UK Bookmakers & Betting Sites
The United Kingdom is the pioneer of modern online bookmakers as we know them today.
In what other country could we find leading bookies, founded as far back as the 19th century?
Only in the United Kingdom!
Time-tested, reputable 21st-century UK bookmakers have made their own betting sites and continue to lead the sports betting market with confidence.
In order to objectively evaluate UK online bookies, we need to take a closer look at their strengths and weaknesses.
Important criteria for evaluating UK betting companies:
Traffic to UK betting websites by visitor count;- Size of the betting companies in the United Kingdom;
- World rankings and professional betting indicators;
- Offers of free bets and bonuses to new UK customers;
- Bet lines and odds on popular British sports: football and horse racing;
- Payment methods popular in the UK;
- Possession of a UKGC license.
We'll look at each of these categories below.
UK Bookmakers List
There are many different criteria for determining the best qualities of online bookies. In our analysis we have excluded subjective preferences and offer only those criteria that are based on objective data.
Thus, the best online bookmakers in United Kingdom are presented in 2 main lists:
- Global ratings of online bookies;
- Most visited UK betting sites.
⚡ Top 10 UK Bookies
The top 10 UK bookmakers are based on their ranking and points in the Global Bookmaker Rankings. The best positions are taken by companies that are ranked higher in the main ratings.
October 2024
Global Ranking of UK Bookies:
#4 
Bet365 - 4th
- #6
Vbet (UK) 
- #9
William Hill 
#12 Betfred - #15 Matchbook
- #14 Dafabet (UK)
- #19 Betfair
#22 Betway 
#45 BetVictor
⚡ Top 20 Betting Sites United Kingdom
The best UK betting sites can also be determined based on their popularity among bettors. This is most clearly seen in the visitor statistics of betting websites by local gamblers.
We can call this the "popularity rating" of online bookmakers in the United Kingdom.
This rating will always be the most independent, unbiased and completely honest, as you cannot force gamblers to visit sites that they do not like.
Here are the best UK betting sites in the Website Traffic category:
October 2024
Rank / Monthly UK Visitors:
- #4 Bet365 - 7,262,136
- 4th
- #9 William Hill - 4,576,681
- #48 Paddy Power - 4,378,166
- #19 Betfair - 3,558,936
- #12 Betfred - 2,103,645
- #45 BetVictor - 1,288,199
- #22 Betway - 1,204,397
- #69 Boylesports - 911,120
- #58 Fafabet - 487,573
- #43 888Sport - 467,812
- #15 Matchbook - 365,326
- #47 Bwin - 272,408
- #136 Spreadex - 164,829
- #64 QuinnBet - 74,163
- #63 Betgoodwin - 67,753
- #6 Vbet (UK) - 46,936
- #66 Rhino - 40,273
- #80 Jeffbet - 20,270
- #102 MrPlay - 11,535
- #14 Dafabet (UK) - 1,680
These websites are visited by tens of thousands of UK visitors daily.
Of course these numbers can not be the main criteria when choosing a bookmaker for betting but the facts by themselves clearly speak as to where local players most prefer to bet on sports.
Best UK Bookmakers
recommends for betting:
⚡ Popular Betting Sites UK
(Monthly UK Visitors | Percent of UK Visitors)
Monthly Irish Visitors: 
PayPal Betting Sites UK
PayPal is one of the most popular and the favorite electronic payment systems among British gamblers and for some bettors, the availability of this payment method on a betting website has become a decisive factor when choosing a bookmaker.
PayPal is very responsible for its clients' finances and allows them to hide and reliably protect their confidential personal data. This is why PayPal betting sites are so popular in the United Kingdom.
Best PayPal Bookies in UK:
Popular Payment Methods UK
To make deposits and receive payments at licensed bookmakers in the UK, players mainly used their usual Visa, MasterCard or popular e-wallets.
Although it is true and should be noted that starting in 2020 credit cards are no longer being accepted for these purposes.
This was done as part of the fight against gambling addiction and other abuses in online gambling.
In addition to bank debit cards, popular payment methods are:
- PayPal
- Paysafecard
- Skrill
- Neteller
- UKash
- Trustly
- Apple Pay
- Currency: £ (Great Britain Pound / GBP)
United Kingdom Betting Sites are online bookmakers that are required to be licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC).
The presence of this license is the most important and main confirmation that you can legally and as safely as possible make online bets in the UK.
As a regulator in the field of gambling, UKGC exercises control and supervision over the activities of both real-world and online bookies, preventing all violations and maintaining the transparency of this sphere of business.
The requirements for obtaining a license are quite strict, and not obtainable by all betting companies which only increases the credibility of the companies that manage to obtain a license.
You can always independently check the availability of a license on the bookmaker's website. If the bookmaker possesses it, then at the very bottom of the site you will find a logo with the words "GAMBLING COMMISSION".
By clicking on the logo and going to the UKGC website, you can search by name and find the betting company you need.
Sports betting in the UK has been tax-free since 2002. That is, you do not need to pay any taxes either on bets or on winnings.
This is a significant plus, since tax levies strongly affect the final average profit from each wager and complicate the opportunity for players to obtain acceptable profits over the long term.
However, the lack of taxes is sometimes offset by odds that are too low and that a number of major UK bookies traditionally offer their clients.
Fortunately, there are also companies with higher odds.
UK betting sites adhere to strict guidelines regarding the identification of their customers and place great emphasis on the security of their gaming accounts.
After opening a gaming account, you will have to go through an identity verification process but generally this procedure does not take much time.
Most often the package of documents requested for verification consists of the following:
- Foreign passport or driving license (for identity confirmation);
- Utility bill or bank statement (for address confirmation).
Sports betting is a long tradition that has been upheld through the generations.
So, it's no surprise that nearly a third of the country's citizens engage in sports betting. High-profile football,
which they show in the clubs in the Premier League, also acts as a nice incentive to remember to place bets on your team.
The traditional types of bets are sports betting on Football, Tennis, Cricket, Golf, as well as Horse and Greyhound Racing.
However, Football receives the most bets and for good reason, as England is considered the birthplace of this sport.
- Football
- Tennis
- Horse Racing
- Greyhound Racing
- Cricket
- Golf
- Boxing
