Best Rugby Betting Sites

We at Gambling.com have decades of combined experience testing and reviewing sports betting sites. After years of analyzing sites and reviewing feedback from real bettors, we’ve seen firsthand what makes or breaks a great betting site. Our goal is to connect you with books that aren’t just safe but offer great rugby odds and a smooth experience from sign-up to payout.

Our Testing Process

Our team of industry-leading experts experts grades each of the betting sites they review on a scale of one to 10 across 10 different categories that we deem to be most important to sports bettors. To determine these scores, we don’t just sit behind a screen and rate sites—we test them, compare them, and dig into the user experience to see how they stack up. 

We update our reviews regularly, so you can stay updated with our picks for the top rugby betting sites and the latest offers. Our process ensures we only recommend betting sites that meet our high standards.

Trust Factors

While we review all legal betting sites for their overall quality, we assess how well each platform performs with specific sports.

Our team of betting insiders has a lengthy checklist to work through when reviewing rugby betting sites. Below are the main things they look for when ranking an online rugby betting site.

1. Choose a betting site: From our curated list above, select a betting site by clicking on the banner. You’ll be redirected to the betting site, where you can register.
2. Create an account: Provide personal information, such as your name and age, for verification and tax purposes. If applicable, enter your promo code to claim your welcome bonus.
3. Fund your account: Choose a payment method and make a deposit. 
4. Place your first wager.

Before discussing rugby markets and betting strategy, it is essential to distinguish between rugby union and rugby league, which are two different codes (types) of rugby, each with its own rules, structure, and governing bodies. 

Rugby union and rugby league may seem similar on the surface, but do a bit of digging and you'll quickly establish they are very different sports. The same goes for betting on rugby, with some key variations to be aware of if you want to wager on both codes. For example, while the average margin of victory in the NRL and Super Rugby is around 14 points, applying the same betting strategy to both codes would still be a mistake. 

Understanding the structure of each code is key to spotting betting opportunities. Here's a look at the top competitions in both codes, their format, and when they run:

Format

• Number of Players: Rugby league boasts 13 players per side and employs a rather more rapid, free-flowing format. 
• Tackles: Each team is afforded six tackles to advance the ball and cross the line, which creates a decidedly more possession-based and attacking style of play. 
• Game Play: Scrums and lineouts are considerably less frequent in the league, and the action seldom stops, resulting in higher-scoring affairs. The ball tends to be in play more in rugby league, too, giving them more opportunity to cross the tryline.
• Points & Scoring: You are awarded four points for scoring a try, two for a penalty goal, and one for a drop goal. You can expect the total number of points scored in a game to be lower on average than in a rugby union match.

Leagues

The world’s premier rugby league club competitions are the Super League in Europe and the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia. 

• Super League: The European Super League runs during the summer through the Magic Weekend (an annual UK event showcasing all Super League teams in a single stadium over one weekend). Twelve teams from France and England compete. At the end of the season, the top six teams in the table move on to the playoffs to decide the champions at the Grand Final at Old Trafford. The team that finishes last is relegated to a lower division—a standard format in UK and European leagues.
• National Rugby League: The NRL sees Australia’s and New Zealand’s top 17 sides go head-to-head to lift the Provan-Summons Trophy.  The season typically runs from March to October, with the top eight sides at the end of the regular season advancing to the finals series.

Events

• World Club Challenge: The winners of the NRL and Super League titles then meet in the World Club Challenge at the start of the following season to decide the best Rugby League club in the world.
• State of Origin: The biggest non-international rugby league event is the State of Origin, a best-of-three series contested only between the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland.
• Rugby League World Cup: The Rugby League World Cup is held every four years. The next edition, which will be staged in 2026, will feature fewer teams, down from 16 to 10.

Best Betting Markets

Both codes tend to share many markets, but rugby league betting offers more for those who enjoy player-based bets. 

Given the pace at which the game unfolds, betting markets such as total points, first-try scorer, and winning margin can present excellent value for money. The try-scorer market, in particular, can be more straightforward. Your chances of finding a winner in the league could be higher than in the union, given how often they'll choose to kick a penalty in the 15-a-side game. 

For most NRL games, rugby betting sites allow you to wager on player performance, tackles, and meters made. Those performance indicators aren't available in union. The stats for metres gained, tackles made, carries, and more are readily available for both sports, yet don't tend to be available to bet on in union matches. 

