There are lots of UK bookies out there and the big question is how you choose the best UK bookmaker for your betting needs. We’re here to help you pick out the bookie that is going to tick a number of boxes. It’s all very well claiming a generous free bet when you sign up with a bookmaker, although there are many other areas that are important when it comes to UK betting on a long-term basis.
Free Bet or Bet Credits
Bookmakers in the UK will initially hook customers in by having a generous UK new customer free bet available and it’s great to take advantage of these offers. It should be noted that you can open several betting accounts and go through the various free bets and bet credits although we recommend you go through the operators one-by-one.
When claiming a bookmaker free bet, make sure that you understand the terms and conditions when it comes to a particular offer. In particular, it’s worth making a note of the minimum deposit, minimum bet amount and whether you need to bet at a particular price in order to claim a bonus.
A bookmaker free bet is generally credited when your first qualifying bet has been settled and there might be a minimum odds requirement when it comes to the free UK bookie wager, so bear this in mind and hopefully you’ll get your betting off to a positive start.
Competitive UK Betting Odds
We think it’s essential that you choose the biggest odds possible when it comes to placing a bet with a UK bookie. The great news is that there are such a wide range of available bookmakers which means you can compare the betting prices and regularly land the biggest odds about the selection which interests you the most.
Ideally, you want to rely on a bookie to have the biggest prices when it comes to a wide range of sporting events. It’s easy for a UK bookmaker to provide a massive price about an outsider winning a horse race or a football match, although we much prefer to see a standout price about a favourite instead.
In-Play Betting Service
The top UK bookies have a leading In-Play betting service and that means being able to log into your betting account and enjoy live odds on a 24/7 basis. Ideally, you should always be able to find live UK betting opportunities, especially if your bookmaker is covering events around the world which are happening in different time zones.
In-Play bettors want to be able to place quick bets on the action due to the fact that the betting odds are constantly changing. A UK betting customer will expect to have a five-second time delay when placing their In-Play bets, although all live odds should be accessible from the homepage.
Accumulator Betting Markets
Betting accumulators is something that is highly popular and the leading UK bookmakers should have the option to have an accumulator bet across a wide range of sports and particularly football. Customers want to be able to visit a UK betting site and pick out a number of teams for their football acca before putting them all in a bet slip and betting a particular stake for their acca.
We like to see the leading UK bookmakers have competitive odds so that the football accumulator is a big price and this doesn’t just apply to the Full-Time Result betting market. You should also get big odds for selections like Over/Under 2.5 Goals, Both Teams to Score and Asian Handicap betting options.
Cash Out, Partial Cash Out and Auto Cash Out
If a UK bookmaker doesn’t offer Cash Out, then we would recommend you look for a UK betting site that has this Cash Out facility available across a wide range of betting markets. The chance to Cash Out your bet is a fantastic way of potentially making a profit from betting and you don’t need to regularly back winners in order to land money along the way.
Many UK bookies will outline the betting market where you can Cash Out and you might also find the opportunity to enjoy Partial Cash Out and Auto Cash Out, with the former being a case of deciding what percentage of your actual bet you want to trade in and what percentage you want to remain in the bet. Auto Cash Out allows you to set a pre-ordained amount that you would like to claim if the odds reach a certain level.
Accumulator Bonuses and Acca Insurance
For those UK betting customers who enjoying placing accumulator bets, nothing beats getting an extra bonus on top of your winnings. For example, you might put together a treble on the English Premiership football and a winning bet could see you land extra winnings on top thanks to this promotional offer.
Most top UK bookies that offer Acca Bonuses tend to reward customers more if they include an increasing number of selections in their bet slip, with punters therefore landing a big amount due to placing a riskier bet where all the selections win.
Alternatively, there is also the option to take advantage of Acca Insurance with a UK bookie. This is where you pick out a number of selections and, if one of those picks lets you down along the way, you can claim money back as either cash or a free bet. Many UK betting customers choose a bookie with this offer if they’re placing regular accumulator bets.
Bet Builder or Same Game Multi
If you’re deciding which UK bookmaker to choose, we would recommend one which offers Bet Builder or Same Game Multi. This means that you don’t need to simply accept a UK betting site’s odds as you can alternatively opt to piece together a bet of your own which focuses on one particular sporting event such as a football match.
