Top Sports Betting Sites Tested & Ranked by Experts 2025

What Is It? When you make your first deposit, you’ll receive free bets or bonus cash, for example, deposit $10+ and receive 100% up to $200. 

Why Choose It? This is the biggest and most generous offer from bookmakers. 

Best Deal: BC.Game is giving away a 120% up to $500 welcome bonus right now! 

What Is It? Betting site provides you with a complimentary stake, say $10, which you can use to wager on any sport or market. 

Why Choose It? Free bets allow you to win real money without using your bankroll. 

Best Deal: When you bet $10 at bet365, you’ll get $50 in free bets. 

What Is It? When you sign up, the sportsbook will provide you with a free bet or bonus cash. 

Why Choose It? This offers truly risk-free betting. 

Best Deal: BetMGM is giving away a $25 no deposit bonus. 

What Is It? Get a portion of your losing bets refunded. 

Why Choose It? Cashback increases your chances of becoming a long-term winner. 

Best Deal: Dafabet offers 10% cashback on major sports. 

What Is It? Sportsbooks reward frequent bettors with everything from gifts to free bets to special match offers to tickets to games. 

Why Choose It? These ongoing rewards ensure you get treated like a VIP. 

Best Deal: As a VIP player, Dafabet gives you 20% daily reloads, 0.40% daily rebates, and a 2.5% parlay rebate. 

What Is It? Top up your account and get a free bet or bonus cash. 

Why Choose It? Great way to get free play if you’re a regular depositor.  

Best Deal: 20Bet has a $100 reload bonus every Saturday. 

Debit and credit cards are probably the easiest way to deposit when you're just starting out. It's fast and requires no extra setup. However, some banks block gambling transactions, and withdrawals can be a little slower. 

I’m a big fan of PayPal, as it offers instant withdrawals and keeps my bank info separate from the sportsbook. Unfortunately, based on my testing, some smaller sportsbooks don’t offer this payment method, and it doesn’t qualify you for bonuses. 

I love how ridiculously fast and easy Apple Pay is. It also protects your card details, and there aren’t any fees. However, not every sportsbook supports it, and you usually can’t withdraw via Apple Pay. 

Google Pay is super handy if you already have your cards loaded onto your phone. Quick deposits make it great if you want to place a spontaneous bet. Like Apple Pay, though, withdrawals usually aren’t an option. 

PaysafeCard is a prepaid voucher you buy in a store or online. It’s convenient if you want to budget your play or don’t want any gambling transactions showing up on your statement. However, it offers low limits, and many bookmakers don’t offer PaysafeCard withdrawals.  

I use bank transfers when I want to move large amounts safely. However, be wary of the low minimum limits and the hefty fees. 

A great football betting site needs more than just match odds. I always look for wide league coverage, detailed stats, live streaming, quick bet placement, and extras like same-game parlays. 

From my experience, 1Win is hands-down the best football betting site, as it covers over 100 leagues. I’ve bet on everything from the Premier League to second-division leagues in South America. I love their reduced juice betting lines, the in-depth match stats, and how easy it is to build same-game parlays.  

If you're after alternatives, I’ve also had great experiences with bet365, their live streams mean I can actually watch games I’ve bet on without hunting down dodgy links. They also offer some of the best early cashout options. If you’re looking for football profit boosts, check out Betway. 

For cricket betting, I need tons of bet types, fast live odds, and some good boosts to keep things interesting. 

BetWinner is easily my top choice. They offer over 100 bet types per match, fast-updating live odds, daily cricket odds boosts, and even virtual cricket markets when there's no real match on.  

I’ve also had good runs with 10CRIC (built for cricket fans with local promos) and 10Bet (really strong for live betting during ODIs). But if you love variety and speed, BetWinner takes it. 

When it comes to darts, you want extensive in-play options and enhanced odds. N1Bet has been my top pick as they offer the best PDC odds, 50+ betting markets, live streams, and 100% parlay boosts. I’ve also grabbed a few monthly free bet offers for darts. 

Based on what I’ve seen, Dafabet is a decent alternative for live betting, while Unibet shines when it comes to stats and player specials.  

For snooker, good stats and soft betting lines are key. BetWinner is my go-to. You will find head-to-head stats, an odds movement chart, as well as live streams and strong odds, especially during the World Championships. 

bet365 is great too, with tons of live betting options, and 20Bet offers quick payouts and great outrights. 

The most common form of sports betting, fixed odds betting is a type of gambling where bettors wager on the outcome of events like sports matches or horse races based on predetermined odds. In this form of betting, the odds are set and remain unchanged at the time of placing the bet, indicating the perceived likelihood of a specific outcome to occur.

Example fixed odds bet: Man City to beat Crystal Palace – 1.33

In sports spread betting, bettors wager on whether a specific outcome in a sports event will exceed or fall short of a 'spread' set by a sports betting company. Profits or losses are determined by how much the final outcome exceeds or falls short of the spread. 

The spread provided by the betting firm represents their prediction of the range of a final outcome for a particular occurrence in a sports event. 

