How to Place a Bet Online
Wondering how to place a bet online? If you’re new to online betting, we’ll take you every step of the way so you can use betting sites confidently.
Choosing a Bookie
Before you place a bet online, the first step you need to take is to choose a bookmaker to bet with
You can rest assured that online bookmakers and betting apps featured at Gambling.com have come through a stringent review process to bring you only the best on the market.
Here are the aspects we place most importance on when reviewing bookmakers. We recommend you keep these criteria in mind when choosing where to bet online:
- Licensing – Bookmakers should be licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, ensuring they are fully regulated and operate within legal parameters.
- Markets – Sites should have a range of markets across all sports.
- Odds – Bookies need to offer competitive value on all their odds and all types of bets, ensuring that you’re getting the most for your money when betting online.
- Promotions – From a welcome bonus to ongoing promotions, choose a site that has plenty of offers for its customers.
- Special Features – Consider the sites that keep up with the latest trends, offering features like live streaming and bet builders.
Signing Up Online
Once you’ve chosen your bookie you need to sign up online. The registration process generally looks like this:
Enter the site and click sign up/join now/register.
Submit your personal details, including name, age, address and email.
Verify your account using your email address or mobile device.
Choose a payment method from the options available. Bear in mind, not all methods are eligible to unlock a welcome bonus - debit cards are usually eligible though.
Enter the amount you wish to deposit into your account. Again, you usually need to meet a certain threshold to qualify for a welcome bonus.
How To Place A Bet Online
Now comes the most important part - placing your bet.
You can follow our step-by-step instructions below to learn how to place your bet.
Step-by-Step Guide to Placing a Bet Online
Visit your chosen site or app
Use the navigation tools to select which sport or category you wish to bet on
Select the market you wish to bet on and click the relevant odds
Your bet slip will appear and prompt you for a stake
Enter your stake into your bet slip
Click confirm to place your bet online
How to Place a Football Bet Online
Football is the most popular sport to bet on online in the UK, so you'll want to consider using the best football betting sites to get the most options and features for betting on the beautiful game.
Football has the most expansive coverage of all sports listed online, with hundreds of markets per game.
It’s worth taking your time to browse all the most popular markets before confirming your bet.
- Result
- Result
- Over/Unders
- Handicap
- Prop Bets
- Outright
A bet on the outright winner of the game, or a draw.
These bets are typically 90 minutes only so if your game goes to extra-time the bet will be settled as a draw.
Bear in mind that some sites will have this betting market labelled as 1x2.
How to Place a Bet On a Horse Race Online
Horse racing is also an extremely popular sport to bet on online, with hundreds of races available to punt on every day at the leading horse racing betting sites.
Horse racing too has several types of betting markets available, and these can be a bit harder to understand for beginners, but once you become acquainted with them, they’re straightforward to use.
Here are the most common racing bets in a nutshell:
- Win
- Win
- Each-way
- Place
- Forecast/Tricast
- Ante-Post
A simple bet on which horse will win the race.
How to Place a Bet Online With an Accumulator
Accumulator betting allows you to bet on multiple markets spread across different competitions, matches or races.
These bets allow you to increase the value of your bet, although it can come at a greater risk given the number of variables involved.
The process is the same as betting on a single bet, but all you have to do is click the odds of the other games or races you wish to bet on to add them to your bet slip.
Once you’ve added all your selections, simply enter your stake into the bet slip.
Look out for acca betting sites such as BoyleSports, that have a wide range of offers, including acca insurance, acca bonuses and free bets for placing regular accas.
Sites like BoyleSports allow you to combine markets from various sports and events into one multiple bet, so you don't need to stick to one sport when placing your accumulator.
How to Place a Bet Builder
This bet allows you to select multiple markets from within the same game to combine into one bet.
It can be known as a single-game acca as it follows the same principle as you’d find with an acca bet, but is usually used for one game rather than multiple.
The best bet builder betting sites offer this feature across several sports, including football, cricket, tennis, basketball, rugby union, rugby league, NFL, MMA, boxing and others.
The method is the same as you’d use for an acca, although you’ll be directed to the bet builder menu where you’ll find all the available game markets.
Simply click the odds and they will be added to your betting slip before you place your stake and confirm your bet.
How to Place A Bet Using Promotions
Free bets are a great way to get started with betting online, while customers should also receive offers for regularly using the same site.
