Updated: Best Football Betting Sites UK 2023

Football betting is a bigger business now than it ever has been and there’s plenty of great football betting sites out there for punters to pick and choose from.

Hellopredict understands that picking the best football betting site for yourself can be overwhelming, that’s why we’ve rounded up the best and newest football betting sites below.

Choosing the best football bettings site has become somewhat of a challenge in recent years thanks to a huge number of high-quality bookmakers popping up in the UK.

There are more than a dozen big-name sportsbooks offering football betting to players with coverage of the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and more. This choice is good news for betting fans, although getting to the bottom of the pile and settling on the top betting site can be quite the challenge.

Thankfully, the team at Hellopredict has put in the leg work to narrow down the top football betting sites – meaning you can put away the Excel spreadsheets and focus on your picks for the next away game. There’s plenty to get into with the safety and reputation of the betting sites to the odds quality and live streaming capabilities of the sites.

New players looking to sign up for the best football sites available this year can claim a range of top welcome promotions, odds boosts and free bets. Check out our top-ranked football betting sites, the offers available to new players and everything you need to know about UK sportsbooks.

How Hellopredict judges football betting sites

Ranking the best football sites isn’t an easy process and working through the long list of betting sites in the UK can be a laborious task.

There is quite simply too much choice of high-quality football betting sites for bettors to be disappointed or frustrated with their current betting experience. Thankfully for the football fans of the UK, we’ve managed to form criteria packed full of everything that players should be looking out for in a sports betting site.

Ranking the top sites is a bit of a balancing act, but it’s an act that is well worth the time, effort and organisation. With everything from the safety and reputation of a betting site to the quality of the odds and the leagues offered, Hellopredict takes everything into account.

What we look for in a Bookmaker

Hellopredict uses clear criteria when judging football betting sites with only the very best bookmakers making the cut and featuring in the top lists.

A brief overview of the criteria considered and the features searched for, including the quality of the odds, the number of leagues and the live streaming capabilities can be found below.

We also apply the same rigorous standards when reviewing any bookmaker, whether that is established betting sites or new betting sites.

Safety and reputation

The safety of any betting site is paramount to its success and all bettors in the UK are entitled to safe and fair betting with an operator of their choice.

To ensure that sports betting remains both safe and fair, UK betting sites are licensed and regulated by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC). The UKGC is notorious in the gaming industry as one of the most thorough gambling commissions, requiring betting platforms to be fine-tuned to meet the robust requirements of the UK market.

All of the top football betting sites in the UK must be licensed by the UKGC to be legally able to offer sports betting to players. Those sites that avoid the licensing process or infringe the rules and regulations will be heavily fined by the UKGC with the figures often stretching into the millions.

The reputation of a betting site is also important to Hellopredict with reviews from real players taken into account when compiling the top examples. A betting site with a string of negative feedback, customer concerns and issues is one that is likely to have underlying issues – these player reviews are vital for sifting the sites to find the top.

Quality of odds

Following safety, it’s the quality of the odds in the available markets that bettors will be eyeing up when searching for the site offering the best deals.

The broad picture of which odds are the best offer can be difficult to map, but with careful consideration covering the football markets, can be achieved. This is instrumental in selecting the top sportsbooks available for bettors to sign-up for and claim the bonuses of.

The quality of odds at the top sportsbooks are often boosted using a feature known as an “Odds Boost”. These boosts can be categorised into two separate camps – the boosts for new players and the boosts for existing players. The odds boosts for existing players are those that we are most interested in and showcase what bettors should expect during their time with the bookmaker.

Bettors can usually find examples of the odds boosts offered by a sportsbook by selecting the boosted tab from the main betting markets menu. This highlights the full range of odds boosts offered by a betting site from a range of different sports. For football fans, sportsbooks offering boosts on big football games will likely be the favourite decision.

The number of leagues/markets

Not all sportsbooks in the UK offer the same selection of betting markets and, with the focus directly on football, leagues to wager on.