For example, this could be the total number of goals scored in a football match, the runs scored by a team in a cricket match, or the distance between the winner and the second-placed finisher in a horse race.

The bettor can choose to 'buy' or 'sell' based on whether they believe the final outcome will exceed the top end or fall below the bottom end of the spread offered. The accuracy of the bettor's prediction determines their potential winnings or losses.

The profit or loss for the bettor is calculated by the selected stake size, multiplied by the number of unit points above or below the bettor's chosen level. This highlights a key distinction between sports spread betting and fixed odds sports betting – the potential winnings and losses are not fixed and can be significantly higher or lower than the original stake size.

Example spread betting bet: Man City to beat Crystal Palace – 1.75 per goal margin

This straightforward bet is simply your prediction of which team or player will win a specific match. The favourite in a match will have the shortest odds, while the underdog will have the longer odds.

With a match handicap bet, you are betting on a team or player to win a match after the handicap is applied to the final scores. Handicap bets are a great way to level the playing field in an unevenly fought contest.

This bet is a prediction of the final score of a match. The match will have to end with the exact score you predicted for this bet to pay out.

An each way bet comes in two parts:

You are backing a player/horse/team to win the match/race/tournament.

You are backing a player/horse/team to place in the match/race/tournament (Usually between 1st and 5th)

If you back the winner, both parts of the each way bet will pay out and you’ll get maximum winnings. If your backed choice places, you’ll only be paid out for the 2nd part of the each way bet, which will be a fraction of the odds you backed them at.

Hedge betting is a strategy employed to mitigate potential losses or enhance profits. Here's how it can be applied to your betting:

• Suppose you've placed a bet on a player to win a tournament, and they progress to the latter stages. To hedge your initial bet, you can back their opponents in subsequent matches. This approach ensures that you'll receive some returns regardless of the outcome.
• Evaluate the potential payouts and the odds associated with your hedged bets to determine the appropriate amount to stake. This calculation allows you to optimise your hedging strategy effectively.

Accumulator betting involves combining multiple match winner bets on a single bet slip, with each added bet increasing the overall odds. Here's a simple guide on how to do it:

• Identify matches where there is a clear favourite (typically indicated by lower odds).
• Select multiple match winner favourites and add them to your bet slip to create an accumulator bet.
• Keep in mind that adding more selections will increase the odds of your bet, but it also escalates the level of risk involved.

Check out our expert reviews for the betting sites you’re interested in. We bring together decades of expert advice and can be a great starting point. Then, have a look online and see what other bettors are saying. For example, Betfred gets rave reviews online thanks to their long standing reputation and great customer service.

We know, it’s not much fun, but reading through the terms and conditions for your site is essential. The bonus terms can make or break a bonus, so look out for a sensible wagering requirement and a friendly win cap. For example, Betwinner’s bonuses tend to have a 5x wagering requirement, which is easy for any bettor to complete.

Safety is so important when betting online, so there are lots of boxes to check here. We only recommend sites with a licence. They should also have great responsible gambling tools, excellent customer service, and use SSL encryption as standard.

The user experience encompasses a little bit of everything. From how easy it is to navigate the site, to whether the buttons on the mobile app are large enough for clumsy thumbs! 

A generous welcome bonus is essential for a space on our ‘best of’ lists, but sites should also offer bonuses for existing customers too. Odds boosts, free bets, and tournaments are always welcome.

Being able to make payments safely and securely is a top priority. We also like to see sites with fast withdrawal times and a broad selection of providers.

We like seeing sites with at least 20 sports (though 30 or more is better). They should have in-depth markets, ideally with live betting capabilities.

A Free Bet provides you with a specific amount of money to bet on a market of your choice, often subject to certain conditions (like minimum odds). Instead of using funds from your own cash balance, a Free Bet places the wager using the bonus amount. If the bet wins, your payout is calculated based on the Free Bet amount and the odds.

It's important to note that any potential winnings do not include the return of the Free Bet stake as part of the payout.

For instance, if you use a £10 Free Bet on a bet that wins with odds of 4/1, the payout will be £40. In contrast, if you had staked £10 of your own cash balance, the return would be £50.

Welcome Bonuses are the promotions you receive when you first sign up and deposit at a sportsbook site. Welcome bonuses will range from extra cash to play with, Free Bets, money back if your first bet loses and even free spins on casino games. 

Finding a betting site with a welcome bonus is a priority for many people who are looking for a new destination for online betting.

Deposit bonuses give you additional funds to play with when you make a deposit, typically displayed as a percentage increase. It's common for deposit bonuses to come with wagering requirements, so it's important to review the promotion's terms and conditions before attempting to withdraw any bonus-related winnings. 

For example, depositing £50 with a 100% deposit bonus would give you a total bankroll of £100 to start playing with.

A risk-free bet is similar to a Free Bet, but you use your own cash from your balance to place the wager. The key benefit is that if the market you bet on loses, your stake will be refunded back to your balance. 

For example, if you placed a £10 bet on West Ham to win at odds of 4/1, you would receive a payout of £50 if they won, but your £10 stake would be refunded to your balance if they lost.