Safest Sports Betting Sites
Top Trusted Bookmakers
Betting online is quick, easy and lots of fun and most online betting sites are safe, secure, trustworthy and 100% reliable. It is fair to estimate that 999 times out of 1,000, you won’t have any problems. This covers things like personal and financial details being secure, winnings bets being paid out promptly and in full, the website functioning properly, and getting any issues resolved speedily and efficiently.
However, if you really want to minimise your chances of encountering any issues, the following five sites are the betting sites we would recommend above the others. Whilst we work with almost 100 online bookmakers, all of whom meet our minimum requirements for reliability and security, the following five are the best of the best.
Safest Online Sports Betting Sites
See full list on thesportsgeek.com. What are the safest online sports betting sites? After scanning the internet for the safest sports betting sites, we've narrowed down the best of the best and listed them at the top of this page. Also, be sure to read our online reviews before deciding on your next online betting site. Whether it’s a sports betting site, a casino site, a poker site, or a combination of things, we want to see software from established, reliable firms. When it comes to online casino betting sites, for example, we really like to see games from NetEnt, Microgaming, IGT, and Playtech. These companies have a long history and are guaranteed fair.
Safest Betting Sites for US Sports Bettors With more states at various stages of regulating online gambling, safe online sportsbooks will soon be widely available via mobile and desktop devices. Nowadays, it’s vital for an online sports betting site to be mobile compatible and provide a well-developed betting application, if it wants to be competitive on the market. Each of our recommended best online betting sites UK has been optimised for mobile play, so players can place wagers and enjoy online betting.
Use these five betting beauties, and you really will be VERY unlikely to encounter any issues, especially more serious ones like problems with being paid.
Bet365
This bookie is, in their own words, “bet365 – the world’s favourite online Sports Betting company” and that claim is backed up by the fact that they boasted the most substantial gross revenues (of almost £3 billion) in the year to March 2018. They now have around 45 million betting accounts, another stat which goes a long way to demonstrating that they are certainly up there as one of the world’s most popular sites.
| Reliability Factor | Trust Rate |
|---|---|
| Licensing | 95% |
| Software Security | 99% |
| Responsible Gaming | 100% |
| Fairness | 100% |
There are several reasons why that is the case and their tremendous reliability, security and integrity are definitely among them. bet365 are regulated and licensed by a range of organisations because they operate in so many countries around the world. Among those bodies to have granted them betting licenses are the UK Gambling Commission and relevant Australian authorities, two of the most stringent regulatory jurisdictions in the world.
In addition, UK-based bet365 has been at the forefront of the gambling industry’s move towards a more transparent, fairer marketing and responsible gambling. They are affiliated to IBAS (Independent Betting Adjudication Service), meaning they agree to abide by any dispute-resolution decisions made by this independent third party. This is only relevant to UK customers, but where similar institutions exist elsewhere they work with those too.
The website suffers from more downtime than some, but this is partly due to their vast traffic and is only a minor issue as it is still very rare. They boast a Thawte SSL Web Server Certificate, meaning all communication to and from the site is encrypted and as secure as possible, something improved by their Information Security Management System and firewalls. Their reputation is superb, all around the globe, and as a member of the International Betting Integrity Association, they also work to ensure the integrity of betting and sport, in general, is maintained and promoted.
Ladbrokes
Most of you must have heard of the leading betting site, Ladbrokes, but not all will be aware that the bookie is Coral’s partner site, the two having merged in 2016 before the joint venture was bought by GVC Holdings in 2018. Ownership details aside, more or less anything that can be said about the reliability and security of Coral also applies to Ladbrokes (and vice versa).
| Reliability Factor | Trust Rate |
|---|---|
| Licensing | 95% |
| Software Security | 95% |
| Responsible Gaming | 95% |
| Fairness | 100% |
Ladbrokes is licensed and regulated by the relevant and well-respected bodies relevant to the UK and Gibraltar. They take all of their security and safety responsibilities very seriously and in addition work with the European Sports Security Association (ESSA), a number of gambling addiction groups including global organisation Gambling Therapy, and make all information about restricted territories, on-site security, and their cookie and privacy policies as clear as possible.
They have suffered no major security breaches that we are aware of and in terms of online reviews and (a lack of) negative comments, they do very well in terms of customer satisfaction.
Coral
Coral boasts many of the same indicators of trustworthiness and reliability as bet365. They, too, are a betting site with UK origins, but Coral is much older as they have roots that go all the way back to the 1920s. In more recent times they have been involved in various takeovers and buyouts, but this has only served to make them bigger, stronger and, ultimately, more reliable.
| Reliability Factor | Trust Rate |
|---|---|
| Licensing | 95% |
| Software Security | 90% |
| Responsible Gaming | 90% |
| Fairness | 100% |
Like bet365, Coral is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, as well as other relevant global bodies for non-UK customers (chiefly the highly respected GGC, i.e. Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner). They also have a strong commitment to responsible gambling and work with bodies such as Gamcare and Gamstop.
Their security is strong, with data once again being encrypted, and they too work with IBAS, ensuring that any disputes can be fairly resolved. That said, disputes are rare because all in all, Coral is very much a betting site that does things by the book: reliability, fairness, and safety are all in evidence here.
Unibet
Unibet is another global online betting site that ticks all the right boxes, and then some. Their origins are firmly Scandic, but as a bookie that accepts customers from all around the world, they are another site with multiple licensing and regulatory commitments, including the UK Gambling Commission.
Unibet is part of the Kindred Group that operates a number of brands in different areas of betting. Kindred as a group, and indeed Unibet, have staff around the globe, including in the US and Australia, as well as many countries within Europe.
| Reliability Factor | Trust Rate |
|---|---|
| Licensing | 90% |
| Software Security | 90% |
| Responsible Gaming | 88% |
| Fairness | 100% |
eCOGRA (relevant for casino and poker players), and Protect Integrity.Betway
Finally, here is the bookmaker that completes our list, once again ticking all the boxes we look for when it comes to reliability and security in the various areas that matter most. Anecdotally the renowned Betway is a bookmaker about whom we hear only positive things and we have only good things to say.
| Reliability Factor | Trust Rate |
|---|---|
| Licensing | 90% |
| Software Security | 88% |
| Responsible Gaming | 85% |
| Fairness | 100% |
But Betway is also safe, secure and fair, with licensing and regulation coming via the UK Gambling Commission and the Maltese equivalent (the Malta Gaming Authority). They are IBAS affiliated, as well as working with various responsible gambling bodies, they are certified as “safe and Fair” by eCOGRA, and are another online betting site to work with the International Betting Integrity Association.
They have robust security and verification procedures, complying with necessary European Economic Area regulations on privacy and data protection. Top-level encryption does everything possible to protect your personal and financial data and so, all in all, Betway is another site to get high marks for reliability as far as we’re concerned.
Useful Reference Links
Safest Sports Betting Sites 2020
- UKGC – gamblingcommission.gov.uk
- MGA – mga.org.mt
- AGA – australia.gov.au
- GGC – gibraltar.gov.gi
- Thawte – thawte.com
- Trustwave – trustwave.com
- IBIA – ibia.bet
- IBAS – ibas-uk.com
- Gamcare – gamcare.org.uk
- Gamstop – gamstop.co.uk
- ESSA – eu-ssa.org
- EGBA – egba.eu
- ESSA – eu-ssa.org
- eCOGRA – ecogra.org
- Protect Integrity – protect-integrity.com
- Gambling Therapy – gamblingtherapy.org