How we Choose the Best Betting Sites for Wimbledon
From the mountains of strawberries and gallons of cream to the A-list spectators at Centre Court, there’s no sporting event quite like Wimbledon. Sure, there are three other Grand Slam tournaments throughout the year for serious tennis buffs to enjoy, but Wimbledon is by far the most famous of the lot, attracting even the most casual sports fans and bettors.
Speaking of betting – if you do fancy a flutter, which UK betting site, or sites, should you join? At Compare.bet we make it our business to pinpoint the top bookies around right now. Here are some of the factors we take into account when compiling our list of recommendations.
Bonuses
“What welcome bonuses are on offer?” That’s the first question many prospective punters will ask when weighing up betting sites in the UK. That’s why we carefully lay out the bonuses for you to compare. We also take into account regular promotions offered to recurring customers.
Betting Markets
Predicting which players will triumph at Wimbledon is only one of many markets on offer. The best sites will let you wager on more selections than you can shake a racket at, which keeps things interesting and gives you many favourable odds to enjoy.
Banking Options
Another important factor we consider is how you can bank at various bookies. A wide variety of banking options means maximum convenience for customers, and mean you can deposit and withdraw funds in a way that suits you.
The General Feel of the Site
How easy is the betting site to use? Does it have an intuitive, user-friendly interface? We look closely at this kind of thing, and also check that the customer service team is on hand to provide quick support via email, phone and/or live chat.
Licensing
If you want to be sure you’re betting at a site that takes fair play and responsible gambling seriously, you need to choose one that’s licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. We only recommend these sites. The fact they’re all licensed also guarantees your private details are kept safe by state-of-the-art encryption technology.
What Can I Bet On?
Wimbledon is one of the most exciting events in the calendar for sports bettors. Here’s a taste of some of the markets on offer from the UK’s best bookies.
Tournament and Match Winner
Who do you think will win the various singles and doubles titles at this year’s Wimbledon? You can bet on the outright tournament winners, while wagers can also be placed on your pick of prospective match winners.
Each Way
This is a two-part outright bet, where you’ll be putting money on your selected player to either win or finish as runner-up. Either way, you’ll get a payout.
Set Winner
It’s always fun to guess which player will get off to a strong start and bag a first set win, and also bet on how they’ll fare in subsequent sets.
Correct Scores
These are pretty self-explanatory markets – you simply bet on what you think the scores of matches or sets will be. The odds here tend to be higher as they’re harder to predict, meaning bigger payouts.
Handicap Betting
Bookies will apply handicaps to level out matches which may be very one-sided with unappealingly low odds on the likely winner. Both game and set handicaps may be applied.
Over/under
These popular betting markets let you wager on how many sets or games you expect to be played in a particular match. You’ll bet on whether it’ll be over or under a number.
Bet on Wimbledon, Live
It doesn’t matter if you didn’t have time to place your bets before the match begins. Thanks to live, or in-play betting, you can put money down even as the players are waging war over the net. Many punters prefer live betting because you have the potential to take advantage of better odds as they fluctuate during the course of each game or set. Say a top-ranking player like Nadal starts to flag during a decisive game – the odds will likely shift meaning that if you bet on him to win the match now, and he does indeed go on to win, you’ll get a bigger payout than if you bet before the match commenced.
Get an Early Payout
Want greater control over your bets? The top betting sites in the UK let you do that with the cash out option. This basically allows you to collect before the outcome of your bet has been confirmed. If, for example, you’ve bet on the final scoreline but feel the points are not going to pan as you envisaged, you can cash out before the match is over. The bookmaker will give you a payout calculated according to your stake and the odds as they stand, meaning you at least won’t be left completely out of pocket on that bet.
Combine Your Picks
Accumulator, or acca, bets are popular with punters as they will potentially let you boost your profits on multiple bets. The various wagers are all put on the same bet slip, meaning the individual odds are multiplied together to determine your winning payout. The snag is every single selection has to come good for you to win overall.
But there’s some good news here. Many top UK bookies offer acca insurance, which means your original stake will be returned to you as free bet credits if your acca loses by one selection.
Boost Your Bankroll
Welcome bonuses are all-important for many punters, which is why UK bookmakers pull out all the stops when it comes to persuading you to sign up. Here are some incentives to look forward to.
Matched deposit bonuses
You’ll know a matched deposit bonus when you see it – the wording is very clear. For example, a bookie may promise “100% up to £200”. This means that any amount you deposit up to £200 will be matched by the site. If your initial deposit after signing up is £50, say, you’ll be given an extra £50 to bet with. Remember to check what the odds and wagering requirements are, as well as maximum win limits and deadlines for fulfilling the wagering requirements.
Free bets
Free bets are music to punters’ ears, and there are plenty on offer from the best betting sites. For example, you may be offered £10 if you deposit and bet £10 on qualifying odds after signing up. As ever, check those terms and conditions so you know exactly how the bonus requirements work.
Take Advantage of Promos
Welcome bonuses great, but what about after you sign up to a UK betting site? At Compare.bet we keep an eye out for the best on-going promotions available. Promotions like these…
Money-back Offers
Put your money on a Wimbledon underdog and watched them get knocked out in the second round? Well, with a money-back offer promo, it’s not all doom and gloom. Your losing stake will be returned to you in the form of free bets, so you can have another go. The main caveat to bear in mind is that the amount you can get back will usually be capped – but even if you don’t recoup your whole stake, it’s still a lot better than nothing.
Enhanced Odds
You may not think that betting on the biggies at Wimbledon will reap much in the way of rewards, due to low odds. But major events like this one can inspire bookies to attract punters by artificially lengthening odds – this, for example, would make it far more lucrative than usual to bet on favourites to win.
