Bettors must fund their accounts to claim lucrative welcome offers at the best betting apps and participate in exciting sports bets.
Players can choose between several high-quality banking options at the best betting apps.
Popular methods include Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Skrill.
And these same two individuals’ experiences with another bookmaker may be totally flipped around. As such, we will advise on online bookmakers as even-handedly as possible. Naturally, our direct experience with a firm that shut us down years ago will be a little less. And we will always call for the curtailing of current practices, which we believe to be unsustainable for a healthy betting industry. But our recommendations will run on the assumption that you will be able to get on with all firms, at least in the short to medium term.
When it comes to the best online bookmakers for horse racing, the names that established themselves in the early days of online betting – the giants now – are likely to stay there for the foreseeable future. By all means experiment with newer firms, as RP Recommends writers do and on which we will report back, but the best offers and greatest security will come from firms that built themselves up during the industry’s boom years. Which bookmakers you choose will come down partly to personal taste and user preference, but the advice in these quarters is that the best online bookmakers are the ones offering the best price about the horse you fancy. The advice, therefore, is to give yourself as extensive a choice as is possible. In case it was not clear by now, most savvy punters will have several accounts.
The other advantage with having accounts with major firms is that bets with many of them can be placed directly through the Racing Post website and mobile app. The number of online bookmakers who offer betting on horse racing is extensive and which one is the best depends on what you are looking to get from your betting and what matters more to you individually. Reliability and security have to be a priority for all punters, so established names such as bet365, Sky Bet and Paddy Power fit the mould here, as well as those traditional bookmakers that grew up on the high street, such as household names Coral, Ladbrokes and William Hill. It then becomes a choice of what sort of racing betting you are looking to get involved in. For instance, those looking at multiples such as Lucky 15 bets should look at Betfred, Sky Bet are great for each-way punters due to the number of extra places they tend to pay out on, especially at big meetings, while Unibet tend to offer excellent antepost opportunities. After trying and testing each, we felt that the leading bet betting app banking options offered fast transaction speeds and simple processes.
| App Name | Avg. Odds Margin (Lower is Better) | Key Sports Covered | User Rating (App Store) |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetFair Exchange | 1.8% | Football, Tennis, Horse Racing | 4.5 |
| Pinnacle | 2.1% | Football, Basketball, eSports | 4.2 |
| Bet365 | 3.2% | Football, Cricket, Tennis | 4.6 |
| William Hill | 3.5% | Football, Horse Racing, Golf | 4.1 |
We recommend always reading your chosen payment methods’ T&Cs to ensure you fulfil all requirements.
Some if not most of this is absolutely necessary to protect vulnerable individuals and minimise the criminal proceeds that pass through betting accounts. Other aspects, like those associated with affordability checks, are much more contentious and have been covered extensively by the Racing Post. Bettors will want to know that this information is safe with the bookmakers with whom they share this information. Security is a hugely important part of the online betting business model and is taken incredibly seriously. The most common user complaint among punters with online bookmakers these days is the practice of restricting accounts.
This is when an online bookmaker will restrict an account’s stakes to pitiable amounts, literally pennies in many cases, or close the account simply because they do not deem your business to be sufficiently profitable. You do not even have to be a winner. Showing sharp tendencies, such as consistently beating SP or boosting standout odds, can often be enough. Anyone who has been betting with reasonable skill, for any amount of time, at anything above the most modest stakes will likely have encountered restrictions. We all have on the RP Recommends team.
We would love to see an end, or at least a massive reduction, to the practice of restricting business based solely on some sense of profitability, which is now almost certainly done via algorithm. The nearest comparable market, that of loyalty schemes and credit card bonuses, take a much more even-handed approach that hones in on clear abuse, rather than firing at will on the clued-up. However, when it comes to picking the best online bookmakers we have put these bugbears to one side. This is largely because restrictions, while far too draconian for our liking overall, are imposed so inconsistently. One of us might have been shut down by one firm in a matter of weeks, while another might have held a winning account with that same bookmaker for 15 years. Last but certainly not least, when selecting the best UK betting apps for our valued readers to try, our team ensures that all of the best brands offer adequate customer support service.
