Betting Apps UK | Best Sports Betting Apps for iOS and Android
Whether you use them or not, mobile apps have changed betting forever. Read More
Read on for our expert opinion on the best betting apps in the UK – we’ll run you through our selection criteria, the pros and cons of their use, and the sports at your disposal. If you find a betting app you like the look of, you can click through, sign up and claim a welcome bonus.
List of Our Best Mobile Betting Apps UK: December 2023
- Payout Speed
- Payment Options
- Bet Builder
- Free Bet Club
- Streaming
Top 10 UK Betting Apps Reviewed
With much competition out there, it’s important that a betting app finds its niche to appeal to a broad range of punters. That’s what we look for during our reviews of the best betting apps – that point of difference between one bookmaker and another. Let’s take a look at our current top 10, and why we’ve recommended them.
bet365 - Best Betting App for Bet Builders
One of the UK’s leading bookmakers, bet365 does pretty much everything well. Where it really excels, though, is in its bet building capabilities – a feature that weaves together 50 different sports categories and a huge range of betting markets. I particularly like the ability to make bet building selections across different events, which is made easy thanks to the app’s series of well-designed interfaces.
Sign up offer: Bet £10, get £30 in free bets
bet365’s welcome offer is to bet £10, get £30 in free bets. You’ll need to deposit between £5 and £10 to qualify and will need to place a first bet of the equivalent amount to receive triple the funds in free bets. You have 90 days to use the free bets, which must contain a selection with minimum odds of 1/5.
BetMGM - Best Betting App for Big Rewards
BetMGM recently launched in the UK and is attracting many new customers with some fantastic promotions. Its Golden Goals promo, for example, invites punters to guess the scores of six upcoming football fixtures in a bid to win £2m, with smaller cash prizes for those who come closest.
As well as this, loyal customers can collect BetMGM Rewards the more they play, and you can join BetMGm’s Club for access to tailored bonuses and other exclusive benefits. With loads of other ongoing promotions and competitions, this betting site brings plenty of added value.
Sign up offer: Bet £10, get £40 in free bets
If you’re looking for a larger welcome offer, check out BetGM’s bet £10, get £40 in free bets offer. Once you place your qualifying £10 bet on minimum odds of 1/1, you’ll receive four individual £10 free bet tokens: one to use on a bet builder, one to use on football, one to use on horse racing, and one to use on an accumulator of your choice.
BetVictor - Best Betting App for Odds
If you’re looking for consistently outstanding odds, I’d recommend opening an account at BetVictor. I’ve always found that odds at this bookie are just that little bit more competitive, particularly when it comes to football.
The BetVictor app is slick and well-designed, and you can join the Loyalty Club for a weekly free bet worth between £1 and £25. There’s also a daily prize wheel releasing additional bet credits and casino-related rewards.
Sign up offer: Bet £10 Get £30 In Free Bets
One thing I love about this sports betting site is that customers can choose between three different welcome offers: bet £10, get £30 for all UK customers; bet £20, get £40 on horse racing; and bet £10, get £40 on football events.
William Hill - Best Betting App for Horse Racing
Horse racing fans need look no further than William Hill – the longest-running bookmaker in the UK. You’ll receive daily horse racing bet boosts, best odds guaranteed on every UK and Irish race, enhanced odds, and payouts on extra places.
Away from horse racing, I love William Hill’s famous #YourOdds Twitter service, which invites customers to request odds on personalised bet slips. These odds can also receive the boosted treatment.
Sign up offer: Bet £10, get £30 in free bets
There are £30 in free bets available at William Hill when you use the promo code R30. Your bets will be released after your first qualifying wager on minimum odds of 1/2, and will be credited as 3x £10 free bets.
Virgin Bet - Best New Betting App
The Virgin Bet app launched in 2019, so it had some catching up to do to compete for market share. The app’s focus on live streaming, which currently covers football, tennis and horse racing events, is helping this newcomer earn a reputation amongst more established names.
In the promotions section there’s a focus on free bets, horse racing offers, and daily free-to-play prize draws.
Sign up offer: Bet £10, get £20 in free bets
Place your first £10 wager at minimum odds of 1/2 and you’ll receive two £10 free bets. You’ll have seven days to claim the offer after sign-up and seven more to put them to use.
Boylesports - Best Betting App for Specials
Boylesports is the best betting app for special offers, which are delivered frequently at this bookmaker. I conducted my review during the international football break, but there were still 15 football specials on offer.
These specials sit alongside Boylesports’ ongoing promotions, which tallied an impressive 16 during my review. These offers cover football, rugby, cricket, tennis, American football, basketball, darts, and horse and greyhound racing. Head to the Promotions & Specials tab in the app for the complete list.