Payment Options
The top UK bookies like to make things as easy and convenient as possible for their customers. That means there will usually be a variety of ways you can bank with them, including:
- Visa and Mastercard debit cards
- PayPal
- Neteller
- Skrill
- Paysafecard
- Bank transfer
PayPal's a great e-wallet option, offering multiple layers of security, a great mobile app and fast payments.
Neteller features an e-wallet and prepaid card service on one platform, meaning you have multiple ways to fund your bets, all with one account.
Paysafecard's prepaid card and PIN system means you don't have to disclose your personal details and means you can set and stick to limits with ease.
Skrill is renowned for its speed and convenience, as well as its security functions and ease of use.
Place Your Bets Anytime, Anywhere
Mobile betting sites in the UK let you put money on Wimbledon, or any other sporting event, wherever you happen to be. There are two ways you can bet on the go using your smartphone or tablet:
- Using the web app, which means going onto the betting site using the web browser, logging in and betting without having to download any new software
- Using the native app, if available, which means downloading the app from Google Play or the App Store, and enjoying swift, convenient betting with push notifications alerting you to the latest promos
Betting tips for Wimbledon
There are no guaranteed wins in the world of sports betting, but some diligent research before a match or tournament can make all the difference when you wager. The world rankings may be the first port of call when looking into various players, but they give too general a picture to be truly useful. Instead, you’ll want to delve into the recent form of the players. How have they fared in previous tournaments? Are they recovering from injuries?
You should also check the head-to-head stats before a match, to see how the two players have performed against each other in previous confrontations. Bear in mind where they met before as well. Were they hard, clay or grass courts? A player may be incredibly ferocious on clay, but a grass court tournament like Wimbledon may not be their natural element, giving the advantage to a lower-ranking opponent who has a greater affinity with grass.
You can also follow our Wimbledon men’s singles winner odds tracker to see how competitors odds have developed throughout the year and during the tournament.
If you want to get stuck into in-play betting, it’s also crucial to have an idea of how the players handle twists and turns like having their serves broken (or breaking the opponent’s serve, for that matter). Knowing how players cope with psychological shifts will let you make the most informed split-second in-play decisions.
Other Major Tennis Tournaments
Wimbledon, which sets the tennis world alight every July at the All England Club, is one of four Grand Slam tournaments. These are the most prestigious and highly publicised events to look forward to, and the other three are:
- The Australian Open (January, Melbourne Park)
- The French Open, aka Roland-Garros (May, Stade Roland Garros)
- The US Open (August, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center)
But there’s more to tennis than the Grand Slams. Other major tournaments that get punters excited include:
- BNP Paribas Open (March, Indian Wells Tennis Garden)
- The ATP Finals (November, Pala Alpitour Stadium)
- The WTA Finals (October Shenzhen Bay Sports Center)
- The Davis Cup (begins February, various venues)
- The Fed Cup (begins February, various venues)
- Tennis at the Summer Olympics
Looking Back at Wimbledon
The oldest tennis tournament, Wimbledon is also by some margin the most famous. While the other Grand Slams carry great prestige, there’s a certain magic that unfolds at the All England Club, with its emerald-green grass courts casting a spell on tennis fans. In fact, Wimbledon owes its existence to grass – the very first championship, in 1877, was held to raise money for the club to purchase a pony roller for lawn maintenance.
It evolved into one of the grandest and most beloved British institutions, and the happy hunting ground of the greatest tennis players of all time. Roger Federer has bagged the most men’s singles titles here, while Martina Navratilova is the women’s record holder. But what about the underdogs who’ve beaten the odds and brought big wins to lucky bettors?
One of the most jaw-dropping upsets of recent years came in 2016 when American player Sam Querrey beat defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic in the third round. Querrey ranked 41st in the world at the time and was a 30/1 longshot when he toppled the reigning king of the courts.
Back in 2001, Croatian player Goran Ivanisevic charmed the crowds, and the world, with a fairy tale triumph, becoming the only wildcard entrant to win Wimbledon. Ranking 125th at the time, he was the 150/1 underdog to start with, and nobody could have seen the Hollywood ending coming.
Ready to Bet on the Wimbledon?
We’ve looked at the best betting markets and examples of times when plucky underdogs proved the bookies wrong. If this has made you hungry to wager on Wimbledon, compare our list of the best UK betting sites and sign up today!
Many bookies will prevent you from combining bets on the same event, or combining outright markets such as Wimbledon men’s singles winner with events like an individual Wimbledon game, for example. If you combine ineligible bets on your betslip, they will simply appear as singles, rather than combine as a multiple.
Placing a bet on an uncertain outcome, such as Wimbledon, means nothing is guaranteed. So you should take any betting tips with a grain of salt. While tipsters can push you in the right direction, even tipsters with great records aren’t going to get it right all the time, that’s why we recommend doing your own research to inform your decisions at the bookies.
Compare.bet only reviews and ranks operators licensed by the UKGC, which requires all licensed operators to follow strict regulatory guidelines in order to provide a safe and fair environment for gamblers. These measures include, among others, compelling licensed bookies to provide industry-standard encryption for all customer payments, protecting you in the unlikely event that your details get into the wrong hands. If you’re ever in doubt about your operator’s licence, the UKGC’s public register contains details for every active licensee. Your funds are not legally protected if you play with an unlicensed site, so be sure to check before putting your hard-earned money on the line.
Bookies price competitively, so you’ll find that the odds you’ll see at different are often quite similar. Promotions like enhanced and boosted odds will provide great value, so keep an eye out for bookies offering those. It can pay to shop around and find the best deal when you fancy a flutter
