Compare Top Gambling Sites
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Having only launched in 2022, Luckster is one of our greener gambling sites — and we’re not just talking about its Irish theme! Make no mistake though: this online casino packs a serious punch, with a sizable welcome bonus of 100% up to £200 plus 100 free spins. Highlights at this gambling site include a fantastic selection of live dealer titles from top-shelf developers, and ongoing slots tournaments for an added layer of excitement. Luckster also sits within the Marketplay family of gambling sites along with popular names like Spin Rio and Mr Play, so you’re in experienced hands. If you like sports betting, there are options for that too.
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Looking to get away from the usual drab designs of typical gambling sites? Stop off at Spin Rio, where there’s a 24/7 carnival on the go! But this online casino offers more than just a colourful appearance — your first three deposits are also eligible for welcome bonuses worth up to £200. As hinted at by the name, Spin Rio has a huge collection of slots from all the biggest developers, but table games fans are also catered for. Evolution and Authentic Gaming provide the live dealer suite, giving you ample choice if you’re looking for some realism. While there’s no dedicated app, the mobile site is well-rounded, and you’ll find plenty of payment options at this gambling site as well.
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Many gambling sites offer cashback or VIP schemes, but Voodoo Dreams is a little different. In order to receive loyalty points, you’ll need to defeat other players while you spin your favourite slots, dealing damage with ancient spells and winning free spins and real cash in the process. There are plenty of other reasons to give this gambling site a try. The library is expansive, covering over 1,000 slots and table games. There’s a solid choice of payment methods too, with five e-wallets on the menu along with other fast withdrawal methods such as Trustly.
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You likely associate the Pokerstars name with, well, poker — but that’s not all you’ll find at this all-in-one gambling site. The casino library is well-rounded, covering blackjack, roulette, and slots in substantial depth. There’s also the choice of sports betting. One of our favourite things about Pokerstars is its welcome bonus. You can net 100 free spins just for signing up, and a further 150 are up for grabs when you deposit at least £10 with promo code ‘CASINO150’. Customers can also play with 100% confidence thanks to the 24/7 support offered at this gambling site.
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Sitting alongside other Marketplay gambling sites like Spin Rio and Mr Play, Plaza Royal offers players a top-notch casino experience with hundreds of slots, blackjack, roulette, and other table games. The welcome bonus is worth up to £200, so you could get off to a flying start when you make your first deposit. Payment options are slightly more limited at this gambling site, but most players will find a method that suits them.
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How to Find the Best Gambling Site
Looking for a new gambling site? Our team of experts has got you covered — just follow the simple steps below.
STEP 1
Compare UKGC Licensed Sites
All our featured gambling sites are licensed by the UKGC so you know they’re trustworthy and safe.
STEP 2
Check Payment Method
If there’s a specific payment method you want to use, make sure it’s supported at the site. You can use debit cards, e-wallets, and more at our top gambling sites.
STEP 3
Review & Choose Bonus
Check the site’s bonus offer and make sure it meets your needs, making a note of any important terms and conditions.
STEP 4
Sign Up & Claim
Click through, enter your details to sign up, and claim your bonus according to the offer’s requirements. Simple!
Sports Betting
Bet on Sports at the Bookies
Whether you fancy laying a wager on the boxing, building an accumulator around the football or betting in-play on the basketball, the sportsbook is the place to be. Let’s check out the key sports available to punters.
Football
Football is the most popular sport in the world. High-profile competitions such as the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga are watched by billions across the globe, while international tournaments such as the World Cup and European Championships attract similarly enormous audiences. As such, betting on football is a huge industry and there are an enormous number of markets that punters can bet on including the match result, both teams to score, first half result and more. You’ll also find that the best UK gambling sites will offer punters some exciting promotions to coincide with upcoming football matches, including free bets and odds boosts.
William Hill’s football betting odds
The biggest payout from a football bet came in 2015/16 following Leicester’s improbable 5000/1 Premier League title victory.
Horse Racing
Horse racing is one of the most popular sports in the betting world, with high-profile races such as the Grand National, Cheltenham Festival and the Australian Derby regularly attracting millions of bettors. The best betting sites will offer punters a range of markets including each way, forecast and tricast, as well as the double and treble market and of course, the race winner market. If you’re out on the move, then the best real money gambling sites will provide you with a native app to both place your bets and watch the action as it happens via live stream.
Betfair’s horse racing betting
In horse racing, 33% of winners are the pre-race bookies’ favourites.
Boxing
Boxing is a key sport when it comes to online gambling. Millions watch the sport year-round, consistently drawn in by the enthralling contests and thrilling upsets that occur along the way. Boxing matches can often turn on a dime, so betting at a bookie with an intuitively designed site is essential if you want to quickly bet in-play or cash out.
