New betting sites are very popular among UK punters and there is one key reason for this: welcome offers. Since experienced punters usually have accounts on the prominent betting sites already, new bookies launching is their only way of claiming more offers. Albeit not always the case, many of these new sites that launch actually have very good sign-up deals.
This will always be the biggest selling point of new betting sites, in my opinion, but another strong reason is of course that the big bookies occasionally restrict accounts. I have personally experienced this with certain promotions, even if it's rare, and in that case it can be nice to join a new betting site to get away from the big-corporation nonsense.
On the other hand, new betting sites are not without their faults, especially not today as many brands launch under white-label agreements. This essentially means that another company provides the gambling products on the site, and this tends to increase anonymity while decreasing responsibility for the companies that actually own the brands.
As a result of this, new betting sites often lack adequate customer support - many of them don't even have live chatting - as well as payment methods. Promotions for existing customers also tend to take a hit, as new betting sites primarily make their living from the welcome offer and thus don't need to focus on the promotions as much as big brands.
In the UK, there are a plethora of new betting sites and it can thus be very difficult to determine which are worth signing up for. Below, we have put together a few key factors that you always should turn to when determining whether to join a new betting site or not.
First things first, we always look a the security of a new betting site. This is the most important factor, without a doubt, as punters should only join betting sites with an active UKGC license. We strongly advise against joining sites that are unregulated in the UK as there are absolutely zero safety guarantees.
The security is much more than just the licence, though, as reviews of previous customers are also a good way to determine a bookie's quality. This can be done easily by searching the name of the brand and Trustpilot. Having said that, even some of the best betting sites have low Trustpilot scores, so take the reviews with a pinch of salt.
Once we have established the security of a new betting site, the second most important thing is the welcome bonus/offer. As mentioned in the 'Pros and Cons' section, sign-up deals are the number one reason why punters join new betting sites in the first place. Indeed, the overall quality of the bookie matters little if the welcome offer is a good one.
For example, as a punter you could easily join a new betting site, claim a welcome offer, use the bonus and then move on. Of course, some will stay and continue to bet on the new betting site, but this also highlights why the welcome offers are so important. Without them, it is very difficult to compete.
Unfortunately, while live chat has become standard for most betting sites, this is not really the case among new betting sites. Before you decide to join, or at least before you decide to bet regularly on the site, it is definitely worth checking out the customer support options. Some of the new betting sites only offer email support, which is not ideal.
In case there are issues with depositing, or withdrawing for that matter, a responsive customer support team makes a huge difference for punters. We have experienced this ourselves when testing bookies, and if there is a live chat option, issues can normally be solved within a matter of minutes instead of days.
'Additional features' sounds very vague, but with this term we are referring to promotions, bet builder tools, mobile betting apps and so on. Essentially, anything that makes a bookie stand out from what we would consider to be the 'baseline'. Apps and bet builders have become more or less standard these days, to be fair, but the quality of promotions (if any) varies a lot.
We must remember that betting sites are by nature innovative, and thus it's very important to use a bookie that can keep up with the times. New betting sites already have somewhat of an advantage since they can build from scratch, unless it's a white-label site, but we still see far too many new betting sites that only offer the basics (and thus don't add any value).
Finally, we would like to point out that we have reviewed a plethora of betting sites - including many new ones - over the years. We know what to look for, in other words, and our list of the best new betting sites at the top of this page has taken all of these factors into consideration. We have done the work for you so you don't have to waste time.
Below, we have listed the best new betting sites based on category, such as which is the best for football betting and which has the best welcome offer.
💻 Operator | 🥇 Best New Bookie Category | 👉 Visit Site |
---|---|---|
| ⚽ Best Football Betting | Join Bookie |
| 🏇 Best Horse Racing Betting | Join Bookie |
| 💰 Best Welcome Offer | Join Bookie |
| 🔢 Best Odds | Join Bookie |
| 📱 Best Betting App | Join Bookie |
There is no doubt that old, reputable bookmakers such as Ladbrokes and Coral offer more assurance as far as security, betting odds, and range of sports as well as markets go. After all, they have got to be doing something right to last all those years and amass hundreds of thousands of users.
However, this also means that they are more rigid to change. Indeed, whatever they have been doing works just fine! Yet, you get a lot of energy, innovation, and novel ideas with new betting sites. New bookmakers often have to provide exciting services, offers, value odds, and bets, among other things that the old dogs have not dominated already.
For instance, The Pools has dedicated everything to pool betting, Spreadex offers spread betting and SBK has an amazing mobile app experience.
White-label solutions enable bookies to launch fast and easily because they only focus on marketing. In the meantime, the solutions provider deals with the licensing, website, and sportsbook. FSB Technology, SB Tech, Playbook Gaming and Betconstruct are reputable providers.
There is a caveat when dealing with bookies from white-label solutions: they often result in websites and services that resemble each other. This is especially disastrous when the same problem keeps recurring among bookies, as with betting sites from Progress Play Limited.
Betting sites that partner with Progress Play - like 2Kbet, Betwin, BetStorm, and BetDukes - have consistently garnered negative reviews. One of the issues that keep coming up, for example, is that they charge customers for deposits and withdrawals. You might want to avoid Progress Play's sportsbooks to be on the safe side.
Below, we have listed our favourite welcome offers that can be found on new betting sites in the UK. These sites are also completely legit, so it's definitely worth signing up even if just to claim the offer.
Operator | Welcome offer | Bonus code | See Offer | |
---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome offer Bet £10 Get £40 in Free Bets | No code required | See Offer | New customers only. 7 days to place qualifying bet of £10 at 1/1 (2.0) to receive 4 x £10 Free Bets. 7 day expiry. Exclusions apply. Stake not returned. T&Cs apply. 18+ GambleAware.org. |
| Welcome offer Bet £10 Get £40 in Free Bets | No code required | See Offer | New UK customers only. Min £10 first deposit using Debit Card or Bank Transfer. Place a bet of £10 at min odds of 2.0 and get a £10 Football Bet Builder token upon settlement. A £10 Multiple token, a £5 Horse Racing Multiple token and a £5 Football Bet Builder token will be credited after 24 hours. A further £10 Free Bet token will be credited 48 hours after the qualifying bet has been settled. Full T&Cs apply.18+. GambleAware.org. |
| Welcome offer Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets | No code required | See Offer | New members only. £10+ bet on sportsbook (ex. virtuals) at 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accept in 7 days, valid 7 days on sportsbook only. 2x£5 Free Bets for Bet Builder only. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+ |
| Welcome offer Bet £10 Get £30 in Football Bets | No code required | See Offer | 18+ New customers only. Opt in & bet £10+ via mobile on any football market at 2.00+ odds within 7 days. No Cash out. Get 6x £5 Free Bets on selected markets. Free bets expire in 7 days. Card payments & Apple Pay only. T&Cs apply, see below. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly |
| Welcome offer Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets | BETGETSPORTS | See Offer | 18+ New UK customers. Bet £10 on accas with 4+ legs, min odds 3/1 (4.0). Get 4x £5 Free Bets and 50 Free Spins, valid for 7 days on selected bets and games only. T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org |
Isak is an experienced content writer with a background in sports journalism. Having focused mainly on football in the past, he is certainly familiar with the betting industry and what makes a good operator. On BettingGuide UK, Isak writes reviews and other content while making sure that the site is up to date.