Sign up offer: £25 free bet bundle
You’ll need to deposit a total of £40 to access all of Boylesports’ welcome offer, which might put some punters off. Your first £5 free bet will be credited following a first settled bet of £10 on minimum odds of evens; after that, you’ll receive a free bet worth 50% of your next four deposits, up to a total of £20.
SBK - Best Betting App for Customer Support
SBK is an app-only betting site looking to ‘rewrite the sportsbook’ by offering better value to customers. This would help explain why the app’s customer support facilities are so excellent, with a helpful and friendly live chat service available from 8am-10pm every day.
Sign up offer: Bet £10, get £30 in Free Bets
Place your first £10 wager with no minimum odds and you’ll receive 3x £10 bet credits: one delivered immediately, one after seven days, and another after 14 days.
QuinnBet - Best Betting App for Free Bets
QuinnBet generally excels in promotions. In the app, head to this tab and you’ll find offers categorised by sport, with promos on horse and greyhound racing, football, golf, tennis and US sports all available during my review. There are also tabs for daily and weekly offers.
Sign up offer: 50% Back as a Free Bet up to £35
The amount of credit you’ll receive through QuinnBet’s welcome offer depends on the amount of your first day losses. There’s no minimum deposit, which means it’s up to you how much you’d like to risk. The maximum amount you can draw from the offer is £35, which has been recently boosted from £25.
10Bet - Best Betting App for Withdrawals
10Bet customers can fund their accounts with three different e-wallets – a payment method known for fast withdrawals. As well as receiving your winnings at pace, 10Bet also allows for £1 withdrawals – a rarity at most sports betting sites. Higher rollers can also withdraw up to £50,000.
Sign up offer: 50% up to £50
Sign up with the promo code PLAY10 and you’ll unlock a matched deposit bonus worth 50% up to £50. So, if you were to deposit the full £50, you’d receive £25 in bonus funds.
Parimatch - Best Betting App for PayPal
If you like placing bets with PayPal, Parimatch might be the app for you, with no withdrawal fees and requests processed within 24 hours. I’m a big fan of Parimatch’s recently added Hat-Trick Hunt promotion, a free-to-play game rewarding those who can guess three correct football scores with various prizes.
Sign up offer: Bet £10, get £30
Sign up and bet £10 at Parimatch and you’ll receive 6x £5 free bets to use on available football markets. You’ll have seven days to use your free bets.
How We Select the Best Betting Apps
No matter which aspect of the betting experience we’re looking at, our reviewing process covers a range of areas to ensure a site has the quality worthy of our recommendation. How you rank each of these aspects is up to you – we just want to provide you with accurate information so that you can make the right decision on where to sign up. Below is a list of our main areas of concern regarding the best betting apps.
1. Usability
The best UK betting apps are easy to use. Good usability means organising all of the app’s features clearly; in particular, users must be able to move around the sportsbook at ease, hopping between sports, bet slips, and live betting markets with just a couple of touches.
2. App Speed
Any sports betting app must be highly dependable when it comes to speed. For those betting on live sporting action, a lag of 30 seconds could be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful wager – one of the reasons why the best mobile betting apps will always score highly in this part of our review.
3. Market Coverage
A betting app’s market coverage can impress us in two ways: by offering customers a long list of sports to bet on generally, or by going deep within their sporting categories. In the world of football, this could cover everything from the Malaysian second division to women’s US college action, but we obviously expect excellent coverage of all the UK’s most watched sports.
4. Customer Support
Responsive, polite and helpful customer support is a hallmark of the best betting apps in the UK. 24/7 live chat support is the gold standard here, but we also look for a decent FAQs page, active social media channels, and phone and email support.
5. Best Odds Guaranteed
If you’re looking to use a betting app to place bets on horse racing, you’ll want to pick a site that offers best odds guaranteed. This promotion means you’ll always be given the most favourable odds, regardless of how they change since the time you placed your wager.
6. Acca Insurance
Similarly, if you enjoy placing accumulators, you’ll want to pick an app with acca insurance, where you’ll receive your stake back, typically as a free bet, if one leg of your acca lets you down.
7. Payment Methods
The best betting apps in the UK will offer their customers plenty of choice when it comes to funding their accounts. There’s nothing wrong with using a debit card here – in fact it’s still the most popular option – but we also want to see e-wallets, prepaid cards, bank transfer systems, and possibly even cryptocurrencies.
8. Payout Speeds
Working hand-in-hand with payment methods is the facilitation of fast withdrawals. Newer banking technologies like e-wallets are better able to process withdrawal requests at speed, so it’s vital that at least some of the banking options available on the app allow for this.
