Online Sports Betting with the Best
Online Bookmakers
This page contains information and
recommendations about what to look for in an OnlineBookmaker, and specific advice
about the Online Book Makers I use,
others with good Sign-up Bonuses, and some to avoid.
There are some great Signup Bonuses or Free Bets when you open an account with virtually
any Bookmaker.
What to look for in a bookmaker
The essential features of a good On-Linebookmaker are as follows:
1 A good web-site with easy navigation, and
reliable performance
2 Reliable means of getting your money into and
out of the website
3 An account in the currency you want
4 Ability to place large stakes, without limits
being imposed
5 Range of markets
I've tried about 20 already, and my recommendations are given
below. You can take it as read that they all score well on the above
criteria, unless something to the contrary is written. The way I trade I find it necessary to have around about 10
active books at any time. This way you can compare prices using
or and choose the
best price, or if you're using an arbitraging service then you have enough
arbs per day to make it worthwhile. See my page on
, for my advice on arbitraging strategies.
Having a choice of around 10 good books enables
you to get the best price in the market. This is crucial, it could
be the difference between a system making a 3% profit or a 3% loss.
Betfair often has the best price, but not always, and you have to make a
small adjustment to the Betfair price to account for their commission -
to do this the formula is corrected price =1+ (Betfair price - 1)*0.95.
Many of the Book Makers Offer Sign-up Bonuses, these
are normally in the form of Free Bets worth up to £100 in some cases.
See the
page and the bookies listing below for details.
An account with a betting exchange is absolutely essential if you want
to make money out of trading and arbitraging. Betfair pioneered the
exchange concept, and are still the biggest and the best. There is
no need to look elsewhere. They have everything you would want in an
exchange, the range of markets, the liquidity, ease of getting money in
and out. One of the really great things about the exchanges is that
they are not actually bookmakers. All they do is provide a conduit
for wise punters to back and lay at the prices they choose. Betfair
make money by charging commission on these trades. This starts off
at 5%, but is reduced as your staking increases. This is
important. All 'standard' bookmakers, make money because most of
their customers lose most of the time - so, guess what, they don't like people who are
consistent winners - some of them stop you betting by putting silly limits
on if you are in this
category. With Betfair, the opposite is true - the more you bet the
more Betfair make from commission- and it doesn't matter to them if you win or
lose. As you bet more, your commission rate is reduced, so that your
trading becomes even more profitable.
Pinnacle is based in the West Indies. Don't let this put you
off. They are probably the best of the books I have used which is
not UK based. I did have (and still do) have some doubts about the
reliability and integrity of overseas books in far flung corners of the
world. I have had an account with Pinnacle for
four years, and never
had any problems getting money into or out of the account. You
can open accounts in many currencies, mine is in GB pounds. They
often offer the best price in the market, and I have had no issues with
limits.
Sportingbet is based in the UK.
It is an excellent book, giving good prices, no problems with limits,
and easy transfers of money into/out of the account.
Excellent sign-up bonus.
Based in Dublin. They have stood me several
large winning bets, and no limits imposed.
They often have the best price for horseracing, and another good feature
is that if you take an early price, and the starting price is higher,
then you get paid at the starting price. Paddy have just started a good casino as well, with over 60 games to
choose from.
UK based, the only one of the original UK big 4 in my active
list. Better than I expected for trading opportunities. The
ultimate in terms of being confident the company won't disappear in the
middle of the night. Their poker site is one of
the best in the business, loads of variety, free-rolls, and a good
interface.
I have had an account with sporting Index
since 1999. They provide a superb spread betting service for sports
betting. The range of markets is massive, it's easy to get your money
in and out, you couldn't ask for more.
Not a bookmaker at all, but a means of getting money quickly in and out
of books. Most of the books listed above will accept moneybookers as
a means of funding the account. The way it works is you transfer
money from your bank to moneybookers, then you can transfer it from
moneybookers to a bookmaker. When you want to move money from one
book to another, which happens a lot if you're an arber or a trader,
then you move it from the overfunded book back to moneybookers, then from
moneybookers to the underfunded book. This is an essential resource
for the trader and arbitrager, all the inter-account movements are free
and quick. The only time there is a small charge is when you draw
money back from Moneybookers to your bank account.
