- \n
- Check out the latest Free Bets and Betting Offers<\/a> from the best bookies in the business and stack the odds in your favour.<\/li>\n
- Need a hand? Check out the latest Betting Strategy<\/a> for the Premier League and more.<\/li>\n
- New to football betting? Visit our Football Betting Guide<\/a> for all you need to know.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Betting Sign Up Offers<\/h2>\n
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\r\n\r\n![\"Unibet](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/unibet-125x50-1.png\")
\r\n\r\nUp to \u00a340 Bonus If Your First Bet Loses<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\n18+ begambleaware.org. New customers only. Min deposit \u00a310. Money back as bonus if first bet loses. Wagering requirements: all sportsbook 3x at min. odds of 1.40 (2\/5), casino 50x. Unless forfeited the sportsbook bonus must be wagered before using the casino bonus. Bonus expires 7 days after opt-in. Full T&C's apply. #ad<\/div>\r\nClaim Offer<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/p>\nFor more offers head on over to our main free bets page<\/a>. Please note that terms and conditions will apply to any sign up offer you claim and remember to always bet responsibly.<\/p>\n
Football Betting Sites<\/h2>\n
![\"Football](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Football-Betting-Concept.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhy such a strong focus on football? As the most popular and most bet on sport in the UK it shouldn’t be too difficult to understand why we weight our advice towards the beautiful game. After all, you have to give the people what they want!<\/p>\n
We’ve also found that football and racing punters tend to be a bit of a different kettle of fish in terms of what they’re looking for, so for this reason we cover racing on a separate horse racing site<\/a>. For other sports, such as tennis and golf, visit our friends at top 10 betting sites<\/a> who have a more holistic approach to their betting reviews.<\/p>\n
Finding a site for betting on football isn’t hard as almost all online bookies cover it* but that doesn’t mean that all sites are equal. Some have better odds whilst others offer more promotions. And if you’re into your more obscure foreign leagues you’ll find that the coverage will start to vary significantly once you venture away from the English leagues and higher profile cups.<\/p>\n
We know that for a lot of people it’s all about the free bets, so if that’s the case you can find a list of the best sign up offers in the section above with a full list here<\/a>.\u00a0You can also read a quick summary of the main sites we recommend on our bookmakers page<\/a>, and if you’re after more info on who’s behind a site you can find this in the links below:<\/p>\n
- \r\n\r\n
- 888Sport<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Betfair<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Betfred<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- BetVictor<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Betway<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Boylesports<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Coral<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Ladbrokes<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Paddy Power<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Totesport<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Unibet<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- William Hill<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\n
* There are a few racing only sites that pop up from time to time, but we don’t cover those on this site – for obvious reasons.<\/em><\/p>\n
How to Bet on Football<\/h2>\n
![\"Football](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/football-betting-mobile-300px.jpg\")
<\/a>Betting on the football can provide more drama than Joey Barton’s career. Making the most mundane mid-table clashes enthralling, a bet can mitigate those mid-week blues or turn a good weekend into a great weekend. Gone are the days of only being to gamble in high street betting shops. Online football betting is becoming increasingly prominent, along with numerous mobile sites and applications for those who fancy a wager on the move.<\/p>\nDue to the myriad ways to bet with various bookmakers, the world of football betting can seem confusing, limiting access to its euphoric highs and unfulfilling lows. However, this minor hurdle can be easily conquered, making the options available to punters exciting and constantly fresh and we\u2019ve got everything you need to know about online football betting right here.<\/p>\n
How to Join an Online Betting Site<\/h3>\n
To join a betting site simply click on any of the links on our site to whichever bookie<\/a> or free bet<\/a> you fancy. On most sites the option to sign up is situated in the top right or left hand corner of the page. Normally, this will be highlighted with a phrase such as \u201cRegister\u201d or \u201cSign up\u201d. In order to complete the registration process, a number of basic details must be provided to the bookmaker.<\/p>\n
![\"Sign](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/sign-up-650px.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nTo gamble in the UK customers must be at least 18 years old, therefore your date of birth will be required. Moreover, the bookmaker requires an address; this is to help prove who payments are coming from when depositing and going to when withdrawing. Requests for an email address must also be satisfied in order for the site to both contact customers and provide assistance if a username or password is ever forgotten. ID may well be requested at this point as, by law, bookies have to verify you are who you say you are. Next, a username and password must be created, something memorable. A security question is often also required in order to provide a safeguard if these details are forgotten. Terms and conditions must then be agreed to, along with the input of any promotional code in order to take advantage of a free bet or bonus.<\/p>\n
