Bookmaker Reviews

Best Online Bookmakers

Our recommended bookmakers in the UK

The list of bookmakers in the UK is quite extensive and each operator has its own set of features and functions that make them unique and special. The user interface, as well as the available promos and offers also play a crucial role in determining whether a bookie can be included in our Best Online Bookmakers UK list. However, opinions definitely vary, depending on what each player’s wishes to get out of their online betting experience. At the moment of this writing, our personal opinion is that the journeys offered by bet365, Unibet, and Betfair are noteworthy, to say the least.

About our Bookmaker Reviews

BonusCodeBets.co.uk is a site dedicated to bringing you up-to-date info on the biggest sites out there. The main focus of our reviews are as follows:

• Available Bonus Codes, and Free Bets: Through our connections at the top bookmakers, we look to bring you the best bonus offers out there.
• Betting Odds Value: We evaluate all the bookies to see which ones are offering the most bang for your buck when it comes to odds value.
• Number of Markets Available: For a seasoned punter, having more markets allows you to be creative with your betting slip. We find out who has the best offering when it comes to markets offered.
• Other Services: We also look into what other products and services bookies are offering be it Cash Out, In-play, or Acca Specials.

About our list of online bookmakers

On our website, you will find numerous betting reviews from our list of best online bookmakers in the UK. We also provide some info about established online bookmakers from overseas that we believe bring something new to the table. We don’t review all of the available online bookmakers in the country; just the ones with the biggest selection of sports, most markets, best betting odds, and most promos and bonus codes. For the time being, the list of bookmakers UK includes a total of 29 operators, the majority of which have received high ratings for their customer support, odds, and markets. Among them are:

• Bet365
• Matchbook
• Paddy Power
• William Hill
• Ladbrokes
• Unibet
• Getting Casino
• Virgin Games
• Betfair

While reading the reviews, you will find information about the bookmaker’s bonus codes, promotions, step-by-step guides to help you sign up, new account offers, tips, valuable facts, features and services available, the mobile experience, a comprehensive FAQs section that answers the most commonly asked questions, and many more.

How are the bookmaker reviews structured?

All our reviews always start with information around any available promotions, bonus codes, and free bets available at the bookmaker. As well as how you can sign up. From there we generally split the reviews into the following sections:

• Available promotions
• How to sign up?
• Sports Markets
• Other Services
• Banking
• Conclusion
• FAQs

You probably already noticed that we have given scores for the level of customer support. To find out how that test was undertaken, then you can read more here.

Bookmaker Offers

The main focus of BonusCodeBets.co.uk is to bring you the best bookmaker offers. Be it matched deposits, free bets, or one-off promotions, we use our connections within the industry to try and bring you the best offers. You can see what offers are available in the following two sections:

• Bonus Codes: All the main welcome offers available for new customers.
• Betting Offers: Our overview of all the latest special promotions for football and other sports.

History of Online Bookmakers in the UK

At first, people would make wagers with other individuals, when they wanted to bet on sports. The terms of the wager were agreed on and the bet was settled after the end of the relevant event. Over time, sports betting became more formal and was done through a recognised bookmaker. The 1960 Betting and Gaming Act was a milestone for the United Kingdom, when betting shops were legalised, reflecting the times. This is when 100 new betting shops opened every week. By the end of 1961, there were about 100,000 shops open across the country.

A decade later, the landscape was dominated by Betfred, Ladbrokes, and William Hill and some 150,000 betting shop premises gave the change to punters to wager on favourite sports and events. The 1970 Gaming Act opened the road for other betting forms, such as bingo and casinos. The development of online casinos initiated online betting from 1994 onwards. However, the tremendous adoption into online casinos intrigued bookmakers. By 1998, there were more than 100 sports betting platforms worldwide, including some of the UK’s big guns, from the likes of Betfred and William Hill. From accounting for less than 1% of the overall betting market, online bookmakers have become the most common way to place a bet, within just 15 years or so.

Today’s online bookmakers run betting sites and open betting markets on sports events, allowing players to place wagers (at odds pre-set by the online bookmakers) with no human interaction whatsoever. They also provide payment processing, customer service, mobile platforms, welcome offers for new-comers, and various promotions, while also allowing players to play their favourite casino, poker or bingo game from the comfort of their home, win from free spins and extra free bets to in-play cash, and claim bonuses.

About bet365

Another major player that is worth being considered one of the best online bookmakers in the British online gaming landscape. It has over 35 millions customers across the world and is among the first online bookmakers in the UK to start offering esports to wager on. The operator offers bingo, sports betting, games, casino, video streaming, and on-course bookmaking. Some of the bet365 key features include:
· Best odds Guaranteed
· Casino betting
· Free Bet Club
· Live Chat
· Live Streaming
· Asian Handicap
· Bingo/Poker
· Cash out

Bet365 also features one of the most robust mobile apps on the market, which offers mobile-specific bonuses, great live streaming, and in-play betting on the go.

