Betting on rugby league is a lot of fun. There are tons of pre-tournament and in-play odds and markets you can take a punt on. But we believe that where you wager is just as important as how you wager. So, we have put together a list of the best rugby league betting sites in the UK for you to choose from.
We’re not just going to guide you to our recommendations and say our goodbyes, of course. Instead, we have added some quality information on the types of rugby bets you can place, how to place them, and a few other tips to help you get started. But before we get to those, let’s take a look at the top sites for betting on rugby league.
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The following bookies are our top choices for quality rugby league betting opportunities. Feel free to open an account with one or more to get in on the action. Don’t forget to compare the new customer offers across these sites!
Our experts have curated the very best rugby league betting sites online. These bookies provide rugby fans with a wealth of odds and markets covering everything from international events featuring national teams to domestic competitions such as the Australia National Rugby League (NRL). If it’s rugby league and you can bet on it, the best betting sites have it.
Here are five stellar recommendations to consider.
The main sponsor of all three professional rugby league competitions in the UK, Betfred is a safe and trusted name to rugby league fans. This bookie is an outstanding site for betting on the sport, providing a market-leading rugby league betting service to punters.
Betfred’s rugby league betting coverage is second to none. The site offers a wide range of odds and top prices for English rugby competitions and other domestic rugby leagues. You can wager on the winner of the Super League/NRL, Championship, League 1, Challenge Cup, and much more. They also offer fast withdrawals and other key features!
Betfred’s price boosts help to complement rugby league action at home and abroad. Their winner and futures markets are also often available several months before kick-off. You can even find a rugby league betting guide with rugby tips and trending wagers on their site. But perhaps the jewel in the crown of Betfred is their in-play rugby league betting experience, which is complimented by live-streaming coverage of hand-picked matches.
The main sponsor of all three professional rugby league competitions in the UK, Betfred is a safe and trusted name with rugby league fans and our reviewers. This bookie is simply great betting on the sport, with a truly market-leading rugby league betting service to sample.
888sport is another great site covering odds for any game of rugby league, including Australian women’s rugby league matches. Their overall coverage is superb, which helps when putting your rugby accas together. For example, you can mix up selections from matches including the Leeds Rhinos and Huddersfield Giants with the Panthers or other Southern Hemisphere teams.
While 888sport is our top choice for NRL games, they are as equally strong when it comes to rugby league accas. They do outrights, handicaps, and individual players bets just as good as any other bookie out there. The site also provides in-play betting for rugby league fans and punters, providing a fully-immersive gambling experience in the process. You can follow top stars and successful teams from around the globe and make your betting picks within a few swipes or clicks.
We’re big fans of this site, which makes it difficult not to keep banging on about their accumulator function. The 888sport Acca Club does rugby league bets in stellar fashion. You can find offers including a weekly £5 free bet to place on matches, leagues, and tournaments from around the world.
Data-driven 10bet has earned its place among the top rugby league betting sites in the UK. It has done so by providing consistently strong prices across a wide range of markets. They score particularly high when rated against their handicap betting rugby odds. But to be fair, they are quality across the board.
In addition to offering excellent odds, 10bet has some great tools for fans of rugby league betting strategies. Keeping track of the latest movements and shakes in the Northern Hemisphere (and beyond) is easier with 10bet’s stats and data. You can use their wide range of statistics for Super League – and other rugby league competitions and tournaments – before placing your wagers on the latest action.
The 10bet new customer offer is also superb, offering a 50% bonus of up to £50. Furthermore, the 10bet Acca Boost rewards some lucky punters with a cash bonus of up to £5,000. In-play betting is enhanced by the opportunity to fully or partially cash out certain rugby league wagers, and if all that wasn’t enough, the 10bet betting app has also had a recent revamp. You can find out more about those offers by reading the terms and conditions on the 10bet website.
BoyleSports knows what rugby league fans want. They do a great job of providing league bettors with a vast range of odds that span just about every major competition in the world. One of the other ways they keep punters coming through the door (and sticking around) is their excellent free bets and other offers. We also like that they support Apple Pay among other top banking options.
Our experts like BoyleSports and tend to use their excellent app frequently. This is, in part, due to their exciting betting promotions and free bets aimed at competitions like the Rugby League World Cup, the NRL, and the Super League. We recommend our readers do the same. Especially with acca boosts and Acca Insurance for rugby league wagers on offer, too.
