How our bookmaker reviews work
Every one of our bookmaker reviews starts with the Gambling Commission public register. We look up the licensed company, its account number and any regulatory action listed against it, because the brand on the advert is often not the business that holds the licence. That one step catches more mistakes than any other check we run.
Next comes the price. For the bookmakers carried by our commercial odds feed, we record match odds on English and Scottish football every day and work out the margin built into them. That figure counts for 30% of the rating. bet365 is not in the feed, so price is not part of its score.
The rest of a review covers what a punter meets after signing up: payment methods and withdrawal times, racing concessions such as best odds guaranteed, safer-gambling tools, the welcome offer and its terms, and the app. Each fact carries a source and a date, and anything we could not tie to a source stays out of the review.
Two sources we treat with care are affiliate review sites and the operators’ own banners. Many review sites copy each other, and a stale figure can travel for months. When two sources disagree on a term, such as a start time, we name both sources in the review or leave the detail out.
What an insider file contains
Each review opens with a short box we call the insider file. It names the licensed company, links to its entry on the register, shows the parent group and gives the rating and the brand’s place in our margin table. The current welcome offer sits underneath with its short terms and the date it was checked.
The licence detail is more revealing than it sounds. Sky Bet’s betting licence moved from Bonne Terre Ltd in Leeds to SBG Sports Ltd in Malta in October 2025. The sports licence behind Paddy Power and Betfair belongs to PPB Counterparty Services, a separate account from the group’s casino company. Few punters ever see either detail.
Regulatory history goes in the file too. Where the register lists a settlement or penalty, the review gives the date, the amount and what went wrong. The bet365 file, for example, records an April 2024 settlement over anti-money laundering and customer-interaction failings. A past action does not rule a bookmaker out, but you deserve to know about it.
The UK ratings in full
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1.
8.4/10Rated on 5 of 7 criteria
Its prices are not in the odds feed we record, so price is not part of this score.
Bet £10 Get £30 In Free Bets
New UK customers only, 18+. Place a £10 qualifying bet at odds of 1/5 or bigger within 30 days to get £30 in Bet Credits. Bet Credits expire after 7 days and the stake is not returned. Some deposit methods do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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2.
8.4/107.10% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Bet £5, Get £30 in Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Place a £5 bet at evens or bigger to get 3 x £10 free bets. E-wallet deposits do not qualify. Free bet stakes are not returned and the free bets expire after 30 days. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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3.
8.4/1010.81% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets
New UK customers only, 18+, excluding Northern Ireland. Deposit and bet £10 at evens or bigger within 30 days to get £30 in free bets, valid 7 days. PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and Paysafe deposits do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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4.
8.4/106.33% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Bet £20, Get £40 in Free Bets
New GB customers only, 18+. Opt in, deposit £20+ by debit card or instant bank transfer and place a £20+ sports bet at odds of evens (2.0) or bigger, settled within 7 days of registering. Get 3 x £10 Bet Builder and 1 x £10 acca free bets (4+ selections each), valid 7 days, not for racing. Stake not returned. Cashed-out and boosted bets do not count. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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5.
8.4/107.99% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10+ and place a £10+ cash bet on any sport (excl. virtuals) at odds of 1/2 or bigger, settled within 14 days of registering. Accept 2 x £10 sportsbook free bets and 2 x £5 Bet Builder free bets within 7 days; valid 7 days once accepted. Stake not returned. Prepaid, virtual and unidentified debit cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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6.
8.3/105.92% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Get £30 In Free Bets When You Bet £5
New customers only, 18+. Bet £5 or more at odds of 1/2 or bigger within 14 days of registering to get 6 x £5 free bets, including one football and one horse racing bet builder. Valid 7 days, stake not returned. PayPal, Apple Pay, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafe and prepaid cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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7.
8.3/109.54% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10+ and place a £10+ cash bet on any sport (excl. virtuals) at odds of 1/2 or bigger, settled within 14 days of registering. Accept 2 x £10 sportsbook free bets and 2 x £5 Bet Builder free bets within 7 days; valid 7 days once accepted. Stake not returned. Prepaid, virtual and unidentified debit cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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8.
8.2/108.87% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
New UK customers only, 18+. Place a £10 single at odds of 1/2 or bigger from cash funds to get £30 in free bets, valid for 7 days. Stake not returned. PayPal, Skrill, Neteller and some other deposit methods do not qualify. Not available in the app. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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9.
8.0/107.35% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
£40 in Free Bets When You Bet £5 + Ghost Leg Token
New customers only, 18+. Place a £5 bet at odds of 1/1 or bigger within 30 days of registering to get 4 x £10 free bets plus a Ghost Leg token. Free bets expire after 30 days and their stakes are not returned. Skrill and Neteller deposits do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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10.
