Best Football Betting Sites in the UK

Fed up with reading the same old drivel about football betting sites? Thought as much!

That's why we’ve shared our knowledge and expert opinion on the top options for betting on football in this alternative A-Z guide. Enjoy!

There’s no greater frustration than one leg of your accumulator letting you down in the last minute. Equally, there’s no bigger thrill when you bash the bookies with your outrageous 750/1 acca!

There are many excellent top betting sites for football accumulators. But which ones have the best deals?

Here are our standout picks:

Sky Bet give punters total control of their acca through its Acca Freeze feature. Here, you can choose to freeze one of the scores to win the acca early. Let’s say your underdog has taken the lead but you sense they won't hold on. You can choose to freeze the leg at any time. If your accumulator goes on to win, your bet will be settled as a win, regardless of the final score in the game you’ve frozen!

Ladbrokes claim to have ‘The Gaffer of all Acca’s’ and they’re not far wrong. Once you’ve decided on your picks you can boost the odds, track your acca, edit your selections and get money back as a free bet if one team lets you down. Not bad at all!

BoyleSports reward loyalty giving members a free £5 acca bet when five accumulator bets are placed. Accas must contain at least 5 legs at odds of at least 3/1 (4.00) to qualify.

Betfair has the best deal of the lot. Their Acca Edge promotion sees you get your stake as cash if one leg of your acca lets you down (credited as soon as the last leg has settled). There’s also no maximum refund amount nor minimum odds required to qualify for the insurance. Most notable perhaps, Betfair’s perks apply to trebles and above - most of the competition only offer insurance for accas with 5+ legs.

Ever found yourself celebrating a corner? Yep, you’re not the only one!

Having a wager on the number of corners, first/last corner, and a player to score from a corner has become a big deal, even bigger than the final result for some punters.

It’s little wonder when you consider how many different markets there are and how you can use stats on set pieces to back up your bet.

We too have done our research with these bookmakers our faves for betting on corners:

• Bet365: Best for corner handicaps, Asian corner betting
• Ladbrokes: Array of corner bets
• Sky Bet: Best for Most ‘Corners Taken’ markets

Del may support Spurs but his football knowledge otherwise can’t be questioned, nor his experience betting on football.

When it comes to picking our football bookmaker of the month, there’s no one better placed. But which betting site is he recommending for August?

You need to have a talkSPORT BET account to benefit from the above. And in keeping with their offering, there’s this cracking deal available for all new members:

The Early Payout offer, often referred to as 2UP, sees you paid out at any time if the team you’ve backed takes a two goal lead, no matter what the final result is.

The offer has gained traction during the past couple of years, to the point where most of the leading betting companies have a variation of the promotion, including Bet365, Sky Bet, BoyleSports, Paddy Power and Ladbrokes.

Given the popularity of football betting in the UK, bookies tend to chuck free bets around like confetti.

There are many different ways football free bets can be claimed throughout the season.

We've listed the type of offers below along with our recommended bookmakers:

• New customer offers: talkSPORT BET, Parimatch, BetVictor
• Free Bet clubs: Betway, Sky Bet,
• Free-to-play football games: Ladbrokes, Coral, Sky Bet
• Accumulator insurance: Paddy Power, Ladbrokes
• Money back if… free bet offers: LiveScore Bet.

The best time to bag yourself free bets is before the start of a new competition or tournament. This is when bookmakers attempt to jump on the wave of excitement that comes naturally before a new Premier League season or major tournament like the Euros or World Cup and entice new customers.

From the 2026/27 season, Premier League clubs will no longer be allowed to have gambling companies on the front of matchday shirts.

The agreement aims to limit the exposure of gambling companies to children and those affected by gambling addiction.

However, clubs can secure new gambling sponsorships until the ban begins which has seen a few teams enter into new partnerships.

The standout link-up is that of renowned football bookmakers, Betano and Aston Villa, who embark on their first European Cup campaign in four decades.

The recommendations we make are based on what punters in the UK value most when betting on football. In our view, this includes:

Live streaming - In-play betting is one thing. But the best football bookmakers take live betting one step further with live streams. The catalogue of games (and volume shown) depends on the bookie but the best show matches from many of the top leagues including La Liga, Serie A, and Bundesliga, as well as FA Cup and Championship fixtures.