It’s not all about accas or free bets with BoyleSports. The site is genuinely regarded as one of the best in the UK for rugby league betting, offering great prices and tons of gambling opportunities. They also provide cash out, live betting and streaming, and other key services to rugby fans.
Although it appears that Virgin Bet punches above their weight, that statement is not entirely true. This safe and reliable bookie has been offering some of the best Super League odds for years now, and sits among the top bookies for rugby odds in general. They provide punters with quality prices for the likes of Wakefield, Hull FC, and Wigan Warriors, and others.
Virgin Bet also ranks among our recommended bookies for NRL and women’s rugby league. While they may not be as comprehensive as other sites on this list, we feel their quality more than makes up for their quantity. They do in-play betting just as well as the other sites on our list and offer some excellent promotions for both new and existing punters.
While their Super League odds are what we like most about Virgin Bet, they are very competitive in other areas. Whether your betting purposes are to find English rugby league or Australian match odds, Virgin Bet more than likely has it covered. It would be cool to see them offer rugby league eSports as they do for horse racing and greyhounds, but we’re more than happy with their NRL and Super League markets!
Our process for ranking rugby league betting starts with one question – are they safe? When we are 100% certain that a site is safe and secure, we put them through a series of other tests to ensure they meet our high standards. If you would like to learn more about how we rate our sites, here’s a brief explanation of what we consider.
What is the best rugby league betting site? That depends on the punter. The only way to conclude which is best for you and your needs is by comparing our recommended against one another. One of the easiest ways to do this is by checking the markets offered, their special features, and if they offer rugby league live streaming. The following table will help you make the right choice.
Sportsbook | In-Play Markets | Cash Out | Rugby Bet Rewards | NRL Markets | Alternate Handicaps | Rugby Live Streaming |
Betfred | ||||||
888sport | ||||||
10bet | ||||||
BoyleSports | ||||||
Virgin Bet | ||||||
BetVictor | ||||||
betway | ||||||
LiveScore Bet | ||||||
QuinnBet | ||||||
bet365 |
Popular bets for rugby league include outright winners, handicap/spread betting, half-time/full-time, first team to score, and other more. You should get acquainted with popular rugby betting markets for two main reasons. The first is that these are the likeliest betting options covered by the top rugby league sportsbooks. The second is that understanding these options is key to increasing your chances of winning money betting on rugby league.
Match winner bets simply involve betting on the winner of a rugby league game. Just as they do in rugby union, football, or other team sports, you add your selection to your betting slip. One team will always be the favourite and available at a lower price than the underdog, and are determined by the strength of their respective match day squads. While ties are very rare, they do happen occasionally and are always available at large odds. Check out 888sport for game-winner markets.
Bets that are placed before the start of the season on the winners of a rugby league championship or single tournament are referred to as outrights or ante-post betting markets. These are not to be confused with outright winners of a match, such as Melbourne Storm beating South Sydney Rabbitohs. The best rugby league betting sites such as Betfred will feature ante-post markets on worldwide leagues such as the Super League and NRL, as well as cup tournaments such as the Challenge Cup in the UK and the Rugby League World Cup.
Another popular market for rugby fans on sites such as 888Sports is the total match points. This accounts for the total points scored by both teams, meaning your bet can be a winner regardless of who wins the game. You can bet that the total points will be over or under a particular number set by the bookies, or select from a particular range at higher odds, such as 20-30 or 30-40 points. We recommend adding this type of market to your betting slip when you spot something special.
You can also bet on team points totals being higher or lower than an amount set by the bookmakers. For example, you could wager on St Helens to score more or less than 28.5 points. Just make sure to check who’s playing in the match day squad before you bet. Visit Virgin Bet for a good range of team totals markets.
The main player-related rugby league markets concern the scoring of tries, which is when a player grounds the ball in the opposition’s in-goal area. You can bet on one or more key players to score the first or even the last try of the game, or to score at any time. The best thing about first and last try markets is that even if a player is fancied to score, their price will be higher if you bet on these very specific outcomes. And once again Virgin Bet leads the way when it comes to try scorer odds.
An extension of the handicap betting market (more on that below) is being able to bet on the winning margin enjoyed by either side. Generally, there are different “groups” of winning margins on offer, available at higher prices than the standard handicap market, such as Wigan Warriors to win by 1-12 points, 13-25 points or over 25 points. And betway has a large selection of winning margin markets.
Similar to football betting, you can wager on the outcome of both halves as a combination bet. These markets are available on regular season matches and special events. You can bet on one side to be winning at both half-time and full-time, also known as the win/win market. Alternatively, there are win/draw, win/loss, loss/win, loss/draw and loss/loss markets. And BetVictor is particularly strong when it comes to half-time / full-time markets.