It should be noted that Bet365 was the sole bookie that streamed the first-ever internet-exclusive football match in the UK between England and Ukraine (competing for the World Cup), in 2009. As for awards, bet365 has a few to showcase: The Operator of the Year award (2010), Number One Internet Gaming Company award (2010, 2011, 2012), Best Sportsbook Affiliate Programme, Best Overall Affiliate Programme, Best Sportsbook Affiliate Manager to name a few.

About Betfair

A leading player listed on the London Stock Exchange and undoubtedly among the best online bookmakers in the UK, in our opinion. Besides offering an online bingo, online poker, online casino, and online sportsbook, Betfair also operates the largest online exchange in the world. With more than 4 million customers across the globe, it boasts 20% better odds than a traditional bookmaker.

Betfair customers can trade on events and use the cash out option to lock in a profit even before the match or event they have betted on has finished. Except for huge in-play betting opportunities and risk-free bets, the bookie provides users with instantly refreshed events, as well as exceptional live streaming services.

Betfair was also the first betting corporation that sponsored an English football team back in 2002, and a company with its own radio service solely focused on horse racing results and commentary. Today, Betfair and Paddy Power online bookmakers are one and the same after the latter acquired Betfair and created the Paddy Power Betfair entity.

About Unibet

Unibet is one of the most popular online bookmakers in the UK, providing a platform for not only sports betting. This extends to online poker, games, and casino. It now has over 11 million customers in more than 100 countries; a customer base that grew within the past 15 years, after launching its live betting service in 2003 and its mobile platform a year later.
Some of the key features of their online platform are:

· Asian Handicap
· Cashout
· Casino betting
· Free Bet Club
· Live Streaming
· Live chat
· Best Odds Guaranteed

For punters liking the thrill of in-play betting, Unibet is definitely one of the best online bookmakers in the country, according to our recommendations. The easy-to-navigate interface and the simple, yet eye-catching, design contributes to enhanced online betting experiences and an even more enjoyable in-play betting. Besides generous welcome offers and bonuses, Unibet also gives good odds on a wide array of markets and sports, including tennis, and cricket markets. As for their mobile application and cash-out option, let’s just say that they have raised the bar quite high.

Unibet is also one of the few online bookmakers that are consistently recognised with industry awards for their online gaming and sports betting offerings. As of 2014, they have received 14 different prestigious awards, some of them include:

• The International Gaming Awards (offered to top providers in the gambling industry).
• IGA Awards, including App of the Year award (2014), Sportsbook Operator of the Year (2014), In-Play Sports Operator of the Year (2015), Online Sportsbook Operator of the Year (2015), and the Socially Responsible Operator Award (2016).
• EGR Awards for their sportsbook, social responsibility, general innovation, and online poker client.

All that aside, Unibet also sponsors a variety of major sports events and teams in the UK, and not only. For example, they are the official betting partner of Middlesbrough, Preston North End, and Aston Villa football league teams and fund the Premier League of Darts, World Grand Prix, European Championships, and Masters events. They also sponsor the Warwickshire County Cricket Club and are the title sponsor of several sporting events, including horse racing and darts.

Let us not forget their contribution to horse racing, being the official betting partner of the Investec Derby at Epsom and financing top-class races in Ireland and horse races through the Unibet Road to Cheltenham (the national hunt season).

Online bookmakers in the UK summary

The UK online betting industry is thriving with new online bookmakers attempting to monopolise players’ attention every day. The fact that there are more than enough options to choose from allows sports bettors and casino enthusiasts to enjoy a greater plethora of bonuses and registration offers. At the same time, the online betting experience is becoming more and more enhanced. Features like cash out, live streaming, and in-play betting were once considered a very rare find; now, they tend to become the norm, at least among online bookmakers in the UK that wish to stay competitive.

Of all online UK bookmakers, some stand out for their market variety, the great odds, the wide range of services and functions they provide to their customers, the sleek and user-friendly mobile platform, and the innovative ideas that keep players intrigued. At this moment, the list of bookmakers UK includes 28 popular operators that have gained most of the online betting traction for their uniqueness and plethora of offers, among others. However, it is impossible (at least, for the time being) to list every single much-promising bookmaker. Therefore, our list of bookmakers UK is based solely on our own opinion based on the factors we currently used to evaluate each bookie.

Compared to the way wagers were placed in the past, we have definitely come a long way, although the original betting principles are still followed closely. Online betting offers a wide range of benefits, such as excellent betting choices and promotions that not only new but loyal players can use. They also come handy for enabling bettors to play with only the money they have rather than bet recklessly. On the other hand, the geographical restrictions that some online bookies apply, leave a lot of people who are eager to bet out of the experience. That aside, it is not uncommon to hear about accounts and bet sizes being limited, due to company policies. Whether you choose online betting or the traditional way is totally up to you, though.

*Please note – Our star ratings are based on our personal opinion of the bookmakers we work with. We also take customer feedback into account in our rankings.