We recommend that if you are looking for a new betting site to open you consider the following factors. How do you determine if your next new online bookie is
- Trustworthy
- Reliable
- Low Risk
- Reputable
- Player Friendly With Their Terms and Conditions
- Everything Else You Want!
With each new online bookmaker we review, we go through each of these areas in detail as we form our review.
🔒 Trustworthy
There are over 80 online bookmakers licensed to operate in the UK. We only list UK licensed bookmakers to UK traffic on this site and if you live in the UK we would advise that you don't bet with any bookmakers which aren't licensed here.
Non licensed betting sites may not adhere to the strict regulations laid down by the Gambling Commission and you may have trouble if you ever have a dispute with them. We list the main ones on this page and you can check if betting sites hold a license at the Gambling Commission website.
Table showing top trusted betting sites according to trustpilot ratings
Online Betting Site | Trustpilot TrustScore | Number of Ratings |
---|
Matchbook Betting Exchange | 4.5 | 1604 |
BetVictor | 4.4 | 3045 |
10bet UK | 4.4 | 965 |
NetBet UK | 4.3 | 1459 |
Spreadex Sports | 3.8 | 806 |
Kwiff | 3.8 | 3012 |
✅ Reliable
We don't list every licensed UK bookmaker on this page. Some we don't consider to be trustworthy and reliable. This could be for a number of reasons including failing to pay what is owed, changing terms and conditions, having a poor record of customer service.
We prefer to list bookmakers along with the poor reviews where there we have seen that customers have had bad experiences. However sometimes the bookmakers are so poor in terms of trust that we don’t list them at all.
🟢 Low Risk
There are many new online bookies, some very small companies investing in growing a business in the UK. There are risks betting with small companies as they could potentialy come into cash flow problems. However if they are registered with the UK Gambling Commission then there will be certain critiera they need to meet to ensure that they can pay out their customers. The risk is lower with larger more established companies.
Whilst some bookmakers on this page may not be well known in the UK, they may be long established global businesses. Our reviews will tell you more.
Whilst we have to mention it as a risk, it is though very rare for bookmakers to close and not honour bets. Recent closures of bookies have typically been where other bookmakers have bought them out. Typically with these betting sites, balances have been returned to customers and bets have been paid out.
Bet Wisely: Understanding Online Bookies
📢 Unlicensed bookies are promising but risky! 💰🎲 Small companies might struggle with cash flow. Make sure they're registered with the UK Gambling Commission! ✅ Larger, more established and legally operating companies = Less risk. Check out our reviews for more info! 📚
However there have been occasions where ante post (long term market) bets have been cancelled and stakes returned. This of course can be extremely bad for punters who have obtained great value prices on events far into the future. We recommend that you are cautious about which betting sites you use to place your ante post bets. Do so with a bookmaker which is larger and less likely to go out of business or be taken over. Or even better, consider splitting your bet around several betting sites.
So rather than say have £20 with one bookmaker, make 4 £5 bets with different bookies. This same advice is often made by our members when users are discussing how to avoid having their stakes limited by bookies.
🌟 Reputable
The best way to see this is from user experience. This is why we have collected over 500 user reviews across the different UK betting sites from the members here at OLBG. Read their experiences and how they rate each of the bookies before deciding if you will open a new account with that online bookmaker. Our users will often talk about their experiences with customer services and how any issues they had were dealt with.
👥 Player Friendly With Their Terms and Conditions
We have spent hundreds of hours trawling through terms and conditions, withdrawal policies, depositing terms and so on for each of the betting sites we list, so that we can provide you with all the details. Some bookmakers do make charges for certain withdrawals.
Some hit you with charges for not using your account (be careful here as some conditions can eventually clean out your funds if left for 6 months +). We dont want to scare you as most the bookmakers we list have fair terms and conditions and dont go too far away from what would be industry standards. However there are a few to watch out for.
The Fine Print: An In-depth Exploration
🧐🔎 Spent 100s of hours to provide you with detailed info about betting sites' T&Cs, withdrawal policies, hidden charges, etc. 📚📖 Check our reviews before opening your next betting account! 🏧💵 Stay informed & bet smart! 🎲💡
Our users may well have highlighted any in their reviews, or our researches will have found some in their hours of painstaking research. As part of our process we also look at other review sites such as trust pilot to identify any areas where customers aren’t happy with their bookmakers. Of course this also helps us to see positives and reasons why you may want to consider betting with the bookie being reviewed.
