Fancy your chances of beating the bookie betting on rugby? We’ve set up a scrum of the top rugby betting sites for you. All you have to do is compare, register and bet. Ready to try your luck?
Compare.bet is dedicated to helping consumers in the UK and beyond find their perfect gambling site. Our expert team works tirelessly to ensure we bring you the best reviews, research, data and guides to support your choice of provider. To keep our service free, we accept commission payments from some gambling operators that appear on this site.
New Customer Offer Paypal & some deposit & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. No cash-out, restrictions & T&Cs apply. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customers Offer Min. deposit £15; Bonus amount 50% of deposit up to £50; Wager deposit and bonus 8x within 60 days; 4/5 Min. single odds or 2/5 min. acca selection odds; Max. stake contribution equal to the initial bonus; Certain bet types and payment methods excluded 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer 100% up to £100. £10 minimum deposit. New customers only – £10 min deposit - The bonus will be applied once the full deposit amount has been wagered at least once with cumulative odds of 1.5 or greater. Wagering must be cleared within 90 days. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer 100% up to £100. £10 minimum deposit with credit/debit card only. Maximum bonus is £100. 10x wagering.. Winnings accumulated from ‘real money’ bets may be withdrawn at any time. Bonus is valid for sports betting only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer Paypal and certain deposit types and bet types excluded. Min £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4 x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days on sports, stake not returned, restrictions apply. T&Cs apply, 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer Bet £10, get £10. £10 minimum deposit. Max £10 free bet is only valid for 14 days. Bet must be placed at odds of 1/1 or greater and be settled within 14 days of placement. System bets no eligible 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer Double the odds. Bet must be placed using real money in combination with the Odds Boost Token. Offer applies to Sport bets only. £10 Max stake. Each way bets are a maximum of £5 each way (£10 total stake). Extra winnings are paid in cash. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer Bet £10, get £10 free bet. £10 minimum stake. Minimum odds 1.5, stake not returned and wagering of 10x. Free bet is valid for 7 days. Maximum winnings of £20. Skrill deposits are excluded 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer Deposit & place first sports bet at a minimum of £10 in one bet transaction at evens (2.0) +. £30 paid in free bets within 10 hours of bet settlement, expires 7-days after issue. Doesn’t apply to customers who place their first bet on the Virtual Grand National. E-Wallet & Prepaid Card restrictions apply. First bet settled within 30 days. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer New customers only. max £10 free bet. min £20 bet. Qualifying bet must be made within 30 days. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer 18+ New Customers only. Deposit, opt in and place a £5 qualifying bet at odds of 2.00 or greater within 7 days of opening a new account; excludes cashed out bets. Receive 2x £10 Free Sports Bets, valid on set events only at odds 2.00 or greater, expires in 7 days. Plus a £10 Game Show Bonus, selected games, wager 40x to withdraw a max of £250. PayPal and Card Payments only. Geographical Restrictions and T&Cs Apply. Please Gamble Responsibly. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer Bet £20, get £10. £10 minimum deposit and wagering. Void/cancelled or cashed out bets don't count towards wagering to activate the free bet. Must be used within 14 days . Neteller, Paysafe or Skill deposits not eligible. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer Place the 5 specified bets to earn Free Bets. Each leg must have minimum odds of 1.8 (4/5). Applies to bets on sport only. Valid once per customer. Free Bet valid for 7 days. Free Bet max winnings is 20x Free Bet stake. Offer valid for 30 days after registration 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
New Customer Offer 3 x £10 risk free bets. Max £10 refund per bet, £30 overall. Min odds 1.5 (1/2). Only Cards and ApplePay deposits only. 100 Free Spins can be used on Paddy Power Gold Megaways only and are available to claim after you have deposited by an eligible method. Valued at £0.10 each and expire after 72 hours. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
Rugby is one of the world’s toughest contact sports, but it’s not all about brute strength and ruthless aggression. The free-flowing, high-scoring nature of rugby makes it great for betting, and with so many markets to choose from, punters are spoiled for choice. So, if you don’t know your ruck from your maul, or your scrum from your line-out, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Let us introduce you to the basics of rugby betting and the best bookies to use for your rugby bets.
