’t affected by having to meet the wagering requirements, then there’s no reason as to why you shouldn’t go for this extra cash. What’s important is that you should read the terms and conditions to avoid any unpleasant surprises!

Never bet what you can’t afford to lose

At SportsBettingBros, we are always advocating for responsible betting. Therefore, if you wish to keep having fun on your handicap or football accumulator – avoid overstretching yourself. Figure out how much you can afford to lose before starting to bet. Also, avoid wagering big to chase a loss.

Remember – Sports betting is always about having fun!

Let’s face it, Sports betting and gambling in general can be quite fun. Yet, the more serious you take it, chances are that you’ll not enjoy the thrill of it.

Last update: 18. march, 2024