Live betting has become one of the most important features for online bettors. In this article, we present the best live betting sites available to sportsbook backers. Read on for information on live football betting, the leading bookmakers, odds, popular sports and more.
We even detail betting websites with live streaming and offer our expert in-play betting tips. If it’s related to the best live sports betting sites you’ll find it covered in this article.
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- Cash-out
- Enhanced Odds
- Live Streaming
- New
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365
- Huge range of live betting markets
- Consistently good prices
- Partial cash out available and great live streams*
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Bet £10 and Get a £30 Surprise Bet
- Excellent range of markets
- Lots of extra live betting markets
- Regularly offer market leading odds
50% Back up to £35 Free Bet + 10 Free Spins
50% Back up to £35 Free Bet + 10 Free Spins
- Stylish and very easy to use interface
- Wide range of live markets
- Competitive odds
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- Great all round in-play coverage
- Useful sports commentary
- Enhanced in-play odds
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- Lots of in-play markets
- Plenty of sports covered
- Great app for in-play betting
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- Slick design on both mobile and desktop
- Live bets processed very quickly
- Consistently good live odds
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- Live football markets from hundreds of leagues
- Easy to use sportsbook
- Clearly shows price changes
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- Good number of football in-play markets
- Generous welcome offer
- Football-specific ongoing promotions
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- Excellent live football coverage
- Regularly updated live odds
- 100+ in-play market on major European matches
The Best Live Betting Sites Ranked
Here is our pick of online bookies offering a premier live betting service;
- Bet365 – a leader in online football live betting.
- Kwiff – bet on your favourite sports pre-match and in-play.
- Quinnbet – over 100 in-play markets available in the Premier League.
- Betfred – the bonus king offers many specials live during play.
- SpreadEx – hundreds of in-play markets available every day.
- BetUK – bet live on football and other popular sports.
- BoyleSports – get generous odds on in-play sports betting.
- 21.co.uk – in-play is available on your favourite sports today.
- Virgin Bet – get live sports betting on your desktop or mobile app.
- 10Bet – ranks alongside the best live betting sites.
Best Live Betting Bookmakers Reviewed
Now let’s take a closer look at the UK’s best live betting sites.
1. Bet365 – Overall Best Live Betting Site UK
When it comes to live betting, they don’t come any bigger or better than bet365. This British-based online betting company lays claim to being the best live betting sites due to its coverage and generous live betting odds.
All your favourite sports are covered in play with the markets and odds updated quickly and fairly to reflect the flow of play. All the top football and tennis leagues are covered with cricket, basketball, ice hockey and more. In addition to in-play betting, there is also HD quality live streaming available, including a huge range of football live streams.
On the live betting app, you’ll find the in-play list on the homepage, organised by sport and start time. This makes it quick and easy to find the sports fixture and market you want to bet on. Simply click the live odds to add a selection to your bet slip, input a stake and confirm. Your bet will be processed almost instantly.
Bet365 also offers a range of free bet promos, including a bet £10 get £30 bonus. for new customers.
Pros
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2. Betfred - Loads on In-Play Promos
Betfred is an online sportsbook known and loved by bettors worldwide for its generous odds, eye-catching markets and sports coverage. This historic British bookie was founded to give customers a better, more exciting way to gamble on sports like horse racing, football and greyhounds.
The business has evolved over the years and is now a multi-national online bookmaker specialising in sports and casino betting but their values remain the same. Evidence of this can be found in their live betting section.
The most popular sports are covered with a healthy number of niche markets available. You’ll find Betfred has something to suit all types of bettor before the start of a fixture or at any time during the process of play. Live odds are updated regularly by the live betting trading staff to ensure you are getting a fair price on your picks.
Pros
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3. BoyleSports - Excellent Live Betting Odds
In football, in-play betting is often available until the 85th minute or right up to the final whistle if a game is competitive. That’s just one of the reasons why BoyleSports is so popular with fans of live betting.
The one slight drawback for users of a live betting app is that sports like football and tennis change quickly, and the odds can sometimes be suspended. These disruptions can cause you to miss out on the best live sports betting prices. That’s not something you need to worry about at BoyleSports, as the live betting trading team suspends their markets as little as possible, instead updating the odds quickly.
The live betting list is on the website’s homepage or the mobile app, meaning you don’t have to go looking for your bet, which speeds up the process. Live betting at BoyleSports is all about speed and value.
Pros
Cons
4. SpreadEx - Best Live Spread Betting Site
If you are looking for a live betting bookie designed for speed, SpreadEx answers your calls. Visit the homepage, and you’ll find a live betting list on the website and the same on the mobile app.
Live betting is all about speed. It’s a battle between you and the trader to react quickly to changes in a match. If you see a player walking a tightrope after picking up a yellow card, you can back them to get sent off. If a team has a freekick in a dangerous area of the pitch, you can back the taker to be the next goalscorer.