Global Coverage
Rugby Around the World
Rugby is a popular game in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This provides bettors with action all year round from domestic leagues such as England’s Gallagher Premiership and the National Rugby Championship in Australia. On top of that, there are numerous club tournaments like the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, plus internationals including the Six Nations and Super Rugby from down under. When selecting your personal top rugby betting site, you want to assess the depth of global coverage to ensure that it caters to your wishes. As you will discover, some sites go that extra mile, whereas others prefer to keep things more local and in-tune with their present customer base. Here’s a quick list of the main club and international leagues and tournaments you’ll find at most top betting sites:
Six Nations
Gallagher Premiership
Guinness PRO 14
Heineken Champions Cup
European Rugby Challenge Cup
Mitre 10
Super Rugby
Currie Cup
Rugby Championship
Tyrrells Premier 15s
Market Depth
Betting Markets
Punters are served up a glut of markets to feast on at the top rugby betting sites. When armed with a good knowledge of the game, this is where the smart bettors can sniff out the best value bets on offer. Let’s take a closer look at some of the main markets open for betting.
Match Winner
It’s the classic bet and by far the most popular betting market due to its straightforward nature. Do you think Team A or Team B will win? Or will the match be a draw? With the high scoring nature of the sport and the multiple methods to tally up points, draws aren’t common, so you can expect to find a good price if you fancy the match to end as a tie.
Winning Margin
This market will offer a series of betting options, each with different odds for you to mull over. You’ll usually be able to back either team to win by 1 – 7 points, 8 – 13 points or by over 14 points. You’re essentially betting on two outcomes here; the match result and the margin of victory, so of course, landing a winner is much harder, but you’ll find some great value for your betslip.
Half Time/Full Time
If the odds on the match result aren’t great, you can bank on this market to boost your odds. To land a winner, you’ll have to correctly predict the half time result, as well as the full time result, which is easier said than done. Naturally, there are several combinations you can choose from. It’s a good betting market if you’re aware of a team that has a habit of coming out firing but fading later in the game, for example.
Handicap
If one side is the clear favourite, bookies use handicap markets to level the playing field for punters, making the match a more attractive option for betting. The stronger team will have a negative handicap, and the opposite side a positive handicap. For instance, if the line for Team A is -4.5, it means that they must win by 5 points or more for you to win the bet. However, if the underdog line is +4.5, you’ll win as long as they don’t lose by five or more points.
Over/Under Total Points
If you’ve ever bet on sports online, you’ve probably heard of some sort of over/under market. You place a bet on whether you think the total number of the points in a game will be more or less than the number set by the bookmaker.
Outright Betting
Whilst most betting action takes place in the present, the top rugby betting sites also provide a stellar array of futures markets, commonly known as ‘outrights’. These will be on the winner of a certain domestic league or cup, the next Six Nations or even the 2019 World Cup. Outright betting is a double-edged sword. On the positive side, you can get better odds on most teams the early you bet on something. However, the flip side is that it’s harder to make a prediction on a market that is settled months in the future. Variables such as Injuries to key players and changes to coaching staff are impossible to foresee and almost always have a huge impact on the outcome of a season.
Live Betting
In-Play Betting Options
One of the great things about online betting nowadays is that you can place bets while an event is happening. These markets are also referred to as live betting and the very best bookies will give you access to a whole range of different markets. Whether you forgot to place a bet before the game or just didn’t fancy the odds to begin with, in-play betting means that the fun can happen anytime. Odds are likely to change as the game progresses, giving you a chance to gauge the momentum of the game and make a more informed decision.
In-play betting also gives you the chance to get better value from a bet. Say you wanted to back South Africa to beat Japan, but the Springboks go behind early on. They will still be odds on favourites to win, but you will get a better price for your bet than you would’ve done before the match.
Live Streaming
The very best betting sites will allow you to live stream events on their website, which complements their variety of in-play options. Most sportsbooks will require your account o be funded or for you to have placed a bet within the last 24 hours, but it means you’ll be able to watch the very best sporting events in the world without having a TV subscription fee. Live streaming can also really enhance your gaming experience, giving you the option to make more informed decisions when making in-play bets or cashing out your winnings.
