Betting Guides

Betting Exchanges

Betting using an exchange should be more popular than it is. Why, because on average you get better odds when backing bets and you can also lay your own bets to other people and act like your own bookie. The fact it is peer-to-peer and the exchange only takes a small commission is why the value is so much better.

Indeed bookies use exchanges to help set their own odds, as it helps them see how punters see a market, and they even offset some of their own exposure using exchanges. In our exchanges section we tell you everything you need to know about exchange betting and what the best sites are to use.

Betting Offers For Existing Customers

We do not cover guides about specific claimable betting offers on this page. Our guides to the best retention offers such as acca insurance and free bet clubs can be found in our betting offers section.

However, if you are looking for a bookmaker that rewards loyal customers or one that has the right offers to suit how you bet and the sports you bet on, then we cover the most valuable and most useful offers here, explaining what they are and how they work. With this knowledge, you can make a more informed decision on what bookie to use.

Payment Methods & Banking Guide

The beauty of online bookmaking is it has changed the way people fund their betting wallets, you can now use eWallets such as PayPal and Skrill as well as cash voucher systems such as PaySafeCard, and did you know you are still able to deposit and withdraw from betting sites using cash in store?

In our banking articles you will find all the minimum and maximum deposit and withdrawal limits including information on fees and sign up bonus availability. Also find information on how to set up and use various payment methods.

Football Betting Guides

For such a simple and beautiful game there is a lot to be said quite literally about football. As the biggest spectator sport on the planet and representing around 70% of wagers in the UK there is a lot to understand when it comes to betting on football.

In our football guides section we discuss everything from the history of football, the best bookies, guides on bet types such both teams to score, accumulators and more.

New Customer Free Bets

The best time to claim an offer is as a new customer, this is where the best value offers usually are. Many betting sites look the same on the surface and betting companies know they need attractive incentives to get people to sign up to them over another brand.

We cover all the best free bets from top UK operators on our free bets page. We also tell you about the different types of free bet offers, how to understand them and how to compare them to make sure you claim the right offer at the right betting site for you.

Horse Racing Betting Guides

Horse Racing has a long history and as the original betting sport it has accumulated many rules and terms that can seem daunting to the uninitiated. Are you are puzzled as to what Rule 4 means, what happens in a dead heat or want to know the difference between grades and classes?

Don’t worry we have clear and easy to understand guides and articles to help you get the most value from your racing bets.

Best Lottery Sites And Playing Lotto Online

The National Lottery is the most played gambling game in the UK. When it was launched in 1994 it was only possible to play through shops but once the internet became a thing you could start to play online to.

The internet also made playing other lotteries from around the world possible, so today you are not restricted to just playing the National Lottery but have the freedom to play almost any of them. Many betting sites now offer fixed odds lotteries, either their own versions or those based on real draws, and some sites even act as proxies letting you play lotteries in other countries.

Best New Betting Sites

There are literally hundreds of new brands that come online every year. Everyone likes something new once in a while but when it comes to sports betting there are not many new sites that can compete with the depth of the old experienced names.

We say most because of course there are a handful of new sites that do something unique, better or differently. These are the brands that we cover in our new sites section. Just because you play with a new site doesn’t mean you need to settle for weaker products, indeed you should be getting something better than your existing site.

Best Betting Sites

Our guide to the UK’s best betting sites is designed to let you, the punter, find the online bookmaker(s) that fits best with you. We have dissected all the major features from the top bookies with a UK gambling commission licence.

Read about the markets they cover and in what depth, what their top betting offers are, interfaces, mobile betting, live betting, streaming availability, payout limits, odds, history, customer service, payment methods and more. For whatever reason you like to bet make sure you bet with your perfect betting sites.

Sports Betting Guide

See our sports betting index and find everything you need to know to bet on your favourite sports whether you are a seasoned professional or a complete amateur. We have guides on what bets are available by sport and how to place them.

We show you where to find the best live betting and streaming, what top competitions and tournaments to look out for as well as the best bookmakers for betting by sport. Find out where sports originated in our sports history guides, where to get the best odds and payouts and other articles on types, terminology and more to help you get the most from your sports betting.

White Label Bookmakers And Sportsbook Platforms

If you have ever looked at a betting website or app and thought it looks and feels surprisingly similar to another, that is probably because they run on the same platform.

