Written By: Dean Carr | Fact Checked By: Sarah Lunness
Boxing is one of the most popular sports in the UK, and betting on boxing has also risen in popularity recently. But which UK betting sites are the best boxing betting sites? Below, our expert team has explored the top options for fans when it comes to boxing betting, as well as a detailed guide on how to join boxing betting sites and the best betting bonuses around.
Best Boxing Betting Sites Ranked
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bet365
bet365 is known for the comprehensive nature of its sports coverage, which extends to the boxing ring. On any given week, you will find 10 or more noteworthy matches to bet on with a multitude of markets, Live Streaming of main events, and, of course, Live In-Play betting. When you sign up for a new account at bet365, you’ll have a chance to earn £30 in Free Bets for depositing and betting a minimum of £10. That’s £30 of Free Bets you can use on the next title fight. There is a bet365 bonus code that can also be used to get this offer.
William Hill
William Hill is a huge name in sports betting in the UK and can always be depended on to deliver quality coverage of classic sports like horse racing and boxing. William Hill has a much-loved Bet Builder feature that allows you to ramp up the pugilistic excitement, or you can choose to customize any boxing wager by tweeting @williamhill #yourodds. When you open a new account at William Hill, you’ll have the chance to earn £30 in Free Bets for making a first qualifying bet of £10.
Betfred
Betfred earns its place on our list of best betting sites for boxing by way of its extensive coverage of the sweet science. On the Betfred boxing page, you'll find fights from all over the world, including every title fight in every professional weight division. Betfred also provides a surefire way to score free bets to use on boxing. All you have to do is open a new account, deposit and bet £10 and they'll credit your account with £40 in free bet credits.
BetVictor
BetVictor offers a wide variety of markets on all the big fights, along with impressive coverage of lesser-publicized matches worldwide. Here, you’ll find action on all the hottest up-and-coming fighters, which is one reason BetVictor qualifies for a place on our list of the best online betting sites for boxing. If you’re looking for a way to earn some bet credits to use on the next heavyweight title fight, just sign up with BetVictor, deposit and bet £10, and they will provide you with £40 in free bets.
Betway
Betway offers an extensive menu of pro and amateur boxing matches with frequent boosted odds and plenty of markets, including all the classics. They also offer an easy-to-use bet builder feature and lots of fight info you can use to inform your wagers. Their welcome offer sees new customers get a £30 matched free bet if their first accumulator bet loses.
BetUK
For a relatively new betting site, BetUK has made quite an impression with their world-class live streaming and cash out features and their routinely competitive odds. When it comes to boxing, they provide action on all the main events as well as countless less high-profile fights every month. What earns them entry onto our list of best sites for betting on boxing is their Draw No Bet feature, whereby if the fight turns out to be a draw, your stake is returned to you. Their welcome offer is also worth mentioning, with £30 in Free Bets for a £10 qualifying bet.
Virgin Bet
Virgin Bet does an outstanding job when it comes to providing coverage of boxing. They also cover a wide variety of fights in the lighter weight classes as well as notable amateur fights, including qualifying bouts in the run-up to the Olympics. New customers can get £20 in free bets when they place a £10 qualifying bet.
LiveScore Bet
LiveScore Bet elbow their way onto our list of best betting sites for boxing by providing blanket coverage of the sport in all its forms. That includes Olympic boxing, the World Boxing Super Series, and title fights in all weight classes of the 5 major sanctioning bodies. They also offer pre-match and In-Play betting and Live Streaming of all high-profile matches. Their bet £10, get £20 in free bets welcome offer is identical to the one seen above.
Mr.Play
Mr.Play is another new-ish betting site that has jumped into the deep end of the boxing pool right out of the gate. You will find extensive action here on all major pro and amateur bouts, as well as in-play betting and even some interesting prop bets, such as the number of punches thrown. Sign up to Mr.Play today to get a £10 bet token when you place a £10 qualifying bet.
How to Join the Best Betting Sites for Boxing
Joining one of the best online betting sites for boxing is easier than most people think. And better still, almost all of the top boxing betting sites use more or less the same sign-up process. Here is how that process typically unfolds:
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Choose a boxing betting site to join from the list above and click the link to be taken to the bookmaker's sign-up page.