Paddy Power’s boxing betting odds
There are several ways to win a boxing match. These include knockout, technical knockout and judge’s decision.
Basketball
Basketball is loved the world over and has produced some of the biggest sports stars in history. The biggest and most high-profile league by far is the NBA. With the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant competing for the Larry O’Brien trophy, you won’t be short on some truly thrilling action. Professional basketball leagues are also played across the globe, with divisions such as the EuroLeague often providing plenty of betting opportunities throughout the season.
Ladbrokes basketball betting odds
LeBron James guided Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA Championship when he returned to his hometown club in 2016. The Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors, the first team to do so in the NBA Finals.
Cricket
Cricket is a sport with strong associations with famous test series such as the Ashes. But it is now about so much more than the five-day game. There are plenty of fast-paced T20 and One Day International matches that bettors can get involved in. As such, you’re going to want to make sure that the gambling site you sign up to offers a broad range of cricket betting opportunities. With so much available to wager on, you want to sign up to a bookie that has great market coverage such as match result, the man of the match and fall of the first wicket.
Betway’s cricket betting odds
The highest run-scorer of all time is Sachin Tendulkar who scored 15,921 first-class runs across his 24-year career.
NFL
The NFL – the US’s National Football League – has been growing in popularity on this side of the Atlantic for a number of years now. It is estimated that over four million UK viewers tuned in for last year’s Super Bowl, and UK bookmakers are starting to capitalise on this expanding fanbase.
American football is a game of many variables that usually takes place over three to three-and-a-half hours. This means there are a number of different markets to bet on, from individual stats like touchdowns and running yards to team stats like point spreads, totals and moneyline – an American term that you will encounter a lot when betting on NFL games, which simply means a wager on which team will win the match.
The variety of betting markets also means that the NFL is ripe for live betting, which is sure to keep you invested over the game’s long duration. Also, with the majority of games being played on Sundays, there is plenty of opportunity for potentially lucrative accas.
Tennis
Each year millions of viewers from around the world tune in to watch and bet on the four major
championships that make up the tennis Grand Slam: the Australian Open, the French
Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. These tournaments have produced some of the most famous rivalries in the world of sport, not least between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Although recent greats like Federer and Serena Williams – who has won more grand slams than any other player – have recently retired, the likes of Nadal, Novak Djokovic and up-and-comers like Carlos Alcaraz are still performing at unprecedentedly high standards, extending the greatest era in tennis history.
Momentum constantly shifts in a game of tennis which makes it a perfect sport – in both singles and doubles formats – for intuitive in-play betting, alongside a number of other betting markets.
Rugby
Rugby is one of the UK’s oldest modern sports. It was allegedly born in 1823 when William Webb Ellis, while playing football at Rugby School, Warwickshire, decided to pick the ball up and run with it. Rugby has since split into two formats – rugby union and rugby league – and is played around the world. The All Blacks of New Zealand have dominated rugby union – which remains the more popular format of the game – for many years now, and are also favourites to win the Rugby League World Cup that is currently taking place in England.
If you fancy getting involved in rugby betting, both the Rugby League World Cup and the women’s Rugby Union World Cup are underway and are a good place to start, with multiple online sportsbooks offering boosted event-based odds and promotions. If you miss out on those tournaments, however, you can bet on the current Premiership season, or look ahead to next year, where we have both the annual Six Nations Championship and another World Cup to look forward to.
F1
The 2021 Formula 1 championship was one of the greatest seasons in the sports history, and as this year hasn’t quite lived up to expectation, the bookies are already turning their attention to F1 2023. Lewis Hamilton – tied with the great Michael Schumacher for most world championships – has recently been caught up in rumours surrounding his retirement, but it is hard to see him doing so until he has dethroned his new rival, Max Verstappen, who has just won his second consecutive championship by a landslide.
With drama seeming to occur at every corner in F1 these days, there are a number of markets you can bet on. Perhaps you fancy a disgruntled Hamilton to run Verstappen off the track at the next Grand Prix? Or want to take advantage of the bookies’ generous odds on Hamilton fighting back to reclaim his title and become the sport’s greatest driver? Whatever your bet, the best gambling sites will have you covered.
Online Casinos
Play Your Favourite Casino Games
The best UK casino sites will give you a great range of different casino games to play including classics like roulette and blackjack, as well as live dealer tables and the hottest new online slots. Here’s a rundown of the most popular games at online casinos.
