This is the full list of the bookmakers we review, in the order our criteria put them. Each review page covers the sportsbook in detail; the criteria we use are set out below.
How we rank bookmakers
The order on this page is not a list of who pays us most. It comes from five things we can check and you can verify:
- Licence and standing. Which regulator licenses the operator, and whether the licence number is published on the site and resolves on that regulator's public register.
- Margin. How much the book takes out of a market. A football match priced at 1.95 / 3.60 / 4.20 is a tighter book than the same match at 1.85 / 3.40 / 4.00, and over a season that difference costs more than any welcome offer returns.
- Depth of coverage. Not the Premier League, which everyone prices, but League Two on a Tuesday night, the WSL, and the sports that sit outside football.
- In-play and cash out. Whether live markets stay open through the interesting parts of a match, and how much cash out costs you against the true price.
- Getting your money out. Withdrawal times, verification friction, and whether support answers a real question with a real answer.
Welcome offers are the last thing we look at, because they are worth one bet and the margin is worth every bet after it.
The current UK welcome offers
Correct as of 20 September 2026. Offers change often, and the terms matter more than the headline — a £30 free bet that expires in three days is worth less than one that lasts a week.
| Bookmaker | Offer | The terms that matter |
|---|---|---|
| William Hill | Bet £10, get £30 in free bets | Min odds 1/2 (1.50). Paid as 3 × £10, each to be used in full. Expires in 7 days. Not valid on deposits made with PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafe or Apple Pay |
| 888Sport | Bet £10, get £30 in free bets | Min odds 1/2 (1.50). Expires in 3 days from crediting — the shortest window here |
| LeoVegas | Deposit and bet £10, get £30 in free bets | Min odds 2.00 on the qualifying bet. Paid as 3 × £10 Bet Builder free bets at min odds 3/1, so they are not free bets you can use anywhere. Qualifying bet within 7 days of registering; free bets expire after 7 days |
| bwin | Bet £5, get £20 in free bets | Min odds 1/2 (1.50). Paid as 4 × £5. Expires in 7 days. The smallest qualifying stake of the four |
Read that middle column before the left one. The advertising codes require significant terms to be shown next to the headline figure, and the reason is visible here: two offers described identically as "£10 gets £30" behave quite differently once the expiry and the Bet Builder restriction are in view.
What to check before you open an account
- The licence number in the footer. Follow it to the Commission's register. If it is missing or does not resolve, stop there.
- Deposit limits. Set one when you open the account, before you have lost anything. It is the cheapest protection available and takes a minute.
- Which sports you actually bet on. Open a midweek fixture in the division you follow and count the markets. That number tells you more than any review, including this one.
- Payment method exclusions. Several welcome offers exclude e-wallets. If you were planning to deposit with PayPal, check first, because the offer will not pay.
- Withdrawal route. Most books return funds to the method you deposited with. Verification is required by the licence, so have your documents ready rather than discovering it on your first withdrawal.
One account or several?
Several, if you bet seriously. The gap between the best and worst price on the same football match is routinely 5 to 8 per cent, and taking the best available price on every bet is the single largest edge available to a recreational bettor — larger than any tipping service and considerably larger than a welcome offer. Two or three accounts is enough to capture most of it.
The counterargument is discipline: more accounts means more deposits to keep track of. Set a limit on each, and treat them as one bankroll rather than several.
Fractional and decimal odds
UK sites display both and let you switch in account settings. Decimal odds include your stake, fractional odds show only the profit: 6/4 and 2.50 are the same price, returning £25 on a £10 bet. Our guide to UK bookmakers has the full conversion table, and US sports betting covers the American moneyline format you will meet on NFL and NBA markets.
Betting responsibly
Every licensed operator must offer deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion. GamStop blocks you across every licensed online operator in one registration, and GamCare runs the National Gambling Helpline free of charge. If betting has stopped being entertainment, those are the two places to start.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check who licenses a bookmaker?
The licence number is published in the operator's own site footer and links to the register of the regulator that issued it. A site that cannot show you one is not regulated anywhere you can appeal to.
Is every bookmaker here available in my country?
No. A licence covers the market it was issued for. Check the regulator named on the operator's own site before you deposit.
Do I pay tax on winnings?
Not in the United Kingdom. Betting duty is paid by the operator.
Why do the welcome offers look so similar?
Because they compete on the same metric. The differences are in the terms — expiry, minimum odds, what the free bet can be used on — which is exactly why those are set out in full above.
Related guides: betting bonuses explained · UK bookmakers · football betting · live betting
Beyond the UK list
Some bettors open an account outside the UK market for the higher limits or the wider coverage of minor leagues. What that costs you in protection — and what it does not — is set out in foreign bookmakers; the sites built around in-play markets are compared in live bookmakers, and the ones that run simulated events all day in virtual bookmakers.
One operator gets a page of its own because readers keep asking for it: bet365. How we work, and who we are, is in about Bookmakkers. The questions readers send us most often — licences, payment methods, bonus terms — are answered in the betting FAQ.
