Our comprehensive guide to the finest betting sites in Ireland features the rankings assigned to each operator according to the annual Bookmaker Awards. Armed with a rich dataset compiled over the past year, we’re ready to lead you through the best online betting options available today.
We detail the best bookmakers, including bet365, Boylesports, Ladbrokes and Betfair and what makes them shine above others.
WILLIAM HILL is the most popular betting site with our audience here at irishracing.com and the leading operator started the new year off with bells and whistles as they were the first betting site to offer Non-runner No Bet (NRNB) at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
What's more, William Hill is offering this concession on all ALL 28 races at the Festival. This means you can place a bet on any horse and if it does not end up running, you will get your stake returned to your account. It is a MUST for any punters betting ante-post. PADDY POWER has also announced it will be NRNB on all races.
BET365 - you won't find many horse racing punters who don't have a betting account with bet365. Its extra place offers are unmissable when you are betting and the world's biggest bookmaker has announced it will be offering NRNB on all 28 races at the 2025 Festival.
BETVICTOR has been the most popular betting site this year with our audience and will offer NRNB on ALL 28 races, as well as LIVESCORE BET.
Not long after BETFRED - announced NRNB on all five of the major races at the mid-March meeting. Major bookmakers CORAL and LADBROKES are also serving up NRNB on the five championship races:
These races are as follows:
First, let's narrow it down to the top ten and what they have to offer to keen punters. We will consider the following factors: such as: free bets, money-back specials, a top-notch user experience and most importantly bookmakers you can trust.
Below we highlight the best bookmakers available to punters in Ireland.
The best betting sites available in Ireland listed on this website are tried and tested prior to displaying them on irishracing.com.
The world’s leading bookmaker, bet365, is the best operator for competitive odds and boasts a strong welcome offer of 'Bet 10 get 30' which represents a 300% bonus. It is a firm favourite with horse racing fans and you won't find many racegoers who don't have a bet365 account. Its extra place offers make it well worth signing up for.
Visit our bet365 offers page.
One of Ireland's biggest bookmakers, offering an excellent welcome offer to Irish customers and plenty of specials during major festivals, it's easy to see why it is one of the favoured horse betting sites with our audience.
Visit our Boylesports offers page.
If you haven't already signed up with Betfred and claimed its excellent sign up offer, then you are missing out. Betfred is a historic and long-lived horse betting site which offers great value offer for new and existing customers. Betfred is one of our favoured horse race betting sites.
The world's number one online betting exchange, offering something a little different for Irish customers and lots of added benefits to those who do sign up.
Visit our Betfair offers page.
Among the best bookmakers, Paddy Power is one of the most notorious. Bettors can wager safe in the knowledge their money is secure and enjoy a wealth of betting offers and price boosts on racing's big days.
Visit our Paddy Power offers page.
The Tote's world pool has thrust the operator back into the limelight this year and is one of the best bookmakers. Customers can get cracking odds on the world pool available on select racedays and is a betting site well worth signing up for.
Visit our Tote offers page.
One of the oldest and best bookmakers around, William Hill is a major bookmaker. There are lots of added bonuses when you sign up with William Hill and is therefore considered one of the best bookmakers.
Visit our William Hill offers page.
Fancy owning part of a racehorse? Live the dream and join Coral. That's just one of the many benefits of joining Coral, a horse betting site known for it's excellent welcome offer and customer experience.
Visit our Coral offers page.
Steeped in history and tradition and thanks to its racing expertise, there is a whole host of benefits when you sign up to this bookmaker.
Visit our Ladbrokes offers page.
This betting site continues to be popular with bettors and its welcome offer is one of the most claimed.
Betway is one of the most popular betting sites with bettors and there is good reason for it. The site is easy to use and there is a strong focus on horse racing.
The Bookmaker Awards are a good pointer to which bookmakers provide the best offers, odds, payment methods and existing customer offers. Inform your decision and take a look at which bookies came out on top.
Almost all online bookmakers offer incentives to new players. New customer offers vary between betting sites and different events such as Cheltenham and Royal Ascot. when new customer offers are well worth taking advantage of.
Some major horse betting sites turn off their welcome offers for the Aintree Grand National when people will open new accounts without an incentive to bet again.