You will get free bets from most bookies for signing up online and after unlocking your offer by following the terms and conditions, you can access your credits on your bet slip.
You may have to tick a box and enter a stake amount to use your free bets for a bet online.
Look out for odds boosts too. These will be highlighted by bookies, especially around major events.
Premier League betting offers and Cheltenham offers are extremely popular and are good ways to maximise your potential earnings from your bets on these popular competitions.
Ensure you click the odds boost option rather than the regular price to secure the best odds on your bet slip.
How to Place a Bet Online - The Final Word
If you were wondering how to place a bet online, our detailed guide should have you ready. Remember to only use licensed bookmakers when placing your bets.
When betting, please remember to follow responsible gambling guidance.
Recommended Betting Sites
- #ad. 18+. Gamble Responsibly. Gambleaware.org. New customers only. Register with BETFRED50 First bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply.Daily 'Super Extra Places' on RacingOdds Boosts on Next Goalscorer BetsSponsors all 5 Flat Horse Racing ClassicsBETFRED50Bonus CodeThe code required to claim this sign-up bonus (if any)Live StreamingIs there live streaming of sporting events?YesUser RatingGambling.com users' rating of this betting site out of 10098Bet BuilderCan you create your own personalised bets?YesCash OutCan you cash out of bets before an event has finished?YesAcca InsuranceRefund or free bet when one selection in an accumulator lets the bet downYesKnown as the 'Bonus King', Betfred has more promos and bonuses than the majority of competitors. This is the first bookmaker ever to sponsor all five flat racing classics and also sponsors Super League Rugby and World Matchplay Darts.
- #ad. 18+. Gamble Responsibly. Gambleaware.org. Get a percentage boost on all football multibets of 4 or more selections. - Full Terms Apply
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- 10#ad. 18+. Gamble Responsibly. Gambleaware.org. New customers only. First deposit minimum £20, minimum Bet £20 at minimum odds 1/1 (2.00) and Get a £20 Free Bet with minimum odds of 4/5 (1.80). Eligible bets: Single, Combo, Bet Builder. Max 1 free bet per customer. Free bet tokens credited within 24 hours, valid for 3 days. System bets excluded. Full Terms apply
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- #ad. 18+. Gamble Responsibly. Gambleaware.org. 18+ New customers only. Opt in, bet £10 on any football market at minimum 1/1 odds. No cash out. Get £40 in Free Bets on selected events. Free Bets expire in 7 days. T&Cs apply, see below. gambleaware.org | Please gamble responsibly
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- #ad. 18+. Gamble Responsibly. Gambleaware.org. Deposit and bet on any sportsbook markets of your choice at odds of evens (2.00) or greater. Get 50% back of your first days losses as a Free Bet up to £50 plus 50 Extra Spins. Min. 3 bets required. If your account is up, you’ll receive a £5 Free Bet regardless plus 10 Extra Spins. Use coupon code "5050" at registration. T&Cs apply | 18+ New UK Customers Only | GambleAware.org | Gamble Responsibly.
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- #ad. 18+. Gamble Responsibly. Gambleaware.org. Qualifying bet of £10 at min. odds 2.0 within 5 days of registration, E/W excluded. Get 3x Free Bets at min odds 2.0 each. 1x£10 Football, 1x£10 Racing, 1x£10 Acca (Min 4 selections). 7-day expiry. New selected customers & 18+ only. Min. deposit of £10. Full T&Cs apply. Promotion available on desktop and web only and is not offered via the kwiff apps.
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- #ad. 18+. Gamble Responsibly. Gambleaware.org. 18+ | New UK players only | Min deposit req. £10 | Certain deposit methods excluded | Place 1 sport bet (3+ selections) | Excl Horse Racing | Min stake £10 | Max stake £20 | Min Odds 2/1 (3.0) | Max FreeBet £20 for football only | FreeBet valid for 7 days | FreeBet stake not returned | T&Cs apply
- #ad. 18+. Gamble Responsibly. Gambleaware.org. New cust only. Deposit & Place a Bet within 7 days, and settle a £10 minimum bet at odds of 4/5 (1.8) or greater, to be credited with 3x £10 Free Bets: 1 x £10 Horse Racing, 1 x £10 Free Bet Builder and 1 x £10 Football. 7 day expiry. Stake not returned. T&Cs Apply.