Often has the best price for football,
and they also have good prices for horseracing, so I do maintain an account with them for that reason; you can
usually get a bet on
if you're not arbing, although they do refuse bets quite often, sometimes
they will only put a small bet on. They also have a
particularly good sign-up bonus, up to £100 in free bets, delivered £25 at a
time after having so many bets with them.
This is another one where I spotted a good price in
a football match, and opened an account just to claim the sign-up bonus.
There is a £100 sign-up bonus available for opening an account with Fred.
The
UK pool betting specialist. They declare winning returns based on the
amount staked on each horse, sometimes the price is better than the standard
bookmakers price. They also run the Scoop6, Tote jackpot and Tote
Placepot, where you have to nominate the winners of several races. the
Scoop6 is very popular when the jackpot builds up over a few weeks.
You can also place bets at 'standard' bookmakers prices.
Open an account
with VC Bet and they will match your first bet stake with a free bet up to a
maximum of £50. Then place five more real money bets of £10 or more and
they’ll give you another £50 free bet. Your first bet must be placed within 30
days of opening your account and it must contain at least one selection with
odds of Evens (2.00) or greater, if the bet contains three or less
selections. If your first bet contains four or more selections they can all
be at below Evens (2.00). Void bets do not qualify.
BoyleSports has been established since 1989
and they have quickly grown into Ireland's largest independent bookmaker.
Although this is partly due to the flotation of Paddy Power, there's no
denying that they have ballooned as a company since going online in 2001,
especially in 2006 and 2007. Like their main Irish rival, managing director
John Boyle is keen to nurture a sense of customer loyalty through
competitive products and a top class level of service.
One thing I like about them is they do the BOG
offer on horseracing, Best Odds Guaranteed, so if you take an early price,
and the SP is better, you get paid at SP
10Bet is a UK licensed bookmaker that provides you with best tools to
place your winning bet; earliest odds on The Net and high limits on the
widest selection of sports events, including more than 85 soccer leagues!
10Bet offers best Odds on Asian Handicaps, Over/Under and a new unique type
of bet: "Mixed Games" –try it now! On top of this, you receive a
50% first
deposit bonus up to £100! Several payment methods are accepted 24/7 customer
service.
Canbet is United Kingdom licensed and is wholly owned subsidiary of
global Gaming and Wagering Company ‘International All Sports Limited’ (IAS).
IAS is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, is subject to independent
audit, and is licensed in both the United Kingdom and Australia.
Consequently Canbet offers a completely safe and secure environment for your
deposits and winnings.
IAS was established in 1995, the company own and manages various licensed
and regulated Racebooks, Sportsbooks, Casinos and Poker Rooms in both the UK
and Australia. £200 in free bets if you open
an account with Canbet
BOOKMAKERS TO AVOID
Interwetten - difficult and expensive to get money in or out, also
starts to impose limits which become restrictive.
Easybets - I deposited £10 with this one which never appeared in my
account. Incidentally this is a good tip with an unfamiliar book -
deposit a modest sum, bet with it, and try to withdraw some money - just
to check everything is reasonably kosher.
Betsense - another one where my £10 deposit disappeared. Avoid like
bird flu.
William Hill - This one shocked me, one of the original big 4 in
England, who you thought would have stood a few decent bets. I opened an account with them, had
a few winners, and then tried to get a bet on a tennis match. They
allowed me to put 4 pence on at 1.5 I thought this
must be a mistake so I rang them up, but this just confirmed the limit. I'd
only won about £300 up to this point, but closed the account immediately
Playboysportsbook - I opened an account with these as they appeared to
offer good trading opportunities according to Odds and Bets. I never found any
once I had an account, so I closed the account.
Betandwin was a
good book for a long time. Eventually though the limits came, first
£50, then £25, finally £15. You cannot trade with limits like
this, so it had to go. One good feature of their web-site, which I
still use, is the real time scores, particularly on football.
Sportsinteraction - Not a bad book in many ways, but charged 4% for
credit card deposits.
Pointbet - a good book for a long
time, but they have closed down and apparently ran off with punter's money,
steer well clear