Standard welcome offers provide new customers with free bets based on their first deposit or first bet, but they always come with extensive terms and conditions.
Welcome Offers
Bookmaker Award Ranking
bet365
1
Sky Bet
2
Unibet
3
William Hill
4
Betway
5
Betfair
6
Ladbrokes
7
Coral
8
888sport
9
Sportingbet
10
Paddy Power
11
Betting sites offer different odds, but bet365 is known for having excellent odds. To get the best odds available, it's recommended to have multiple betting accounts though so you can compare and find the best price.
No single betting site consistently offers the best odds on individual horses or races.
Horse Racing Odds
888Sport
32 Red
BoyleSports
Betting experience is a key consideration when choosing a betting site. Ease of use, mobile app and live streaming were all taken into account when scoring betting sites.
Betting Experience
It is important to consider first of all which payment methods you are comfortable using and then which operator meets your needs. In this category banking methods plus deposit and withdrawal methods are analysed and considered.
Banking
SportingBet
LiveScore Bet
Betfred
BetVictor
Most UK and Irish betting sites cover most UK and Irish events such as Cheltenham, Punchestown or Grand National.
International events such as the Breeders’ Cup in America and the Melbourne Cup in Australia are also covered but if you have an interest in horse racing from other countries make sure to check if your betting site covers those races.
Market Selection
Zetbet
Virgin Bet
Once you have signed up to a betting site and claimed your free bets, you can then enjoy spending the bonuses.
Racing experts produce a 'nap of the day' following extensive form study to serve up their most confident selection of the day. This is a great place to start.
Fakenham 4.40 Frere D'armes Frere D'armes put his poor effort at Taunton well behind him when scoring at Ludlow earlier in the month and this is an easier assignment. If the eight-year-old remains in similar form, he will prove very tough to beat. Presentandcounting got back to winning ways in easy style over a stronger contest at Catterick in November and is expected to mount a serious challenge. Bardenstown Lad is the pick of the remainder.
Having taken all of the above categories and results into account, the best overall bookmaker has been determined and it is no surprise to see bet365 take the top spot. In second is Sky Bet followed by Unibet who rated particularly well for existing customer offers.
William Hill and Betway made it into the top five through range of markets, betting experience and welcome offers.
Best Bookmaker
Novibet is among one of the most popular new betting sites with our audience as the bookmaker focuses on horse racing and offers up high-value offers, particularly during major racing festivals.
Novibet pros:
Novibet Bet cons:
More Novibet sign up offers here.
LiveScore Bet has proved a huge hit with our audience. This relatively new online betting site places a huge emphasis on sport and its welcome offer represents excellent value. You get a whopping €50 in free bets when you place your first bet of €10 - rivalling the big players in the market.
LiveScore Bet customers benefit from a host of existing customer offers and daily specials are offered in abundance. For example, bet on a jockey to have a certain number of winners at a meeting today and bet on Cheltenham Festival ‘number of Irish-trained winners’.
LiveScore Bet pros:
LiveScore Bet cons:
Sign ups to LeoVegas have been buoyant since the new Irish betting site joined us and while its main focus is its casino offering, the welcome offer for Irish customers is an excellent ‘Bet 10 get 30’ which is a quality offer, offering a 300% bonus.
Leovegas Bet pros:
LeoVegas Bet cons:
talkSPORT BET pros:
talkSPORT BET cons:
Matchbook is fast becoming one of the most popular exchanges and is well known for its sporting offers as well as its new betting promotion for horse racing, which is well worth a second look. The welcome offer presents you with the opportunity to get €30 in free bets.
Matchbook pros:
Matchbook cons:
Place your first bet with AK Bets as a Lucky 15 (with 4 selections) and win a free bet worth up to 25% of your winnings, up to €100. See their terms and conditions for details.
AK Bets pros:
AK Bets cons:
Fitzdares is a fairly new horse racing betting site to join us and it offers a premier horse racing betting service for keen racing bettors. A host of specials are served up during major meetings and the operator boasts its own members' club.
The Fitzdares welcome offer is well worth your time, it allows you to get 50% back as a free bet up to €50 plus the additional bonus of ten free spins in its casino.