This may not be an issue for bettors looking to place a casual bet on a huge event such as the World Cup with the majority of betting sites offering coverage. However, for bettors looking to wager on lesser-known leagues, games and events such as Serie A and the Bundesliga, the range of markets is much more important.

Bettors searching for a specific league that is of interest to them are able to do so by navigating the markets of a betting site before creating an account. For example, if a UK player is a big fan of Bayern Leverkusen, they are able to check the markets to find the Bundesliga offerings before making that sign-up decision.

Our top football sites ensure that all of the popular (and some of the not-so-popular) leagues and events are covered in the betting markets.

Build a bet / Request a bet

The build a bet feature, also known as the request a bet feature, is offered by a number of football betting sites to give bettors the chance to make their own bets on events.

The feature typically works through social media with bettors able to Tweet the sportsbook accounts with an off-market bet that they would like to place. For example, a bettor could be looking for a specific player to score a hattrick within the first 45 minutes of a game. The betting site would then reply to the Tweet with their offered odds and how to access the bet from their account.

Depending on the sportsbook of choice, some football betting sites will feature some of the popular player-created bets for other players to choose from. This gives bettors additional markets to choose from, adding to the overall experience of the football betting site.

Live streaming

The top football betting sites will often offer live streaming of the games and events that bettors are able to wager on.

The criteria for how players are able to watch the live streams differ between sportsbooks with some allowing for all players to view sports and others requiring for a bet to be placed on an event. This information can be verified with the sportsbook of choice in the live streaming terms and conditions before signing up.

The way in which events are live-streamed can differ between football betting sites, too. Some sportsbooks offer a genuine feed of the action as it unfolds whereas others provide dynamic graphics of the key events of the game.

Football focused

Naturally, one of the biggest characteristics that we search for when looking for the best football betting sites is whether or not the betting site is football-focused.

Every betting site has its own speciality, so to speak, with some sites gravitating towards horse racing, others around golf and our favourites, those focused on football. A clear niche is best for those football fans searching for the best betting experience with the top odds, events and markets for football betting.

A focus on football does not necessarily mean that the site will be the best for Premier League lovers, but it definitely grabs our attention. If the rest of the betting site stacks up, it may find itself in our top list of football betting sites in the UK.

How do I choose a football betting site to sign up with?

When it’s finally time to decide on a football betting site to open an account with, it can be difficult for players to know exactly what to look for in the top site.

There is, unfortunately, no one-size-fits-all answer for this question. Instead, new players looking to find the perfect football betting site should think about what they want in an online football betting site. Of course, the safety, reputation and quality of odds is important to every player – but after that, it’s really down to personal preference.

There are no bad sportsbooks in our top list of the best football betting sites and, with plenty of different welcome offers up for grabs, players are – in a sense – rewarded for not settling with their first sportsbook choice. Our advice is to choose one of the top betting sites from our list and take it for a spin, using the welcome bonus and getting a feel for the site.

If you’re not happy with the sportsbook after a week navigating the markets, it’s time to head back into the top list and choose another example.

How to sign up with the best football betting site

The sign-up process for the majority of football betting sites is a similar process that is both quick and simple to complete.

New players that have decided on a sportsbook that they are wanting to trial can follow the steps below to get started with their welcome bonuses.

Visit the promotion landing page

The first step to joining any football-focused sportsbook is to open the link of a top betting sites to visit the promotion landing page.

These landing pages take potential players directly to the sports betting sites and give the first taste of what’s on offer. Bettors are able not only to get a feel of the sportsbook, but check the offer terms and conditions before making their sign-up decision.

Click the “sign up” option

Once bettors have familiarised themselves and are satisfied with the terms and conditions of the welcome offer, they can hit the “sign up” button on the site.

This will typically redirect new players to a different page of the football betting website where they will be greeted with a new player form.

Complete the onboarding form

The new player onboarding form must be completed by all players looking to place a sports bet in the UK. The welcome form will require new players to enter their personal information, including the following details:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Postal address
• Email address
• Password

Betting sites will typically use an independent third party to verify the identity of all players signing up to wager with the sportsbook. A small percentage of new players may be required to supply additional documentation at this point to fill in any missing details.