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An application form will open. Fill in all required fields.
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Choose a username and password.
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Or, if the site offers biometric login and you want to do that, tap the option and follow the prompts.
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Accept the site's terms & conditions.
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Tap “join now” or the equivalent button.
Congratulations! You are now a member of one of the best betting sites for boxing. All that’s left is to fund your account. Just remember most Welcome Offers require that you make your first deposit using a debit card.
Popular Boxing Betting Markets
Boxing is not like tennis, cricket, or NFL football, all of which provide countless different betting opportunities. In boxing, two opponents stand toe to toe and try to knock each other out. So, the betting options are relatively limited. Here are the most common types of boxing bets.
To Win Fight
It does not get any simpler than this. You bet on who you think will emerge victorious when the fight ends. With this bet, the method of victory does not matter. All that matters is who gets the W on their permanent record.
Method of Victory
There are several possible outcomes in any given boxing match, and the best boxing betting sites provide ample opportunity to wager on them. Potential outcomes include:
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Knockout (KO)
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Technical Knockout (TKO)
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Split Decision (2 out of 3 judges agree on a winner)
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Unanimous Decision (all 3 judges agree on the winner)
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Draw (judges cannot agree on a winner)
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Fighter Withdraws (one fighter quits partway through the bout)
Most boxing betting sites offer action only on the glamour outcomes: knockout and technical knockout. Although you will occasionally find action on other outcomes, especially when it comes to things like Olympic boxing.
Round Betting
Like most boxing wagers, round betting is very straightforward. All you do is guess which round the fight will end in and who will be the winner.
To Go The Distance
This is an ultra-simple wager that is exactly what it sounds like. You bet that the fight will go the distance, whatever that is for the boxing match in question. Title fights are typically 15 rounds, while others range from 3 rounds (amateur bouts) to 12 rounds (professional non-title bouts).
Bet Builder
A bet builder allows you to create a customized bet that spans several markets related to a given fight. creating a bet builder bet is usually a straightforward process whereby you select the boxing match you want to wager on, tap the “bet builder” option associated with that fight and start selecting markets you want to include. Once you have your markets selected, indicate your stake and tap “place bet”. Most, not all, betting sites for boxing offer bet builders.
Boxing Accumulators
Like the bet builder, accumulator or “acca” bets are composed of multiple selections. With accas, each separate selection is called a “leg,” and you will need to choose at least 4 legs to create your acca. All of your legs must come in for the acca to pay off. But if they do, that payoff can be substantial.
While accas share some surface similarities to Bet Builders, they are not the same thing. With a bet builder bet, you're able to choose markets that might influence one another and, by extension, the result of the match. These are called “related contingencies”. Related contingencies, however, are not allowed in accas. Each leg must stand on its own.
Betting Sites Boxing Bonuses
Most of the top boxing betting sites offer bonuses for both new and existing customers. These bonuses take many with the most common being:
Free Bets
Free bets are most often associated with welcome offers, but not exclusively. You will sometimes see them appear in existing customer promos on boxing betting sites, too. The name "free bets" is something of a misnomer in that you need to spend money on the site before you qualify for "free" bets. Another thing to keep in mind is that free bets are not the same as cash. Instead, they're site credits. So, if you place a wager using a Free Bet and win, you cannot withdraw the Free Bet amount.
Welcome Offers
All of the best boxing betting sites use Welcome Offers to entice people to sign up for new accounts. In many cases, these Welcome Offers take the form of Bet X Get Y bonuses whereby if the new member places an initial bet of X amount, they receive Y amount of free bet credits in return. Some bookmakers will offer to match a percentage of the new customer’s first deposit, while still others will cover the first bet up to a predetermined amount. For example, if your first bet fails, they will cover it up to, say, £50. It is basically a kind of bet insurance.
