How We Rate Bookmakers  – Discover What’s Behind Our Bookmaker Ratings

Adam Haynes

Adam Haynes

Bookmaker reviewer

Adam joined www.bettingsites.co.uk in August 2023, bringing almost a decade of betting knowledge with him. A former writer for Gamblingsites.com, Adam prides himself on spotting a good bet, and loves to share his tips and picks across a wide range of sports and events. Adam is a huge boxing and MMA fan, and started his career writing about both. He is also passionate about his favourite sports teams, which are Glasgow Celtic, Dublin GAA, and Leinster Rugby. At the casino, you're most likely to see him at the poker or blackjack tables. But what he loves more than anything is writing about sports and the gambling industry. You can find his expert insight and commentary right here.

All posts by Adam Haynes

Bookmaker reviewer

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We independently review betting sites. Sign-ups through our links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you, this never influences our listings’ order.

Our aim is to find the best online betting sites in the UK. The only reliable way of doing this is by conducting honest and impartial bookmaker ratings before making our recommendations. Our final verdicts are delivered once we have tested bookies with licenses from the UK Gambling Commission, so you can bet safely using a broad spectrum of key features including odds, payment methods, and welcome offers.

Expert reviews at www.bettingsites.co.uk are written by gambling veterans with decades of industry knowledge. We use this insight and experience to provide thorough assessments of bookies from top to tail – all to help you find the best bookies online. We take pride in knowing that our betting site reviews are written for punters, by punters.

Like to hear more about how we rank our betting sites? Keep reading for a more detailed explanation of our methodology.

Competitive Betting Odds

Finding valuable betting odds matters. Higher prices can significantly boost your overall profit margin, so it pays to only opt for the best betting sites. Bookies may score highly in other areas, of course. But when all is said and done, we only recommend sites with highly competitive prices.

No betting site with the best odds for every sport and event exists. So instead, we recommend multiple bookies that offer consistently strong odds for the EPL, The Ashes, Wimbledon, Super Bowl, and everything in between. These sites provide quality fixed-odds betting markets, early prices, Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG), and more.

Betting sites are businesses that rely on making profits from both winning and losing wagers. But some approach things more fairly than others. Our top-rated bookmakers, for example, acquire and retain loyal customers by frequently providing top prices. Often at the expense of posting smaller profit margins. This is something some other online bookies simply refuse to do.

Range Of Markets

We make a point of only recommending online betting sites with a wide range of markets. Bookies that offer multiple betting options to players are usually the better places to wager, given they allow for a greater diversification of bets.

No punter should be limited to placing 1×2 football bets, or simple wagers. The good news is that you don’t have to – sports bettors can find multiple betting options on our top sites. These include the following.

Our reviews can help you choose a bookie that fits your betting style. This could mean hunting for the best moneyline odds for major US sports bets. Or finding niche wagers on eSports, obscure markets, or even virtual sports events. It pays to have options, as more choice generally means added space for using your betting knowledge. So, look for bookies offering specialty bets, first goalscorer wagers, half-time full time football odds, and whatever else you want to bet on.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced punter, you should have the option to take the ante-post rather than SP (starting price) on a big race. Or back handicap markets when betting on rugby union matches. Our honest bookmaker reviews reveal the sites that give you that freedom and the range of markets these sites cover.

Live Betting & Live Streaming

In-play betting and live streaming have revolutionised sports betting. As such, more and more UK betting sites offer a wide selection of in-play betting opportunities. Many sportsbooks with high bookmaker ratings happen to provide quality live betting and streaming services.

Betting in-play means gaining access to a wide range of potential wagers after an event has started. When combined with live streaming, it offers a truly immersive experience. Paddy Power, bet365, and other sites allow you to stream high-quality events for free, which can add to the excitement.

You can follow the action as it plays out, potentially identifying valuable betting opportunities before they happen. Or lay your bets if you notice that the team you backed before kick-off is looking a little off. While you may not be able to change any legs of your cover bets or accumulators, you might see moneyline odds or other betting odds that can negate your initial losses.