Accas
Accumulators
Accumulators are one of the most exciting and popular forms of modern-day betting, and it’s easy to see why. They allow you to make several different bets using one wager. As such, all the odds in your selection are multiplied together, meaning that your potential winnings could be huge. But as with all greater reward bets, there is greater risk – in order to win, all of your selections must win.
The very best bookies, however, offer something called Acca Insurance, which will give you back your stake as a free bet should just one of your selections let you down.
These aren’t available on all markets and only work on five-fold selections and above, but they’re a great safety net should just one selection fall through.
Cashing Out
Cashing Out Options
If you’ve ever placed a bet before, you probably know what cashing out is. By using a bookie that supports the feature, you will be able to collect any potential winnings you may have from a bet before the game has finished. It means that if you can see the momentum-changing in a match, then you can claim your winnings before the team you’ve backed begins to lose. Similarly, if things aren’t going very well, then you can cash out to cut your losses, rather than losing all your stake in one.
Specials and Promotions
Rewards for Existing Customers
It’s not easy for an online betting site, especially a new one, to get noticed in such a crowded space. The markets on offer are generally quite similar, and with bookies pricing competitively, you’ll rarely find significant differences in the prices on offer at. Therefore, one of the ways, the bookmaker will aim to keep your attention is by rolling out a series of promotions and specials. You can find bookies, such as Betfred, that pay out double the odds if you place a pre-match bet on the first try scorer market and the same player goes on to score a second try. Another punter-friendly rugby offer is bet365’s ‘Extra Time Extra Chance’. With this special if you place a match winner bet and the scores are tied at the end of normal time, the bookie will pay out if your pick wins it in extra time.
Bet £25 on any sport and if Harry Kane scores and Tottenham beat Arsenal, win a £10 free bet.
888 Sport
The Free Bet Run
Place bets totalling £20 or more at odds of evens (2.0) or higher on Champions League matches using their Bet Builder, 888 will credit you with a £5 bet. Win and you will receive another Free Bet, up to 10 times
10Bet Sport
£5 Free Bet If There is a Red Card
Bet £25 on any sport on 19/12 to 20/12 and if there is a red card in Manchester United vs Leeds, then you will receive a £5 free bet.
Bonuses
Bonuses
In general terms, promotions are driven towards existing customers, and the bonuses are aimed at attracting new punters to the site. Both are important when looking for a top rugby betting site. Many sign up bonuses can be used across a range of sports, so you’ll be able to use them to bet on your favourite rugby markets. Although bookmakers bonuses come in a variety of shapes and sizes, we’ve highlighted the main two types you’ll find.
Matched Deposits
The matched deposit is a very simple bonus. The bookmaker will match your deposit up to a certain value. For instance, 100% up to £50. There will be a minimum amount you have to deposit to activate this offer, usually, it is £10 (but it could be £20 with some sites). Therefore, if you deposit £10, it’s matched so you have £20 to bet with. You can deposit more, but the bonus amount is capped, so a £100 deposit still only gets you a maximum £50 bonus. Although the face of the bonus may appear the same between two betting sites, as a punter you need to review the terms and conditions to measure the true worth of the offer. How many times do you have to wager the bonus cash? What odds can you bet at? How long do you have to clear the wagering? Those are the three main questions you want to be answered. When you have that information, you’ll see which offer is the best value.
Best Matched Deposit Bonus
100% up to £100
T&Cs Apply
New Customer Offer
100% up to £100. £10 minimum deposit. New customers only – £10 min deposit - The bonus will be applied once the full deposit amount has been wagered at least once with cumulative odds of 1.5 or greater. Wagering must be cleared within 90 days.
18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
The second bonus type is free bets. These are often floated around both for new and existing players, so that’s something to take notice of. When related to a deposit offer, the bookmaker will state, for example, deposit £20 and get £20 in free bets. As above, there will be strings attached, so it’s your duty to check the small print of the bonus to see what they are. Things to look out for are minimum/maximum betting odds allowed, excluded bet types, and expiry dates. A quick tip, you cannot use cash out with free bets. If you do, the bet will be invalid and you’ll lose any potential winnings.