Slots
Slots are one of the most popular online casino game types available. From classic titles such as Microgaming’s Mega Moolah and Thunderstruck, to recent titles like Pragmatic Play’s Cash Elevator and NetEnt’s Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen, there is something for everyone. There’s also a lot to choose from in terms of payout sizes too. High volatility slots offer higher potential payouts to those willing to invest more time and money into a game, compared to low volatility slots where players can expect more frequent but smaller payouts. You can even see the average return to player rate of individual slots, with some going as high as 99%. This rating is of course an average taken from millions of spins and payouts and should not be seen as guaranteed. In some cases it is also possible to get bonus spins and other offers.
Classic Slots
Ready to feel nostalgic? Classic 3-reel slots play just like the old one-armed bandits in the pub, often complete with traditional symbols like bells, cherries, and lucky 7s for a truly retro gaming experience. Simple to play yet offering the possibility of huge payouts, classic online slot machine games like IGT’s Triple Diamond and Play’n GO’s Fire Joker are among the top 3-reelers to check out when you sign up to a new online gambling site.
Play’n GO’s Fire Joker
Progressive Jackpot Slots
While regular online slots like Starburst offer generous fixed jackpots, progressive jackpot slots like Playtech’s Age of the Gods and Microgaming’s Book of Atem WowPot give players the chance to win thousands or even millions of pounds. That’s because the potential winnings increase as more and more users play these titles. Jackpots are awarded randomly, though you usually need to have placed the max bet to be eligible to win the top prize.
Microgaming’s Book of Atem WowPot
Megaways Slots
Created by Big Time Gaming and licensed to top developers like Blueprint Gaming and Pragmatic Play, Megaways slots typically feature six reels with space for between two and seven symbols on each. The number of symbols on the reels varies with each spin, which results in many thousands of ways to win. Must-try titles include the original Bonanza Megaways and NetEnt’s Gonzo’s Quest Megaways.
NetEnt’s Gonzo’s Quest Megaways
Roulette
Roulette is one of the oldest casino games and it’s still popular at online casinos today. Predicated entirely on luck, all you have to do is predict where the ball will land on the spinning roulette wheel. Random Number Generators (RNG) are used to ensure each spin is decided entirely by chance. The best online casino sites will let you have your pick of game types such as European and American roulette — which differ by the number of pockets on the wheel — as well as a strong selection of live games.
NetEnt’s roulette
Blackjack
This casino classic has been around for centuries now and its popularity is showing no signs of diminishing anytime soon. The simple rules of getting as close to 21 as possible have made this a well-loved game at most online casinos and you can find a variety of titles available to play across the UK’s best online gambling sites. From standard single-player titles to live-dealer versions, there is plenty of exciting blackjack action to uncover.
Microgaming’s Classic Blackjack
Craps
As one of the most popular dice games in the world, craps is a staple of new online casinos. Players place wagers on the value of the dice before a shooter then rolls them. RNGs ensure that each throw is completely random, while some live craps games, such as those provided by Evolution Gaming, make use of a mechanical arm to shoot the dice. Nonetheless, live dealer craps games are not as widely available as other table games such as blackjack or roulette.
Evolution Gaming’s Craps
Live Casino
Live dealer casino gambling is as close you can get to playing at a brick and mortar establishment without leaving the comfort of your own home. You can play a broad variety of live dealer games, from roulette and blackjack to craps and baccarat. There are a number of software providers in the space, but Evolution Gaming stands out amongst its competitors. The software house offers an enormous range of games that provide arguably the most realistic live casino experience available. Footage of real dealers streamed live from state of the art studios while innovations such as built-in chat functions with the dealer and mechanical dice-throwing arms make Evolution Gaming titles some of the best around.
Evolution Gaming’s Deal or No Deal Live
Sic Bo
An ancient Chinese pastime, sic bo is a game of chance played with three dice. Sic bo betting takes place on a table that looks similar to roulette. You’ll feel just like a VIP as you place your chips in different places on the board to bet on the outcome of each dice roll. There’s a baker’s dozen of payouts in sic bo games, ranging from 1 to 1 for a small or big bet, where you wager that the three dice add up to between 4 and 10 or 11–17, to 180 to 1 for a specific triple, where you gamble that all three dice will have the same specific number.
Evolution Gaming’s Super Sic Bo Big Wins
Video Poker
Unlike regular poker played against other people, video poker games are single-player titles played on a slots-style screen, which is why they’re also called poker slots. Unlike online slot games, however, video poker contains a skill element, as players discard particular cards to try and achieve the best possible five-card poker hand. Video poker games like full pay Deuces Wild and Double Bonus Poker have the highest possible payout percentages of all casino games. Played with perfect strategy, an RTP of over 100% is possible on these games, which gives gambling sites a negative house edge and players a rare chance to make long-term profits from online poker.