Check our bookmaker reviews before opening your next betting account to see if there are any terms and conditions, a good range of payment methods, charges or withdrawal policies which you should look out for. If you have found something we haven’t highlighted then please let us know through adding a review. You can join OLBG for free if you aren’t yet a member and review all the bookmakers listed here.
Everything else you want?
Think about what you want from your bookmaker and read the reviews to find users who have found that. Ask yourself, why would I open an account with this bookmaker AND bet with them regularly? That is the key.
This page and the accompanying detailed guides are packed full of information to help you to find the best betting site for your needs. Opening lots of accounts and trying them out is an alternative to reading our guides and we are aware that some people may wish to do this and take advantage of the welcome offers available.
Most betting sites provide a welcome offer when you register an account with them. This is sometimes called a free bet or a bonus. We discuss these in more detail on our free bets page but for your convenience here are some of the best betting sites offers available now.
New customers only. £10 min deposit and bet on odds 2+ required. Deposits via PayPal, Neteller, Paysafe and Skrill will not be eligible for any free bet. Extra bet and issued within 24 hours of bet settlement. Extra bet valid for 14 days. Stake not returned.
#ad. 18+, gambleaware.org, T&Cs Apply 18+ New customers only. Opt in, bet £10 on any football market at minimum 1/1 odds. No cash out. Get £40 in Free Bets on selected events. Free Bets expire in 7 days. T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org | Please gamble responsibly
#ad. 18+, gambleaware.org, T&Cs Apply 18+. BeGambleAware.org. New GB customers only. Min £10 debit card deposit. Place a £10+ bet on sportsbook at min odds 1/1 (2.0) each leg. Receive 2 x £10 free bets within 24 hours of bet settlement, and further 2 x £10 casino bonus the next day.T&C’s apply.
#ad. 18+, gambleaware.org, T&Cs Apply 8+ New Customers Only, opt in and bet £10 on any EPL market (odds 1/1+) within 3 days of sign up. No cash-out. Get 5x£5 Free Bets for set markets (odds 1/1+) and a £5 Slots Bonus on Age of the Gods: God Of Storms, 30x wagering, max redeemable £125. Bonuses expire in 14 days. Click for T&Cs. GambleAware.org. Please gamble responsibly.
#ad. 18+, gambleaware.org, T&Cs Apply 18+ New Customers Only. Opt in and bet £10 on football (odds 2.00+) within 7 days. Get 4x£10 Free Bets for set markets and a £10 Slot Bonus for Big Bass Splash, 30x wagering, to withdraw max £250. Rewards expire in 10 days. See full T&Cs. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly.
#ad. 18+, gambleaware.org, T&Cs Apply Make sure you are familiar with the terms and conditions when you register with an online bookmaker. Here is a selection of questions you should consider when looking through online bookmaker terms and conditions and particularly when assessing the customer offers available.
- Minimum deposit requirements.
- Deposit and withdrawal methods accepted.
- Options for withdrawals from betting account.
- Are fees charged to deposits on betting account?
- Are fees charged to withdrawals from betting account?
- Minimum bet amount taken.
- Maximum winnings allowed.
- Rules for the individual bet you place, especially rules for when bets are voided.
I want a site similar to my existing bookmaker
It may be that you have been quite happy with your existing online betting site but would like a change. Maybe you want to try a similar site to see if you prefer betting elsewhere, maybe you have had issues with your existing bookmaker.
In recent times it has been common that people have been asked for proof of affordability and rather than provide such documents have looked elsewhere to bet. For whatever reasons, we are seeing many people looking for a similar bookmaker to the one they have. So here we try to answer some of those questions.
What sites are similar to William Hill?
William Hill is a popular high street betting shop that has developed a great online offering. If you are looking for a strong UK brand then a similar offering is available with Ladbrokes or Betfred.
What sites are similar to Betfair?
Betfair differs from many other UK betting sites as it also has the betting exchange offering. If you are looking for a similar betting exchange to Betfair then we would recommend Matchbook or SMarkets. They are both good alternatives for the exchange. If you bet on fixed odds and are looking for an online sportsbook offering then a similar site would be bet365 or BetVictor.
What sites are similar to Ladbrokes?
As a well known UK high street bookmaker with a reputation for good customer service, trust and reliability we would suggest that William Hill would be a similar alternative to Ladbrokes.
What sites are similar to bet365?
bet365 is such a popular online bookmaker that many sports bettors are on the look out for a similar site to bet365 or a better site than bet365. If you are looking for a large UK focused online bookmaker which provides good odds, a great range of markets and top in play betting then we would say that BetVictor is a similar site to bet365.