It has been reported that the number of independent betting shops in the UK has fallen from 696 to 536 since 2019.
A drop of around 23% in five years.
Golden Palace (Golden Palace itself is not available in the UK, but the clones below are so add GP in to your filters and then find the game on the clones) Note: Not all the leagues are on these clones so it may be hit or miss whether you find the games. Bigger league games are probably more likely. Maybe play around with filters / hide low tier and see what works best. Not all of these have been tested by me yet. I’ve marked which I have used.
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Since betting shops were first legalised in the UK in 1961 independent bookmakers have been a prominent part of high street’s across the country. During the bet betting sites with free spins welcome bonus 1960’s betting shops thrived and many large chains of shops were created eventually becoming some of the biggest high street brands to this day such as Ladbrokes, Corals and William Hill. These big names in bookmaking were around before betting shops were legalised and were able to acquire many of the smaller chains of bookmakers and grow their business very quickly. So quickly in fact that Ladbrokes was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1967, whilst William Hill were acquired by Sears Holdings in 1971 . Joe Coral began by betting from pitches at greyhound stadiums before opening and acquiring betting shops in the 1960’s. These shops still generate business rates of £5.5m along with over £25 in taxes. Along with land-based betting shops, the number of independent bookmaker brands has also decreased.
During the 1970’s and 1980’s there were around 16,000 betting shops in the UK but with the increase in taxes and lower profitability, the numbers began to drop. However in 2001 the UK Government changed the method of taxation on betting from a turnover tax to a Gross Profits tax leading to the abolition of betting duty for customers and the beginning of a new era of profitability for UK independent bookies. The abolition of the tax on turnover was to lead very quickly to the introduction of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals(FOBT’s) into UK betting shops and these terminals which allowed customers to play roulette and other casino-based games were immediately very popular with customers. Independent bookmakers were again encouraged to invest and grow their businesses as the FOBT’s provided a big increase in betting shop profitability. During the years immediately after 2001, Coral, in particular, were very active in acquiring further betting shops and picked up a number of larger chains including Reg Boyle, John Joyce, Pagebet and Chas Kendall.
A review of gambling in the UK was begun in 2001 and the Budd Report as it was called was enacted into law in 2005 and became fully operational in 2007. Amongst the many implications of this new Gambling Act was that it would now be much easier for Bookmakers to open new betting shops as they did not need to prove demand existed for a new premise. This resulted in new independent bookmakers and the existing high street chains opening shops across the UK sometimes very close to each other or in some extreme cases next door to each other! After many years of growing concern regarding the impact of FOBT’s on problem gambling in the UK a reduction in the maximum stakes allowed per spin was implemented in April 2018. Whilst the full effects of this legislative change is still to be seen it was expected to result in the closure of many betting shops across the UK including many hundreds of independent betting shops. In 2018 there were 145 independent bookmakers, with that number dropping to just 82 in 2024.
We have a list of independent bookmakers including many of the private and small independent bookies here.
Meanwhile, if you place a bet at -125, you would get 75% of your stake as a profit, meaning £0.80 would come as the profit of a £1 bet. Fractional odds are much easier to read for beginners and that's what we would recommend all our bettors use. They come in the form of 1/10 or 10/1. If your bet pays out at 1/10, you will receive a 10th of your stake as profit. Meanwhile, at 10/1, if you win a £1 bet, you will win £11, as you've won 10x your bet with your £1 stake as an addition.
Decimal odds, on the other hand, can be viewed at odds such as 1.32 or 8.00, if the odds are shown at 1.32, this will provide players with 32p profit from a £1 bet. Meanwhile, if you win a bet at odds of 8.00, this will provide £8 profit for every £1. If you're placing a bet using the draw no bet market, this nullifies your bet if the event ends as a draw. For example, if you placed a bet on the first Tyson Fury Vs Deontay Wilder fight that was Tyson Fury to win, draw no bet, as the match ended as a draw, all bets placed on this will be nullified and your stake will be returned. It is worth noting that if you place a bet with 'no bet' attached, the odds will be significantly lower than what the bet would be without it.