One of the easiest ways for a new betting site to set up these days is to use a platform provider to actually deliver all the nuts and bolts, markets, banking, ID checking, support, odds, etc., with the brand basically just picking what features they want and providing their own logos and colours. Find out who are the biggest white label and platform providers.

Bet Types

Do you want to know what is a Lucky 15 or how to place an each-way bet? See our guide to Bet Types with real examples of how these bets work in practice and what your risks and rewards are when betting in different ways.

From single bets to spread bets you can pretty much do it online these days. Want to place a multiple bet, well there are more options than just your run of the mill accumulator. How about having a go at a forecast or a conditional bet? Ever wondered what a Union Jack bet is or a Roundabout.

What Is Daily Fantasy Sports Betting

Daily fantasy sports, or DFS, is a US phenomenon that has started to catch on in the UK thanks in part to lots of the big UK bookies merging or being acquired by US firms.

From 2006-2018 online gambling was illegal in the US but DFS was allowed as it was classed as a game of skill, this allowed to to explode to huge levels. Massive companies like Draft Kings rose from this and have now expanded into the UK. If you want to know more about what DFS is, how to play, how it works and more read our DFS sports page.

Are Betting Syndicates Allowed?

Many people bet in syndicates, either on the lottery or sports such as football and horse racing. The idea is to combine stakes and winnings to give the group an overall better chance of ending up in profit. Some syndicates share the winnings out others put it towards a special day out, like a visit to the races.

Harmless fun, maybe, but in many cases sportsbooks do not actually allow them as technically you are betting on behalf of other people, which goes against the terms and conditions you signed up to. Therefore, are syndicates allowed and how can you place a syndicate bet legally?

Betting On Your Kids

You hear all of the time about lucky parents who bet on their child to do something big when they very young at high odds for the wager to come in years later giving a huge windfall. But just how common is betting on kids and of the many thousands of bets do many actually win?

It’s not particularly had to bet on children to do things like play for England or win the X-factor, but there are some things to bear in mind before you do bet. We also look at famous examples of big wins.

Can You Be Forced To Pay Back Money To A Betting Company?

It sounds like a dream come true, you place a bet only to receive far more than you thought you would or you find a bet at odds far higher than they should be and you win. You might even just login to an account one day and find a load of money in there by mistake.

The question is is this your money to keep and if you withdraw it do you have to pay it back? We cover this question on this page and give examples where the betting company has won the battle and examples where the customer has won the day.

Can You Bet On Anything You Want To?

The old saying goes that if you can think of something then you can probably bet on it. That isn’t quite the case these days, for example, you won’t find a reputable bookie that will take bets on morally questionable markets, such as death, but as long as your bet won’t offend anyone you can probably place it.

The rise of bet request features from bookies means you can now ask for odds on anything, but don’t expect those odds to be good value. We look at some of the stranger things that people bet on in our article.

Buying And Selling Bets

Most commodities in the world can be bought or sold including financial products such as share, mortgages and other financial risk. On that basis you might think it would be perfectly fine to buy or sell a bet but in actuality it is not allowed.

When you place a bet with a licensed bookmaker you are entering into a personal contract, they need to know who you are and where your money came from and where the winnings are going, to prevent money laundering and other things. Therefore, it is not possible to buy and sell a bet privately but there are other options such as cash out or laying on an exchange.

Can You Claim Someone Else’s Bet Slip?

The short answer to this is no, when you place a bet with a bookmaker you are entering into a contract between you and them and you will violate the T&C’s if you allow someone else to claim a bet (or place a bet) on your behalf.

Certainly there are many friendly reasons why you would want to claim someone’s bet slip but the rules are in place to stop criminals claiming other peoples winnings. There are numerous instances of people claiming bet slips they find thinking this is acceptable under a ‘finders keepers’ rule but it is actually illegal and you can be prosecuted for fraud by false representation.

Can You Place A Bet For Someone Else?

It may seem quite innocent to login into someones account or go to a shop and place a bet for them if that person cannot for some reason, likewise you may place a bet for someone else through your own account for them (common for the Grand National, for example).

While this obviously does happen it isn’t actually allowed, when you join a site you agree that you will only bet for yourself with your own money and so technically you are contravening terms and may even be doing something that is fraudulent. Read more about the rules around betting on behalf of others on this page.

How To Bet On Amateur Sports

It is easy to bet on a top Premier League game, every bookie will give you odds, but what about the amateur sports events such as the Olympics or non-professional leagues in football? It is a falsehood that you cannot bet on amateur and semi-professional events, the key is finding a bookmaker that provides markets.