Fitzdares pros:
Fitzdares cons:
We recently welcomed Bzeebet among our new betting sites and we are delighted to present their excellent offer of getting back 100% UP TO €100 + 10 Spins on its casino game Book Of Dead. If you have not already signed up, then this is definitely worth a try. Get your free bet to spend on this summer's wealth of action.
Bzeebet pros:
Bzeebet cons:
You can find the horse racing section with ease at Mr Play, it is easy to navigate and offers an intuitive experience. The welcome offer of ‘Bet 15 Get 10’ may not be as competitive as other new betting sites but who wants to turn down a €10 just before the Cheltenham Festival? Get access to this excellent new betting site below:
Mr Play pros:
Mr Play cons:
This is a relatively new betting site to come on board and while its offering is more simplistic than others, you will find offers such as Cheltenham non-runner no bet for new and existing customers, a cash out feature and best odds guaranteed on all Irish and UK racing.
Netbet pros:
Netbet cons:
Expand your betting portfolio with this excellent new customer offer courtesy of 10bet. Deposit €15+ when you create your account and you will receive a 50% bonus up to €50.
10bet serves up a fantastic horse racing experience with competitive odds, multiple markets, existing customer specials which include enhanced odds, fast withdrawal times and a shiny new app.
10bet pros:
10bet cons:
While Tonybet is likely to be known among the Irish audience from years gone by, it is one of the new betting sites to enter into partnership with us. While horse racing may not be among its principal focuses you can get 100% up to €100 for your first deposit bonus for sport betting.
Tonybet pros:
Tonybet cons:
The most recent new online betting site to join us at irishracing.com is Star Sports. Its welcome offer is an appealing one - Get 50% Back as a Free Bet - Up to €25 Free Bet + 25 Free Spins. Worth signing up to if you are a racing fan.
Star Sports pros:
Star Sports cons:
When it comes to identifying the best betting sites available to Irish customers, we use bookmaker awards data sets collected over twelve months.
Furthermore, our team has a deep knowledge of horse racing and the betting industry. Racing experts Vincent Finegan, Johnny Ward and Emma Nagle, plus Betting Expert's Stephen Harris are among our exceptional team.
The Better Collective Bookmaker Awards are held annually and take into account a wide range of factors, including detailed data sets and user reviews. This ensures we provide an accurate assessment of each betting site rather than taking the opinion of a single reviewer.
The bookmakers are ranked in a number of categories including:
This gives an exceptional overall review of an operator and take into account the factors most important to punters.
The bookmakers are ranked out of 23 for each category listed above, allowing you to assess each operator for the categories most important to you.
You will also find the best betting offers and free bets which present excellent value for Irish customers.
If you have an extensive list of betting sites to your name, you can also consider these lesser-known new bookmakers who offer competitive welcome offers and an excellent customer experience once you are signed up.
The irishracing.com team comprises a number of individuals with many years of experience in the horse racing and betting industry, including editor Vincent Finegan and racing pundit Emma Nagle. The annual Bookmaker Awards results are used to highlight the best offers on the market. You can bet in the knowledge that the recommended sites are secure and trustworthy.
Every betting site is different and suit some people more than others, hopefully this guide will help you to choose. A good place to start is with which bookmakers ranked highest at the annual Bookmaker Awards. bet365, Betfair, William Hill and Betway are ranked in the top five.
bet365 offers fantastic odds, Paddy Power is known for money-back specials, Betfair is the world's most famous online exchange, while the Tote offers something different with its pool betting and its iconic placepot.
Generally betting sites are trustworthy but like any industry there are black market operators. There are some simple steps you can take to ensure that a betting site is trustworthy. Check if the betting site is promoted on irishracing.com as we only promote trustworthy companies. You can also check betting forums to see what other punters have been saying about the betting site.
All licensed bookmakers are regulated so we can recommend any of the bookmakers registered on irishracing.com.
The betting sites offering the best odds for bettors are usually bet365, Unibet and Ladbrokes determined by the Bookmaker Awards. You will find some of the best odds around during major festivals, including Cheltenham, Punchestown, the Grand National at Aintree and and Royal Ascot.
There are a number of factors to consider when choosing a betting site and the Bookmaker Awards draw on four million data points to give you rankings for:
