Most Trustworthy Gambling Sites
Top Trusted Bookmakers
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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.
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
.Most Trusted Gambling Sites
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.
Most Trustworthy Sports Betting Sites
Useful Reference Links
- 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
Reviewing Reputable Online Sportsbooks To Bet On Football
Domestic US sports betting is expanding to multiple states, proving that among Americans, sports betting is more popular than ever. And for American bettors, football is more popular than ever, too. No US sport turns a bigger handle than the NFL, and betting on football is how most newcomers start their wagering careers.
However, before you lay down your bets on the hottest NFL and college football action, there are some vital aspects of football wagering you should be aware of. Namely, it’s important to understand that the legal landscape in the US still favors legitimate sports betting sites located offshore over limited domestic options.
That said, not all football sportsbooks are created equal, so it’s crucial that you find an established bookmaker you can trust. To that end, we’re here to review the most reputable online football betting sites.
The sites you see listed here are among the leading football betting sites in the business. They all have competitive odds and lines, multiple wagering options, sophisticated security, and efficient banking suites with fast, guaranteed payouts.
So all things being (mostly) equal, Bovada is our #1 pick primarily thanks to their incredible reputation. Their parent company 'Bodog' has been in the online sports betting industry since the inception of online gambling, so they have a fantastic long standing reputation.
Aside from their generous $250 welcome bonus for new players, Bovada also offers live in-game betting, a mobile-friendly platform, accepts more forms of cryptocurrency than most other sportsbooks, and has lots of unique props on most NCAA, XFL, and NFL football games. All of these features make Bovada one of the safest sportsbooks to bet on football.
| Site Name | Bonus | Rating | USA | Visit/Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% Max $250 | 4.6 | |||
| 25% Max $1,000 | 4.4 | |||
| 50% Max $300 | 4.3 | |||
| 100% Max $500 | 4.1 | |||
| 75% Max $1,000 | 4 | |||
| 100% Max $1,000 | 3.9 |
What Makes Football Betting In The US So Popular
Many people wonder what makes football so popular among US bettors in the first place. Well, first and foremost, it's the most popular spectator sport in America. The physicality of the players, the speed of the game, the highlight-reel scoring – it all adds up to some serious excitement. Because it's such a widely viewed sport, there are naturally lots of betting lines offered, including tons more props and live wagers than what other sports can support.
Because of this popularity, legitimate USA sportsbooks do their best to cater to US players interested in wagering on football. For instance, some sites will give you bonuses specific to football betting, timed to coincide with the beginning of the NFL or college seasons.
But even in the offseason, people can’t get enough football, and NFL futures betting remains one of the most active markets at any legitimate betting site. Still, there’s always a betting lull when football season ends, and to fill that void of action – and to give bettors even more to choose from – new football leagues like the XFL (which kicks off the week after the Super Bowl ends) are trying to get a piece of the massive football betting pie.
What a Good Sportsbook is Made Of
If you’re looking for the best online sportsbook for football betting, there are several items to consider. Here are a few things that a sportsbook needs in order to stand out from the others on the Internet. At a minimum, a truly great sportsbook must:
- Offer early, competitive football lines
- Provide tons of betting odds and additional betting options
- Offer lucrative bonuses and ongoing promotions
- Have a stellar online reputation among active users
- Offer lines on national and international sports in addition to their football selections
- Provide quality 24/7 customer support
- Offer a seamless user interface with great graphics
- Offer mobile-optimized betting boards for iPhone and Android devices
- Provide multiple banking options including Bitcoin
What to Look for in a Top-Notch Sportsbook
When you're in the market for a quality, legit sportsbook experience, you should always bear the above in mind. Remember: You don’t want to just throw your money at the first football betting site that pops up in a random Internet search.
Now, finding the perfect XFL, NCAA, NFL, or basketball sportsbook might take a bit of extra time and energy on your part, but we’re here to help streamline that process by weeding out the thousands of online betting sites that don’t pass muster.
The following tips should help explain the difference between a solid, reliable sportsbook and an operator to avoid like Bill Belichick in the playoffs:
1. Fair Football Betting Lines
Most football lines are set by outfits in places like Las Vegas, and these lines are periodically adjusted to entice action that's good for the house. Typically, this is a delicate balance with books playing for a respectable middle ground.
However, a shady sportsbook may tweak an over-under line to push all the action to a desired result. Thus, when the opposite hits, it's the operator that makes out like a bandit while the bettors take a bath. This is a risky practice, but then again, such illegitimate sportsbooks have little intention of paying winners out in the first place!
2. Selection And Variety Of Odds
Like local black-market bookies, shoddy online sportsbooks don’t tend to offer too many different betting options. They might have basic lines (i.e. straights, spreads, and totals), but with such operators, you’ll be hard-pressed to find things like prop bets and live football betting.