You can bet on individual matches across various markets and outrights, such as Regular Season Winner, Team to Finish Bottom, Regular Season Top Try Scorer, and the Man of Steel award (Super League MVP). Popular markets in the NRL include Grand Final Winning Region, Most Losses in the Regular Season, and Top 8 Finish in the Regular Season.

Format

• Number of Players: Rugby union is played with 15 players per side and tends to be more measured and tactical.
• Game Play: Set-pieces like scrums, rucks, mauls, and lineouts are central to the game and can completely change the complexion of a match. There's a tremendous emphasis on territory and possession, with sides often employing shrewd kicking strategies to gain ground. 
• Points & Scoring: In union, you get five points for a try, and a penalty goal is worth three points, as is a drop goal. 

Leagues

• Premiership: This England-based league features teams from England and France. It runs from September to June and has a playoff system to decide the winner.
• Top 14: This France-based league features teams from England and France, runs from September to June, and has a playoff system to decide the winner.
• Currie Cup: This South African league features six to eight teams; the top four qualify for the semifinals, followed by a final to determine the champion.
• League One: Twenty-four professional Japanese clubs across three divisions (Division 1 is the top tier) promote and relegate at the end of the season.
• United Rugby Championship (URC): The URC features clubs from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. 
• Super Rugby: In the southern hemisphere, the top club competition is Super Rugby, which comprises 12 teams from Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. The season tends to run from February to June, with the top eight sides advancing to the finals, with a grand final to crown the winner.

Events

• European Champions Cup: Clubs from the Premiership, Top 14, and URC can qualify. 
• European Challenge Cup: Clubs from the Premiership, Top 14, and URC can qualify. 
• Six Nations: The Six Nations is held annually in Europe between England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Italy in international rugby. 
• Rugby Championship: This pits New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina against one another.
• Rugby World Cup: The Rugby World Cup, which is held every four years, was first held in 1987 and has only been won by New Zealand, South Africa (both three times), Australia (twice), and England (once). It will next be held in Australia in 2027.

Best Betting Markets

Of the two codes, rugby union tends to provide more futures markets, where you can back a team to win a tournament outright or wager on a player to finish as the competition's top try scorer. These bets usually last for a tournament or test series, and the best rugby betting sites often add a few specials or odds boosts to the futures betting markets.

Union also sees more regular interruptions to play, which affect the game's rhythm and create opportunities for in-play betting.

Despite the many differences between rugby union and rugby league, many overlaps exist regarding their popular betting markets. 

Below are some of the most popular rugby betting markets that span both codes and can be found on the best rugby betting sites for both codes:

While the other markets are relatively self-explanatory, handicap or spread betting markets can seem confusing to a new rugby bettor. Let's dig deeper into how this market works.

Handicap betting is used in rugby to even up mismatched teams. One of the teams is given a hypothetical advantage or disadvantage, with points being given to them or taken away. The betting sites use a handicap to offer less prohibitive odds when one team is the heavy favorite and the other is a significant underdog on the match winner market. 

A points handicap is applied to both teams, with the favorites in match betting starting with a points deficit. For any bet on them to win, they'll need to win the game by more than the specified number of points on the handicap, while bets on the underdogs will cash if they win outright, draw, or lose by less than the handicap number.

Here's an example: New Zealand faces Australia in the Bledisloe Cup. The All Blacks start with a minus 22-point handicap, with the Wallabies getting a plus 22-point advantage. At the end of the game, the final score is New Zealand 38-7 Australia. 

In this scenario, a handicap bet on New Zealand would win because they won the game by more than 22 points. By subtracting the points Australia scored from New Zealand's, you can see that the All Blacks won by 31 points. If New Zealand had won 38-29, on the other hand, any handicap bets on the All Blacks would have lost as they only won by nine points (38-29 = 9). 

To win in rugby betting, you must research and consider several factors. We advise new bettors to assess the form and fitness of players and teams before placing wagers and to take in as much insight as possible. Check on the team news, for example. 

Rugby betting tips from experts can also steer you in the right direction, but here are a few pointers to consider before placing a wager on rugby:

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Rugby betting sites must follow strict protocols to spot, prevent, and reduce gambling-related harm. These aren't optional measures; they're legal requirements and essential safeguards that protect vulnerable players from developing problematic habits.

We always keep these requirements in mind whenever we review and rate a betting site, and we only partner with licensed operators that adhere to legal standards. Moreover, all betting sites that we review here have responsible gambling tools and resources to help you stay in control of your betting.

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