Required documentation may include photographic ID, such as a passport or drivers license, or proof of address, such as a recent council tax bill or bank statement. These documents can be uploaded as an image file via a document uploader on a sportsbook or by sending them over to the betting sites customer support team.

Deposit and claim the welcome offer

Once an account has been created and the identity of the player verified, new bettors are able to make their first deposit and claim any available welcome offers.

New players should note that the way in which welcome offers are claimed is dependent on both the sportsbook of choice and the promotion up for grabs. Some welcome offers require a promo code whereas others are applied automatically.

Similarly, bettors may be required to make a minimum deposit with a certain (or limited) deposit method whereas other bonuses are applied without any deposit required. It is the responsibility of the player to check the terms and conditions of the welcome offer carefully to brush up on the qualifying criteria.

Which football betting sites offer live streaming?

Live streaming is offered by a number of UK-based football betting sites with the feature offered in a pair of different categories.

The first way in which players can view live streaming is the most traditional sense with a live feed of the event, much in the same way that an event would be broadcasted. This is by far the most popular form of live streaming at an online sportsbook and is the method that the top football betting sites use when streaming popular events.

The alternative to the traditional stream is a dynamic graphic that coincides with the live-action as it unfolds. This type of live streaming does not use live images of the event, but rather an animation of the action with key features highlighted as the game continues. This is a less population option, but a good solution for when traditional streaming is not available.

The way that live streaming can be accessed at a betting site also differs depending on the brand. Some sportsbooks allow all bettors with a positive balance to watch the events live whereas others require the account holders to place a wager with a minimum value on the event to access the live stream.

Additionally, sportsbooks may have different qualifying criteria for different sporting events. For example, it is common for greyhounds and horse racing streams to be accessed for free with other sports requiring a wager to access the streams.

What are the most popular football betting markets?

There’s a huge amount that goes on inside the 90+ minutes it takes to play a game of football and that’s reflected in the betting markets available for any given game.

Open up any sportsbook and choose a game at random and there will be hundreds of different betting options for players to choose from. Bettors are able to choose from the overall winners of a game, the halftime score, the first, last and anytime scorers, number of corners, number of cards and so, so much more when navigating the betting markets of a match.

The most popular football betting markets can be categorised as outright football betting, BTTS betting and football accumulator betting.

Outright football betting

Outright football betting is concerned with whole competitors as opposed to single games, making it a great place for new bettors to get started.

These bets, often also referred to as Football Futures, offer new bettors to place wagers on “bigger picture” events rather than the details of a match. For example, bettors are able to place a wager on the overall winner of a season of the Premier League in the outright football betting category.

The majority of these types of bets are typically placed at the beginning of the season, although some football betting sites do allow for the wagers to be placed midway through the competition. The top sportsbooks offer these types of bets for the Premier League as well as Serie A, Bundesliga and more.

BTTS betting

Another good starting point for new players to get familiarised with football betting is with Both Teams to Score (BTTS) betting.

The aim of this type of bet is self-explanatory with bettors wagering on the outcome of both teams playing the game to score a goal during the 90 minute period. These types of bets are almost fully exclusive to football betting and prove to be popular not just with new sports bettors but with seasoned football wagerers, too.

The BTTS bet is a common addition to a football accumulator, boosting both the risk and the potential reward that bettors are looking to claim with 4 or more picks from a sportsbook. With more than 50% of football games in the 21/22 Premier League ending with a goal from either end, there’s no surprise that the bet types are so popular.

Football accumulator betting

Accumulators, also known as accas, are a huge part of football betting with both new and existing players taking advantage of multiple selections in a single bet.

An accumulator is made up of a minimum of four different bets that can be placed on just about anything at an online sportsbook. There will be some exceptions with some bet types unable to be added to an accumulator, but most sportsbooks will typically label these as “exempt”. For example, bettors are not typically permitted to add odds boosted promotions to an accumulator.

Alongside accumulators, double and trebles are popular among football bettors with the same ability to add multiple selections to a single wager in the betslip. Doubles are made with two combinable bets whereas trebles are made with three, anything more is considered an accumulator.