Getting the best live betting odds relies on you moving quickly. At SpreadEx, you can place a bet with a single click or touch of your mobile screen, and that’s why they made it onto the list of the best live betting sites.
Pros
Cons
5. Quinnbet - Loads of Live Premier League Markets
In testing, we found it was possible to enjoy in-play by making a bet on a live football match in seconds. That’s what helps separate Quinnbet from the chasing pack. The quicker you react to changes in a match, the quicker you’ll get your bets on and the live betting prices you’ll secure.
Quinnbet allows members to achieve this thanks to their modern, user-friendly mobile betting app. It’s slick, stylish and responsive, not to mention packed with live betting fixtures and markets.
The odds offered are competitive when put against the competition, and the trading team are often reluctant to suspend a market if the game is flowing. There are no apparent interruptions like a penalty or VAR decision. Quinnbet caters for all your live betting needs, and we are confident you’ll find this bookie to be an excellent addition to your betting apps.
Pros
Cons
How We Rank the Top Live Betting Sites
When creating our list, it’s essential to know what our researchers looked for when separating the good sites from the best live betting sites. Below you’ll find the areas we used to score the sites and apps.
- Range of Live Betting Markets - An extensive range of live betting markets is essential for any respected bookmaker, but bet365 go above and beyond the call of duty. Their in-play coverage is huge, with thousands of markets every week.
- Quality of Live Betting - We want to see quality as much as quantity when it comes to in-play, and each site mentioned on this page covers both. The quality of markets and limited suspensions helped secure Betfred’s place.
- Usability - Usability is just as important as numbers as there’s no point having lots of in-play betting markets available if you can’t find them. The Quinnbet mobile app allows you to find your bet and get your stake down in seconds. Ideal if you are chasing the best price.
- Live Streaming Options - Bet365 is again head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to live streaming options as they cover all major sports from football to ice hockey. Click the live streams and watch horse racing free of charge with expert commentary, stats and even predictions.
- Live Betting Odds - The betting odds on an in-play market are constantly changing in an attempt to react to the match. Every sportsbook mentioned on this page can be trusted to give you competitive odds on all in-play sports.
- Bonuses & Promotions - When talking about bonuses and promotions, we have to focus on the bonus king - Betfred. Their football promotions, such as double delight and hattrick heaven, are available pre-match but also to members betting live.
- Safety - Your online safety and security is paramount to every sportsbook covered in this live betting review and is one of the areas we paid special attention to. A site only made it on to this page if they adopted the latest Secure Socket Layer technology security measures.
What is Live Betting?
We now know what the live betting sites are and how we created our list, but it’s worth taking a moment to explain what is live betting? What does it mean to our team when we were shortlisting the best bookies, and how can it help you beat the bookies?
In its simplest form, live betting is a popular online gambling feature that allows you to bet on a sports fixture that has already begun. Previously, bettors were required to get their stake money down before the advertised start time. For example, if placing a football accumulator on Saturday, the bet had to be struck by 14:55 at the latest.
You can still bet at 14:55 if you like, but the option is there to gamble at any time pre-match or during the contest. This is true of all sports, not just football. With live betting, many of the original markets remain live throughout the contest, with the odds updated by a live betting trader to reflect the score and flow of play. For example, when the opening goal is scored in a Premier League match, the first goalscorer market becomes the next goalscorer. The odds on both teams to score grows the longer the game is stuck at 0-0.
A successful in-play bet is one placed at the right time for the best odds. Track the action live on television and look to pounce on the in-play markets. Some or all of the betting options will be suspended if there’s a major incident in a game, such as a goal, penalty, red card or anything that may have an impact on the score.
With live betting, a gamble is as possible and every bit as exciting in the last minute as it was in the first minute.
How Are In-Play Betting Odds Calculated?
Each sports fixture available to bet on at an online bookmaker is priced up by a trader. The odds offered are related to the likelihood of a selection winning, based on their form, past performances and any injury news.
When a match begins, a live betting trader takes over the coverage. The odds are then calculated quickly and adjusted to reflect the progress, time, score and other important factors. Much of the live betting load is taken by a computer, with the trader tweaking the most important markets, which then alters all associated markets.
Let’s say in a football match; the underdog takes an early lead. The trader will shorten their match-winner odds and ease the opponent’s price. This changes the handicap, half time/full time, both teams to score and other related markets. With many of the odds and markets updated automatically, it allows traders to suspend the betting less and offer more options.
A little known secret from the trading floor is that live betting traders watch a sports fixture on a live stream that is about five seconds ahead of what you’ll see on TV. Even live TV games aren’t exactly live. When you cheer a goal, you are actually cheering a goal scored at least five seconds earlier. This allows traders to keep ahead of most bettors, except those that are at the stadium watching and betting.
Benefits of Live Betting
There are many benefits to live betting that everyday gamblers are beginning to realise. Professional backers have been on top of this for years now.