Acca insurance & boosts - Getting a free bet back helps to soften the blow if one team lets you down. Many top UK bookies offer acca insurance and boosted odds for that all-important football accumulator.

Bet Builder - Combining as many selections as possible within one bet is popular when betting on individual games or even across several matches.

Free bet/ Loyalty clubs - A loyalty club or free bet club sees you get rewarded for the football bets you place. You need to opt in and wager a certain amount weekly to qualify.

Free-to-play football predictor games - Almost every bookie offers a football predictor game for punters to play every weekend, free of charge. Most centre on predicting the result/scoreline/goalscorers of the week’s football fixtures with cash prizes and free bets up for grabs.

Football betting promotions - Given you can wager on football every day of the year, your football bookmaker of choice has a regular flow of daily football promotions available. One of the most popular football promos among UK football bookies right now is the Early Payout offer. Here the bookie will settle your bet early if the team you’ve backed is 2 goals ahead with your bet paid as a winner, regardless of the final result.

JeffBet is a football bookie that goes under the radar compared to the more established names. But with an excellent range of football betting markets, great live betting options and a competitive welcome offer, the Progress Play-operated site should be on your radar.

One of the benefits of JeffBet is their Cashback offer on Premier League games:

Get 10% of your deposit losses back when you bet on the EPL

All you need to do to qualify is deposit £10+ with the code EPLC and place your bet as usual. If it doesn’t win, the deposit loss offer will kick-in and you’ll receive 10% of your deposit losses back, capped at £500.

For many punters, live football streams are a non-negotiable. But, watching the action while you bet is only available on some betting websites.

If you’re looking for a betting site with live football streaming, these are the best options:

• Bet365 - FA Cup, EFL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1
• Unibet: La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1
• Ladbrokes: La Liga, Serie A + others
• Betfair: La Liga + others
• William Hill: La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1

Wholly independent and with no major sponsorship deals burning a hole in their pocket, Kwiff can afford to treat their customers now and again. And that’s exactly what they do.

It feels unfair to wager on someone to lose their job but betting on the next manager to get the boot has become as popular as betting on the actual football.

‘The Next Premier League Manager to Leave’ market (which pretty much always features the current manager of Man United and Chelsea) is the most common manager market offered: Bet365, Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill all give odds for this.

But if you’re really into your manager markets the likes of Betano, talkSPORT BET, Paddy Power and BetVictor have odds for the ‘Next Permanent Manager of X’ with the prices listed for candidates of current vacancies and soon-to-be vacancies.

To bet on manager markets, head to the ‘Specials’ tab of your preferred bookie.

There is a regular flow of new betting brands as companies seek to earn a cut of the lucrative online sports betting pie.

We don’t quite see new football betting sites at the rate Chelsea make new signings but it’s a close-run thing!

However, not every new name survives - some can’t compete in a market as fierce as the UK. But we reckon these bookies have what it takes to last the course and impress football bettors long term:

Best New Football Betting Sites 2024

1. Betano - New since May 2024
2. BetMGM - New since August 2023
3. NRG Bet - New since April 2024
4. Bet442 - New since May 2024
   

Most popular outright football markets:

• League winner outright
• League top scorer
• Top 4 finish
• Top 6 finish
• Relegation
• To finish bottom
• Winner/ Top goalscorer
• PFA Player of the Year

There isn’t a bookie close to QuinnBet for the number of football promotions available.

The Irish bookmaker seemingly has all scenarios covered including insurance offers for red cards, hitting the crossbar, injury time goals and goalless draws. That's not to mention their acca bonus and daily free football bets!

Other bookies you can always rely on for a healthy line-up of promotions include Paddy Power and Sky Bet, who have come up with one of the more original football promos on the market, Acca Freeze.

With the introduction of VAR and nobody seemingly knowing the handball rule anymore, we’re seeing more and more penalties given.