Legitimate online football sportsbooks, on the other hand, offer standard lines, quarter lines, halftime lines, alternate lines, player props, team props, game props, futures, specials, and sophisticated parlay systems to combine multiple bets into single tickets. When it comes to football sportsbooks, settling for less means settling for less money – which is kind of like spiking the ball on fourth down.
3. Sportsbook Reputation Is Everything
As with most businesses, the reputation of a company says it all. When you choose a football wagering site to place your amateur and professional pigskin bets, you should avoid any operator that is untested or brand new (unless they’re owned by an existing trusted player in the industry). There are tons of fly-by-night sportsbook scams on the Internet, and trust us, you don’t want any part of that.
Fortunately, there are also a number of reputable, long-lived sportsbooks that continue to get rave reviews from millions of US customers. These are the books you want to choose, and they’re the only ones we recommend. Gambling can be great fun, but gambling on an unproven sportsbook isn’t ever worth it.
4. Mobile Football Betting Options
When you join an online sportsbook, one of the primary reasons for doing so is the convenience factor. Without mobile support for iPhones, iPads, Androids, and other devices, there wouldn’t be much point in wagering online in the first place. The vast majority of football bettors wager on their smartphones and tablets, after all.
The best and most trustworthy sites will always have responsive, slick mobile UIs for their customers, but lesser sites won’t make the investment to upgrade. If the site you’re considering joining doesn’t have a betting portal optimized for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and other top mobile browsers, that’s a major 404 error!
5. Trusted Live Betting Software
All the best NFL, NCAA, and XFL sportsbooks employ cutting-edge software to drive their boards and live betting options. Lesser football betting sites can’t afford this kind of infrastructure, which means live betting support is one of the quickest ways to tell exactly how legit your chosen sportsbook is.
Remember, live betting is technologically advanced and expensive to implement, but it’s also the most popular way to wager on football in the US. As a result, good books will make the investment to provide their customers with a seamless, mobile-friendly live betting experience, while weaker books will punt on the opportunity. Fast, lag-free live wagering is a must, and you get that at the top betting sites.
Our Process for Finding Reputable Football Betting Sites
There are many online gambling reviews out there, but most of them won’t actually help you find a respected football wagering website. In fact, most of the people behind these reviews simply do a quick Google search and then list out the top results – they don’t even gamble at the sites they recommend!
As a result, such reviewers don't actually put in the necessary legwork to ensure player safety and satisfaction, or to even see if payouts are honored in a timely, guaranteed fashion.
But we take a different approach to our services here. We're gamblers ourselves, not seedy salespeople trying to make a buck. So rather than seeing what's popular and then simply passing on some useless search results to you, we only promote the sites we use ourselves. That’s right – we're active members at all these sites, and we have been shopping lines with them for years. The day we stop gambling at these venues is the day we stop recommending them to you.
What You Can Expect To Find On Our List Of The Best Football Betting Sites
Because we're so detail-oriented when it comes to reviewing and rating the best football sportsbooks, we're not going to be listing off a dozen different operators for you to check out. In fact, there aren’t even a dozen good ones out there! If you ever come across a “Top 10 Football Betting Sites” list, you already know it’s a lie. Call BS, and then call an audible!
Instead of focusing on quantity, our focus is on quality. What we’re trying to offer are thorough, honest reviews on the best XFL, NFL, and NCAA sportsbooks we can find. This means that our list isn't going to be nearly as extensive as some other sites’, because when quality is number one, there are only a handful viable options.
When you're reading a review from Legitimate Sports Betting, you're not just reading some advertising puffery on the biggest names in the business. Instead, you're getting detailed information from actual gamblers to help you find the sites where betting on football is less Hail Mary and more First and Goal!
Football Betting Options Found At Every Site We Recommend
All of the sportsbooks found on this page offer the following options for betting on football games. Obviously, if you don’t see hundreds of lines and props per day of football action, your sportsbook isn’t a serious operator. Including live football betting, all of our recommended sites offer thousands of daily NFL odds, NCAA odds, XFL odds, and more.
- NFL betting lines
- College betting lines (NCAAF)
- XFL betting lines
- Quarter lines
- Halftime lines
- Spread bets
- Straight bets
- Totals bets (over/unders)
- Player Props
- Team Props
- Game props
- Futures
- Specials
- Parlays
- Teasers
- Pleasers
- Live bets
- Mobile bets
Helpful Links For Football Enthusiasts
NFL.com - Features the latest in news stories, scores, stats and more. The most popular go-to resource for all things NFL.
ESPN College Football - ESPN is the number one site for all things NCAAF. With detailed team bios, up-to-date rosters, and advanced stats, ESPN is the home of college football.