Another bet popular with bookies like betway is the player of the match. With 26 starting players, there are plenty of betting opportunities where this market is offered. Odds vary, with the more influential players from each time usually coming in at shorter prices. But due to the unpredictable nature of rugby league, the player of the match could be any of those 26. Perhaps even a replacement!
Often, rugby betting sites such as BoyleSports will set their own unique markets that you can bet on. Examples of this could be each team scoring one or more tries in each half, or a particular player scoring more than a certain number of points. In addition, certain bookies may offer special combination bets such as one player scoring the first try and another scoring at least two tries.
We have seen bookies like BoyleSports and Betfred offer a wide range of novelty wagers for rugby league-related scenarios. These range from the next coach to get sacked or individual player bets to whether the Super League’s Man of Steel will be a forward or a fullback. The potential for novelty rugby bets is limitless and can down to pretty much anything. So, if you like exotic wagers, it’s good to know those options exist in the sport.
Handicap betting is very popular on rugby league matches. These markets provide an alternative to the match winner bets, where you simply back who you think will win. When there is an overwhelming favourite – and thus a clear underdog – there can be a significant disparity in the odds provided by rugby league betting sites. To narrow the gap and provide clearer odds, bookies apply hypothetical points advantages and disadvantages to the stronger and weaker teams.
Although similar in terminology, rugby league handicap markets are different from handicap horse races. You can easily identify the former as there will be display a negative (-) points tally next to the favourite, with a positive points (+) marker for the underdog. These symbols will also display on your betting slip. Here’s an example for the Brisbane Broncos v Melbourne Storm, taken from Betfred.
The favourites to win the match are Brisbane Broncos at 8/13, while Melbourne Storm come in at 7/5. To the right of the screen is the handicap 3-way market, which allows you to back the Broncos at a more favourable price of Evs. To win your bet, Brisbane must overcome a four-point disadvantage and win by 5 points or more. Four points is not enough as the game would result in a tie (16/1). Conversely, to win a handicap bet on Melbourne requires Storm to simply lose by three points or less.
In some cases, the price of a favoured team can be thinner than 1/45. For example, New Zealand to beat Chile. This means you would have to bet big or combine a few wagers into a football-style accumulator to make it worth your while. Handicap betting markets – including two-way handicaps where no draw result exists – can often make for an easier betting experience.
There were no offers relating specifically to rugby league available at the time of writing this article, but here are the top three existing customer promotions that you can earn by betting on rugby league.
Opt in on the promotions page and place two £10+ Accas with four or more legs at minimum overall odds of 5/1 between Monday and Sunday to get a £10 free Accca bet. Free bet token must be accepted before 23.59 on the Sunday in the week of your qualifying betting activity and then used within 48 hours of acceptance before they expire. The free bet token must be used all at once and not split between different bets. Can only be used on accumulators with four or more legs, with odds of 1/100 (1.01) or greater per selection. Other Ts & Cs apply.
If you secure a winning wager at odds of at least 4/1 (5.00), you will be rewarded with a £5 free bet. Minimum qualifying stake is £10 on any sporting market. Multiple bets and Bet Builder count towards the offer. Available once a day, every day. Free Bet credited upon bet settlement and expires after 7 days. Free Bet must be claimed within 3 days. Other Ts & Cs apply.
Bet £10 or more in-play on trebles (or higher) with a minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) per selection. Once your bet settles, you’ll receive a £20 Risk-Free Bet which will be valid within 14 days of registration. Risk-Free Bet token is used with real cash. Cash is returned if bet loses. Further T’s & C’s apply.
It’s virtually impossible to guarantee that you will always get the best possible rugby league odds because there are so many online sports betting sites out there. Odds comparison sites can certainly help but they don’t feature every sportsbook. What we will say though is that in our experience rugby betting odds don’t vary enormously between sites and if you are betting with small to medium stakes you can be confident that you aren’t missing out!
Generally speaking, the more established sportsbooks tend to offer the best odds. And don’t forget that many rugby league betting sites such as Virgin Bet, offer odds boosts, which are a useful way to nudge up your rugby betting odds and try and secure a bigger payout.
Betting on a live rugby league game once it has started has become hugely popular, with punters enjoying the opportunity to use the information from a match to make potentially profitable in-play wagers. And the very best rugby league betting sites will also offer a rugby live stream so that punters can keep right up to date with events in a particular matchup and make effective live rugby betting decisions!