While live streaming and in-play betting services aren’t all there is, they are incredibly useful tools. Sometimes, they can prove to be the difference between winning and losing money. For that reason alone, we highly rate any online bookies offering them.

Design

The design of a betting site can affect your gambling experience. Whether it’s changing the odds format on bet stakes or adjusting the size of your betting slip, convenience matters. General performance speed is another underrated factor by some punters – until it comes to getting those last-minute wagers in!

We believe the top online betting sites in the UK must have modern, well-designed sites to meet the full requirements of bettors. As such, we judge bookies on both the usability and aesthetic sides of things and expect easy-to-navigate pages with text that is easy to read.

Images, carousels, and videos should also load up easily and not interrupt a player’s overall experience. Options should be signposted, getting you to where you need to be within a few clicks or swipes of the finger.

Many of us have visited a website in the past, only to leave with a headache and less cash than we came in with. But that doesn’t need to happen. Not when the sites with positive bookmaker ratings give you modern and advanced design features.

Mobile Betting

As we see it, a company taking bets from punters must offer top service. At the very least, it should feature a fully optimised site for mobile betting. To achieve even fair bookmaker ratings, we expect good mobile betting functionalities. That means the same range of markets, bonuses, and payment methods as any desktop site.

Many sites offer sports betting apps for download on Android and iOS as well as mobile browser options. One of the UK’s most popular sportsbooks, Betfair, has one we like. Their range of markets, payout percentages, and average margins on bets are all the same as you would find on their desktop version.

Our recommended online sports betting sites provide nothing short of a streamlined, user-friendly mobile gambling experience. In addition to being safe and secure – with transactions protected by Transport Layer Security (TLS) – they are also lightning-fast and fully functional. Depending on the app, this could include a cash-out option, live-streaming functions, and much more.

Sign Up Process

The signup process at online sports betting sites is perhaps easier than it has ever been. But we only recommend opening an account on a site with good bookmaker ratings. Even the worst bookies out there make it easy to register for a new account, so it’s worth taking your time to choose a good brand.

Opening betting accounts with most online bookmakers takes around five minutes. Typically, it’s as simple as providing your full name, date of birth, telephone, as well as your email and home address. You then nominate a payment method before choosing your welcome offer to finish up.

Signing up with one of our recommended bookies in the UK ensures you enjoy a safe and positive gambling experience. As we mentioned earlier, we only recommend trustworthy and reputable sites that are fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. But they are also outstanding in the odds, markets, and other services provided.

Offers & Bonuses

The best bookies want to acquire as many paying punters as possible. To do so, they tend to provide multiple promotions which include new customer offers, bonuses, and other promotions. We consider both the number of offers a bookie provides as well as the value of the bonuses available.

Like sportsbooks’ average margins and payout percentages, the devil is often in the detail when it comes to betting site offers. We only award high ratings to bookies who have offers that cater to everyone. This means new and existing customers, casual and regular bettors, and those who prefer wagering on tennis rather than horse racing.

Offers range in quality and value and often include the following.

New customer offers that can genuinely improve your chances of making a profit are what we like to see. Many of our leading sportsbooks offer strong welcome packages including free bets, once you place a qualifying wager. Sites we don’t rate highly often attach prohibitive terms and conditions to their offers, such as high minimum odds on qualifying bets.

Sites in our rankings often feature a wide range of other offers to claim. These include paying out extra places for the Cheltenham Festival or providing free bets and special bonuses for the FIFA World Cup. As such, bookies with substandard offers are unlikely to make our rankings.

Extra Features

Bookies are competing hard for your custom these days. Some of the best online sportsbooks have resorted to adding extra features like bet builders to entice you to wager with them. When conducting our expert reviews, we look at some of the additional perks and features you can find at top sites.

In addition to competitive odds, top bonuses, and live streaming, here are some other extra features to consider.

Bet builders allow you to create a wager featuring multiple bets across different sports and markets. If your bet builder is successful, it’s like having an accumulator with winners from different markets. We like sites with cash out, as this allows you to claim a partial payout against betting odds before an event has ended. The same applies to bet calculators, which tally up potential winnings for your selections.