7.9/106.59% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Bet £5 Get £30 In Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Bet £5 or more at odds of 1/2 or bigger within 14 days of registering to get 6 x £5 free bets: four for any sportsbook market, one football Bet Builder and one horse racing Bet Builder. Valid 7 days, stake not returned. PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, Paysafe and prepaid cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 22 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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11.
7.9/108.88% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Bet £10, Get £50 in Free Bets
New UK customers only, 18+. Deposit by debit card and place a first sports bet of £10 or more at evens or bigger, settled within 7 days, to get £30 in sports free bets and £20 in Bet Builder free bets, valid 7 days. E-wallets and prepaid cards do not qualify. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 20 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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12.
7.7/109.28% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Bet £10, Get £30 in Free Bets
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10 with promo code 30FXS and place a £10 bet at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or bigger to get 3 x £10 free bets: one for football, one for horse racing and one for in-play. Free bets valid 7 days, one stake each, stake not returned. Paysafecard, Skrill, Neteller and MuchBetter deposits do not qualify; cashed-out bets excluded. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
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13.
7.4/109.15% median football margin
From our first 13 days of odds; price enters the score after 21 days.
Double Your Odds on Your First £10 Bet
New customers only, 18+. Deposit £10 and place a first bet of £10 on any sport (evens or bigger) to get a 100% odds boost token: the profit is doubled and extra winnings are paid in cash. Max stake £10 (£5 each way), fractional odds only. Use within 60 days of registering. Paysafecard deposits do not qualify; not available to Republic of Ireland residents. Full T&Cs apply. Offer checked 21 October 2026. Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+
The ratings above combine seven criteria: price on football 30%, racing and extras 15%, payments and withdrawals 15%, and safer-gambling tools, welcome offer, market coverage and app scores at 10% each. Where a criterion cannot be scored, its weight is shared out in proportion. The full workings are on our how we rate page.
A licence is not a score. Every listed bookmaker already meets the licence conditions on identity checks, complaints and the core safer-gambling tools, so the ratings compare legal options only. If a brand loses its UK licence, it leaves the table at the next refresh, however well it scored on everything else.
Read the table with the sport you bet on in mind. A brand near the top overall may still be a poor choice for a racing punter who needs best odds guaranteed, or for someone who bets mainly through Android. Our football betting sites and horse racing betting sites pages sort the same bookmakers for each sport.
What our bookmaker reviews do not do
We do not give tips, predictions or betting systems, and none of our bookmaker reviews promises that one bookmaker will make you a winner. Our price data covers football only, so no review claims better racing, darts or snooker odds for any brand. Racing is judged on concessions and features that can be checked in the terms.
We also do not reward a bookmaker for its marketing budget. A big welcome offer counts for 10% of the score at most, and only after the terms are read: free bet stakes are not returned, offers expire and minimum odds apply. A generous headline with harsh terms scores lower than a modest offer with fair ones.
When something goes wrong with a bookmaker
Complaints follow a set route. You complain to the bookmaker first, and if the issue is not resolved within eight weeks you can take it to the firm’s alternative dispute resolution provider. ADR is free to the customer, and the operator’s terms cannot take away your right to go to court. IBAS is the best-known provider for betting disputes.
Since 6 April 2026, ADR providers for gambling have been accredited by the Secretary of State under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, no longer by the Gambling Commission. The Commission does not settle individual complaints. It sets and enforces the licence conditions, which is why its register is where every one of our reviews begins.
Every review we publish
The list below links all our bookmaker reviews, in alphabetical order by headline. Exchanges sit alongside fixed-odds bookmakers where a brand runs both, as Betfair does. If you are choosing your first account, start with the two or three highest-rated brands in the table and open their reviews side by side.
- 01888sport review: sign up offer and free bets888sport review: the sign up offer and its three free bets, the Evoke ownership and pending takeover, racing best odds guaranteed, payouts and the fines record.
- 02bet365 review: the sign up offer and free betsOur bet365 review explains the sign up offer and what its free bets really pay, plus Visa Direct payouts, racing extras, the app and the 2024 UKGC settlement.
- 03Betano review: football free bets and the offerBetano review: the sign up offer and its football free bets, the BVGroup platform behind the UK site, early payout, payments without PayPal and the apps.
- 04Betfair Exchange review: commission and feesBetfair Exchange review: the 5% Market Base Rate, the 2%, 5% and 8% reward packages, the Expert Fee, liquidity, the 90-minute payout and how payouts work.
- 05Betfair review: sign up offer and Acca EdgeBetfair review of the Sportsbook: the sign up offer and free bets, Acca Edge cash refunds, football margins, e-wallet payouts and the 2025 Commission case.
- 06Betfred review: sign up offer and racing extrasOur Betfred review covers the sign up offer and free bets, best odds guaranteed on racing, shop cash, the end of e-wallets and two Gambling Commission cases.
