Ireland, it is no exaggeration to say, has an extensive gambling history. Irish sports bettors enjoy betting on many different sports, and it has been estimated that about 15% of the population bet on a daily basis. At the time of writing, there are about 300 online bookmakers that Irish sports fans can register with and new online bookmakers Ireland are popping up all of the time. However, not all of them are top online bookmakers, and in this guide, we are going to tell you the best bookmakers for Irish sports bettors.
Is It Legal to Bet Online in Ireland?
Before we go and give you a complete list of online bookmakers that Irish punters should think about opening an account with, we thought it would be wise to touch on the legal aspect of Irish online gambling.
Before you start online betting anywhere, you need to make sure that it is completely legal to do so where you are situated. Nowadays, online gambling is really popular in Ireland, but it might surprise you to find out that gambling online was strictly prohibited until 2015. However, the government quickly realised that there was a lot of extra revenue to be made, so they opted to make online bookmakers Ireland legal.
Nowadays, Irish punters are estimated to spend around €220 million each year. Any sports betting site, whether it is situated in Ireland or another country, are permitted to enter Ireland’s sport gambling scene as long as they have gained a license from a legitimate gambling commission such as UK Gambling Commission or the Malta Gaming Authority. The majority of independent online bookmakers available to Irish sports betting fans have a license from the UK Gambling Commission.
The Best Irish Betting Sites
Below you can find a list of online bookmakers that we recommend Irish sports betting fans to take a closer look at. In our humble opinion, these are some of the best online bookmakers available to Irish gamblers at the time of writing this review:
· Ladbrokes
· Bet365
· Skybet
· William Hill
· Betway
· BetVictor
· Coral
· Bwin
· 888sport
· Mr. Green
· 10Bet
· Unibet
Top 3 Betting Sites Ireland
The bookmakers online list above has all of the best online bookmakers for Irish sports betting fans, but we feel that there are three that stand out from the rest. We are now going to take a closer look at those three but before we do, we would just like to emphasise that you do not have to take our words as gospel. It is perfectly understandable if you think differently to us as we are all individuals with different opinions and needs. One of us might think that a sportsbook is perfect, while another might think it is nothing but average.
Therefore, before signing up with a bookie, you should take a bit of time to read some reviews of online bookmakers. This is where comparison sites such as betinireland come into play as they have a team of experts that spend their days analysing all major bookies and putting all the valuable information that they find into an in-depth review. You can then read their reviews to see if a particular sports betting site is for you or not.
Below are the bookmakers that we feel are at the very top of their game.
Betway
Betway arrived on the scene in 2006, meaning that they are quite young if you compare them to other online bookmakers. However, in the last 15 years, they have had millions of players across the globe register for them, and a large percentage have been from the Republic of Ireland.
What makes Betway one of the most popular bookmakers online is that when it comes to online bookmakers offers they have a very enticing Welcome Bonus. If you decide to open an account with them, then you will get up to €30 in the form of free bets and then there will be many different promotions that you will be able to take advantage of. In fact, when it comes to online bookmakers promotions, they also have some of the best around.
Betway has markets and competitive odds for 32 of the world’s most popular sports, meaning that there will always be something for you to bet on. One other reason why Betway is so popular among Irish sports betting fans is that they offer such a wide variety of markets for football, which is one of the most popular sports in Ireland.
To add to this, they have a lot of different payment methods, a very good customer service team, and they have a live streaming feature for many different sports.
Below we have summarised the best components of Betway:
· An enticing Welcome Bonus
· Many different promotions to keep things entertaining
· Plenty of payment methods for placing a deposit or making a withdrawal
· A live streaming feature
· A very good customer care team
Bet365
Bet365 are a UK-based bookie, but they are more than willing to accept Irish customers. When it comes to online bookmakers Welcome Bonus, it is fair to say they have one of the best around. If you opt to open a Bet365 account, then you can take advantage of a Welcome Bonus of up to €100. In addition to this, they are the best online bookmakers free bets.
when it comes to the different sports available, those who have a Bet365 account will be able to bet on a myriad of markets for the most popular sports in the world. Bet365 are also more than happy to offer some of the best odds around. In addition to this, they have a really good live streaming feature, plenty of deposit and withdrawal methods, great customer care, and a really good mobile app. New online bookmakers really should take a leaf out of their book if they want to succeed in such a competitive industry.
Below you can see a summary of Bet365’s best features:
· A big Welcome Bonus
· Plenty of payment options for making a deposit and withdrawals
· Extensive live streaming
· A really good mobile app
Coral
Coral first came into being in 1926, making it one of the oldest bookies around. The fact they are still very much relevant is a huge testament to how good they are at adapting to change. They now have a large Irish customer base and one of the reasons for this is their really good reputation – you can get far on reputation alone in the gambling world.
However, it is not only their reputation which makes them one of our favoured Irish online bookmakers. They also have a wide variety of markets and really good odds for all of the most popular sports in Ireland. Additionally, they have live streams for about 60,000 events a year. The Irish love their horse racing and Coral knows this, which is why they have made sure that they cover all the major horse races. Furthermore, they know the Irish love their football, so they have made sure that they are one of the best football betting sites for Irish punters.