Accas are a great way to shoot for the stars on long odds bets, if you need a little help on what to punt on, look no further than our football accumulator tips page.

Which Bookmakers offer acca insurance

Accumulator insurance, commonly known as Acca insurance, is a popular feature offered by a range of sports betting sites that refunds players if their accumulator lets them down.

The majority of acca insurance features at sportsbooks work as either a part or full stake refund when a maximum of one pick in the accumulator keeps them from their potential winnings. Each available sportsbook offers a slightly different flavour of acca insurance with the following currently offering the features to all bettors:

• Boylesport
• 888Sport
• Betfred
• Ladbrokes
• Paddy Power

Acca insurance is not always paid out in cash and bettors may instead find free bets and bonuses in replacement of bonus funds. To find out more about any specific acca insurance, bettors should head through to their chosen sportsbook from the list above to view the ongoing player offers.

Which Bookmakers offer the best enhanced odds?

Enhanced odds give bettors the chance to wager on events with improved odds, compared to the standard offering, as advertised by the bookmaker.

Odds boosts can be broken down into two main categories – the enhanced odds for new customers and the enhanced odds for existing customers.

Enhanced odds for new customers

Welcome bonuses that focus on enhanced odds are typically used whenever there is a large sporting event taking place in the calendar that sportsbooks are looking to cover.

For example, whenever a large boxing match, horse racing festival or football final is scheduled, bookmakers will take this opportunity to create an odds boost promotion to gain attention from new customers. Bookies will typically inflate the odds to an unbeatable amount, often more than 10x the standard odds offered to existing customers to really make a statement.

What is not typically well reported is the terms and conditions that go with these enhanced odds offered. Although new bettors may be advertised 50/1 for Italy to win the World Cup, bettors aren’t able to run out and put their life savings on the outcome.

Instead, bettors are typically limited in the amount that they are able to wager with these enhanced odds and the payouts received are often in the form of bonus funds in replacement of cash. Therefore, it is vital that new bettors read the terms and conditions of these enhanced odds welcome offers carefully to avoid disappointment when receiving payouts.

Enhanced odds for existing customers

The second form of enhanced odds is the most important type offered by sportsbooks – the enhanced odds for existing customers.

These enhanced odds offers can typically be found in the main betting markets menu under the heading “price boosts”, “odds boosts” or similar and are available to all players to claim. Unlike the new player promotions, these odds are not usually boosted astronomically but do come with less restrictive terms and conditions.

A typical odds boost that bettors could expect to find at a good sportsbook would be a boost from 5/2 to 9/2 for Man City, Fulham & QPR all to win. Every sportsbook offers odds boost promotions in slightly different ways with some sites limiting the amount that can be wagered on boosted odds.

Bettors can typically check out some examples of the available enhanced odds on their chosen sportsbooks before opening an account to find what’s on offer before committing to an account.

What are the Most Popular Football Competitions to Bet on?

Sportsbooks typically offer a long list of football competitions and leagues that players are able to bet on.

Some betting sites offer a wide range of lesser-known leagues, whereas others stick to the more popular football competitions. Some of the most popular football competitions that bettors will find on the bulk of sportsbooks can be found listed below.

The World Cup

Only played once every four years, the World Cup is the largest football competition with national teams from across the globe pitched head-to-head on the main stage.

This year, the French national team will be defending their second win of the World Cup with their last win against Croatia ending in a 4-2 victory inside 90 minutes. The 2022 World Cup is scheduled to take place in November with Qatar controversially set to host the competition.

Due to the infrequency of the event, bettors should expect sportsbooks to put on quite the show for the competition – especially if Southgate’s England team perform at the high level we expect after the Euro’s.

The Champions League

Played annually, the UEFA Champions League (UCL) is a competition in which the top-level European clubs compete for the title.

A total of 79 teams compete for just 32 places in the group stages with the most successful club in the history of the Champions League being Real Madrid with a total of 13 titles. Current title holders Real Madrid are looking to hold their title once again this year but will find fierce competition en route to the final.