- 07BetVictor review: free bets and racing boostsBetVictor review: how the sign up offer and free bets work, best odds guaranteed with racing boosts, payouts without PayPal, the apps and who holds the licence.
- 08Betway review: acca free bets and PayPal payoutsBetway review: the bet £10 sign up offer and its acca and bet builder free bets, fast PayPal payouts, the apps, WhatsApp support and Betway's regulatory record.
- 09BoyleSports review: sign up offer and accasOur BoyleSports review explains the sign up offer and free bets, acca extras, racing concessions, payout times and why the app scores far below its rivals.
- 10Casumo review: the acca sign up offerCasumo review of the UK sportsbook: the first-acca sign up offer and its free bets, the Play Okay limits, payouts, the new licensee and who it suits.
- 11Coral review: racing first, and the sign up offerCoral review: the sign up offer and its free bets, including the racing bet builder credit, plus best odds guaranteed, extra places, Racing Club and payouts.
- 12Grosvenor Sport review: offer and racing BOGGrosvenor Sport review: the Double Your Odds sign up offer paid in cash, best odds guaranteed and extra places on racing, the Kambi platform and Rank licence.
- 13Ladbrokes review: sign up offer and 2UPLadbrokes review: what the sign up offer pays in free bets, including the bet builder credits, plus 2UP, acca insurance, Fast Funds payouts and deposit limits.
- 14LeoVegas review: sportsbook offer and boostsLeoVegas review of the UK sportsbook: the sign up offer and Bet Builder free bets, Unlimited Acca Boost, MGM ownership, payouts and a strong safer-gambling kit.
- 15LiveScore Bet review: football extras and free betsLiveScore Bet review: the sign up offer and its four free bets, 1UP and 2UP early payouts, VAR Payout, best odds guaranteed rules, payouts and the licence.
- 16Matchbook review: commission and Matchbook ZeroMatchbook review: the 2% commission on net winnings explained, Matchbook Zero markets and their caps, the fixed-odds Bet Builder, payouts and safer gambling.
- 17Midnite review: the sign up offer and the appMidnite review: the sign up offer and weekly free bets, esports and football markets, fast app payouts, no best odds guaranteed, and who owns the licence.
- 18Paddy Power review: free bets and specialsPaddy Power review: the sign up offer and its free bets explained, money back specials, acca insurance, e-wallet payouts and the December 2025 settlement.
- 19Sky Bet review: free bets and racing extrasSky Bet review: what the sign up offer and its free bets really give you, the October 2025 move to SBG Sports, Fast Funds payouts, AccaFreeze and the app.
- 20Smarkets review: commission tiers and the appSmarkets review: the 2% Standard commission, the Pro and Select tiers, the 60-day commission-free start, Trade Out, the app, payout times and deposit limits.
- 21Unibet review: Bet Builder free bets and Unibet TVUnibet review: the £20 sign up offer and its Bet Builder free bets, Unibet TV streaming, best odds guaranteed, payouts and two recent Gambling Commission fines.
- 22Virgin Bet review: racing refunds and free betsVirgin Bet review: the sign up offer and how to accept its free bets, money back on selected races, extra places, BOG rules, payouts, and who owns the brand.
- 23William Hill review: sign up offer and ownersWilliam Hill review: why the sign up offer cannot be claimed in the app, how its free bets pay, the acca boost, fast payouts and the Bally's Intralot takeover.
Frequently asked questions
How do you rate bookmakers?
Each bookmaker is scored on seven criteria: price on football, racing and extras, payments, safer-gambling tools, welcome offer, market coverage and app ratings. Price carries 30% of the score and comes from odds we record ourselves.
What is the insider file in a review?
It is the box at the top of each review. It shows the licensed company behind the brand, its Gambling Commission account and register link, the rating, the margin rank and the current welcome offer.
Are all the bookmakers you review licensed in the UK?
Yes. A current UK Gambling Commission licence is a condition for being listed. A brand without one does not appear in our tables at all.
Why is bet365 rated without a price score?
bet365 is not in the commercial odds feed we record, so its football margin cannot be measured. Its rating is built from the remaining criteria, with the weights shared out in proportion.
Can a bookmaker pay to rank higher?
No. The order comes from the scores, and the scores come from data and checked facts. Nothing in the ranking is placed by hand.
How often are the reviews updated?
The ratings are refreshed weekly from the latest margin data. Offers and app ratings carry the date they were last checked.
Do your reviews include fines from the Gambling Commission?
Yes. Where the register lists a regulatory action against the licensed company, the review records it with the date, the amount and a summary of the failings.
How do I complain about a bookmaker?
Complain to the bookmaker first. If it is not resolved within eight weeks, you can take it to the bookmaker's alternative dispute resolution provider, such as IBAS, free of charge.