We recommend comparing sites to find features that can help you make the right picks, such as stats zones and betting insights, too. Not all online sportsbooks offer all of the above; some don’t offer any at all! These features can be very useful when creating your sports betting strategy, so look for sites that go the extra mile in providing them.

Payment Methods

The highest-rated online bookies in the UK provide quick and convenient payment options. These include debit cards, e-wallets like PayPal, fast bank transfers, vouchers, and more. In addition to getting your winnings the same day, our favourite betting sites charge no fees on deposits and withdrawals.

Top bookies usually allow you to browse their payment methods or withdrawal methods without an account. This can help you ascertain whether the option you want is available. It is uncommon for legit UK online betting sites not to provide Visa, Mastercard, bank transfers, and at least a couple of other options, however.

Withdrawal times vary from site to site, with the fastest withdrawal times taking less than a minute. This usually involves withdrawing to Visa debit or Mastercard with fast withdrawal or instant bank transfer functions. E-wallets are usually processed on the same day, with waiting times sometimes taking 3-5 working days for traditional bank transfers.

Naturally, we rate sites that allow you to get your winnings faster than those that don’t. We also factor in the range of payment methods available. The more ways provided to deposit and withdraw means more choices for you.

Customer Service

Many bad reviews of online betting sites in the UK mention poor customer service. While exceptional customer support alone is not enough, it certainly helps. Punters may not always find the answers they are looking for in FAQs, which means a professional customer service team is essential.

Betting companies have the means to provide live chat functions, telephone numbers, emails, contact forms, social media, and more. Our bookmaker ratings assess the options they provide and just how knowledgeable, fast, and responsive a site is at dealing with standard issues.

The best sites usually understand the value of great customer service and provide multiple ways to get in touch. On the flip side of that coin are sites that neglect (or flat-out refuse) to provide any customer service whatsoever. Sites like these are part of the reason why bookmaker ratings and rankings are required in the first place.

Security

It is vital to only bet at sites that take your safety and security seriously. With this in mind, you may understand why we rate online bookmakers with comprehensive safety measures so highly. From TLS encryption safeguarding your personal data to firewalls that keep third-party traffic at bay, our sites are extremely robust.

To climb our bookmaker ratings, sites must have those basics covered. We also strongly support and recommend betting sites that provide two-factor authentication (2FA) when logging in to their site or mobile app. Additional security steps, such as requesting passcodes or confirmation of deposits from inside your banking app are also looked at favourably.

Responsible Gambling

Our recommended online bookmakers have played a part in promoting responsible gambling. In doing this, anyone entering the betting industry can now avail themselves of tools including reality checks, temporary breaks, and self-exclusion. Safe sites also have the means to freeze accounts, apply time outs, and impose deposit, loss and wagering limits.

We do not rate any sites that intentionally create roadblocks to problem bettors. The same applies to bookies that simply fail to provide adequate problem-gambling features, by burying those options in hard-to-access parts of the site. Sites like this do exist and should be given the cold shoulder when encountered.

The sites we rate provide links to help and support for anyone struggling with problem gambling. We believe it’s important for players exhibiting signs of problem gambling to be made aware of outlets to turn to, such as the free online self-exclusion tool GAMSTOP and other gambling help resources.

FAQs

Adam Haynes

Bookmaker reviewer

Adam Haynes

Bookmaker reviewer

Adam joined www.bettingsites.co.uk in August 2023, bringing almost a decade of betting knowledge with him. A former writer for Gamblingsites.com, Adam prides himself on spotting a good bet, and loves to share his tips and picks across a wide range of sports and events. Adam is a huge boxing and MMA fan, and started his career writing about both. He is also passionate about his favourite sports teams, which are Glasgow Celtic, Dublin GAA, and Leinster Rugby. At the casino, you're most likely to see him at the poker or blackjack tables. But what he loves more than anything is writing about sports and the gambling industry. You can find his expert insight and commentary right here.

All posts by Adam Haynes