Read our article on how to bet on amateur sports to find out how to place these bets along with the major things to look out for. We also discuss why bookies are weary of these bet types due to the potential for corruption.

Betting From Abroad

Rules determining whether a UK licenced bookie will let you bet when you are in another country vary depending on licensing, regulation, legality and ultimately whether the bookie chooses to operate in that region.

In this article you can find the best UK betting sites for coverage abroad, details of licencing and other rules that apply, tax laws, using VPN’s and an FAQ to betting when abroad.

How To Make A Complaint Against A Bookmaker

We are all human and occasionally both we and bookmakers make mistakes. If you feel you feel a gambling operator has made a mistake or that you have made a mistake due to poorly defined terms and conditions then there are procedures in place to resolve these.

Licensed bookies are required to take customer complaints seriously with internal procedures and if this fails there are independent services such as IBAS, the ASA and the Gambling Commission that may be able to help. Alternatively For details on complaining to IBAS and what the service is see our IBAS page.

Betting Using A VPN

Many of us now use virtual private networks to access the internet for a variety of reasons. VPN’s allow users added security and give anonymity that make them a useful tool for accessing the web.

From a gambling point of view however the use of VPN’s is largely not allowed by betting companies as VPN’s are often used to conceal the location people are in, allowing them to gamble pretending to be in the country where they are registered when they are not.

Maximum Payout And Stake Limits

All sports betting sites have payout limits and it is useful to be aware of these. You don’t need to be a big bettor to fall foul of a payout maximum, this could happen with small stakes on bets such as accumulators with big odds.

Payouts often vary by sport, meaning that just because it is say £1M for football doesn’t mean it will be for darts, for example. Limits also vary by markets so some lines pay less than others. In our guide we list payment maximums by sport for all the sites we list.

Related Contingencies & Bets

What are related contingencies and how should you go about betting on related events? It is often difficult to understand what bets are related and what bets are not, this affects the type of bets your can place and the odds you are given.

For example, you cannot bet on a goalscorer and correct score in the same game as a double bet as these are related, instead you must use a special bet type called the scorecast, see more related contingencies.

Rules For Free Bets And Free Spins

There is rarely anything truly free in life and this very much the case for most free bets and free spins. Generally these offers require you to qualify by depositing or betting, although winnings from the free funds is often given in cash.

Regulations around the use of the world ‘free’ by bookmakers and casinos has changed a lot over time and now operators are required to display all significant terms to you with regards to these offers and not be misleading with adverts. The only offers that are genuinely free are those labelled ‘risk free’. Betting companies also now pay tax on free spins and bets.

What Happens If A Result Changes After A Bet Has Been Settled?

The clear majority of bets settle normally with the final result staying as the final result. Occasionally, for numerous reasons, official results can later be changed, due to disqualification, inaccurate data, enquires, etc., so in those instances what happens to bets placed on those markets or events? Well, generally all bookies will settle bets on the official result immediately after an event.

In horse racing, for example, most bookies pay out on the horse that was first past the post even if that horse is later disqualified but this also means if you backed the horse that finished second and it was later promoted to being a winner that you won’t be paid as a winner on that bet.

Dormant Betting Accounts

It is not uncommon for people to open betting accounts and then forget they have them. Alternatively, people decide to take a break from gambling or cannot login to a site for a long period of time for a multitude of reasons, such as working abroad.

When the time comes that you remember you had a betting account or you are able to log into it again then often, if this is over a year since you last visited, you will find your account has been classified as dormant. These accounts can be reactivated but may be subject to periodic fees charged for maintenance. Find out more about dormant accounts and your rights.

What Happens To Bets And Winnings When Someone Dies?

In the UK ten of millions of people have betting accounts and so it is a common occurrence that people die leaving money in these accounts. Cash held in a gambling account is classed as part of an estate and claiming it back is relatively straight forward by sending in a death certificate.

What about bets placed that have not yet settled though? What happens to these, are they allowed to run their course at which point you can claim winnings or are those bets voided with stakes returned? What happens to money in accounts that is never claimed? We look at the major questions around betting accounts in the event of death.

Palpable Error

A Palpable error is basically a bookmaker making a mistake in either pricing a market or in paying you out. If that mistake is clear and obvious then a bookie can refuse to pay you out, void a bet (if it hasn’t started yet) or pay you out at the correct odds.

