How to Place a Bet Online

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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:

  • 1

    Enter the site and click sign up/join now/register.

  • 2

    Submit your personal details, including name, age, address and email.

  • 3

    Verify your account using your email address or mobile device.

  • 4

    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.

  • 5

    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

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

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

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