Microgaming’s Lucky Showdown Hold’em Poker
Poker Sites
Try Your Hand at Poker
Poker is arguably the quintessential casino game, requiring elements of skill, luck and nerves of steel in order to succeed. The basic premise involves betting on whether your hand is better than your opponents’, as per the poker hand rankings. Common hands include a flush, where you have five cards of the same suit, and a straight, where you have five cards of sequential rank.
The best online gambling sites will offer players a broad selection of poker titles to play alongside some of the best live online poker and video poker experiences available. So whether your penchant is for a bit of Texas Hold’Em, Seven Card Stud or Omaha, you’re sure to find the poker games you’re looking for at one of the UK’s best online gambling sites. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the different types of real money online poker games you can play at top UK gambling sites.
Texas Hold’em
Simple to learn and exciting to play, Texas Hold’em is the world’s most popular online poker game. You’ll need to make your best possible five-card hand from two private hole cards and five community cards laid face-up on the table. A dealer button moves clockwise between rounds to determine which player acts as the dealer, with the two players sitting immediately clockwise posting forced starting bets known as small and big blinds. The next players can fold, call, or raise in this first betting round.
Betting continues in much the same way, as community cards are revealed in additional betting rounds known as the flop, the turn, the river, and the showdown. You can win a round of Texas Hold’em simply by virtue of all other players folding their hands, but if two or more players make it to the final round, the best hand wins. Top gambling sites often feature a range of limit, no-limit, and pot-limit Hold’em games, so you’ll have no trouble finding a game to suit your bankroll.
Play’n GO’s Casino Hold’em
Omaha Poker
Omaha poker isn’t unlike Texas Hold’em in that the game features five community cards and five betting rounds. However, in Omaha poker, you’ll receive four private cards. You must use exactly two of these hole cards, along with exactly three community cards, to make the best five-card hand possible.
Standard Omaha poker is sometimes called Omaha High or Omaha Hold’em because hand rankings go from best to worst — that’s royal flush to high card. That’s not always the case though. There are several Omaha variants that add a twist to standard play. Take 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, for example. This poker variant sees players dealt five private cards and any final pot divided between the players holding the best high and low-ranked hands. Like Texas Hold’em, Omaha poker is available as pot-limit, no-limit, and fixed-limit games, so you’re sure to find an option to suit.
888poker’s Omaha Hi
Stud Poker
In stud poker games, players receive a selection of face-up and face-down cards. Like hole cards, down-cards are private, but up-cards are visible to all players. The different variations of stud poker include Five Card Stud and Baseball Stud, though Seven Card Stud is one of the most popular. Here, you’ll make your best possible five-card hand from seven cards dealt to you throughout the different betting rounds, which in this game are called streets.
There are no blinds in stud poker. Players pay what’s known as an ante to enter the game. There’s no dealer button either. Instead, the player whose face-up cards make the worst hand kick starts the betting by paying a ‘bring in’ fee. At online gambling sites, Seven Card Stud is typically played as a limit game, where bets rise in fixed increments.
Play’n GO’s Casino Stud Poker
Draw Poker
Draw poker refers to poker games that allow players to discard unwanted cards and draw new ones to try to make a better hand. Badugi and Triple Draw Lowball are among the draw poker variants available, though Five Card Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw are often the most readily available to play at online gambling websites.
These two styles of draw poker play out similarly, though the end goal is different. In Five Card Draw, the objective is to make the best possible poker hand. However, 2-7 Triple Draw is a type of lowball poker, so you win with the lowest possible hand instead. Where features like the dealer button, blinds, and betting rounds are concerned, draw poker games play out rather like games of Texas Hold’em. This makes draw poker reasonably easy to learn, especially if you already understand the basics of how to play poker online.
IGT’s classic Triple Play Draw Poker
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Heart Bingo offers a wide variety of bingo games and some of the best low wagering bonuses on the market.
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Double Bingo frequently rewards its returning bingo players with daily free games and free spins, which can be played across its impressive selection of bingo and slot titles.
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Wink Bingo is a unique and stylish bingo site with some of the most generous daily promotions on the market – from cashback to reload bonuses.
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Bet365 is one of the best UK gambling sites for eSports betting, allowing you to bet on a huge variety of games – from eSports classics like Rainbow Six and Counterstrike to mobile titles like Brawl Stars and Mobile Legends.
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Betway offers specific bonuses to be used on eSports, and facilitates in-play betting on all the top eSports games and tournaments – currently covering the League of Legends world championship taking place across four cities in North America, which is itself testament to eSport’s growing popularity.
