As such, we at WinnerSports.co.uk have created the ultimate guide to finding the best online gambling sites in 2020. We’ll discuss the main factors that you need to look out for prior to parting with your money – such as odds, payment methods, features, betting markets, withdrawal times, and more.
How do Top Online Gambling Sites Work?
Before we delve into the specifics of choosing an operator that meets your individual needs, let’s make sure that we know how gambling sites typically work.
Here’s the general step-by-step process that the top 10 gambling sites follow.
What to Look out for When Choosing the Best Gambling Sites?
With hundreds of gambling sites now active in the UK marketplace, choosing a platform can be challenging. The overarching reason for this is that no-two gambling sites are the same. For example, while some gambling sites standout in the payment deposit, others excel by offering industry-leading odds.
As such, we’ve listed some of the most important factors that you need to look out for when choosing the best gambling websites.
Regulated
Without a shadow of a doubt, the most important metric to look out for in your quest to find the best gambling sites is whether or not the operator is regulated. In a nutshell, if the gambling site wishes to accept UK players, it must hold a Gambling Commission license. If it doesn’t, the betting site is operating illegally.
If you want to be 100% sure about the platform’s regulatory standing, you can check the gambling site’s license number at the Gambling Commission’s official website.
Payment Methods
Have you thought about how you intend on funding your online gambling account? As we at WinnerSports.co.uk briefly mentioned earlier, new gambling sites online will offer a plethora of payment methods. This is likely to include debit/credit cards, e-wallets like PayPal and Skrill, and a traditional bank transfer.
You also need to check whether or not your chosen payment method attracts any deposit fees, as well as how long it takes for the funds to be credited.
Betting Markets
Once you have explored the fundamentals of regulation and payments, you then need to explore what betting markets the online bookmaker. good gambling sites will offer thousands of markets across dozens of sports.
This will include major sports such as football, cricket, rugby, tennis, and basketball – as well as less popular markets like badminton, chess, and hardball.
Odds
On top of a highly extensive number of betting markets, you also need to explore the competitiveness of the underlying odds. As such, all gambling sites will strive to stand out from the crowd by offering industry-leading odds.
The best way to gauge the competitiveness of the odds is to find your favourite betting markets (such as the Premier League or Aviva Premiership), and then compare them with other bookmakers in the space.
Similarly, look to see what odds the gambling site in question offers on major handicap markets. Legit gambling sites will typically offer odds of 10/11 of two-way markets, so don’t accept anything less!
Betting Features
The days of placing a bet and hoping for the best are long gone. On the contrary, the best online betting sites now offering a range of innovative features that ultimately – give you as the player more control over how your bet pans out. At the forefront of this is the ability to cash out your bet early.
For those unaware, this is when the bookmaker will make you offer on a pending bet – based on the current state of the game. This gives you the opportunity to take a small profit before the game concludes, albeit, you avoid the risk of a last-minute equalizer!
Live Betting
The best online betting sites will always offer a fully-fledged in-play betting market. This allows you to place bets while the game is still ongoing, with the underlying odds being updated on almost a second-by-second basis. With that said, simply offering an in-play platform is no longer sufficient.
Instead, the best online betting sites will ensure that each in-play sporting event comes packed with heaps of betting markets. Crucially, there’s nothing worse than seeing your chosen match listed in the in-play department, only to find that the gambling site is only offering a single market!
Withdrawal Times
When it comes to cashing out your hard-earned winnings, you’ll want to get your hands on the money at the earliest possible opportunity. As such, online casinos will strive to process your withdrawal request in a speedy manner.
Once you have bypassed the initial KYC (Know Your Customer) process, you’ll want to choose an operator that releases the funds in less than 24
hours. With that said, some online betting sites do not process withdrawals over the weekend, so you should avoid such bookmakers like the plague!
So now that you know some of the key metrics to look out for when finding the best online gaming sites, you have the required tools to locate a platform that is right for you. However, there’s one more factor that you need to consider prior to signing up – bonuses.
What Bonuses do top Gambling Websites Offer?
If you’ve read our guide up to this point, then you’ll know that the online gambling industry is super-competitive. With hundreds of operators competing for your business, online bookmakers have had to up-the-ante- to attract you to their platform. The best online gambling websites typically do this by offering lucrative promotions in the form of a welcome bonus.
Gambling bonuses offered to new players come in a range of shapes and sizes, although this typically centres on one of the following:
Matched Deposit Bonus
When you gamble online with a matched deposit bonus, the bookmaker will match your first deposit by a certain percentage, up to a certain amount. For example, an offer might provide a 100% matched deposit bonus of up to £50. This means that by depositing £50, you’ll get a £50 free bet.
No Lose Bet
As the name suggests, a no lose bet allows you to place a bet without the risk of losing any money. For example, let’s say that the gambling site offers a no lose bet of up to £30. If you were to place a £30 on Arsenal beating Watford, but the game subsequently resulted in a draw, the gambling site would offer you a £30 refund.
Enhanced Odds
Some of the best casino sites will opt for a welcome package that centres on enhanced odds. With that said, the odds are more than just enhanced. On the contrary, they are amplified by an incredible amount. For example, let’s say that Man City are playing Norwich at home.
Ordinarily, the odds of Man City winning would be in the region of 1/10. However, you might be offered enhanced odds of 5/1 as part of a
welcome offer. As great as this sounds, the gambling site is likely to limit your maximum stake to just £5.
What to Look out for in a Bonus
Regardless of what bonus the gambling site offers you, it’s important to review the terms and conditions of the offer prior to depositing any money. This is to ensure that the offer is worthwhile.
In particular, you should look for :
- Wagering Requirements: Some betting sites will stipulate a wagering requirement, meaning that you need to gamble the bonus a certain number of times before a withdrawal is permitted. The gambling websites allow you to make a withdrawal as soon as the free bet has settled.
- Minimum Odds: Most – but not all, online bookmakers will stipulate minimum odds on your free bet. This might be the case for both the qualifying bet (if applicable) and the free bet funds themselves.
- Eligible Markets: You should also check whether or not certain betting markets are prohibited from the bonus. In some cases, the bookmaker might not allow you to use the bonus funds on two-way handicap markets.
- Min Deposit: Most free bets come with a minimum deposit amount, so be sure to check this before registering.
What are the Best Free Gambling Sites?
In terms of which platform gets the award for the best online bookmaker, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The overarching reason for this is that gambling websites will typically excel in certain areas.
For example, while casino site A might offer same-day withdrawals, it might not have an extensive in-play betting marketplace. Similarly, while real money gambling B might offer thousands of betting markets, it might not offer a cash-out feature.
As a result, we would strongly suggest reading through the best gambling site reviews that we have listed on our site.