Written By Ciaran McEneaney |
Updated on 06 January, 2025
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Looking to bet on your mobile? Here, you will learn how to find the best betting apps UK punters have access to so that you can easily and swiftly place your favourite wagers. Discover the benefits of betting by mobile and the key traits of apps that will give you the best betting experience.
You may wonder why you should bother using online betting apps when you can just log onto a bookie’s website and place your bets in the traditional manner. We happen to think that there are plenty of benefits, and hopefully, in order to convince you of the superiority of UK betting apps over desktop betting sites, we’re now going to make a comparison between the two.
So, what’s so great about betting apps in the UK? We’ve picked out five leading advantages that betting apps have over desktop sites, and you’ll find them listed below.
Unless you enjoy being off the grid, we’re willing to wager that you carry your phone around with you everywhere. This means that if you load your phone with the best UK betting apps and you can connect to the internet, you can place a bet no matter where you may be currently geographically located.
We are also willing to wager that you don’t carry your laptop around with you everywhere. Or your PC/keyboard/mouse/monitor. If you use an online betting app then you don’t need your PC or laptop to place a bet, you just need your phone.
The best gambling apps like to keep in contact with you. If you set your phone notifications from each bookie app to ‘yes’, then they will inform you about any promotions they are offering, so you will be notified instantly.
Connecting to the internet is key when you’re placing bets via other means than visiting a bookie. Phone and tablets and, therefore, UK betting apps give you the option of connecting to the internet via cellular or wi-fi as opposed to laptops/PCs, where you usually need a wifi or wired connection, which is much less convenient.
Live betting has become extensively popular at UK betting sites, with the ability to react in terms of betting to live events. Of course, you can only bet on events that are currently taking place if you have the function to, which is much easier to do when you are carrying Android or iPhone betting apps around in your pocket.
It’s always important to keep on top of your betting, and that’s much easier with the top betting apps. Say you’ve placed a dozen or so football bets on a Saturday, and at the end of the day’s play, you’ve made significant losses. If you’d been able to keep in touch with your wins and losses, you could have cashed out a few bets, reducing your losses or even turning that day’s loss into a profit!
We all know about apps. They are either free or to continue to use them, you have to watch ads for mobile games you’d never want to play. Or have half your screen obscured by ads for things you’d never want to buy. Legally, UK betting companies cannot charge for their apps, either upfront or by stealth. The only ads you’d see are for the betting company’s own products.
Pros
Cons
Why bother with desktop betting websites if apps are so good? We can think of a couple of reasons why you might want to use betting sites that have been designed to be viewed on PCs and laptops.
Even the best phones and tablets cannot match the screen size of a desktop computer. You can view much more information on a monitor screen than on a mobile screen, and navigation is just that little bit more convenient.
With a desktop computer, it’s easy to have multiple websites open in the same browser, thanks to browser tabs. This means you can consult racing form, football data and information about the bets you are thinking of placing in one tab, and the betting site at which you are placing your bets in another. You can then switch between the different sites. You can do the same using apps on a mobile, but it’s more difficult and cumbersome.
It’s likely that if you’re using a PC, then it’s either at home or at work. This means you probably have a consistent internet connection via ethernet or wifi, and you don’t have to worry about maintaining your connection to the internet as you do on mobile. Of course, this may not apply if you are out and about with your laptop, as you’d need a dedicated wifi connection.
Pros
Cons
You probably will not want to load your devices with dozens of sports betting apps, so it’s important that you discern decent online betting apps from ones that simply are not that good. Want to know how to do that? Then, we are here to help. Here’s what we look for when we are looking for the best sports betting apps to install on our mobile devices.
It’s always best to find out as much as you can about the operator or gambling site from which the app originates. Do they have a decent track record, or one of finding excuses not to pay winning punters, or taking forever to honour withdrawals, or some other negative factor? Knowledge is most definitely power in this regard.
You shouldn’t need to worry about device compatibility if your iPhone or Android device is fairly new or at least updated with the latest version of your OS. If you have an older model, check to see if the latest version of any app you are considering downloading and installing is compatible with the most recent version of the operating system you can use. If you encounter problems on Android, then you should be able to find older versions of apps online, but they are not guaranteed to work correctly with your device.
You should be able to download betting apps to your device and install them before you have opened an account at the bookie that has provided them. This means you should be able to look around to get a feel of the app before you commit to signing up. You can, of course, sign up to use an app, but then, if you don’t find it easy enough to use, you can simply close your account and delete the app.
As long as you are connected to the internet via a speedy connection such as fibre optic broadband, you can see how fast and efficient an app performs. Even the best sports betting apps are little more than browsers that load the mobile-optimised version of the bookie’s site, so should work fine with decent internet speeds. If you find the app hangs or crashes, then you might want to delete it pronto.
There’s no point in using a bet app if the markets that you are most interested in betting on are not covered by the bookie providing the app. If you’re in the UK, you’re probably most interested in football betting or horse racing betting, in which case you won’t face any problems. Similarly, tennis, golf, US sports, greyhounds, rugby (both codes) and cricket are all well covered. If your betting interests are a little more niche, though, then market coverage needs to be checked before you start using a specific bookie app.
No matter how decent a sports bettor you are or you become, you won’t be getting the best returns unless you bet with the best odds. Before you download and install any sports betting app, make a comparison of the odds of leading events offered by the bookies providing the app with the odds offered by UK high street bookmakers. They don’t have to be better, but as long as they are not significantly worse, you’d be able to use the app without worrying about getting decent returns.
Not all betting apps are the same, and some are more feature-rich than others. Check to see what’s available via any app, particularly in terms of aspects you’re likely to be interested in, such as bet builders, free-to-play games, betting competitions, loyalty schemes, regular bespoke or enhanced odds deals … anything really capable of adding a little spice to your betting app life.