9. Welcome Offers and Regular Promotions
When you’re signing up to a new betting app, you’ll be invited to make use of a welcome bonus, such as a bundle of free bets. We’ll assess the true value of these offers by weighing up their terms and conditions to see how player-friendly they really are. Part of our assessment here also concerns the betting site’s list of continuous promotions for returning customers: how frequent are they and do they offer decent value – these are the questions we ask.
10. Licensing and Security
Of course, none of our review takes place without first verifying the app’s licensing credentials. Security and safety are of paramount importance to us at BettingOdds – we’ll never direct you towards an unlicensed app, so don’t ever sign up to one.
Betting Apps vs Mobile Betting Sites
For many punters, using a bespoke betting app is the best way to place wagers. We tend to agree, but it’s by no means your only option if you want to place bets on the go.
Every UK bookmaker will optimise its site for mobile use, meaning customers can access these sites via their mobile browser – a perfectly adequate way to place bets from your device.
Betting sites will develop apps for both iOS and Android operating systems. The manufacturer of your device will determine which app you’re able to download: if you use an Apple mobile device, you’ll download the app from the App Store; if you’re on Android, you’ll need to visit Google’s Play Store.
Some bookmakers only develop apps on one operating system. If betting via an app is something you’re interested in, make sure you sign up to a site with an app consistent with your system.
Whether or not you prefer a betting app to a standard mobile site will depend on your outlook on betting as a whole. If you’re not interested in the benefits of using a betting app, then there’s really no need to use one. To help you work out which option would suit you, here are two comparison tables of the pros and cons of each.
Pros and Cons of Using Betting Apps
positives | negatives |
---|---|
Receive notifications on the latest bonuses and promotions | Requires users to download software |
Customise interfaces to better organise your better preferences | Software takes up storage on your device |
Receive personalised offers based on your betting activity | The ease of betting apps can encourage unhealthy gambling behaviours |
Enjoy faster loading times as a result of locally stored app data |
Pros and Cons of Using a Mobile Betting Site
positives | negatives |
---|---|
No need to download any additional software | You won't receive notifications for bonuses and promotions |
Every betting site has one | You won't receive bonuses specifically tailored to you |
No need to worry about eating up device storage | Loading times can be slower |
Payment Methods Accepted By Sports Betting Apps
The best betting apps will offer customers many different payment methods for both deposits and withdrawals, each with their own features and benefits. Let’s take a look at the most popular.
Debit Cards
Every UK betting app allows for debit card deposits and withdrawals. This ubiquity, coupled with the familiarity of debit card transactions, makes this payment method the most common. Debit card deposits will always qualify users for betting bonuses, but if you’re keen on receiving fast withdrawals, you might want to find alternatives – debit card withdrawals can take up to five working days.
e-Wallets
PayPal, Skrill and Neteller are the leading options in this space, all with similar pros and cons. e-Wallet withdrawals aren’t subject to the same arduous processes as bank transactions, meaning you’ll receive your withdrawal requests faster than you would via a debit card. Availability is excellent, particularly when it comes to PayPal betting sites, but e-wallet deposits are often excluded from accessing bonuses.
Paysafecard
Paysafecard is a prepaid card service allowing users to purchase vouchers either online or in physical retail outlets. Each voucher comes with a unique code, which transfers the value of the voucher directly to your account when you upload it to the cashier page on your betting app. There are strict limits to spending, which helps with budget management, but opportunities to withdraw are almost non-existent.
AstroPay
AstroPay is an option you’ll find at the best betting apps, combining the perks of e-wallets and prepaid cards into one payment system. You can manage your funds through your online account just like you would with an e-wallet, and withdrawals can be processed at speed. AstroPay also requires users to create virtual debit cards from within their account, which makes the service function in a similar way to prepaid cards.
Trustly
If you’d prefer to withhold your bank information from your betting app, you can make payments via Trustly – a bank transfer service that runs on Open Banking, and therefore removes any exchange of financial data between merchants and individuals. Your bank will need to subscribe to the Trustly service in order to use it, but availability is good at betting sites.
Which Sports do UK Betting Apps Allow you to Bet On?
You’ll be amazed at the breadth of sports available to bet on at the best betting apps. Of course, this starts with excellent coverage of the most popular sports in the UK – let’s take a look at some of these.
Football
From the biggest cups, leagues and tournaments, to fixtures in football-playing nations you might never have heard of – the best football betting sites have it all. Paddy Power is one such site, with loads of ongoing promotions and excellent odds on all football markets.
Horse Racing
Horse racing continues to be the UK’s single biggest sport when it comes to betting, thanks in large part to major festivals taking place at venues like Cheltenham, Aintree, Epsom and more. William Hill is a leading horse racing betting site, with enhanced odds, best odds guaranteed, and payouts to extra places.