So you might want to bet on Liverpool v Manchester City and you might place a Same Game Multi which focuses on Liverpool to win, Liverpool to win both halves, Liverpool to win 3-0 and Over 10.5 Corners. The selects that you put in your UK Bet Builder are completely down to you and a bookie will provide odds according to the number of selections and the various odds.
Price Boosts and Enhanced Odds
Every betting customer loves a price boost and many UK bookmakers have daily price boosts or enhanced odds which focus on the most popular sporting events of the day. This might mean that you can get 6/1 instead of 5/1 about a player scoring first in the big football match, or there might even be a boosted accumulator odds featuring three favourites to win their respective games.
A UK bookmaker such as William Hill or betfair might even boost your price when you’re on the bet slip section so you can accept a price change for a certain stake and have extra winnings should that selection win when the bet is settled. Enhanced odds are an excellent way of securing extra value with your UK bookie.
Wide Range of Secure Payment Methods
Naturally, you need to find a way to fund your UK betting site account and a good bookmaker in the UK will provide you with a wide range of available payment methods. This might include debit cards, credit cards, e-wallet options and other unique ways such as bank transfer or payment codes.
It is important to ensure that a UK bookmaker website provides the highest level of security and encryption, although every UK betting site featured on this website adheres to the best standards and that means that your personal details are never compromised. You should bear in mind the minimum deposit and withdrawal amounts before going ahead.
Bet With a Licensed and Regulated UK Bookmaker
A strong UK bookmaker is one which is highly regulated. Every UK bookie should hold a UK license and that means that they have to abide by the terms of the UK Gambling Commission. This is a very good thing for customers at UK betting sites as it means that the bookies are running a fair website when it comes to punters betting on different sporting markets and getting the best possible return along the way.
You should always trust a UK bookie when you place bets and not have to worry whether you are going to be paid out when your selection wins. We would always expect a UK bookmaker to pay out within minutes of the event finishing and then there’s a lead time before you should expect any withdrawal to be transacted.
Choose Award-Winning Bookmakers or UK Bookies Who Sponsor
If you can pick out a few UK bookies with extra strings to their bows, then this will also serve you well in the long run. There are plenty of industry awards when it comes to the UK betting market and it’s always worth keeping an eye out for how many awards have been landed by bookies such as bet365, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, BetVictor and betfair.
It’s also good to see whether a UK bookmaker has won an award for having great odds, a fast-performing website or excellent customer service. We are also reassured if we see that a UK bookie has put money back into sports such as football or horse racing through some form of sponsorship. Sponsoring horse races is a particularly good one.
Customer Service Should Be Efficient and Friendly
It’s all very well having a great free bet, competitive odds and a fantastic In-Play betting service. However, from time to time, customers might have to contact a UK betting site’s customer service department with a particular query. It might be related to a particular betting market, the settlement of a bet, a free bet offer or a payment query.
Therefore, a good UK bookmaker should have a solid customer service department that is ideally open on a 24/7 basis. You should be able to make contact with someone on any day and at any time. Ideally, you should be able to load up a Live Chat facility which means you can type in your query to someone in real time.
However, there are sometimes queries with UK bookmakers which are better solved by making a phone call and if there’s a toll-free number that you can call where you can speak with a member of customer service, then all the better. We would also expect the opportunity to email someone or consult the FAQs.
The UK Betting Site Should Be Lightning Fast
We want a UK bookmaker site to have an excellent performance when it comes to navigation and page-loading speed. The opportunity to flick through a website and be able to find your bets quickly is a huge bonus. Ideally, a bookie should have all the popular betting options listed on the homepage of a website and it should then be easy to go through the site in search of your betting markets.
Ultimately, most UK betting customers want the opportunity to place bets quickly or easily along the way. That means having a functional bet slip where you can load up your selections and then choose a stake and the bet types that you want to wager.
The Best UK Mobile Betting Sites
We know that the majority of UK betting customers now bet through mobile rather than desktop and it’s therefore imperative that a UK bookmaker has a fully mobile-optimised website where customers can access the site through their smartphones and ideally download an app which can be used on a frequent basis.
Mobile betting is great when betting customers are on the move and a good UK bookmaker should be able to offer a strong betting service whether they are offering a mobile or desktop service.