They all have terms to cover these eventualities but there is still a possibility of recourse for the punter as there is no clear definition of what is an obvious error. You can complain if you are subject to a palpable error to the company and then to mediation services such as IBAS.

What Is Courtsiding And Is It Legal?

In basic terms courtsiding is the practice of attending a live event and trying to place a bet on something that happens before it is officially registered. The practice became know first in tennis, which is where the name comes from, where people would bet on points before the umpire officially registered them, allowing them to back sure-win bets.

The practice is not technically illegal but it is very much frowned upon by bookies and the sports themselves. Courtsiding is not restricted to tennis and can be done on any pretty much any sport.

Difference Between Betting And Trading

If you watch the news you will see stories all the time of traders recklessly risking money on markets and you might think how is this different to gambling? A country like the USA largely outlaws sports betting yet you can short sell or hedge on a financial market with far more risk? Look at the damage the financial crash in 2008 did to the world economy, it is easy to argue the affects of trading can be far worse on a large scale than gambling.

Trading on the face of it may seem a lot like gambling but there are many crucial differences, from how it is regulated, how you are taxed on gains and most importantly how much you might stand to win or lose. It helps to understand trading and spread betting before you get into it.

What Reasons Are Greyhounds Disqualified For?

Greyhound racing isn’t as avidly followed as horse racing these days but there are still plenty of races every single day and lots of people bet on the dogs. While most people have a good idea why horses may be disqualified the same is not true for greyhound racing.

Punters that find their bet wasn’t paid out and the greyhound was disqualified may be wondering what the reason might be. This page covers the main reason why a dog may be disqualified from a race and the rules behind it.

What Information Do Betting Companies Track And Why?

When you gamble, especially online, most people accept that they are being monitored but at the same time those that are more curious or worry about privacy might wonder exactly what these companies track and why.

Of course a lot of the data that is gathered about you is to check you are gambling legally, safely and responsibly but at the same time a lot of the information is also used to profile you in order to help the brands make more profits, either by using that information to target you or, if you are a consistent winner, limit or close your account.

Why Do Bookmakers Limit Accounts?

If you’ve ever won consistently with a betting site it is highly likely you may at some point have had your account limited or suspended. This means you have heavily restricted stake limits and often cannot claim any promotions or use certain features.

The practice of limiting users is rife, but what can you actually be limited for and should it even be allowed? In some countries bookies are forced to take bets up to a minimum threshold and many argue bookmakers are exploiting an already profitable market to make more and more money.

Why Has My Betfair Account Been Closed?

Like any other bookmaker, Betfair reserve the right to suspend, limit, or close the accounts of any of their customers, and they don’t need to give you many details about why they have chosen to do this.

There are a few fairly common reasons why these things occur though, and they range from bonus abuse, not adhering to previously agreed to betting rules and/or terms and conditions, or displaying suspicious betting patterns. We go into more detail on all of this in the article.

Why Has My Paddy Power Account Been Closed?

If you have been on the receiving end of an account being limited, suspended, or in the worst case, closed by Paddy Power, you might well be wondering why this has happened and feeling pretty miffed about it too. In most cases, the bookie isn’t exactly forthcoming with further information on the matter.

Paddy Power are well within their rights to take these actions, and in most cases it is pointless trying to get the decision overturned, but at least understanding why it has happened can help you avoid similar outcomes with your next bookie. Most closures, suspensions, and limiting of accounts happen for the same handful of reasons, which are explained in this article.

Why Has My Sky Bet Account Been Closed?

You might have heard people saying that bookmakers don’t like winners, and Sky Bet definitely fall into that category. They are not alone in this of course, but nevertheless, many a successful bettor has found themselves either limited, suspended, or had their account closed entirely with Sky Bet.

Sometimes it happens for more legitimate reasons too, such as breaking their terms and conditions, for example, but often, it’s because you either take too much money from them, or abuse bonuses without ever making regular bets. Everything you need to know about it is covered on this page.

Betting Exchanges

Betting using an exchange should be more popular than it is. Why, because on average you get better odds when backing bets and you can also lay your own bets to other people and act like your own bookie. The fact it is peer-to-peer and the exchange only takes a small commission is why the value is so much better.

Indeed bookies use exchanges to help set their own odds, as it helps them see how punters see a market, and they even offset some of their own exposure using exchanges. In our exchanges section we tell you everything you need to know about exchange betting and what the best sites are to use.

