The first and most important step before choosing an online book maker is to spend some time making a detailed research. Sure, odds and bonuses might seem good at first glance, but there are many other factors in play you can’t afford to skip by. The best sportsbooks manage to combine high odds with proven reliability and usually receive high sports betting service ratings. Our analysis on what separates a top betting website from a run-of-the-mill operator include the categories listed below. Make sure to switch among the tabs to find the best football betting sites to your liking.

by Rating
by Players
by Traffic
by Bonus
by Odds
by Country
Accept players from United States of America
Bookmaker   
7.6/10
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Does not accept players from United States of America
Bookmaker   
Betfair 9.3/10
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Bet365 9.1/10
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Pinnacle 8.9/10
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Matchbook 8.8/10
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Unibet 8.7/10
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William Hill 8.6/10
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Sportingbet 8.5/10
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10bet 8.5/10
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Paddy Power 8.4/10
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Novibet 8.4/10
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Marathonbet 8.4/10
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Betfred 8.4/10
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EnergyBet 8.4/10
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Bwin 8.4/10
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Royal Panda 8.4/10
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Betsson 8.3/10
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Roy Richie 8.3/10
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LVBET 8.3/10
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Ladbrokes 8.3/10
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Coral 8.2/10
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Expekt 8.2/10
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ComeOn 8.2/10
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Winmasters 8.2/10
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NetBet 8.2/10
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Nordicbet 8.2/10
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Redbet 8.1/10
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Betvictor 8.1/10
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Mybet 8.1/10
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Dafabet 8.0/10
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Vbet 8.0/10
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Sportsbet.com.au 8.0/10
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Betolimp 7.9/10
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OlyBet 7.9/10
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Bet-at-home 7.9/10
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b-Bets 7.9/10
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Betrebels 7.9/10
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Interwetten 7.9/10
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Bethard 7.9/10
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Betstars 7.9/10
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Joycasino 7.8/10
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Betwinner 7.8/10
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Casino-X 7.8/10
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18bet 7.8/10
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 7.0/10
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Tipbet 7.8/10
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24Bettle 7.7/10
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Betrally 7.7/10
 8.1/10
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Vulkanbet 7.7/10
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Favbet 7.6/10
 9.2/10
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Betcart 7.5/10
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 6.9/10
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Campeonbet 7.2/10
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 7.0/10
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Goalbet 7.2/10
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Signs of a reliable bookmaker

Licensing authority (Betting Jurisdictions)

It is strongly recommended to check if the online betting company you are playing or are planning to sign up, is licensed in a legitimate gaming authority. In the above table, you can find quite a few of them, that are offering their services from many parts of the world and not only in the UK and depended territories. A license by a gaming commission, offers a guarantee to every player that a company is thoroughly and regularly checked and will always allow you to withdraw your money. A credible gaming commission is constantly there for every player, by providing useful advice and resolving any conflicts between companies and clients.

Year established

Pretty much like in any other business, experience and credibility always pay off on bookmakers. An online betting company that has been operating in a highly competitive market for many years, will far more easily enjoy the preference of any punter. This is because, despite all newcomers’ good intentions, it does take a considerable amount of time before they can earn the gaming community’s respect.

Players’ ratings/comments

We like to think that we offer a thorough, unbiased and honest review on every bookmaker. However it is through your initiative that we can better ourselves, as well as motivate the bookmakers into offering a better and more profitable gaming experience. We always encourage our readers to participate on the BM community, not only by reading our reviews and articles, but by letting their voices be heard. Feel free to offer any helpful piece of advice on our website and share any positive or negative experience from any bookmaker. Finally, we do understand that it is you, the punters, that participate in the betting activity and what matters first and foremost is your opinion.

Odds

The average payout may approach or even exceed the 95% limit on certain matches. When you are trying to find on which match you should bet, you must have seen that odds will rarely have significant changes. Opinionated lines are here to prove that there’s a compiling service behind every odd and that these are not simply copied from another bookie or by following the activity of the market. You can compare betting sites according to odds on the Odds tab.

Security

All money transactions are guaranteed and executed in a safe way. Any personal details you provide will remain private (i.e. for promotion e-mails, post material and phone calls). When you ask for a new password the identification procedure is clear and secure.

Transaction transparency

When you request a withdrawal, the transaction is executed within the time limit (perhaps even earlier) that is described on the bookmaker’s website. The betsite must allow variety of payment methods.

Credibility

The best online sportsbooks have high traffic on the Alexa Rank and their company’s share in the stock exchange market is either stable or rising.

Variety of bets & markets

The bookie should at least have 20+ different sports. After all, what’s the point of picking a hockey betting site that doesn’t offer football or tennis? Additionally you should be able to find  around 100+ betting markets in certain matches.

User friendly website

Placing a bet must be easily executed and instantly confirmed. You must also be able to see your total balance, betting and transaction history, as well as payment methods and customer support channels.

Bonuses/Offers

Any bonus or offer is credited to your account immediately after you have claimed it, as long as you fullfill the conditions. No fine printed or non specified rules should exist, whatsoever.

Customer Support

A helpful and if possible, ever present live chat service must exist. Alternatively, any e-mail sent is answered within a few hours. It goes without saying that if you are gambling online with real money, you must be able to receive a quick response to any question.

Signs of a scam bookmaker

Unrealistic bonus offers

Be aware of any tempting first deposit bonuses. Some bookies like Canbet used to offer those frequently, in order to lure customers into depositing money and then avoided giving them them their money back, by putting the blame on tech issues.

Extremely high odds

The most reliable Asian bookies will usually offer payouts close to 97%, while any other bookmaker will stay close to a 92-95% payout on every match. Scam bookies don’t care about payouts and odds, since they do not intent on giving you any winnings. They will offer extremely high odds, like Gobetgo did in the past as well as daily free bet, in order to attract as many players as possible before they grab all their money and make a run for it.

High bonuses at the beginning of each season

Some bookies will sometimes offer highly profitable bonuses only during August, when the most popular football leagues are set to begin. Although every bookie has his own promotion policy, bonuses and other offers are generally available to players for the entire season.

Spam e-mails

Remember that all the details you give before opening an account in an online bookmaker should under all circumstances remain private. The bookmaker has no right to use them in any way without asking for your permission. If you happen to receive promotional e-mails from a bookmaker, regardless if you’re registered on their website or not, you should proceed with extra caution. Some bookmakers use illegally obtained mailing lists, in order to promote their services.

Phone calls

There have been some promotional phone calls from bookies to potential players. Be aware of them and don’t listen to any offers they might give you unless you can verify that they come from a legitimate betting company. You must insist on knowing about where they picked your number from and check if any information they give you can be found on the internet, before proceeding.

Users’ reviews/comments

A significant change of a book maker rating on any betting sites review portals should be treated with suspicion. Scam bookies tend to manipulate players’ ratings to improve their score by creating false accounts and giving a high rating on their company.

Limited number of payments options

A trustworthy online bookie should offer a variety of payment options. If a bookmaker has limited transaction options or shows reluctance when you try to withdraw money (i.e. accepting credit cards for deposit, but will only allow withdrawals to bank accounts) then they are probably masking an expected unwillingness to pay.