The tournament is played in a round-robin group stage, deciding the qualifiers for a double-legged knockout format with a single leg final used to decide the overall winner. Once again, bettors should expect huge odds boosts and special promotions during the tournament.

The Premier League

The English Premier League is one of the most popular national leagues globally and highlights the top level of English football.

A total of 20 teams contest for the title each year with the lowest three teams relegated to the English Football League Championship. In their place, the top two teams from the Championship are moved up to the Premier League with an additional third team promoted following a series of play-offs involving the third to sixth-placed teams.

Manchester United, known globally, is the team with the most titles with a total of 13 separate title wins spanning from 1993 to 2013. Chelsea and Manchester City are the owners of the second and third position for the all-time number of titles.

The Europa League

Formed in 1971, the UEFA Europa League (UEL), is the second-tier competition of European club football, second to the UEFA Champions League.

The tournament, played annually, sees clubs from across Europe compete for the title with Sevilla currently holding the record for the number of titles with 6 to their name. Following the Spanish side, four teams in Juventus, Inter Milan, Liverpool and Atlético Madrid are joint second on the list, each boasting 3 titles.

The way in which teams qualify for the tournament is a little more complicated than others with UEFA coefficients used to determine the competitors. These coefficients essentially allow for better entrance rounds offered to nations that have more success in football.

Each association is permitted a standard number of three births with the expectations of Andorra and San Marino, both of which have two berths and Gibraltar which has only one birth. Liechtenstein is the only other exemption to the rule which qualifies only the Cup winners.

The UEFA Europa Conference League

The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL), colloquially referred to as the UEFA Conference League, is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. It is the third tier of active European club football competitions, after the Champions League and the Europa League.

First contested in the 2021–22 season, the competition serves as the bottom level of the Europa League, which was reduced from 48 to 32 teams in the group stage. The competition is primarily contested by teams from lower-ranked UEFA member associations. No teams qualify directly to the group stage, with 10 teams eliminated in the Europa League play-offs and the rest coming from the Europa Conference League qualifiers. The winners of the competition are awarded a position in the Europa League the following season, unless they qualify for the Champions League.

Roma are the inaugural winners of the competition, having beaten Feyenoord 1–0 in the 2022 final.

Serie A

Founded in 1898, Serie A is the top level of Italian football with the teams competing not only for the title, but for the Scudetto and the Coppa Campioni d’Italia.

A total of 20 teams compete for the win with the round-robin tournament system (also known as the all-play-all system) used to establish the champions. The top four teams in Serie A qualify directly for the UEFA Champions League whereas the bottom three are relegated to Serie B.

Juventus boasts the most number of titles with a total of 36 title wins and a huge 21 runner-up awards. They are followed by Inter Milan and AC Milan, the former holding 19 wins and 15 runner-up positions and the latter holding 18 wins and 16 runner-up positions.

The Bundesliga

Founded in 1962, the Bundesliga (also known as Fußball-Bundesliga) is the top level of the German football league.

Unlike other national leagues, the Bundesliga is played with 18 teams opposed to 20 with Bayern Munich boasting the highest number of wins with 30 titles. Second place in the all-time title list is a joint holding with both Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach holding 5 wins each.

The bottom two teams following the end of the season are relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, the second level of the German football league with a third team relegated with the teams ranked 15 and 16 entering a playoff to hold the position.

La Liga

The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, known as Primera División in Spain and as La Liga in English-speaking countries is the top level of the Spanish football league.

Founded in 1929, La Liga is famed around the world as the home to football giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. It’s no surprise that the pair hold the top two spots in the history of the league with Real Madrid holding the top spot with 34 title wins and Barcelona sitting in second with a total of 26 title wins.

The league plays with 20 Spanish teams competing for the title with the bottom three teams relegated to the second level of Spanish football, the Segunda División. The top two teams from the Segunda División earn a promotion to La Liga with a third promoted team decided with a series of play-offs with the third to sixth-placed clubs competing for the position.

The Ligue 1

Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1, is a French professional league for men’s association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country’s primary football competition. Administrated by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, Ligue 1 is contested by 20 clubs and operates on a system of promotion and relegation from and to Ligue 2.