Betting Offers For Existing Customers

We do not cover guides about specific claimable betting offers on this page. Our guides to the best retention offers such as acca insurance and free bet clubs can be found in our betting offers section.

However, if you are looking for a bookmaker that rewards loyal customers or one that has the right offers to suit how you bet and the sports you bet on, then we cover the most valuable and most useful offers here, explaining what they are and how they work. With this knowledge, you can make a more informed decision on what bookie to use.

Payment Methods & Banking Guide

The beauty of online bookmaking is it has changed the way people fund their betting wallets, you can now use eWallets such as PayPal and Skrill as well as cash voucher systems such as PaySafeCard, and did you know you are still able to deposit and withdraw from betting sites using cash in store?

In our banking articles you will find all the minimum and maximum deposit and withdrawal limits including information on fees and sign up bonus availability. Also find information on how to set up and use various payment methods.

Football Betting Guides

For such a simple and beautiful game there is a lot to be said quite literally about football. As the biggest spectator sport on the planet and representing around 70% of wagers in the UK there is a lot to understand when it comes to betting on football.

In our football guides section we discuss everything from the history of football, the best bookies, guides on bet types such both teams to score, accumulators and more.

New Customer Free Bets

The best time to claim an offer is as a new customer, this is where the best value offers usually are. Many betting sites look the same on the surface and betting companies know they need attractive incentives to get people to sign up to them over another brand.

We cover all the best free bets from top UK operators on our free bets page. We also tell you about the different types of free bet offers, how to understand them and how to compare them to make sure you claim the right offer at the right betting site for you.

Horse Racing Betting Guides

Horse Racing has a long history and as the original betting sport it has accumulated many rules and terms that can seem daunting to the uninitiated. Are you are puzzled as to what Rule 4 means, what happens in a dead heat or want to know the difference between grades and classes?

Don’t worry we have clear and easy to understand guides and articles to help you get the most value from your racing bets.

Best Lottery Sites And Playing Lotto Online

The National Lottery is the most played gambling game in the UK. When it was launched in 1994 it was only possible to play through shops but once the internet became a thing you could start to play online to.

The internet also made playing other lotteries from around the world possible, so today you are not restricted to just playing the National Lottery but have the freedom to play almost any of them. Many betting sites now offer fixed odds lotteries, either their own versions or those based on real draws, and some sites even act as proxies letting you play lotteries in other countries.

Best New Betting Sites

There are literally hundreds of new brands that come online every year. Everyone likes something new once in a while but when it comes to sports betting there are not many new sites that can compete with the depth of the old experienced names.

We say most because of course there are a handful of new sites that do something unique, better or differently. These are the brands that we cover in our new sites section. Just because you play with a new site doesn’t mean you need to settle for weaker products, indeed you should be getting something better than your existing site.

Best Betting Sites

Our guide to the UK’s best betting sites is designed to let you, the punter, find the online bookmaker(s) that fits best with you. We have dissected all the major features from the top bookies with a UK gambling commission licence.

Read about the markets they cover and in what depth, what their top betting offers are, interfaces, mobile betting, live betting, streaming availability, payout limits, odds, history, customer service, payment methods and more. For whatever reason you like to bet make sure you bet with your perfect betting sites.

Sports Betting Guide

See our sports betting index and find everything you need to know to bet on your favourite sports whether you are a seasoned professional or a complete amateur. We have guides on what bets are available by sport and how to place them.

We show you where to find the best live betting and streaming, what top competitions and tournaments to look out for as well as the best bookmakers for betting by sport. Find out where sports originated in our sports history guides, where to get the best odds and payouts and other articles on types, terminology and more to help you get the most from your sports betting.

White Label Bookmakers And Sportsbook Platforms

If you have ever looked at a betting website or app and thought it looks and feels surprisingly similar to another, that is probably because they run on the same platform.

One of the easiest ways for a new betting site to set up these days is to use a platform provider to actually deliver all the nuts and bolts, markets, banking, ID checking, support, odds, etc., with the brand basically just picking what features they want and providing their own logos and colours. Find out who are the biggest white label and platform providers.

Bet Types

Do you want to know what is a Lucky 15 or how to place an each-way bet? See our guide to Bet Types with real examples of how these bets work in practice and what your risks and rewards are when betting in different ways.

From single bets to spread bets you can pretty much do it online these days. Want to place a multiple bet, well there are more options than just your run of the mill accumulator. How about having a go at a forecast or a conditional bet? Ever wondered what a Union Jack bet is or a Roundabout.

