A short guide to online bookmakers
You know, most bookmakers are run by good, honest people. But some of them are not – and it’s my job to avoid those bookmakers and keep my website visitors away from them. I won’t mention them here, but they are notable in their absence. I do – however- insist on a range of bookies for practical reasons. Here are my recommendations:
1. Paddy Power: You can trust Paddy for as long as you live – and the Irish have definitely done so for many years. Since PP went online, more people have opened accounts on this site than any other. It’s amazing – they have the range of markets, they have the technical support, and they can be trusted with your cash. Very important.
2. Betfair: This isn’t really a bookmaker as such, as you are in fact betting against other betters – but you will get excellent odds – very often higher than at traditional bookmakers – and it is so well managed that your money is as safe as houses with Betfair.
3. William Hill: I’m not massively keen on the website as it is quite sparse – a little out of date perhaps – but the racing afficionados flock to William Hill because they have a very solid track record with horse racing from the old days of high street betting. Along with Coral and Ladbrokes, they are the real old-guard of British high-street bookies. They have some quite basic free bet offers for newcomers, but the question is trust – and racing fans have trusted them for years. So do I.
4. Jaxx: Jaxx is a strange one – no high-street presence but they do have the backing of two Premiership football clubs and a website that is so good it’s almost space-age. They have a 25 free bet offer on at the moment, and their speciality is football: if you want to bet on the Hungarian Second Division, you can – it’s your choice. I’ve tried them, and I agree with what most people say – your money is safe and Jaxx is a very professional online bookie.
5. Totesport: If you have lived in France and experienced the PMU, the Tote (Totesport) is the same idea. It used to be run by the state and you get the odds as the event starts – not when you place the bet. This can leave you a victim of fluctuations that you may otherwise have foreseen. In other words – the Tote can make the odds up so they never lose money. However, it’s one for the serious gambler who wants to know his money is safe and that the odds will at least be honest. And the site works very very well indeed.
So there you go – 5 bookmakers you can try out without risk. I say that you should avoid online bookmakers whose sites look like they were thrown together in ten minutes. Look around and you’ll find them. If they don’t have a range of markets, it means that they don’t have enough people working for them, researching the markets. And that’s bad. Stick to the big names and you won’t go wrong.