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Midnite is an eSports betting specialist that covers pretty much every eSport game out there. Both their website and mobile app provide the best, tailor-made platform for watching and betting on live eSports.
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PlayOJO is one of the few new gambling sites that presents new UK customers with a no wagering bonus, which means that any winnings you may make from your free spins are yours to keep. They also provide a generous 10% money back bonus on every single bet you make. Bonuses like these make PlayOJO truly stand out as a top new gambling site.
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Play Frank offers an expansive games library and frequent ongoing promotions and daily challenges that regularly and generously reward returning players. With so many games on offer and a genuine incentive to keep coming back, you’re unlikely to ever get bored at Play Frank casino.
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Voodoo Dreams is one of our favourite new gambling sites. It offers a fresh and distinctive gambling experience in a market that is too often marked by homogeneity. Voodoo Dreams makes a real effort to keep players entertained with features like ‘duelling’, in which players go head-to-head against each other on the slots, adding a layer of competitiveness that makes gambling a far more interactive and satisfying experience – if you win your duel, that is!
Signing Up
How to Register an Account
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Compare top gambling sites
Use our hand-picked list of top licensed gambling sites to compare the scores, welcome bonuses and unique features of top gambling sites. You can check out our expert reviews for more information on betting odds, games collections and payment methods. -
Sign up
Found the best gambling site for you? Follow our link to head straight to a registration page. From here, you’ll be able to sign up within minutes. All you need to do is provide some personal information and contact details. And once you’re in, don’t forget to opt in to claim the sign-up bonus. -
Deposit
Unless you’re playing with a no deposit bonus, you’ll need to deposit funds into your account before you can place any bets. You may need to deposit a minimum amount to claim a welcome bonus, so be sure to check for this in the terms and conditions. The online gambling sites we’ve recommended accept a range of different payment methods, from debit cards and bank transfers to e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill. -
Place your bets
With your deposit in your account, you can place your first bets. Fancy your chances at online blackjack sites? Want to back your favourite basketball team? Or are you looking to try your luck with CS:GO betting? No matter what you want to bet on, these top gambling sites have something to suit everyone.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all gambling sites safe?
Unfortunately not. That’s why it’s important that you only gamble at licensed bookies, casinos and bingo sites. Licensed gambling sites are regulated by governing bodies to make sure that they have measures in place to protect customers and to give them a safe and fair online gambling experience. We make sure that every site on our list is licensed whether it’s a household name gambling site or a brand-new betting site.
Can I use different banking methods to deposit and withdraw my gambling funds?
This depends on which site you’ve chosen to gamble with. Some sites will allow you to use a variety of payment methods to make your transactions. You can, therefore, make a deposit using your debit card, but then withdraw your funds using PayPal. Other sites, however, such as Betfair, operate a closed-loop policy. This means that whichever deposit method you use, you have to then use to make your withdrawal. That’s why it’s important to check the terms and conditions of a site if you’re using banking methods that can only make deposits, such as Paysafecard.
Do I have to make a deposit in order to gamble online?
No – if you join a gambling site with a no deposit bonus, you can make bets online without depositing funds into your gambling account. However, these bonuses tend to come with high wagering requirements. It may be difficult for some players to fulfil these and gain access to their bonus winnings.
Will I need to verify my identity to play at an online gambling site?
When you sign up to a new gambling site, you will at some point have to verify your identity through a Know Your Customer check (KYC). These checks are in place to prevent underage gambling and confirm your source of funds. You may be required to share proof of identity such as your driving licence or passport, as well as proof of address, such as a utility bill.
Should I believe online gambling tips?
There are hundreds of online gambling tipsters claiming to have unlocked the secret to winning big when betting online. While these tips can be useful, you should always take their advice with a pinch of salt and use these alongside your own research to make your bets online. Of course, many casino games, like slots and roulette, come down to chance, and no matter how much research you do, you can’t predict the outcome of a football match. This means that, even if you do follow gambling and betting tips, you aren’t guaranteed a win.
How do I make sure I get the best odds?
Our reviews include spot checks of various odds on a range of popular markets. This gives us a fair idea of how good the odds are at various bookies, and you can find that in each review we provide. However the smartest thing to do is to compare specific odds for the market you’re interested in, on the day you want to place the bet. This will help you know exactly which odds are available on the market, and where your potential returns are maximised.
Can I use my credit card to make deposits and withdrawals?
Since April 2020, credit cards have been banned for use in gambling in the UK. The UK Government enacted the ban following two reviews into the online gambling industry and the social responsibility measures it’s taking to keep players safe.
