Best Football Betting Sites in the UK (2024)

Best Football Betting Apps

When shopping for a football betting app, you want to look at user experience, promotions exclusive to the app, ease of installation, markets, and other tools. The ratings of the app speak a lot, too. Here are the top 5 football betting apps in the UK.

William Hill Mobile Apps (4.4/5)

William Hill just recently updated their mobile app for Android and iOS. It features exclusive promotions, bet boosts, Acca insurance, in-play betting, live scores, full account management, customer service, and trending markets (top bets).

Bet365 Apps (3.5)

The Android and iOS mobile apps for Bet365 is simple yet powerful. It features over 200,000 live streams, betting stats and data, promotions, live chat support, touch ID, and cash-out, among others.

Betfair Mobile Apps (4.7)

Betfair has great apps for both Android and iOS. The app supports live betting, account management, live scores, stats, cash out, touch/ face ID, live streaming, notifications, and Acca edge, which refunds those who lose by just one selection.

Betfred Mobile Apps (4.0)

Betfred’s Android and iOS apps are comprehensive with friendly user interfaces. It supports live streaming and betting, cash-out. Betfred also has a Goals Galore App, which allows you to bet on both teams and comes with offers on selected games. It also has a Messenger app that can be used to place bets through Betfred’s team.

Paddy Power Mobile Apps (4.4)

Among the highlights of Paddy Power’s highly-rated Android and iOS mobile apps are fast login with Touch ID, in-play betting, live streaming, cash-out, Acca insurance, and live chat support. You also get access to all of the site's promotions and bonus codes.

Top Virtual Football Betting Sites UK

Virtual sports betting is the type done on computer-simulated games. In football, the matches are often not full-length. You also get new events starting nearly every minute. Moreover, each match’s outcome is determined by random number generators (RNG), as in casino games.

How to Wager on Virtual Football

Wagering on virtual football is similar to placing a bet on conventional football matches. You only have to log into your account, browse to find a bet you like, and click on the odds. Once the wager is transferred to the bet slip, you put in your stake and finalise. The results will be out quickly because the matches don’t last long.

Popular Virtual Football Bookmakers

The top sites are often the ones that offer the most betting options. Therefore, it is no surprise that the same names dominate the lists on this review. Here are the top sites for virtual football betting:

Bet365

Bet365 virtual football compresses entire seasons into an hour, allowing punters to bet on 38 weeks of about 48 unique leagues in just 60 minutes. The betting options include individual match results, multiple bets, outright competition winners, and more. A new season begins every hour of the day.

William Hill

William Hill recreates the most popular sporting events in the form of virtual football. The matches are joined by live commentary, providing a life-like high-definition simulation. Matches last two minutes, so they go for half time every 60 seconds. 

After the competition, the bookie shows game highlights, including scoring, near misses, corner kicks, and free kicks. There are extensive betting options such as correct score, total goals, double chance, over/ under, and Asian handicap.

Betfred

The matches here kick off every three minutes 24/7. It is always time to bet on virtual football via Betfred. Punters can wager on results, correct scores, score casts, winning margins, and more. The matches have realistic commentary and great graphics, too.

Betvictor

Betvictor structures its virtual matches around real leagues globally, but outcomes are not replicated. They follow a knock-out tournament style. Each event takes 90 seconds, including a five-second interval. The betting options include total goals O/U, double chance, Asian Handicap, 1×2, HT/F, and correct score.

Coral

Coral offers about seven virtual sports, football being among the top-tiers. The games here kick off every three minutes. It has all of the usual markets as in conventional football events. Punters can wager on games up to five hours in advance.

Football Betting Markets Explained

It is not uncommon for a big game in a competition like the English Premier League or the Champions League to have hundreds of different markets on sports betting sites.

However, here are some of the most common football betting markets - and what they mean:

1x2 (full-time result): A simple one to start off, 1x2 is the match odds market. 1 refers to the home team, 2 to the away team, and the x is the draw. Backers have to predict the final result.

Accumulators: Very popular with football fans and around the world, accumulators are cherished as they offer a chance to win big money from relatively small stakes. Backers combine a number of bets into the same wager in order to bump up the odds by a lot.

Draw no bet: This bet does exactly what the name suggests. Backers pick a team to win and, if the final result of the game is a draw, their stake will be returned back into their betting account. 

Double chance: Again, this bet is what bettors would expect. Double chance bets give players two opportunities to win. An example of a double chance bet would be backing the result to be either a draw or a win for the away team. It is particularly useful when backing the underdog. 

Correct score: Predicting the correct score in football betting is famously difficult, but that does not stop a lot of fans of the game from trying. The correct score bet is only valid for the first 90 minutes, in the event of a match in a cup competition going to either extra time or penalties. 

Halftime/fulltime: Similar to 1x2 bets, the extra facet of halftime/fulltime bets is that backers have to guess the result at both the break and the final whistle. For example, fans might want to bet on the away side to be in front at halftime but for the home team to turn it around by the end. 

Halftime/fulltime correct score: This is the same as the above betting market, but the backer has to pick the score for the break and the end of the game, not just the result. 