What Is Daily Fantasy Sports Betting

Daily fantasy sports, or DFS, is a US phenomenon that has started to catch on in the UK thanks in part to lots of the big UK bookies merging or being acquired by US firms.

From 2006-2018 online gambling was illegal in the US but DFS was allowed as it was classed as a game of skill, this allowed to to explode to huge levels. Massive companies like Draft Kings rose from this and have now expanded into the UK. If you want to know more about what DFS is, how to play, how it works and more read our DFS sports page.

Are Maximum Withdrawal Limits Allowed?

In the past betting companies could have rules in their terms and conditions that limited the maximum you could withdraw in a given time frame. In 2022 the UKGC overrode all of those rules stipulating betting sites need to pay out a customers full balance at any time they request.

This doesn’t mean they don’t have maximum payout limits, it just means you should be able to withdraw any amount you wish in your balance whenever you want to. There are often transaction limits, however, so you may need to make multiple withdrawals for large amounts.

Can You Change Currency On A Betting Site?

It is possible to change currency with some betting companies after you have opened an account but it isn’t always straight forward or easy. When you register you need to set a currency and most sites will then make you stick with that currency, to use a different currency you have to withdraw, close the account, then open a new account in the new currency.

A few companies will transfer the balance across but will charge you a conversion fee. Some sites will let you have secondary currency available but ultimately this is a closed wallet, i.e. you can’t deposit in pounds then withdraw in Euros, fore example. The rules exist to prevent currency being moved in an unregulated way.

Does Gambling Affect Your Credit Score?

In the UK it is now illegal to use credit to gamble with, either from credit cards or other borrowed sources. Gambling companies perform source of funds checks to ensure people are not using borrowed funds and that people are not gambling with money they cannot afford to lose. Therefore gambling doesn’t really affect credit scores anymore, although it still can if you use a debit card overdraft, for example.

Gambling, however, can still affect your credit rating with a lender if they feel you gamble too much and gambling transactions in general are seen as a negative signal. It all comes down to affordability.

One Wallet Bookmakers: Online & Offline Cash Betting

It is now entirely possible to link your online account to cards that can be used at some of the biggest UK bookies with a high street presence to allow you to deposit, bet and withdraw from one account.

This means you can retain online offers and benefits, often get additional offers, deposit or withdraw as little as £1 in cash instantly and with some you can now even track your bets placed in store, cash them out and even more. These cards can add a lot of value to regular bettors.

Who Founded 888

Formed by two pairs of Israeli brothers, Avi & Aaron Shaked and Ron & Shay Ben-Yitzhak, 888 dates back before a lot of online brands back to 1997. Initially formed under the moniker Virtual Holdings before later becoming known as 888 Holdings, they launched one of the first online betting sites, casino-on-net back in 1997.

Spreading quickly and moving across the world the group was listed on the stock market by 2005 and went on to develop and acquire other businesses like no other online betting brand, despite big setbacks when the US outlawed online gambling in 2006. Tragedy befell Shay Ben-Yitzhak who died in a plane crash but they brothers will be proud that they created a brand that became so big it eventually acquired William Hill.

Beat The Odds

There is no set way to win when gambling but there are ways to ensure that when you do win you get the best possible value from your wager. Odds are set by traders and in general they undersell the likelihood of an outcome, hence how the bookie makes a profit – they work in a margin.

However, traders are human after all, and although rare they do make mistakes and omissions. In this guide we discuss ways to spot overpriced odds lines on a regular basis as well as other strategies to beat the odds.

Betting Odds Explained

Modern online betting is bow a global affair and this means you will now see odds and prices listed in several formats including traditional fractions more European decimals and even American moneyline formats. Some more continental bookies may only provide prices in decimal format and this is also common in exchange and index spread betting.

There is really nothing to worry about. In our article you will explain betting odds including how to bet with different odds formats with conversion and comparison tables and real examples.

Can Odds Affect Performance

Of course we know performance has a big impact on odds but what about the other way around? Can the odds themselves have an impact on the outcome of an event?

While professionals sports competitors are unlikely to pay attention to bookies directly most will know if they are favourite or an underdog, they will also often be aware, through the media, of whether their odds are getting better or worse. This therefore could have a real impact on the outcome of an event, especially for individual sports. It really dependents on the person or team and whether they feel pressure from being a favourite or spurred on being an underdog.

