Best Rugby Betting Sites

When scanning the top online bookmakers, I'm always drawn to Bet365. No matter the sport, the UK-based bookie comes up trumps and it's no different when it comes to rugby.

Bet365 covers all of the best club competitions like the Gallagher Premiership, Heineken Cup and the United Rugby Championship and, of course, the top international tournaments such as the Six Nations and the Rugby World Cup.

Betting on games in the French second division and the recently launched Japan Rugby League One is also possible on Bet365.

There’s an incredible variety of betting markets to match the range of competitions; Bet365 has by far the most markets for handicap betting and the same depth is there for winning margin, score and team markets too.

Bet365’s rugby coverage also includes league so if you want to switch codes you can just as easily bet on the NRL and the Super League.

Specific rugby promotions like Extra Time Extra Chance and the Rugby Early Payout Offer make Bet365 one of the best in the business for rugby betting.

BoyleSports has an excellent variety of markets for a wide range of club and international competitions that you’d expect from a top rugby bookie.

But BoyleSports has a number of promotions and features that help to separate it from the rest.

Here’s what I liked most:

• BoyleSports’ acca rewards: If like me, a lot of your rugby betting revolves around accas, I suggest you take advantage of BoyleSports acca rewards promo. Here you can select to either boost the odds of your acca up to 100% or insure it (i.e get a free bet if one leg lets you down).

• Combined Odds: Similar to an acca, you can combine up to two selections and create a bet with increased odds. This feature is only available on certain markets but allows you to make the bets you want.

• Invent a Bet: Your rugby bets don't have to be restricted to what’s listed. As is the case with many top bookies, it's possible to contact BoyleSports on social media (Twitter is usually the best method) and ask them to price up a bet for you. It’d be even better. BoyleSports made this feature more prominent and added more selections to the list - the last time I checked there were only a couple of bets to view.

I grant you, William Hill isn’t the most exciting betting site. It’s fairly no-frills. But I’d also argue as one of the oldest bookmakers that exists, that’s part of its charm.

And who cares anyway when it has a great acca deal, tremendous market depth and a number of betting specials?

As mentioned I’m partial to an acca. William Hill’s Acca Freedom allows you to insure your rugby accumulator and get a free bet should one selection let you down, or, boost the odds.

But one of the most impressive elements of its offering is the extensive range of markets. I checked what William Hill had in terms of different bets for the recent Clermont vs Leicester Tigers Heineken Cup match and was blown away by the number of markets available.

Markets for handicap bets (first and second half), winning margins and try scorers are extensive. And you can bet on the number of cards and even the shirt numbers (where you wager on the accumulative total of all the try-scorer's shirt numbers during the match).

#Your odds (wagers suggested by fellow punters) and multiple betting specials also guarantee plenty of variation in bets offered.

Although I’ve shared my favourite rugby betting sites, I’ve always got my eye on the newest bookies in Ireland to see if they offer something different in terms of rugby betting.

These online bookmakers, albeit relatively new here in Ireland, are also great for betting on rugby.

Novibet

The sheer number of daily betting offers Novibet release for the biggest sports events bodes well ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

As well as having a full quota of rugby union competitions to wager on, rugby league is also a part of its offering, which isn’t the case on Kwiff, for example.

I can’t help but also mention Novibet’s welcome offer (Bet €10 Get €50) too which, alongside the bet €10 get €50 sign-up offer available at BoyleSports is the most generous in Ireland right now.

Betinia

Betinia matches Novibet stride for stride in terms of coverage of the top rugby leagues and tournaments for both codes.

It has a solid list of pre-match and outright markets for each game, albeit not to the extent of the top bookies mentioned.

In my view, Betinia is geared towards Irish bettors better than any bookie so I’m excited to see to its coverage for the the Rugby World Cup.

Kwiff

Kwiff has entered the Irish market, so far, to great success. With surprise bets and supercharged odds, it’s clear to understand why.

But one of the key things I like about Kwiff is the ease with which you can find and place bets. Kwiff only has odds for the most popular sports and events in Ireland which means you can get to where you want to be in little time.

At Kwiff, you can bet on all the top club and international competitions. From the Six Nations to the Japan Rugby League One, there’s no shortage of rugby matches to get stuck into.

Note that Kwiff’s rugby coverage caters to rugby union bettors only, rugby league doesn’t feature on its list of sports.

As was the case during my science classes at school, writing the methodology was never the most exciting thing in the world!

However, having shown you the top rugby betting sites, you’re probably wondering how I’ve come to the conclusion I have.

Below, you can check out the kind of things I look at when ranking a rugby betting site.

Rugby betting promotions

Most bookies release specific rugby promotions around the most popular tournaments such as the Rugby World Cup and Six Nations.

However, I tend to reserve extra credit for the bookies that have unique betting offers: Bet365’s Early Payout Offer (where you get paid out in full if the team you back takes a 15-point lead) and BoyleSports Acca rewards are two standout promotions.

888sport and William Hill are also worth a shout-out for money-back offers and multiple rugby betting specials respectively.

Coverage of rugby competitions

Do you like to bet on the bet on the United Rugby Championship, Guinness Premiership and the Heineken Cup? Or do you wait for the big international tournaments like the Six Nations and Rugby World Cup to wager a few euros? Perhaps it’s both.

Either way, you want a betting site where you can bet on every rugby match around the world.

The top bookies not only cover all the top club and international competitions but the smaller ones too like the Pro D2 in France and the newly launched Japanese D1.

Rugby betting markets

The number and variety of bet types available for each tournament is another factor I pay close attention to.

It’s generally the case that every bookie in Ireland offers outright markets for the biggest rugby tournaments. However, are there plenty of wagering opportunities for each individual game?

For instance, I consider how many handicap markets (first and second half) there are. How many winning margin points bands are listed. The range of team, player and game props. Whether the bookie has wincasts and trycasts?

In-play rugby betting

There are many breaks in play during a rugby game. Whether it’s for the setting of a scrum, a penalty conversion, or an injury, you have many opportunities to place a wager on what may transpire next.

Every rugby betting site I’ve mentioned offers in-play rugby betting markets but not necessarily all to the same level. Bet365 and Betway, for example, have way more in-play markets than the rest.

Not every bookie has live streams of rugby games either. In fact, they’re few and far between - I’ve only found rugby live streaming offered by Bet365 and Coral.

The range of markets and live streaming opportunities are the two main aspects I think about but I also gravitate towards rugby bookies that offer a detailed stats section to help with my in-play bets. 888sport is very good at this aspect.

Odds

Any decision-making process ultimately comes down to price and deciding between online bookmakers is no different.

Having scanned the market I can say that William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral offer competitive odds but it's always worth shopping around for yourself.

Other factors to consider:

These five factors are the main things I look for when assessing an online bookmaker and how well it caters to rugby bettors.

However, there are five more general factors when choosing which bookie to hang your hat on. They include:

• User experience: Are the rugby union and rugby league betting pages easy to find? Is it easy to place your bet?
• Payment options: Does the bookie have your preferred payment method?
• Mobile app: Is there a mobile betting app that allows you to bet all on rugby while you’re out and about (or at the pub).
• Betting features: Does the bookmaker offer cash out, live streaming? Is there a bet builder?
• Customer support: Is there a 24/7 live chat and/or a phone number to receive support should you need it?