It is worth investigating bookmakers\u2019 introductory offers before signing up to any given site. An example of these may be a free matched bet, where your first stake is matched in the form of a free bet: for example, a \u00a310 stake on England to win would allow for another \u00a310 bet to be placed for free.<\/p>\n
After this stage customers will most likely be invited to enter card details and set a deposit limit. This will limit how much money users can deposit every 24 hours. This limit can be as low as \u00a35 or as high as \u00a3500, although a limit is not mandatory. Whilst putting in card details you may be invited to deposit funds but this can also be done at a later time via the deposit link, often situated in the top right or left corner of the homepage. Once this process is complete, you should be free to get started and bet on the beautiful game.<\/p>\n
How to Place a Bet<\/h3>\n
![\"Betslip\"](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/betslip-250px.jpg\")
<\/a>Once registered on a site the joys of betting on football are at a user\u2019s fingertips. To place a bet the user must simply click on their chosen bet (for example, Liverpool to win) and this will subsequently be added to their virtual \u201cbetting slip\u201d. This usually appears as a box on the side of the page permitting you to add further bets to your slip. The betting slip can also be accessed via a link at the top of most sites.<\/p>\nCustomers must then state how much they would like to stake on that particular bet; the returns on that stake will then be indicated immediately next to it. If happy with such a return, the customer can click on the \u201cplace bet\u201d tab on the betting slip and the bet should be placed successfully as long as the odds have not changed and the customer has enough available funds. If the betting odds have changed, the slip should update and the customer will have the choice to place the bet at the new odds. This is the most common process, although it may vary between online bookies and there may be an additional confirmation screen\/button before the bet is placed. Always check your bet is confirmed.<\/p>\n
There are many types of footballing bet on offer at the brilliant online and mobile bookies we work with. The main bets are summarised below:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Match Odds<\/strong><\/a> – This is where either team is backed to win or alternatively the draw is chosen. This is the most common form of football betting and probably the best form to get started with. Also known as 1\/x\/2 betting or 90 minute betting.<\/li>\n
- Tournament\/Outright Winner<\/strong> – Betting on which team will win a given tournament or event.<\/li>\n
- First\/Last\/Anytime Goalscorer<\/a><\/strong> – This allows customers to bet on whom they think will score first, last, or at any time in a match.<\/li>\n
- Correct Score<\/a><\/strong> – Bet placed on the specific full time or half time score in a match (e.g. 2-1) and always limited to 90 minutes plus stoppage time unless specified. Extra time not included.<\/li>\n
- Under\/Over Goals<\/a><\/strong> – Whether more or less than a given number of goals will be scored in a match (e.g. Under 2.5).<\/li>\n
- Both Teams to Score<\/a><\/strong> – This requires the customer to answer the question \u2018will both teams score?\u2019 and is sometimes called BTTS for short. A \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019 answer is then bet upon and increasingly this can be combined with the match result; for example, you may bet on both teams to score and Everton to win as one single bet.<\/li>\n
- Accumulator\/Multiples<\/a><\/strong> – Numerous bets that have combined odds if all individual bets are successful. This is usually done on multiple match results yet other forms can be used such as both teams to score. This can provide large odds and huge wins for a small stake.<\/li>\n
- Handicaps<\/strong><\/a> – Bet on one team to win with a goal disadvantage or advantage from the start of play. Handicaps can also include half goals, thus eliminating the draw.<\/li>\n
- Cards and Corners<\/strong> – The number of cards shown in a match or the number of corners can be wagered upon.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
After placing bets and enjoying the game the only thing left to do is sit back and revel in the excitement. Should you be lucky\/skillful enough to win you will, of course, have to withdraw winnings. This can be done via the \u201cMy Account\u201d link at the top of the page on most sites, with winnings being added to the card\/account used to deposit funds. Equally, winnings can be kept in the account for future bets or partially withdrawn by specifying an amount.<\/p>\n
A Brief History of the Beautiful Game<\/h2>\n
Playing football with a human head is not deemed socially acceptable in modern times thankfully, but that wasn’t always the case. Luckily, football has developed over the years, making the modern game truly great and accessible to millions without the need for someone to be decapitated \u2013 bonus. Football has evolved and provided a myriad of fantastic moments throughout the years. Yet whom can we thank for delivering such an all-consuming sport to the masses? How have we gone from such a violent game to a highly protected and more skillful modern day version? Most importantly, who had the novel idea of playing with a ball rather than a human head?<\/p>\n
Ancient Football
![\"Football](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/football-game-1846-wikicommons-publicdomain-650px.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h3>\nThere is evidence that games similar to football were played throughout the world as early as 5000B.C. Evidence has been discovered indicating that military forces in the Han Dynasty played a similar game to football, \u201cTsu Chu\u201d, which involved a small leather ball stuffed with fur with only the use of feet being permitted. A similar game can be seen in Japan, named \u201cKemari\u201d. This consisted of a larger ball than \u201cTsu Chu\u201d, yet an international between the Japanese and Chinese reportedly occurred around 50BC. This may have been the first ever instance of international football.<\/p>\n