Expected Value And Variance

Most people place bets based on instinct, often backing the team or market they want to win rather than the market that is most likely to return them a profit. Those who think more deeply about sports betting and bet to make profit not just to win individual bets, will often talk about expected value.

The idea is simple; you make a decision of what you think the true probability of an outcome is and if the odds are better than that prediction then the bet has a positive EV. Backing markets with positive EV in the long run can make you a profit, but, and it is a big but, it is affected by variance and that means you need to have an appropriate bank roll and be prepared for loses in the shorter term to gain in the longer term.

How And Why Do Bookies Lay Off Bets?

The art of bookmaking is not to take any risks, it is the total opposite to the punter. The idea is to build a profit margin into a market and then take an equal proportion of bets on all possible outcomes to ensure a profit whatever the outcome. One reason odds shift is because bookies are trying to put you off some bets and encourage you to place others to balance their books.

The thing is, it is not always possible for bookies to balance their bookies internally so sometimes if they are over-exposed on a certain outcome they will mitigate their risk by laying that outcome. They do this with other bookies, via exchanges and through wholesale bookmakers, which are a lot like financial clearing houses.

How Do Bookmakers Set Odds And Make Money

Bookmakers do not gamble when it comes to setting prices. Odds are set based on probabilities, in response to betting patterns and to balance the book. By understanding how bookmakers set odds you can spot the best value prices to add maximum value to your wagers.

In this article we discuss also discuss how to calculate odds, how bookies balance books to ensure they always make money and how to spot high and low margin bets.

What Are Weak Odds And How To Spot Them?

Weak odds is a term given to markets that are overpriced, i.e. the odds are better than the actual chances of the outcome occurring. This happens most commonly because of imbalanced books for specific bets and will often come about because public opinion prefers one outcome over another and if you go against this opinion you can find added value over time.

Still, the bookies are well aware of weak odds and they don’t mind pricing markets above the expected value if it guarantees them a profit, but if you consistently only back weak lines expect to find your account limited.

What Is ‘Value’ In Betting

The term ‘value’ is thrown around a lot in betting and gambling but in and of itself it is quite vague because what is valuable to one person is different to another. Generally people are betting to try to win money and so value is often used in relation to odds.

If odds are close to or better than a real probability then this is often seen as a value bet. In other instances it is promotions like free bets that people find valuable when they choose to gamble. For many people gambling is a form of entertainment and often entertainment value can be found despite the fact you are more likely to lose.

Implied Probability Vs True Probability

Many people look to bookmaker odds as an indicator as to how likely something is to happen and while the odds will show a broad trend they also include a profit margin for the bookmaker, therefore, true probabilities are rarely reflected. This is known as the implied probability, i.e. the probability implied by the odds offered.

The true probability of something happening can never be known entirely but using knowledge, research and statistical analysis we can get very close. People who bet ‘professionally’ will analyse markets in detail to try to work out the true probability and if this is ever lower than they implied probability offered by a bookie they will bet on it.

When The Bookies Get It Wrong And Lose

We all know that the house always wins over time, we just hope that we might be one of the statistical anomalies that wins in spite of this. Therefore when the bookies do get it wrong there is a sense of satisfaction, even if you are not one of the winners.

There have been some high profile incidents over the last 50 years or so where big unexpected outcomes have cost bookmakers a lot of cash. Read about some of the highest profile incidents of bookies getting it wrong.

Acquisitions, Mergers & Takeovers

The betting game is one of the most competitive there is, online especially, many would even say the gambling industry is more about raw capitalism than anything outside of banking.

Still in spite of the high competition and huge revenues on offer many of the biggest operators continue to acquire other brands or merge to create larger and larger companies. But what does this mean for the future of the betting industry?

Biggest Bookmakers And Betting Companies

The UK has one of the biggest regulated gambling markets in the world and through a long history of Brits liking a bet it has created some of the worlds biggest multi-billion pound betting companies.

In our article we look at the UK’s largest betting operators and how they became so big along with the UK gambling market as a whole. From the distribution of gambling revenues online and offline to the evolution of betting in the UK we dissect the UK betting market.

Who Created Paddy Power?

Paddy Power gets it name from one of it’s founders, David Power, and the Paddy bit comes from the fact they are Irish. There were, in fact, three men that founded Paddy Power, as well as David there was Stewart Kenny and John Corcoran. They got together in the 1980’s to combine their independent bookmaking businesses to create a larger brand more able to survive as big bookies began to dominate.