Here’s a rundown of the most high-profile rugby league competitions worldwide, that are most likely to be featured at the best rugby league betting sites.
1996 was a watershed year for rugby league in the UK, with the formation of the Super League, increased TV coverage on Sky Sports and the switch to a summer season rather than the traditional winter one.
Since then the league has gone from strength to strength, with record viewing figures in 2021 and the promise of even more viewers being introduced to the game, thanks to 10 games being shown on Channel 4 from the 2021/22 season onwards. 10 teams from England and two from France play 27 games between May and September, with the top six qualifying for the play-offs and the bottom side being relegated to the RFL Championship. The play-off series culminates in the Grand Final in front of a sell-out crowd at Old Trafford football stadium and millions watching worldwide.
Here are the latest betting odds for the 2023 Super League Grand Final.
Team | Odds at Betfred | Odds at 888sport |
St Helens | 15/8 | 19/10 |
Catalans Dragons | 9/4 | 9/4 |
Wigan Warriors | 9/4 | 9/4 |
Wakefield Trinity | N/A | 9/4 |
Leigh Leopards | N/A | 12/1 |
Warrington Wolves | 10/1 | 10/1 |
Hull Kingston Rovers | 29/1 | 33/1 |
Salford Red Devils | 34/1 | 33/1 |
Leeds Rhinos | 49/1 | 50/1 |
Huddersfield Giants | 220/1 | 250/1 |
Hull FC | 350/1 | 300/1 |
Castleford Tigers | 999/1 | N/A |
The Super League also rivals Six Nations rugby betting in the UK when it comes to punter popularity and that should only increase as more viewers are introduced to the sport of rugby league.
The premier knockout rugby league competition in the UK is the Betfred Challenge Cup, and the final is also one of the most prestigious matches in worldwide rugby league. Similar to football’s FA Cup, the Challenge Cup involves amateur, semi-professional and professional clubs.
It’s also one of the most inclusive competitions there is, with women’s and wheelchair tournaments too. And for the very first time, the women’s Challenge Cup Final will be held on the same day at Wembley Stadium in 2023.
The National Rugby League, or NRL, is the pre-eminent rugby league club competition in Australia and New Zealand. It is the code of choice in Australia, and far more popular than rugby union. Following the addition of the Dolphins, based near Brisbane, the has become even bigger than ever. 17 teams now compete for the Provan-Summons trophy, which is one of the most eye-catching cups in the sporting world. The NRL campaign follows a similar path to the Super League with the top eight teams from the regular season competing in the finals series with the last two standing advancing to the Grand Final, which is usually held on the first Sunday in October.
The Grand Final itself is one of Australia’s major sporting events and also one of the largest attended club championship events in the world, regularly selling out the 82,000-capacity Australia Stadium in Sydney. And rugby league betting sites always experience brisk business in the run-up to the game, as well as a huge number of live rugby betting fans wagering during the match itself.
The NRL may be wildly popular but it’s another set of rugby league matchups that is described as “Australian sport’s greatest rivalry”. The State of Origin is an annual best of three series between two Australian state sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. Players are picked based on where they played their first senior rugby league game. And it’s that inter-state rivalry that gives this game its USP and leads to huge attendances and worldwide viewing figures.
One of the most prestigious rugby league tournaments on the planet, the Betfred World Club Challenge is a huge event for rugby betting fans. This annual event pits the winners of the Australasian National Rugby League (NRL) against the European Super League with two clubs vying for global dominance.
Australia’s Eastern Suburbs won the inaugural tournament against England’s St Helens, racking up a convincing 25-2 win at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In 2023, none other than St Helens would win the title, beating Penrith Panthers 13-12 in an entertaining sports game in Sydney. This meant that both Australasian and English teams were locked at 14 titles apiece.
Here are the winners and runner ups of this exciting international club tournament since 2013.
Year | Winner | Runner-Up |
2023 | St Helens | Penrith Panthers |
2022 |
Cancelled Due to COVID |
|
2021 |
Cancelled Due to COVID |
|
2020 | Sydney Roosters | St Helens |
2019 | Sydney Roosters | Wigan Warriors |
2018 | Melbourne Storm | Leeds Rhinos |
2017 | Wigan Warriors | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
2016 | North Queensland Cowboys | Leeds Rhinos |
2015 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | St Helens |
2014 | Sydney Roosters | Wigan Warriors |
2013 | Melbourne Storm | Leeds Rhinos |
Most of the world’s key players has featured in this competition, which is regarded as part of both the Australian and English “trebles.” As well as a must-win trophy for successful teams. It is widely considered among the most exciting international rugby events to bet on, with opportunities to pick from a whole host of odds.