With this stat in mind, it’s useful to know the football bookies with penalty markets available. Here is what we found:

Best Bookies for Betting on Penalties (& markets available)

• Bet365 - Either team to score/miss a Penalty, A Penalty to be awarded in the match
• Betfair - #OddsOnThat: Penalty awarded, Penalty scored, Penalty Missed (both teams)
• BoyleSports - All markets: Penalty awarded, Penalty Scored, Penalty Missed
• Ladbrokes - Penalty to be awarded
• Betfred - Penalty taken in match

Growing up when the National Lottery was a big deal, a ‘Lucky Dip’ was a popular choice for those who either didn’t have the time to pick 6 numbers or, would rather leave their chances open to blind luck.

Today, the same principle has been applied to many betting sites. You can choose to 'bet blind' and select a random bet on a featured game.

You will find a ‘Lucky Dip’ option available on all BetVictor-operated sites including BetVictor, talkSPORT BET and Betano, while Ladbrokes has also added a random bet option.

…called Match 5. Players can earn free bets ranging from 50p to £20 should the teams they’ve picked win their weekend match. The more teams you have that win, the more free bets you get.

How it works

1. Log-in to your Sky Bet account & navigate to Match 5
2. Pick a card and reveal a team Monday-Friday
3. Wait for your teams to play at the weekend
4. If two or more of your teams win, so do you! (2 wins: 50p | 3 wins: £1 | 4 wins: £5 | 5 wins: £20)

The transfer rumour mill never has a day off. Players are linked with big money moves all year round, with interest spiking during January and August as transfer deadline day nears.

As with betting on managers, wagering which club a player will move to next is common among football punters.

Many bookies have transfer specials for a great long list of players and the odds for their next likely destination.

Here are our best picks for betting on player transfers:

• Sky Bet
• Betano
• BetVictor
• talkSPORT BET
• Parimatch

We can all name a player in the team we support who doesn’t quite get the credit they deserve. They put a shift in week in and week out but don’t tend to get the recognition.

The same is true of the UK betting market. With so much choice, some names tend to go under the radar. As we’ve highlighted above, JeffBet is one but Highbet, NetBet and Virgin Bet are also excellent options.

So, in this section, we shine a spotlight on the most underrated UK bookies for betting on football:

Like it or loathe it, VAR causes much debate! And with video assistant referees now having such a big impact on offside calls, penalty calls, handballs and the wider game in general, bookmakers are having to adapt.

Bookies ended up losing out on a lot of money when it was first introduced; they’d pay out on in-play bets if there was goal, only for the goal to be ruled out.

It also took some time for bookmakers to realise punters were taking advantage of high odds for a penalty or red card to be given, despite the greater scrutiny on incidents making it more likely to happen.

As with fans watching a game, VAR ruins the flow of punters with bets suspended for longer periods. It also deters many from placing in-play bets.

Betfair has moved to introduce a “possible VAR’ signal for the 2024/25 season, giving bettors full transparency of what is happening on the field.

We live busy lives. Before you know it, the 3pm Saturday kick offs are upon you and you haven’t done your acca. Panic stations!

Fear not though! Betfred has some nice and simple Weekend Team Bundles to make things go quicker, if you’re short on time.

Depending on how adventurous you’re feeling, there are bets made up of 4, 5 and 6 teams featuring teams from the Premier League, EFL and Scottish Premiership.

Crunching tackles we used to see from the likes of Roy Keane, Patrick Vieria and Steven Gerrard and the ensuing card seem to be a thing of the past.

These days, players are often booked for diving, time-wasting or whining, or, maybe a combination of all three if the player's name is Bruno Fernandes!

There’s an array of bets you can place on cards but which betting sites have the best offering?

• Bet365: Offer the most markets for yellow and red cards
• Betfred: Best for betting on individual players to receive a card & booking points
• BetVictor: Best for ‘1st Player Carded’ market
• BetUK: Best pre-built bet builders on cards

CopyBet allows its users to copy and place the bets of professional tipsters, saving you time researching and building bets.

Its platform lists the profiles of thousands of tipsters, with their latest bets, stakes and profit/losses all viewable. If you like what you see from a particular tipster you simply follow them and start copying their bets!

In addition to copying bets, users can place regular bets on the CopyBet sportsbook.

It’s fair to say there are far better options than ZetBet when looking for a football betting website.

However, if you are after a sportsbook without all the bells and whistles, ZetBet is a great option.

The Aspire Global-operated brand boasts a terrific selection of markets for a range of leagues, an easy-to-use bet builder and a welcome bonus just as straightforward to claim!