Goalscorers (first, last, and anytime): Very popular for football betting, goal scorer markets can provide a lot of value. It is possible to bet on who scores the first goal in the game, or the last goal, or even just betting on a player to score at any time in the game. Additionally, a lot of the top betting sites offer similar markets such as to score and win the game.

Both teams to score: This bet is handy for games where goals are expected. As long as both teams in the game can find the net, then the BTTS bet will be a winning wager. 

Result/both teams to score: A useful combination bet, backers pick the result of the match as well as betting that each side will be on target during the game as well. 

Over/under goals: Goals markets are a very popular choice, with over/under the main choice. It is usually the case that over/under 2.5 goals is the default. This means if there are three or more goals in the game, over 2.5 wins, and if there are two or fewer, then under 2.5 goals wins. This bet works the same whether the number is 2.5 or 0.5, 1.5, 3,5, 4.5 and so on.

Win to nil: If a backer thinks a team will win a game and keep a clean sheet, then the win to nil market on sportsbooks is going to be the right selection for them to make.

European handicap: Handicaps are increasingly popular for football betting. Essentially, the handicap means teams have goals either added to or taken away from the number of goals they actually score in the game. For example, if Chelsea are -1 against Tottenham, they need to win by two clear goals or more for the bet to be a winner. Handicaps work in the other direction too. If a fan bets on Tottenham +2, then the bet wins even if Spurs actually lose the game by a single goal. Handicaps can provide a lot of value in matches where there is a strong favourite to win the game, with their odds to win very short as a result. European handicap markets are sometimes shown as EH for short on sports betting sites.

Asian lines: Asian lines are another type of handicap. They are named as such as they originated in Asia, but these markets can now be found at sportsbooks all over the world, including in Ireland. The difference between European and Asian handicaps is that in Asian lines, the number can be a fraction, whereas it is always a full number on the European handicap. Chelsea -1.5 on the Asian handicap would be the equivalent to Chelsea -1 as an EH bet. The half goal means that the draw is eliminated from the potential outcome of the bet, whereas in EH the draw can result in a push and the stake being returned to the player as a result. The Asian and European handicaps are effectively a form of spread betting, but with sport. Asian lines can be used on various markets, including total goals scored, as well as for which team will win. 

Specials: Among the ways that the top betting sites try to beat their competition in the industry is through the use of special bets. These can be a variety of markets, including request-a-bet wagers where customers can effectively build their own accumulators. Enhanced odds and price boosts are some of the other special bets that are widely available at bookmakers. There might also be special football markets offered at times, for example offering the chance to bet on which manager will be the next to be sacked in the English Premier League. Many online bookmakers also allow bets on football transfers nowadays, with wagers taken on which club a particular player will sign for before the end of the transfer window.

Tips and Strategy for Betting on Football

There are no shortcuts to success when betting on football. After all, if it was easy to make a lot of profit from football betting, everyone would be able to do it. The bookmakers would go bust!

However, following a football betting strategy can be a good way to increase the chances of getting one over the bookies. Many people find that sticking to a certain type of market, such as both teams to score, is their best way of maximising earnings as a result of placing football bets.

Research is the key. With so much information out there, much of it in the form of data and statistics that is easy to digest, there is no excuse for not being clued up before having a bet. It is also crucial to know all the latest news from the world of football, as an injury or illness to a key player is likely to have a big impact on a team's chances of winning their next games.

Football betting tips can be found all over the internet these days, but it is hard to know which ones are worth following. The best football betting tipsters are open about their records.

Many football fans also use strategies such as matched betting in order to profit. In theory, matched betting provides a guaranteed profit as a result of all potential outcomes being covered. This tactic relies on using free bets from bookmakers and then betting on exchanges as well.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Football Betting

Some of the most common mistakes to avoid in football betting are relevant for other sports.  For example, chasing losses is almost always a bad idea. It is also important to remain in control by ensuring a budget is maintained - never bet more than you can afford to lose.

On a similar note betting while emotional, or while under the influence of alcohol, is never a good idea. There is nothing wrong with taking a break from football betting when on a bad run.

Having unrealistic expectations over how much money can be won through football betting is another common mistake. The vast majority of accumulators lose. While they offer the chance to win big, the likelihood is that at least one result will let down this type of bet. It is often better to stick with singles and doubles that bettors have full confidence in.

Missing out on the best odds is also a mistake many bettors make. Even when a bookmaker has enhanced odds for a certain bet, this is not necessarily the best price that is available. It is usually worth taking a bit of time to shop around with various bookmakers in order to ensure the top value is taken from a wager. A small difference in odds might not seem like it makes a big impact. However, those who regularly bet on football will see it all mounts up in the long run.

Linked to the above is the need to have accounts with a range of different football betting sites. There is nothing wrong with doing this, in fact, it is recommended. While some bookmakers do try to reward the loyalty of their customers, usually the number of free bets that are offered across the industry means that it just makes a lot of sense to have many more options.

Lastly, placing too many wagers is something football fans should avoid when betting. It is usually more profitable to carry out deep research on a few well-chosen bets rather than spreading money around a large number of wagers. While it might seem as though more bets equals more chances to win, this is not the case if they are bad bets.