While regular season matches go a long way to deciding this showdown between the best Northern Hemisphere team and the best Southern Hemisphere team, this is the real big one. And you can bet on more than just the outright winner!
Despite the fact that it is a relatively young event, having been first played in the 1950s, the Rugby League World Cup has had an eventful history! On two separate occasions in the 1980s and early 1990s, the tournament was actually played over three years. And we don’t envy the punters who had to wait that long to know the fate of their pre-tournament bets!
Then the drama continued with the cancellation of the proposed 1998 edition due to the rugby league civil war between rival administrative bodies in Australia. Things wouldn’t improve in 2000 when a poorly-received tournament led to the cancellation of the 2004 Rugby League World Cup, and COVID led to the postponement of the 2021 edition to 2022.
However, one constant has been the utter dominance of Australia, who have won 12 out of 15 Rugby League World Cups played since 1954. So if you’re a fan of Rugby World Cup betting we’re guessing that the Kangaroos will always be high on your tournament winner shortlist for 2025! Perhaps next to an England vs Australia final. As ever, there will be a huge range of individual match markets available, as well as special bets.
In 2022, Australia beat Samoa on English soil to record a phenomenal 12th title in the Rugby League World Cup. This is three times more than the next best nation, England.
Rugby League World Cup Winners Since 2000 |
|||
Year |
Winner | Runner-Up | Score |
2021 |
Australia | Samoa |
30-10 |
2017 |
Australia |
England |
6-0 |
2013 |
Australia |
New Zealand |
34-2 |
2008 |
New Zealand |
Australia |
34-20 |
2000 | Australia | New Zealand |
40-12 |
Rugby league offers an exciting sports betting experience. But what’s even more enthralling about wagering on the sport is making consistent profits and celebrating frequent success. Our online rugby league betting tips can help you gain plenty of success from your wagers on individual matches, tournaments, and more.
Research is crucial to making consistent profits from bets on sports. Every single rugby league bet that you place should be based on the opinions that have arisen from studying the form of the teams and players involved. You should be looking for things like a team’s last 10 results, how many points they have been putting up, and historical form against their opponents. Additionally, we recommend looking up teamsheets and following injury news to ensure you are up to date.
Consistently backing the favourites can be a far more effective strategy in rugby league than in sports such as golf and horse racing, where the favourites win around 10% and 33% of the time respectively. In rugby league that number is more like 50-60%, so more often than not the favoured team will come out on top. However, the prices you will receive when backing the favourites on their own are usually very low.
So it follows that combining multiple selections into an Acca will boost your price while still giving yourself a good chance of making a profit. Plus you can take advantage of rugby betting features such as the multiple bet boost, insurance, and loyalty club offers available at the best rugby league betting sites.
If you’re relatively new to rugby league betting then the simplest advice we can give you is to watch a good number of games before placing your first wager. This will allow you to familiarise yourself with the rules as well as get a feel for which player positions on the pitch are more likely to lead to tries. Rugby fans often benefit from a more exciting sports betting experience when they follow the sport.
Another way to increase your knowledge is to check if a sportsbook has a rugby league section in its betting blog. These blogs are full of useful information and many also feature rugby betting tips ahead of the biggest matchups. Rugby league predictions can be useful if you don’t have time to do extensive research. In addition, reading rugby betting tips can introduce novice bettors to the kinds of statistics they should be looking for when placing a rugby league wager.
Every punter needs to have a plan when it comes to how much they intend to spend on betting each week. Some set daily, weekly or monthly wagering limits and use deposit limit tools to help them if needed. Others have a “bankroll”, which is a set sum in their betting account and they only use a small portion of it for each bet. However you do it you need to know exactly what you are spending on betting and make sure you are only betting with funds you can afford to lose. And financial management extends to your betting habits too, so make sure you avoid common betting errors such as chasing betting losses or wagering on events you don’t understand.
The final whistle has blown: Betfred is our pick for the best rugby betting site in the UK. Although we’ll leave rugby union for another day, fans of both codes will find something to like at Betfred. The headline sponsors of the Super League have taken full advantage of their unique position by offering a vast range of bonuses and special features, as well as a rugby league betting blog that is packed with tips and features. If you’re a rugby league betting fan, we highly recommend checking them out!