Seasons run from August to May. Clubs play two matches against each of the other teams in the league – one home and one away – totalling to 38 matches over the course of the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. Play is regularly suspended the last weekend before Christmas for two weeks before returning in the second week of January. As of 2021, Ligue 1 is one of the top national leagues, ranked fifth in Europe, behind England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and Germany’s Bundesliga.

Ligue 1 was inaugurated on 11 September 1932 under the name National before switching to Division 1 after a year of existence. It continued to operate under that name until 2002, when it adopted its current name. Paris Saint-Germain and AS Saint-Étienne are the most successful club with ten league titles each, while Olympique Lyonnais is the club that has won the most consecutive titles (seven between 2002 and 2008).

With the presence of 71 seasons in Ligue 1, Olympique de Marseille hold the record for most seasons among the elite, while Paris Saint-Germain hold the league record for longevity with 47 consecutive seasons (from 1974 to present). FC Nantes is the team with the longest consecutive unbeaten streak (32 matches) and the fewest number of defeats (one match) in a single season, doing so in the 1994–95 campaign. In addition, Nantes also holds the record for the longest time without losing at home, with a run of 92 matches from May 1976 to April 1981.

The current champions are Paris Saint-Germain, who won in the 2021–22 season. The league has been won on multiple occasions by foreign-based club AS Monaco, the presence of which within the league makes it a cross-border competition.

Ligue 1 has been scheduled for a reduction to 18 clubs before the 2023–24 season.

What is the best site for Football Betting?

Pinpointing the overall best football betting site isn’t quite as easy as you may hope and although there are a handful of great football betting sites, there is no clear overall best.

As each sports betting site offers something a little different, it’s down to the players themselves to decide on which site is best for them. This could be any of the top sites in our list of the best football betting sites, it all depends on what players are looking for in a betting platform.

With a huge range of welcome offers and free bets to claim for new signups at the majority of sportsbooks, it pays to be picky. Our advice would be to choose one that catches your eye from the top list, claim the welcome bonus and give the bookie a try. If you don’t gel with the platform, head back into the list to try out another until you find the perfect bookmaker for you.

Who offers the best football odds?

The top football betting sites in the UK are all relatively evenly matched when comparing the quality of odds available.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the different odds boosts offered by the betting sites and which site offers the best promotions for the existing players. Depending on the leagues, games and events that bettors are looking to wager on, the following bookmakers offer the top odds for football betting:

• Betfred
• Betway
• Sky Bet
• Paddy Power
• Bet365

Bettors can check out the general odds offered alongside the enhanced odds and welcome offers advertised by clicking the link and heading over to the sportsbook for more info.

Can I use my Free Bets on accumulators?

Free bets offered by football betting sites are a great way to get to grips with the platform with minimum risk for new players, but each come with their own terms and conditions.

Typically, bettors are able to use free bets on accumulators, but this is not a universal rule and bettors should check the information in the offer small print before creating their accumulator. This information is required by regulation and should be clearly outlined by all UK sports betting sites.

A number of bookmakers do allow for free bets to be used on accumulators with the caveat that a minimum odds value must be reached for these bets. Typically, this value is larger than the minimum threshold that would be required for a standard free bet.

What are the most common football bets?

The available markets in football betting are vast with a huge number of bets available for players to choose from.

One of the top bets made by new football bettors is outright football betting, focusing on the bigger picture of a championship rather than the individual matches. Bettors typically place a wager at the start of a season or competition, although some sportsbooks do allow for outright betting throughout the season, allowing bettors to predict the overall season champion.

Another of the most common bets in football betting is the Both Team to Score (BTTS) bet, wagering that both teams will score during the duration of the game. This is not only a good place for bettors to start, but a popular add-on for experienced bettors creating accumulators.

Accumulators, or accas, are increasingly popular among football fans with the ability to combine four or more selections within a single wager. This type of wager allows bettors to increase their potential reward by combining different bets to increase the risk. Be warned, a single bet can let down the whole accumulator – unless there’s an acca insurance policy in place.

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