Cricket
Your mobile betting app will bring you markets on all the latest cricket matches and tournaments, including the T20 and ODI World Cups, the latest Test matches, and action from franchise competitions such as the IPL, Australia’s Big Bash, and The Hundred. 10Bet regularly hosts cricket-specific promotions, offering added value to fans of the game.
Formula 1
Formula 1 betting sites will heat up in the build-up to any Grand Prix, and since the F1 calendar stretches from February to November, this means regular bonus opportunities throughout the year. BetMGM is an excellent destination for F1 betting, with a great range of available betting markets.
Golf
Top betting apps will have extensive markets available on golf’s four Major tournaments, as well as other competitions around the world. If you’re a golf fan, we recommend bet365 – this bookie offers strong “early bird” player odds and pays out on each way bets up to 12 places.
Basketball
With some of the NBA’s best players now hailing from outside the US, there’s never been a better time for the global basketball fan. The best basketball betting sites respect the sport’s growth, offering betting markets on leagues all over the world. Virgin Bet is perhaps the gold standard here, with markets available on 55 different basketball leagues and tournaments.
How to Bet on iOS and Android Apps
If you’re looking to access the best UK betting apps from an iOS or Android device, here’s what you need to do.
- Browse this page of the best betting apps
This page is a comprehensive roundup of all the best betting apps available to UK customers. Read our reviews, compare app features, and find one you like. - Download the app
Once you’ve picked the right betting app for you, head to the App Store if you’re an iOS user, or the Play Store if you’re on an Android device. Key in the name of the betting site, find the app, and hit download. - Sign Up
With the app downloaded onto your device, you’ll be ready to create a new betting account. Enter in your personal details as prompted – this might involve submitting proof of identity and address. - Make your first deposit
With an account created, you’ll be able to add funds to your account. Make sure your first deposit satisfies the terms and conditions of the welcome bonus, which will likely include a bundle of free bets. - Place your first bet
With a funded account ready to go, there’s nothing left to do but lay down your first wager. You’ll be able to use some free bet credits as a new customer, so long as you place a qualifying wager first.
How to Bet on Mobile Betting Sites
Alternatively, if you’re simply looking to place a bet at a mobile betting site through your browser, here are the steps you need to take.
- Visit our dedicated page
Click through to our dedicated page of the best betting sites, all of which will have high-quality sportsbooks optimised for the mobile screen. Find the right site for you by comparing welcome bonuses and other features. - Search for the site in your mobile browser
Once you know where you want to sign up, search for the bookmaker in your mobile browser.
After this, simply repeat steps 3-5 in the above section, and enjoy your new mobile betting account.
Responsible Gambling & Betting Apps
Regardless of how you gamble – in an app, through a betting site, or at the races – it’s important you do so responsibly.
You’ve heard this phrase before, but don’t think of it as a meaningless platitude. Instead, consider the ways in which gambling sites are set up to aid their responsible use: make use of on-site time limiters, set budget controls, and apply self-exclusion tools if necessary.
Above all, it’s vital that you only ever gamble what you’re happy to lose. To help with this, never bet when you’re under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and never borrow money from others to fund your gambling.
Betting Apps in the UK FAQs
What is the Best Betting App?
Deciding which is the best betting app is a matter of personal preference; some want the slickest app design, while others are after the best welcome bonus. We present all the facts so you can make an informed decision on where to sign up.
How Safe are Mobile Betting Apps?
All of our recommended betting apps are licensed in the UK and safe to use, so long as you do so responsibly. In the name of safety, never place a bet at an unlicensed app.
Are Betting Apps Free to Use?
All betting apps are free to download, but you’ll need real money in order to place and win bets.
What is the Easiest Betting App to Use?
Again, this is a matter of taste, but I like 10Bet’s interfaces and the app’s stylish design.
Which betting app has the best Cash Out?
bet365 is generally regarded as the best betting app for cashing out, with full, partial and automatic cash outs all available.
Which Betting App has the Best Odds?
BetVictor is a leader when it comes to the best odds, particularly on its outright football markets.
Which Betting Apps have the Best Sign Up Offers?
BetMGM’s launch in the UK has brought with it one of the most generous sign-up offers currently on the market. Sign up and claim £40 in free bets from a £10 deposit and wager.
Which is the Best Sports Betting App for Football Accumulators?
Paddy Power is a great all-round betting app, but its acca insurance is particularly attractive to fans of accumulators. You’ll receive your money back as a free bet if one leg of your four-fold acca lets you down.
Can I Use Mobile Betting Apps on my Tablet?
Of course! Head to your operating system’s app store and download your betting site’s app, just as you would on a smartphone.