Several aspects contribute to great app usability, including the download process, software developers behind the brand, and the range of betting markets. Fortunately, all the top betting apps provide excellent functionality and an exemplary user experience. The signup process for the top betting apps was seamless, allowing access to the brand’s superb features within minutes. Additionally, thanks to the leading software developers behind each app, all betting sites are adapted to smaller screens and offer fast loading speeds while being easy to use and navigate. There is nothing better than being potentially rewarded while partaking in a leading sports betting app.
Both new and existing customers can look forward to lucrative bonuses at the best betting apps recommended in this article. Key bonus types within sports betting include welcome offers, match deposit bonuses and enhanced odds. The most important criteria to our experts when selecting the best UK betting apps is the safety and security measures each brand provides. Without this guarantee, players’ data may be at risk, and users may feel reluctant to share required information. Our readers can rest assured that all of our recommended best betting apps above have received valid licensing and certification from reliable authorities, proving they have met the requirements to be valid apps. Whether you are a new or existing bettor, you will undoubtedly encounter a site issue at some point in your betting career.
So the best approach is to either pick which one is best for bet bonus bet app download apk you, or, if you are to adopt a variety of approaches, open more than one account and take advantage of any sign-up offers too. The vast majority of big online bookmakers allow punters to watch live horse racing, although different conditions exist with different companies. Just having an account is enough to watch with Tote, while bet365, Paddy Power and Sky Bet punters can watch so long as they have a funded account or have placed a bet within the previous 24 hours. Other firms such as William Hill, Coral, Ladbrokes and Betfred allow punters to watch the race, so long as they have had a bet on the event, although a minimum bet of £1 is enough to activate the service. None of the major bookmakers that are governed by the UK Gambling Commission are allowed to take bets in cryptocurrency.
This is an anti-money laundering measure and would take a change in the law for the situation to change. With the online gambling industry constantly evolving and producing new technological advancements, it is no surprise that most UK bettors prefer the convenience and accessibility of completing their sports bets on the go via their mobile devices. To keep up with this demand, the best online sports betting sites are fully mobile-compatible, so players can enjoy redeeming offers and completing wagers anytime, anywhere. Our sports betting experts at City AM have carefully analysed and hand-picked the best betting apps for readers to download onto their iOS and Android devices. Keep reading to learn more about the best sports betting applications and how to create your account.
City AM’s journalism is supported by our readers. If you click links to other sites on this page, we will earn a commission. The sports betting industry is highly saturated in the UK, so finding the right brand for you can be challenging. Our experts have carefully curated the above list of betting apps, and detailed below are the criteria we use to choose these leading apps. Our team considers the usability of a betting app before adding a betting brand to our top list. Leading betting brands will have top-notch customer services and several well-functioning contact methods, including 24/7 live chat, email, and telephone.
The best betting app customer support services offer fast response times from friendly team members. After carefully handpicking the best UK betting apps within the industry, our experts have provided an in-depth review of our personal favourites that our readers should try. Find out more about our best betting app top picks below.
We look for additional features, such as SSL encryption technology, which protects players’ personal and financial data, and responsible gambling features to ensure bettors practise safe sports betting. The best UK betting apps must have various sports betting markets to satisfy players’ preferences and needs. Whether players enjoy popular sports like football and horse racing or more niche markets like greyhound racing and eSports, the best betting apps cover all aspects. The leading betting markets with the best apps also have superb betting opportunities. If sports are not your thing, fret not, as the leading betting apps offer entertainment and politics betting markets, including I’m a Celebrity betting and Strictly Come Dancing betting. Bettors looking for their next high-quality sports betting app should certainly give Betfred a go.
| App | Live Streaming | Cash Out Feature | Odds Update Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| bet365 | Yes (extensive) | Yes (Full/Partial) | <2 seconds |
| Unibet | Limited | Yes | 3-5 seconds |
| 888sport | Yes (selected events) | Yes | <3 seconds |
| PointsBet | No | Yes | ~5 seconds |