Picking the best sport to bet on depends on you. If you're following tipsters, then it'll depend on the tipster you follow but the best sport to bet on will always depend on your knowledge of the sport. For example, if you have a cricket knowledge beyond imagination but your football knowledge is lacking, you should focus your betting strategy around cricket betting rather than football. Generally, outside of the two mentioned above, Horse Racing betting and Golf betting are the two options that we recommend as they provide very different experiences but both can offer fantastic value to those who follow the sports. No, in the world of online gambling, safer gambling regulations require all players to have an account that is verified. In recent years a number of these bookies, who have been well established in the retail sector, have tried to establish online betting sites.
| Betting Site | Offer Type | Minimum Deposit | Key Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bet365 | Bet Credits | £5 | Bet £10, Get £30 in Credits |
| William Hill | Free Bets | £10 | Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets |
| Paddy Power | Risk-Free Bet | £10 | Money Back as Cash if 1st Bet Loses |
| Betfred | Double Odds & Free Bets | £10 | Double Odds on 1st Bet + £30 Free Bets |
| Sky Bet | Free Bet Bundle | £5 | Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets |
There aren’t many success stories unfortunately as competing with the larger companies has been very hard. Some of the independent betting sites listed do have their own online transactional betting site whilst others will simply have informational websites.
This means to place a bet you will have to register for an account so we have your details on record. This is to ensure the safety of our players at BetUK, you will find that all betting sites in the United Kingdom follow the same regulations, meaning you must have an account to place a real money bet. Here at BetUK, we have the cash out option available for players to utilise, there is no guarantee that the cash out feature will be available for your bet. However, when a bet matches certain criteria, you'll be able to cash out. The cash out option, for those unaware, is a feature that allows sports bettors the ability to cash out the entirety or part-of their payout.
In most occasions, the payout will be significantly less than the full potential win. Your bet may not be able to cash out if something is happening in the event and it would impact your betslip. UK betting fans have two favourite sports when it comes to betting, the runner-up in this scenario is Horse Racing while the most popular is football. From the World Cup down to the National League North, the betting options for football in the United Kingdom are ever-growing. With fixtures both on weekdays and every weekend, there are hundreds of games every single week that bettors could bet get bonus bets when you sign up bet on when using a sportsbook.
Early last year I put together a UK Bookies list but then stopped using RB for a while so it’s never been updated. I thought as I’ve started up again I should do an updated list and share it here for anyone who may find it useful. If I’ve missed anything or there are any mistakes please let me know, Due to how the forum works, I can only keeping editing this post if I don’t reply, so if you need me at all i’m on the Discord as ChrisAR (UK) Last Update: 22nd March 2025 Added Pub Casino to Golden Palace Clones 7Bet (UK) (Also shares odds with Golden Palace) 32Red 888Sport Bet365 BetMGM (UK) Betfair Sportsbook (Pro Only) I’d be careful with these as once you are banned from one, they ban you from all of them. I’d suggest either opening a few of them and spread bets across them to try and prolong the accounts OR the moment you see any sort of stake restriction stop on that account immediately and then open another. As long as you can avoid getting a proper ban on placing bets then you can keep going with another one. If you are considering betting with some of the very small companies you need to be more cautious.
You may want to consider not leaving large sums in accounts or betting on events a long way into the future as unfortunately, we have seen a number of these smaller betting sites come and go over the last few years. Scroll to the top of this page and you’ll find a list of independent bookmakers. Select a bookmaker to read more about their history and whether or not you can bet with them online. Although not as popular as they once were due to the rise of online betting, telephone bookmakers still play a big part in providing a betting service to those who prefer traditional means of placing bets.
| Tool | Description | Typical Setting Options |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit Limits | Sets a maximum amount you can deposit daily/weekly/monthly. | £10 - £5000 per period |
| Time-Out | Takes a short break from gambling, from 24 hours to 6 weeks. | 24h, 48h, 1w, 6w |
| Self-Exclusion | Closes your account for a minimum of 6 months. | 6m, 1y, 5y, Permanent |
| Reality Checks | Pop-up notifications showing time spent on site. | Every 20, 30, 45, 60 mins |
Telephone bookies are often marketed as more personalised betting services compared to online bookies. They have a smaller client base and so are able to dedicate more time and attention to their customers.