Enjoy Live Sports Betting Online
At traditional sports betting houses, it used to be true that almost 100% of betting in the United Kingdom was done before a game, race, or event took place. While that's still true for the majority of bets placed today, with the age of technology comes a new way for punters to capitalize on sports fixtures: live betting at online casinos.
Live betting, also known as "in-play betting", isn't just gaining popularity at UK casinos online. But placing live wagers isn't just about extending the betting window, it can also help you redeem earlier bets, capitalize on sudden changes in the match, or simply make watching the game more interesting.
All of the online casinos on our recommended list, topped by this month's pick - Betway Casino, offer UK audiences the following benefits:
- Live sports betting offers better odds and more opportunity
- Online live action maximises betting excitement
- Enjoy all of the action at home or from anywhere on your mobile device
UK’s Top Sports Sites in 2024
The Rise Of Live Betting In The UK
Although some local bookmakers will let you place wagers on a game that's in progress, live betting is far more practical online. In fact, the speed and availability of the internet form the foundation for live betting to begin with. Compared to the average sportsbook in the United Kingdom, internet bookmakers have many advantages. Here are just a few:
- Online bookmakers have no physical queue to place bets. Time is on your side when you are always first in line.
- Betting opportunities and odds can be updated in real time. Players don't have to be in the shop to be notified.
- Wagers are processed and odds are updated automatically, with little possibility of human error or incorrect placement.
- Wagering can take as little as a few seconds from start to finish at a casino online.
Live betting needs to happen quickly and the internet easily makes it happen. As gambling on the web becomes more and more popular, more top betting providers are keen to provide live betting at their online casinos. Live betting gives players more choice, which is always a good thing.
Part of the excitement of live betting has to do with the fact that odds are updated once or twice a minute on the Internet, which can make live betting an integral part of how you watch and wager on sports in the United Kingdom.
Advantages Of Online Casino Live Betting
When visiting casinos online, live betting has many obvious advantages including:
- More context: Once an event has started, you have a better idea of what might happen. Is one team missing its key striker? Is the weather particularly poor? These things and others will affect the way you bet at casinos online. Live betting is infinitely easier than going back in time.
- Better odds: Let's say your team of choice is down three goals. The odds will shift to reflect that and, all of a sudden, you stand to make some real cash if you bet on them and they make a huge comeback.
- Adds to excitement: A lot of British players thrive on having some skin in the game to make their favourite sports more exciting. If you've placed a few bets but have lost all of them ten minutes in to the game at a casino online, live betting lets you place additional bets and buy back in. You won't find more excitement at a casino online.
Live Betting Availability
In-play betting is available on most major sporting events on all of the top sports betting sites on the web, which will usually have a dedicated section for online casino live betting.
Odds are updated once or twice a minute on the Internet, so live betting really can become an integral part of how you watch sports in the United Kingdom. Major incidents like a red card in football or a very early opening goal will often lead to a temporary suspension of in-play betting while providers update the odds. If you see a great betting opportunity, it's a good idea to seize the moment. You don't know how many minutes or seconds you have at casinos online.
Live Betting Tips
- Don't rely too heavily on live betting for long shots at online casinos. Live betting isn't always lucrative. You'll get a much better return if you pick a team to win, say, the World Cup very early on in the competition as opposed to placing a bet on them five minutes into the final game.
- Look for trends relating to each event you're betting live on. For example, does a certain player always score early at home or does your team of choice thrive in wet weather?
- Consider things that might affect the game but you can't know in advance and, if you can, try to actually watch the event live. Placing a bet while you roam across the United Kingdom is definitely convenient, but it's not ideal if you can't see all of the conditions that the pre-match build up would generally tell you.
As with all sports betting at casinos online, live betting requires lots of luck. Yet you can't discount the benefit of witnessing the action as it happens. That's why so many British players are ditching the bookies and hitting live betting sites on the Internet instead. Make sure you have plenty of free time and a couple of UK sports channels on your TV package because, if you get a taste for live betting, you might find yourself watching more sports than you have in your life! That's a small investment to make to succeed at casinos online. Live betting can pay for itself if you have the skills to match.
All of these sportsbooks come highly recommended, and they all offer in-play betting (also called live betting) when events are available.
- Enjoy a huge free bonus of up to £30
- Numerous simple options for quick cashouts.
- Plenty of regular bonuses & attractive promotions.
PAYMENT METHODS
Simply fund an account at one of the bookies we've recommended and then check out the schedule of in-play betting events. Wait until one of your favourite sports comes up and watch the odds change as the match unfolds. When the odds look good to you, simply bet as normal by clicking on the odds and setting the stakes before confirming your bet. Even if you aren't planning on wagering today it's a good idea to check out the interface at your favourite sportsbook or online casino. Live betting often has a dedicated area within the app or website.
At online casinos, live betting has many advantages but overall it makes sports betting even more fun! It's great to have a bet riding on an event from the start, but try watching football when you can place a new bet at any second - you will instantly feel the difference in the energy of the game. You aren't limited to matches in the United Kingdom or football either. Most major leagues have live betting on at least some matches.
There are more tangible benefits, however, such as better odds on favourites when they struggle early on. Punters often lose faith in the favourite if they stumble and you can sometimes get better odds in the middle of the game than you would have found just before it began at a casino online.
Live betting also tends to make punters spread their betting a little thinner than usual. This can reduce their risk of losses on any one result, and it also makes it easier to balance some bets against one another to make for win/win situations.
At a sportsbook or casino online, in-play betting can be a bit tougher to predict and you have to be quick to take advantage of the best odds before they stabilise at lower prices. It also tends to require more time and dedication, as you need to be paying attention to the event and odds if you want to make the best decisions. Of course, just like all punting you can simply stick to betting when the odds jump out at you or are extremely enticing at sportsbooks and online casinos.
Live betting isn't really for professional punters other than for a laugh, either. Unless you are a rare one that can calculate the balance of a market within seconds or you have the software to do this, you'll be relying on guesses about the game to make your picks. The best punters simply look for ways to get an overall edge in the odds. The most profitable betting practices are about finding ways to get an advantage for maximum expected returns rather than simply trying to pick the winners. At least that's how things work in the United Kingdom.
We like Bet365, as it's fairly easy for the average punter to use for in-play betting, while providing enough extras to make the more serious bettors happy. Bet365 in-play betting even offers live video feeds of some events to players in the United Kingdom.
The very best punters in the UK will want to try their hand at Betfair, but we must advise against this for most players. The Betfair betting exchange is a great idea, yet it just requires more than a little analytical ability to take advantage of profitably. While it's definitely more difficult than spinning the slots at online casinos. Live betting on an exchange can be far more rewarding over the long haul if you have the brainpower.