Alternative games spread throughout the world. Italy had \u201cCalcio\u201d, allowing up to 24 players on each team, with the goal of getting the ball over the opposition\u2019s line via any means. In North America and Canada \u201cAquasaktuk\u201d was popular, whilst in South America a comparable sport was in practice with the pitch in the shape of an \u201cI\u201d.<\/p>\n
The origins of English football can be traced to the year 700, with peasants in the east of England decapitating a Danish prince and then kicking his severed head around. Laws were passed in 1331 by Edward III, banning such events – the spoilsport. Queen Elizabeth I passed further legislation punishing \u201cfootballers\u201d by way of prison with a maximum sentence of a week. This law was revoked though, so we won’t be seeing Raheem Sterling in Strangeways any time soon.<\/p>\n
The Creation of Modern Football<\/h3>\n
![\"Ebenezer](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Ebenezer-Morley-1913-250px.jpg\")
<\/a>Ebenezer Morley<\/p><\/div>\n
The Footballing Association (FA), the body that oversees and governs football in England, was created in 1863. Football as we know it can be seen to stem from this point. Ebenezer Morley has been dubbed \u201cthe father\u201d of football after creating Barnes FC in 1862. From this time there was a good deal of debate surrounding the rules of the game. Consequently, Morely wrote to Bell’s Life newspaper, suggesting that a set of rules should be created for football. A meeting was held in Holborn (London) with representatives from numerous clubs who all played with contrasting rules to establish a single universal rule book. This was deemed to be the creation and the first meeting of the FA. Football at this point was believed to involve both the use of hands and feet similar to Australian Rules Football.<\/p>\n
The role of the FA had little effect up until 1871 when \u201cThe Football Association Challenge Cup\u201d was created. Helping unify and bring a common competition to a wider group of clubs helped reinforce the new rules drafted by the FA. However, this was limited by only 15 of the FA’s 50 member clubs joining the competition in its first year. In order to spread the positive effects of a unified competition, County and District associations were created in order to create greater organisation within local areas. Resultantly, greater gains were seen on a national level, making the FA a truly legitimate national body.<\/p>\n
Such interest in the FA Cup spiraled upwards with demand, especially in the north of England where many saw nothing wrong in paying players to perform. Thus, Professionalism was formally endorsed by the FA in 1885. In order to maintain professionalism, teams had to play on a more regular basis and with greater organisation. William McGregor (a member of the Aston Villa Committee at the time) wrote to numerous clubs to organise a league format in order to enable this, with the league involving 12 clubs being set up in 1888. This has developed over the years and is ultimately the origin of the Premier League today.<\/p>\n
European Football<\/h3>\n
With the increasing development of the beautiful game in England, popularity was also flourishing throughout the rest of the world. The FA was originally against any European footballing federation and dismissed claims from the Netherlands FA in 1902 and later calls from the French in 1903 for the need of such an organisation. Consequently, England were not one of the founding members of F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), created in Paris in 1904. However, by 1906 the FA had caved in and were a fully-fledged member, a move we can be thankful for today with FIFA in charge of tournaments such as the World Cup.<\/p>\n
![\"Juventus](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/61\u201362-European-Cup-Juventus-Real-Madrid-650px.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nEuropean club competition was first seen in 1954 with the original European Cup, now the Champions League. By 1954 the European footballing associations were represented by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations). When French journalists covered the South American Cup of Champions, enthusiasm emerged for a European alternative. Gabriel Hanot, editor of French newspaper \u201cL’Equipe\u201d began forming proposals of such a tournament for UEFA. Efforts were bolstered by Wolverhampton Wanderers winning numerous international friendlies and thus being deemed \u201cChampions of the World\u201d by the English media. Hanot stated that Wolverhampton Wanderers must prove themselves against Europe’s elite before claiming such a title. UEFA approved Hanot’s application with Real Madrid going on to dominate the European Cup in the following five seasons. Real Madrid remain the most successful European team as of 2019 with 13 trophies in the cabinet.<\/p>\n
![\"Real](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/real-madrid-trophy-cabinet-flickr-jeremy-aa-knight-650px.jpg\")
<\/a> - Tournament\/Outright Winner<\/strong> – Betting on which team will win a given tournament or event.<\/li>\n
- Betfair<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n
- Need a hand? Check out the latest Betting Strategy<\/a> for the Premier League and more.<\/li>\n
![\"Bobby](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/bobby-moore-world-cup-1966-flickr-national-science-and-media-museum-650px.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"VAR](\"https:\/\/www.bestonlinebettingsites.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/football-var-decision-bigstock-robert-hoetink-650px.jpg\")
<\/a>