If you come across an issue while gambling at Coral, speak to one of their customer support agents and your issue should be resolved as quickly as possible. Below is a list of Coral’s best bits:
· Really good customer care team
· Around 60,000 live streams a year
· A variety of markets and competitive odds
· Plenty of deposit and withdrawal options
What Sports Will You find at Irish Betting Sites?
When you are searching for a bookmaker to join, you need to check whether they have a variety of markets and competitive odds for the sports you want to bet on. You do not want to go through the signing up process and then quickly realise that the bookmaker in question does not have what you need to keep you satisfied.
So, what are the popular sports that you will find at the Irish betting sites that we recommend? Well, you can find a list of them below – we have not listed the sports in order of popularity.
· Football
· Tennis
· Rugby
· Basketball
· Horse racing
· Greyhound racing
· Formula 1
· Hurling
· Gaelic football
· Darts
· Snooker
· Baseball
· Table tennis
· Ice hockey
· American football
· UFC
· Boxing
· eSports
How Irish Sports Betting Fans Can Locate the Best Bookies
There are so many bookmakers available to Irish sports betting fans that it would be quite foolish to register with the very first decent one that you encounter. When you are looking for a sportsbook to join, there are some important criteria that you have to look out for, and this is what we will take a look at now.
The Reputation That the Bookmaker Has
As we said earlier, having a solid reputation is something that can do you wonders in the gambling world, so before you open an account with any bookie, it is a smart move to find out a bit about their reputation. You can do this by checking out some reviews online. If you come across plenty of reviews that are negative, then it is probably a wise move to look elsewhere.
Do They Offer Competitive Odds
We all put in a lot of work to get the money that we have, so it is only fair that we get the best deal possible when spending it. With regards to sports betting, the way you can get the most out of your money is to place bets with the best odds possible. The higher your odds are, the higher your profit will be if you land a winner.
Odds will differ from one bookie to another, so we recommend that you consider opening an account with two or three bookies so that you want to bet on a certain market you can compare the different odds and then choose the best one to use for your bet.
Is the Site Secure?
If there is one thing that you have to avoid it is opening an account with a bookmaker that has rubbish security. If you register in a betting site that has rubbish security, then you run the risk of having valuable personal and financial data stolen from you. Therefore, before you open an account with a sportsbook, you have to find out all you can about their security levels before you deposit your hard-earned money with them.
One way you can tell if a website is secure is by checking the address bar and seeing if there is a padlock. If you can see one, then it is a secure site. Another good way to tell if a betting site is secure is to check who they have been licensed by. Go to the bottom of the site’s homepage and if you see a license from the likes of the UK Gambling Commission or the Malta Gaming Authority, then it is a clear sign that they are safe and secure.
If you ever have doubts about a bookie’s security, then simply look for another one to register with. There are many bookmakers out there which have very good security, so you definitely do not have to settle for second best and put yourself at risk.
Are the Terms and Conditions Good?
When you are making use of bonuses from a betting site, there will be a number of T&Cs that apply. The most important T&C that you will come across is called a wagering requirement. This is the amount of times that the bookmaker requires you to wager the bonus money they are giving you before you can withdraw it and any winnings you make from it. For example, if you claim a bonus of €30 and there are 3x wagering requirements in play, you will need to spend €90 before a withdrawal is possible.
One other T&C that you will likely encounter is the minimum odds that you have to use when making use of your bonus. Usually, the min odds sit between 1.40-2.00. You will not often be given unlimited time to use your bonus – you will usually be given somewhere between 7 and 30 days to spend it.
Before you start making use of a bonus, we recommend that you take the time to understand all the T&Cs that apply. If you do this, then you will decrease your chances of making a mistake which will see you lose any bonus money you claimed.
What Are the Common Payment Options?
Nowadays, most bookies will provide their players with a variety of payment options. This is fantastic as it means players can select the payment option that they are familiar with. By using a deposit and withdrawal method that you know well, you will be lowering the odds of you accidentally depositing too much into your account.
You might think that it is not too big a deal, but the more cash that you have in your sportsbook account, the more you might be tempted to spend. So, this is why we do not recommend that you top your account with a lot of money. So, what are the popular and common payment options that Irish bettors will come across frequently? We have listed them below for you:
· Visa
· Neteller
· Skrill
· PayPal
· Bitcoin
Making a Deposit Using PayPal
When you need to deposit money into your account, you will want it to be a simple and quick process so that you have more time to gamble. PayPal is a very popular payment option as there are many (online bookmakers that accept PayPal). It is popular because it is easy and fast to use. We have outlined the steps that you need to go through when making a PayPal deposit.
1. Log in and go to the cashier section.
2. Go through the payment list and click on PayPal.
3. Enter the amount you want to deposit and select the “deposit” button.
4. You will be taken to PayPal and will be required to confirm the transaction.
5. The money will appear in your bookmaker account right away and you will be able to start betting.