How We Rate Online Bookies – Our Methodologies Explained

3 September 2024

Adam Creagh

Adam Creagh

Betting Expert

Adam is a sports writer and casino gaming enthusiast with over 10 years of experience. Boxing, football, and rugby are Adam's favorite sports to cover when he's not playing poker and baccarat. You can find his in-depth bookie reviews, betting tutorials, and more of his industry knowledge at Fairbettingsites.

All posts by Adam Creagh

Betting Expert

Fact Checked

Michael Lee

Michael Lee

Betting Expert

Michael has worked in the sports betting industry for many years. Following football, horse racing and track and field athletics, he has covered the last three Olympic Games, World Cups and other major sporting events.

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We independently review betting sites. Sign-ups through our links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you, this never influences our listings’ order.

Our experts review and rank the best online betting sites in the UK. We sift through betting odds, markets, bonuses, and payment options to find you the best sites to bet with in 2024.

We’re proud of the work our betting experts and industry specialists do to deliver honest and objective rankings of UK betting sites. But you may be wondering how exactly we order our rankings. Well, let us explain in detail how we rate sites and what matters most to us!

Quality Betting Odds

Betting odds determine how much money you can win from a wager. For that reason, we are dedicated to finding UK bookies with competitive prices for the sports we love. Whether it’s EPL Both Teams to Score (BTTS) at the best football betting sites or early Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) at top horse racing bookies, quality and consistency matter.

Even slightly better odds can have a positive impact on winnings, so we look for bookies that offer top prices across the board. While no single site has a monopoly on the best odds, some make a conscious effort to keep their profit margins low. We reward these sites with higher places in our rankings.

Variety of Markets

The best online betting sites offer a wide range of markets for sports beyond just football and horse racing. As such, we always look for bookies that go the extra mile when it comes to both popular sports and those enjoyed by fewer punters.

Here are some examples of the different markets and bets available at the best new betting sites online.

We expect to see much more than these markets. But this should give you an example of what we look for when reviewing sites in 2024.

Mobile Betting Experience

Many of us bet and play on our smartphones or tablets these days. For that reason alone, we believe finding the best betting apps for you to use is in our interest. But here’s the thing – you don’t need a great native betting app to be a great mobile betting site.

We award the highest scores to bookies with sites fully optimised for the mobile experience. This means providing exceptional mobile functionalities featuring the same range of odds, markets, bonuses, and payment methods that you get when using the desktop version of a site.

Additional Betting Features

Top online sportsbooks provide players with additional features to enhance their betting experience. These include but are not limited to, the following.

Other top features we look for include stats zones, free blogs from betting pros, bet calculators, and more. All of the above are taken into consideration when we decide on our bookies rankings.

Live Betting & Streaming

We take live betting and streaming seriously. Undoubtedly, both are excellent features to have at a betting site. But it’s the quality of the in-play wagers available and user-centred streaming service that we ultimately judge sites on.

If you feel the same way, you’ll be happy to learn that many of our top-rated live betting bookies also offer excellent live streaming functions. Both can enhance your chances of getting more from your bets and feeling a little closer to the action when you can watch selected events unfold before your eyes.

Bookie Sign-Up Process

The best UK bookies provide a simple and streamlined sign-up process. We expect any site worth its salt to have a user-friendly online form available on their website. Our experts award high scores for those that take around five minutes or less to complete.

Also, you should only be asked for necessary information before joining a site. This may include your name, address, date of birth, telephone number, email address, and basic payment details.

Free Bets & Bonuses

Our industry specialists are always looking to find the best betting promotions in the UK. While larger free bets and matched deposit offers are less common than before, quality online sports betting sites still provide plenty of valuable promotions you should know about.

Here are some to consider.

There are even more top offers available to players who choose the best sites. We always factor in promos and other deals into our rankings and always make them available for you to compare.

Payment Methods & Fast Withdrawals

We want sites that offer a wide range of different ways to deposit and withdraw. More than this, we love to see sites that allow you to get your winnings faster. Many of our fast withdrawal betting sites process payouts in 24 hours or less, with no fees charged to expedite payments.

Some of the quickest withdrawal methods to use for fast payouts include Visa Direct, Mastercard debit, Apple Pay, PayPal, and Skrill. Not all bookies offer the same options, so we tend to award sites that go that extra mile a little higher.

Customer Service

Great customer support is crucial to maintaining a good relationship with a betting site. As such, we always factor in the customer service options – and the quality of the support on offer – into our ratings. Here is what we expect from a positive customer service function.

Not all sites provide multiple ways to contact customer service – and that’s OK. As long as their support teams are prompt, available, and knowledgeable, we will recognise them for their efforts.

Licensing & Security

Safety and security are paramount when gambling online. As such, we only recommend sites to you that are legal, reputable, and hold a valid UK Gambling Commission licence.

Beyond this, we expect bookies to have the latest TLS encryption, firewalls, and security steps to protect you and safeguard your data. If a site is not safe and secure, we don’t recommend them!

Site Design & Accessibility

Our experts award high scores to online betting sites in the UK with well-designed sites. For instance, if a betting site looks good, is user-friendly, and is well-signposted with clean menus, we will be pleased.

Here are other aspects of site design and accessibility we consider.

Another thing we like to see is different language options. Although we don’t mark bookies down who don’t have options, it is always nice to have. Whether you’re betting on horse racing or cricket, it’s always more comfortable in your own language.

Responsible Gambling

We make a conscious effort to recommend bookies that promote responsible gambling practices. As gambling is highly addictive, it’s always good to have tools like reality checks, deposit and time limits, and self-exclusion available to help you bet responsibly.

Our recommended sites provide links to the following gambling help organisations.

You may also have the option to contact other groups and organisations, such as Gamblers Anonymous and the NHS’ National Problem Gambling Clinic. Furthermore, sites may offer additional support in the form of tutorials or check-ins to assist with safer gambling practice.

FAQs

Adam Creagh

Betting Expert

Adam Creagh

Betting Expert

Adam is a sports writer and casino gaming enthusiast with over 10 years of experience. Boxing, football, and rugby are Adam's favorite sports to cover when he's not playing poker and baccarat. You can find his in-depth bookie reviews, betting tutorials, and more of his industry knowledge at Fairbettingsites.

All posts by Adam Creagh