Make better-informed bets
One of the obvious advantages of betting in-play is you can make better-informed bets. By biding your time you get to see how the players are feeling, the tactics, weather, the mood of officials, any impact the crowd will have. All this can be taken into account in just a few short minutes and completely changes the betting landscape. You’ll no longer be guessing and, instead, working with facts.
Get better odds
In-play gambling often allows you to get better odds on your pick, especially if you are backing the favourite. If the team expected to win concedes a goal early, their odds will grow. If you are watching a boxing match and a fighter picks up a cut, you can react and get better odds on the TKO. The more attention you pay and the quicker you bet the greater the value.
Limit your losses
If you have placed a pre-match bet and it quickly becomes obvious you have made the wrong decision and you will lose your stake money, in-play gives you the chance to limit the damage or even turn things around. If your player loses the first set in a tennis match, you can back the leader as a separate bet and if you judge the stake right you could move into a no-lose situation.
Most Popular Sports for Live Betting
You can bet in-play on just about any sport - apart from live horse betting - at the bookies listed on this page but some are more popular than others.
Football
Football is the main player in live betting. It enjoys the most coverage with hundreds of in-play markets available on every game from the top leagues and competitions at the best football betting sites. There is no live horse racing available at sportsbooks but football games are covered for 90 minutes in every new betting sites.
Boxing & UFC
A great sport to bet on is boxing as a bout can change in a second. One punch can turn a losing fighter into a winning one and it can alter in the blink of an eye. Fight fans love to react to changes in a contest. It's similar with UFC, with many top UFC betting sites offering a range of in-play markets.
Basketball
Another fast-moving sport that lends itself perfectly to in-play. Predict how a match will play out or even what the next incident will be at the click of a button.
Tennis
Live tennis betting is popular as you can bet on the next game, set or look ahead and predict the winner of the match. The odds change quickly and it opens the door for value.
Golf
Live golf betting isn’t as quick as some other sports, but it’s every bit as interesting. Have your say on the winner of the next hole in a three-ball or the outright champion heading into the final round.
Cricket
Although you can bet in-play on Test Match cricket, including the next ball, T20 and ODI matches are far more popular when it comes to live cricket betting as they are quicker and give up more value.
Live Streaming at Live Betting Sites
The best online bookmakers offer live streaming, which allows you to watch a sports fixture on your desktop computer or mobile app. The quality is as good as you’d expect on TV with no buffering or loading times. Often, you can watch the match free of charge if you have placed a bet on the outcome. The most popular sport for live streaming is the UK and Irish horse racing, but most sports and competitions are covered.
One of the best bookmakers for live streaming is bet365, as they have the widest range of sports and fixtures available. The horse racing live stream includes pre-race betting and tips with expert commentary and exciting camera angles once the race is underway.
Live Betting Sites with Cash Out
Cash-out is a sport betting feature that is every bit as popular with modern bettors as live betting. When you place a bet, you will often see a cash-out value added to your bet slip. At first, this will be equal to your stake but will rise and fall depending on how well your bets are going.
Cash-out allows a bookie the chance to pay you out early for a smaller fee than the potential winnings, while the bettor has the chance to profit from a gamble that could end up a loser, getting their hands on the cash before the finish. According to traders, the more likely your bet is to win, the higher your cash-out offer will be.
Best Mobile Live Betting Apps
Mobile betting apps must be fast, responsive and clear if they are to benefit live betting, and we are glad to report every sportsbook mentioned on this page has a mobile app or mobile site that allows you to bet in-play with a single click.
The likes of Betfred and bet365 have sportsbook apps you can access with face recognition, and the live betting list is on the homepage, just a touch of your screen away.
Live Betting Strategies
Don’t bet until you have all the information you need. Watch the opening few minutes of a sports fixture, looking at how both teams have set up tactically, any players that seem up for a big performance or if the referee looks determined to play a part and produce a red card.
Watch the action closely and react swiftly to any changes. Is a tennis player tiring, is a boxer damaged, is there a golfer steadily making their way through the pack? You want to see a pattern and act on it before the traders do.
Place a bet to ensure you can’t lose. A basic example of this would be backing one team pre-match in an NFL fixture then betting the opposite selection at the right odds and for the perfect stake to ensure a profit regardless of the outcome.
Live Betting Tips
- Always pay close attention to both the match and the live odds
- Have your betting app open at the correct in-play page throughout the game
- Use a bet calculator to ensure you are making the correct stake
- Never go chasing your losers or betting in anger
- Don’t get greedy and keep pushing your luck with a bet
Alternative Live Betting Sites
Alternatively, accept the listed live betting sites you can also join other online sportsbooks such as William Hill.
Conclusion
Live betting, if done right, has the potential to increase your chances of making a profit on sports. You can make better-informed bets at the click of a button and add an extra interest to a match shown live on TV or a live stream. To get the most out of your live betting experience, you must gamble with the best live betting sites that are tailored specifically for in-play gambling. Each bookie on this page will cater for your needs.