Deposit Bonus
Deposit bonuses are not as popular as they were a few years ago. These days, free bets are all the rage. But some betting sites for boxing will still offer a deposit bonus from time to time. A deposit bonus means the bookmaker will match your initial deposit up to a predetermined amount. This can be as little as £40 or as much as £250, and in some cases even more. New users, however, are almost never willing to deposit hundreds of dollars into their new betting account. They'll typically deposit a smaller amount first and see how things go.
Odds Boost
With Boosted Odds, the odds are shifted in favour of the punter. This type of promo is made possible by the fact that the bookmaker tacks on a premium for each bet, which is how they make money. On occasion, they'll decide to take a little less on a particular market, thereby boosting the potential payout for the punter. On rare occasions, the house may forego its entire markup and return it to punters in the form of an odds boost.
Loyalty Club
Bookmakers are always looking to attract new people to engage in betting on boxing. At the same time, however, they know that it is repeated customers who really butter their bread, and so many, not all, of the best boxing betting sites, offer loyalty programmes designed to reward steady customers. The more you spend, the more loyalty points you earn. Loyalty Club members enjoy other perks as well, such as Loyalty Club-only promos and expedited withdrawals.
Boxing Betting Apps
We live in an app-obsessed world. There’s an entire generation coming of age now who have little or no experience using browsers. They use apps. For everything. Online bookmakers are not blind to this development, and as such, all of the best online betting sites for boxing have mobile betting apps that can be downloaded and installed for free. These apps offer all the features of the desktop or mobile website and, in some cases, provide significant app-only promos.
Boxing Betting Strategy
Some people argue that you have just as much chance of winning by placing bets randomly as you do by researching things and developing a strategy. Others say "hogwash" to that. To them, only a fool engages in any sort of serious wagering without having a strategy in place. When it comes to boxing, betting strategies take several forms. One of the most popular being the over/under strategy.
The Over/Under Strategy involves betting on how many rounds the fight will last. The actual winner of the fight is not important; all that matters is whether the fight lasts more than X number of rounds (over) or less than X number of rounds (under).
Here is one common over/under strategy used by many punters:
Do a bit of research and take notes on how long various boxing betting sites think the fight will last. Then ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there an overwhelming favourite in the fight?
- Does either fighter have a reputation as a knockout artist?
- Are both fighters prone to going the distance?
- What’s at stake?
The last question is particularly important as it addresses each fighter's motivations. If neither fighter has much to fight for there's a good chance they will try to avoid getting hurt and just try to secure a victory on the judge's scorecards. In that case, an "over" bet might be a good choice. On the other hand, if one fighter has a reputation for early-round knockouts and is up against a weak opponent, the "under" bet might be the wiser choice.
What to do if you have a gambling problem
We understand that gambling can be fun, but it is important to gamble responsibly. If you are struggling with a gambling problem, please don't hesitate to ask for help. There are people who can help you get on the road to recovery.
Here are some resources that can help you:
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National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133
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GamCare: https://www.gamcare.org.uk/
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GambleAware: https://www.begambleaware.org/
FAQs
What are the Best Boxing Betting Sites?
By visiting any of the boxing websites that we have mentioned in this post, you can obtain the action-packed boxing betting that you desire. Each one provides a large selection of boxing markets, in-depth coverage of important bouts, and the ability for users to wager in-play on big fights. Most also feature live streaming of major fights and a variety of boxing-related commercials.
Are Boxing Betting Sites legal in the UK?
Yes, in fact. The best boxing betting sites in the UK are all fully accredited. All online bookmakers operating in the UK have been granted licenses by the UK Gambling Commission. That is one strict organization that doesn't frequently grant gaming licenses to websites that are dubious or problematic. If a website is listed in this guide and offers services for lawful boxing match betting, you can be sure that it is reputable.
Can you bet in-play on Boxing?
To put it briefly, yes, you can wager on boxing in real time. The lengthier answer is that while some of the top boxing betting sites do offer real-time boxing wagering, most of them do not. In-play betting almost always includes live streaming, which is an expensive extra. Some online bookies have huge bankrolls, therefore they can afford it. Some are not able to.
Can you claim Boxing Free Bets?
During promotions tied to major events, a lot of boxing bookies provide free bets to bettors who accurately predict a knockout or the round in which the fight will end.