They didn’t just survive, they created one of the most recognisable betting brands in the UK and Ireland that has become the linchpin of the multi-billion super group that is now Flutter Entertainment.

Do Bookmakers Collude?

There is no doubt that unscrupulous bookies in the past would collude, especially at racecourses and events where they could control the odds collectively and increase their own profit margins. But does that still happen today with modern systems that allow people to track odds at all times.

Certainly betting is a competitive industry, online especially, and that should drive up value for the customer and for those that shop around it does indeed. The fact is, though, that now most of the market is cornered by a handful of mega companies and if these do collude it means that it could affect a huge range of punters.

Fred And Peter Done

Many of the people that started the biggest gambling companies shy away from the spotlight, that is not true of the Done brothers who established Betfred, Fred Done especially. Initially starting out in their fathers illegal bookmaking business it gave them good grounding to capitalise on the law changed that allowed betting shops to open in the 1960’s. In a few decades they had hundreds and then thousands of shops.

Fred largely looks after the Betfred side of things with his brother Peter involved in HR, but they are close and both make key decisions together. Fred is known for his love of Man United that has led to decisions such as losing a £1M bet with Victor Chandler and deciding to pay out early on Man U winning the league, and they didn’t. Colourful characters that don’t suit everyone but they still run one of the biggest independent bookies so they must have ‘Done’ something right.

Joe Coral

Joe Coral was not actually born with that name, he was a Polish immigrant to the UK with his parents looking for a better life and they changed their surname to Coral to fit in better into the country. Joe was not great at school but did show a skill for maths that stood him in good stead as he became an on-track bookie at the greyhounds and then when he set up his own shops after laws were changed in the early 1960’s.

A man of integrity and hard work but also an interesting man who used his marketing genius to take Coral to the top where they are now a jewel in the crown of the multi-billion Entain group.

John Boyle

For John Boyle, the founder of Boylesports, moving into the betting game was a natural progression as his father was a greyhound trainer for a bookmaker. Still, to take a single shop in 1989 to become Ireland’s biggest independent bookie and a recognisable name across the UK took some doing.

John started out in Northern Ireland before moving south to create his empire, that today includes over 250 shops and a very successful site. He has since stepped down as CEO but still very much has a say in the future of the company that bears his name.

Peter & Denise Coates

Peter Coates tried his hands at many things before getting into bookmaking in the 1970’s. That led him to create 59 shops under the name Provincial Racing but it wasn’t really his true passion, that was Stoke City football club who he owned twice. His daughter Denise Coates became the accountant and then manager for her dads shops before in 2000 purchasing bet365.com and setting up an online site from a portacabin in Stoke using a bank loan.

It was one of the most sensible moves Denise ever made as the brand went on to become the largest online betting site and the biggest independent British betting company.

Public Vs. Private Betting Companies

From a punter perspective not many people care if the company they are betting with are publicly owned or privately owned. It can make a difference though, for example, public companies can raise funds more easily from shareholders that they can use to acquire other brands or companies or move into other markets.

At the same time their outlook tends to be short term, mainly concerned about the next quarter profits. Private companies are more shrouded and can do what they want, this means they can struggle to raise funds but at the same time they are more stable and long term in their approach. Find out the differences and pros can cons for each.

Victor Chandler

The Chandler family have a long history of bookmaking that started with William Chandler in the early 1900’s. As with most bookmakers of this time it was racing that provided the early opportunities and being a London family it was greyhound racing that started it all. William passed away and the responsibility for the bookmaking business fell to one of his sons, Victor Chandler senior, who continued the business.

It wasn’t until his sudden death in 1976 that the brand really took off when the young Victor Chandler junior took over and expanded opening shops. Famously Victor moved his business out of the UK to Gibraltar in the late 1900’s to avoid UK tax at the time, a move that is said to have led to the abolishment of direct betting tax in the UK. The name is now part of bookmaking history and remains one of the most popular online betting sites.

William Hill

There are few people more synonymous with betting and bookmaking than William Hill, probably the most recognised high street bookmaker in the UK. Despite his company going on to become the biggest retail bookie in the UK things didn’t start out quite so above board. In the early days Mr Hill ran a series of illegal bookmaking operations before setting up a proper company in 1934 that he named after himself.

In those days you could only take bets off course as ‘credit’ but the innovative Hill found ways to broaden the scope and invented many of the betting tools and terms we know today. Although not keen on betting shops initially once he did take the plunge he became the biggest and most well known bookmaker in the industry.