You’ll be aiming to win money, of course, when you are using online betting apps, but you will need to first get money into your account so you can win money to get back out of it. Check to see if the app has payment options that you are completely comfortable in using, as well as other aspects such as fees and processing speeds.
You will also want to check out the support functions available. Before you sign up for an account, you should be able to use live chat (where available), so start asking questions and see what kind of responses you get.
The bonuses and promotions you get from the best betting apps are the icing on the wagering cake … they may not be your prime reason for using betting apps, but they do add that little bit extra. Examine in full the welcome bonus offered, including aspects such as how much they are worth and terms like minimum odds, expiry dates and excluded payment methods. New betting sites are particularly good for high-value welcome deals.
After that, check what kind of bonuses and promotions, if any, are available for regular customers.
All apps at Google Play or the Apple App Store can be rated, so before you check out an online betting app, have a look to see how it is rated by its users. You can also check reviews to see if any complaints are common, such as poor app performance, problems with withdrawing or lacklustre customer support.
You may be wondering what the difference is between sports markets available at desktop sites and sports markets via betting apps. The answer is … usually, none. If a bookie offers betting on futsal via its desktop site, then you’ll be able to bet on futsal via the bookies app. Let’s now go through the top 10 UK betting apps sports markets with a little bit about each of them.
You can also expect the full range of bets on mobile betting apps. If you can place a kind of bet on a desktop site, then you can place it using a mobile app, too. Below, we have given you some examples of the types of bets you can place when using UK betting apps.
Is live betting possible on mobile apps? As live betting is readily available on desktop sites, you should already know the answer to this question! The only issue you face is, of course, that you need a very good internet connection in order to get the most out of your live betting experience. If you have a patchy connection, then you may miss out on live updates and the chance to react quickly to scoreline changes, player substitutions, or dismissals.
The question of what you can bet on is also an easy question to answer – anything that directly affects any aspect of the event, from the current score to the winner of the next game in tennis to the scorer of the next double in baseball … if it’s tangible and measurable, then you will be able to bet live on it using iPhone and Android betting apps.
You can watch live streams using any betting app that offers them. Again, you need a dedicated Wi-Fi or carrier connection to the internet – 4G at the minimum.
Horse racing fans will be happy to learn that many online betting apps with live streaming will live stream all UK and Irish horse racing. Tennis, golf, snooker, and darts fans should all be well-severed, as should fans of more ‘obscure’ sports such as volleyball and handball.
Some live streaming may be available at football betting sites, but not EPL or EFL matches, nor games from UEFA competitions. You might find games from European Leagues such as the Bundesliga, or from top-tier leagues in Asia.
Both Android and iPhone betting apps will allow you access to all the bonuses and promotions offered by the bookie that’s provided the app. We are now going to take a look at the usual deals offered by the UK’s best bookmakers.
In general, the bookie will match your initial deposit via their betting app with the same amount of bonus cash. Check the terms and conditions, though, as many will apply!
A bet of a defied value that you don’t need to pay for. If your free bet wins, you get the winnings but not the stake.
A risk-free bet requires you to use your own money to place your wager. If, however, that risk-free bet loses, you get your stake back as a free bet.
Many sites will pay you back a percentage of your daily, weekly or monthly net losses. Losses are usually paid as bonus cash.
On horse racing and, at some sites, greyhounds, wins are paid at the more beneficial price, the starting price or the price at which you paid your bet.
These are better than average odds that are offered on specific outcomes. Usually, any money you win in excess of the normal odds is paid as bonus money.
Percentage boosts on acca wins. The more legs contained in your acca, the more your winnings are boosted, up to a maximum boost.
Rewards for reaching specific bet amount thresholds over the course of a week, month or other specified period. Rewards may include free bets, bespoke bonuses and even tech items or holidays.
For acca bets only. If your acca fails by a single leg, then your stake (up to a certain threshold) is returned to you as a free bet.
The great news with gambling apps UK customers can download and install on their mobile devices is that all financial functions are readily available. You don’t have to head to the desktop version of the site to make a deposit or withdrawal. Here are some banking options that you’ll be able to use via the best betting apps currently available to punters in the UK.
The best betting apps can be safely downloaded and installed on your devices. If you have an iPhone and iPad then you really have nothing to worry about. If you are Android-based, then make sure you download any apps from official sources.
You will be sending data to and from such apps, but again, you don’t need to worry as they use encryption – the same level of encryption as banking apps. It’s unlikely that you need to worry about your data ending up in the wrong hands if you use official apps.
Always make sure any betting app you use comes from a gambling site that has a recognised and verifiable gambling licence. Ideally, this will be the UKGC, but if you are not going to use a UKGC-licensed site or you’re using betting sites not on Gamstop, make sure it has a licence from a top-tier regulator such as Gibraltar, Malta or Curacao.
Here’s how to get started with any best betting app available in the UK.
This concludes our guide to the best betting apps UK users can download and install on their devices. You’ve learned how sports betting apps differ from desktop apps, what advantages you can expect from using betting apps and what you can expect in terms of markets and bonuses. We hope you are app-y when using the UK’s best online betting apps.
Check out our list of the best betting apps in the UK above.
No betting app simply ‘gives you money’. Money has to be earned via successful betting. If you are talking about bonus money, then check out the top apps to see what they can offer you in terms of bonus cash.
Some sports are streamed live on some betting apps. Note that you need to have a funded account at the site offering the stream via the app – you can’t just watch for free.
We believe so, yes. They are quicker to load, easier to use and generally more secure.
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