Best Free Bet Bonus
Bet £20, get a £10 freebet token
T&Cs Apply
New Customer Offer
Bet £20, get £10. £10 minimum deposit and wagering. Void/cancelled or cashed out bets don't count towards wagering to activate the free bet. Must be used within 14 days . Neteller, Paysafe or Skill deposits not eligible.
18+. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org
Will you be a mobile bettor? If so, you want the best rugby mobile betting platform. Many of the top sites provide native apps for iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Other sites keep things totally web-based. As a punter, the choice is yours as to which method you’d prefer to bet on. What we can assure you is that the modern day mobile sportsbooks are action-packed. No corners have been cut. You get the same range of pre-match and live betting markets, streaming if available, bonuses, promotional offers and other betting tools such as cash out and stats centres.
At Compare.bet, there is one essential rugby betting tip that we will share. It’s ‘research’. Most of the top rugby betting sites on our list are connected to Betradar or Sportradar. These are two of the leading sports data analytics companies in the world. Everything you want to know about upcoming rugby matches will be provided for you. You can find a team’s current form, H2H record, fixtures, player stats, average points per games (for and against) when they score the most points and much more. The more informed you are before betting the better your chances of success. We cannot guarantee you’ll win every time, but we do know professional sports bettors don’t merely rely on luck, so knowledge is the secret ingredient.
Banking
Payment Options
There are a wealth of different banking options available to the modern online bettor, with each option catering a different set of requirements. Let’s take a look at what you are likely to come across.
Debit
Debit cards are almost universally accepted by online betting sites and they are arguably the most familiar to punters. With your activity protected by your bank’s individual security systems, each transaction should be processed within 5 working days.
Credit cards are now banned from all gambling sites as per the Government’s Review of Gaming Machines and Responsibility Measures. The change was announced by the UK Gambling Commission on April 14th 2020.
E-wallets
E-wallets are rapidly growing in popularity amongst online punters and the reasons are plain to see. Banking options like Skrill, Neteller and PayPal are all free to sign up to, perfectly safe and exceptionally quick, processing transactions in a matter of hours not days. One slight drawback, however, is that some casinos will exclude e-Wallets from their bonuses, which is definitely something to keep an eye out for before you sign up.
Compare & Bet
That’s Compare.bet’s basic guide to rugby betting. We hope to have driven you over the opposition’s 22-yard line with this information, so all that’s left is for you to get over the try line. In order to do that, have a browse through the list of top rugby betting sites above. Based on what matters to you, your style of betting and bankroll, choose the site you like the best. Then sign up, claim a bonus and enjoy the thrill of punting online.
The favourite in a game of any sport is obviously never guaranteed a win, but as one side is usually stronger than the other, the odds aren’t exactly eye-catching for the favourite, in most cases. So, to level the playing field and make the odds more attractive for punters, bookies have introduced the handicap. The bookies handicap the team they believe is more likely to win, by starting them on minus points to level the playing field.
For example, you may be presented with three options for an upcoming game – team A -4, Team B +4, or draw. If you bet on team A to win on the handicap, they would have to win by 5 points or more to win your bet.
This is a market that eliminates the possibility of a draw, and presents punters with two options – win or lose. If the match ends as a draw, your bet will be void and your stake will be returned.
Yes. While there’s definitely some great prices to be found before kick off, betting on Rugby in-play can be lucrative for those who can predict what happens next. Whether you’re betting on the next try scorer or a team to overturn a deficit, you’re sure to find some excellent value in-play.
The people behind this page
Compare.bet's online gambling content experts helped write, edit and check this page:
Daniel is the editor-in-chief at Compare.bet. He has half a decade of experience writing on topics including sports betting, online casino and the NBA. Daniel also covers Premier League football for The Warm-Up and has interviewed Louis Saha, Richard Dunne and Gary Pallister. In his spare time, Daniel enjoys film photography and making Spotify playlists.