Top Betting Sites Reviews & Ratings May 2021

The Best Bookies When It Comes To Payment Methods

Payment methods can make a solid difference when choosing a bookie. Depositing and withdrawing are a vital part of dealing with bookmakers and directly can affect your betting experience. With so many available payment options available and with the rise of e-Wallets – there is an extra aspect that requires your attention. While the most traditional way – using debit cards – stays a top of popularity and is virtually accepted everywhere, different types of bookmaker payment methods certainly have own strong points and benefits to offer.

It would be a major concern issue if a certain bookmaker does not support widely used and established e-Wallets, such as PayPal for example, which bring many advantages like quicker processing times, no transaction fees, no limits do deposit or withdrawal amounts. You can see detailed information per bookie for all major payment methods filtered below.  

The Best Bookmakers When It Comes To Sports

When choosing a bookmaker, you will most likely choose one that offers the sports you are interested in. You will find that most bookmakers offer a wide selection of sporting events. Which is the deciding factor to choose the best betting company when it comes to sports then?

Most bettors will point to getting the highest odds and sports depth coverage – such as supporting minor leagues and tournaments. But there are also factors like the diversity of betting markets supported, live-streaming, sports specific bonuses. As with anything in life, some bookies will offer better sports betting services with more features and higher quality than others and we made sure to point them out. Furthermore, one should not underestimate the importance of upcoming trends and how a bookmaker is reacting to them. The latest examples are UFC betting and Esports betting sites, which are overtaking the classic bookies with their oldschool coverage.

Regulation & Licensing Of Online Bookmakers In The UK

If you go to the footer of any betting site operating in the UK, you’ll certainly see a bunch of logos with links to organisations like the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority and other impressive-sounding names. One or more of these links will be present on practically every bookmaker you can find that takes bets from UK punters, and sometimes the links lead to certificates issued by the authorities to the bookie proving its legitimacy. But why is that even necessary, let alone important?

The truth is that the UK gambling market is one of the most heavily regulated ones in the world. Since 2005, every single UK-based bookie is required to undergo certification and be approved for operation by proper UK authorities, and since 2014, even foreign bookmakers willing to operate in the country need to get themselves certified. If you’ve ever gone to the website of a bookmaker that said something along the lines of “We apologize, but we don’t operate in your market currently”, it’s probably because they don’t have the proper certificates.

While that’s certainly a hassle and a half for the bookies, it’s actually really good for players and punters. Any bookmaker licensed by the gambling commission is legally required to present fair odds and pay out any amount that players won fair and square. If they don’t, they’re subject to huge fines (part of which would be used to cover the player’s winnings anyway) and even closure if they fail to comply, thus giving players some extra protection. In addition, many of the regulations are intended to keep people from developing a gambling addiction, like limiting play time or the amount of bets they’re allowed to place.

What is the Gambling Commission?

The main regulating and licensing body in the UK is the Gambling Commission, which was set up in 2005 to enforce the at the time brand new regulations. Based in Birmingham, they’re an entirely independent public body that, while sanctioned by the UK government, is not affiliated with them. Instead, they receive their funding from fees and fines that various casinos and bookmakers pay in order to remain in business. Their primary objective is to protect the consumer by any means necessary – while they won’t directly mediate any issues between bookies and players (that’s what the Independent Betting Adjudication Service is for), they’d still ensure that bookmakers are following the established rules meant to protect their punters.

Whenever a betting site is deemed to be in clear violation of the UK’s gambling laws, the Gambling Commission will issue them a warning and a fine the size of which depends on how big their violation was. Multiple warnings can result in the bookie being stripped of their license (and thus their ability to operate in the UK market) or even taken to court. Obviously that’s the worst case scenario for any online bookmaker, which is why ensuring they operate fairly, legally and transparently is in their best interest – and, naturally, in yours as well.

How to Report a Bookmaker to Regulatory Authorities

But what if you do end up in trouble and, despite everything, a bookmaker is just being completely unreasonable and refusing to pay out wins you won fair and square? As mentioned earlier, the Gambling Commission does not actually mediate any disputes, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be contacted anyway. If you’re absolutely certain that you have been wronged by an online bookie, by all means send a report through their enquiry form and specifying that they have a concern with a gambling business. In addition, you’d do well to also make a claim through IBAS to ensure that you receive the money that you’re owed. While IBAS isn’t a regulatory body in and of itself the way the Gambling Commission is, they’ve been handling gambling-related customer complaints since 1998. To put it simply, IBAS will make sure that you’re reimbursed and the Commission will make sure the fraudulent bookie is punished accordingly.

Betting Tips – Top Matches

Looking for free tips? You have found the right place! Here you can see predictions for major sports events, covered and updated on a daily basis. The predictions are free, even though they are made from our team of betting experts which puts a lot of effort into researching, analyzing and comparing stats. These daily tips on popular events on sports like football, basketball or tennis and would give you the edge in placing profitable bets. Please note that even while these predictions are expertly crafted and analysed and will greatly increase your chances of winning, you should not solely rely on them and expect a 100% success rate.