- Huge day of sport in the UK
- Full football and horse racing programme for UK punters
- Boxing day betting opportunities for fans of US Sport
Boxing Day is one of the biggest days on the spotting calendar in the UK and, needless to say, is one of the most popular days for bettors too. Betting.com look at the best Boxing Day betting opportunities for punters.
Boxing Day offers
Many bookies will have a range of offers for Boxing Day betting.
Welcome offer
The welcome offer is likely to be boosted. For example a bet and get offer could net you £50 in free bets insread of the usual £30 when you bet £10 at some bookies.
Enhanced odds
Look out for odds boosts on the top Boxing Day events. This could apply to single bets as well as accas, most likely on football and/or horse racing. William Hill and bet365 are particlularly good for this type of promotion.
Festive offers at Betfred: £1 million Christmas Draw
Check out the £1 million Christmas Draw at Betfred. Anyone who opts in and wagers at least £1 gets entered into the draw. Then, if it snows on Christmas Day or all teams score during week 19 of the EPL, five people will be drawn at random to win £1 million each!
Boxing Day Football
Unlike many countries around the world who have a winter break over the festive period, in the UK the fixtures come thick and fast. In Scotland this year there is quite a sparse Boxing Day offering, however, in England, the EFL and the National League have a full programme, while the Premier League have five games scheduled, with the matches staggered over the Christmas period for the benefit of television.
Popular Boxing Day football betting markets
You will find the same markets and betting opportunities for football on Boxing Day as you would throughout the year. However, given the amount of fixtures that are taking place you could find some extra value. Keep a look out for festive odds boosts and bonuses from the best football betting sites.
Boxing Day football betting: How to find value
With so many matches coming thick and fast over the festive season there could be the odd shock in store. However, due to the top teams having bigger and deeper squads they are often able to ring the changes making upsets less likely. So backing favourites, especially at home, could be a good policy. If you want to find extra value you could look at fixtures involving good teams who have smaller squads or who are experiencing injury problems. You will also be able to look back over previous years to see which teams traditionally perform well on Boxing Day. These types of historical quirks tend to come up more often in football than in other sports.
Boxing Day Football 2023: Key matches
There are five matches in the Premier League on Boxing Day, plus some interesting fixtures lower down the pyramid
Premier League Boxing Day Matches
| Premier League Fixtures | Time | Betting.com summary |
| Newcastle United vs Nottingham Forest | 12:30 | This looks like a home banker at the time of writing. However, check out how the Magpies are coping with their injury crisis. If this looks like being a game too far for Eddie Howe’s side you could find some value in going double chance on Forest. However, it is more likely that you might want to go for a Newcastle win as part of an acca. |
| AFC Bournemouth vs Fulham | 15:00 | This looks like a home win or a score draw at the moment, with Fulham struggling to win away from home. A few weeks ago this looked like being a nervy encounter, but some good results from both sides has seen them move away from the relegation zone and towards midtable. |
| Sheffield United vs Luton Town | 15:00 | A relegation six-pointer. Expect a tight, nervy game. Might be worth going double chance on Luton. |
| Burnley vs Liverpool | 17:30 | All things being equal this looks like an away win. You might want to bet on more that 2.5 goals in this one. |
| Manchester United vs Aston Villa | 20:00 | Old Trafford has not proved to be a fortress this season by any stretch of the imagination. Villa have been excellent this season but they have been a lot better at Villa Park. A score draw is more than possible but Villa keep getting results so an away win would not be a surprise. |
Pick of the Championship Fixtures
The standout match in the Championship is a clash between promotion rivals Ipswich Town and Leicester City at Portman Road. We are backing the home side to win here.
Scottish Premiership
The only Boxing Day fixture in Scotland’s top division is Dundee vs Celtic. Despite Brendan Rodger’s side’s recent stutters we expect an away win here.
Best Betting Sites for Boxing Day Football
Check out our top lists of the best football betting sites and the best Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premiership betting sites for your Boxing Day wagers. For the big relegation six pointer at Bramall Lane, Sheffield United vs Luton Town, check out our guide.
Great range of markets
Great Premier League odds
Great stats and pre-bet info for your Boxing Day wagers.
Boxing Day Horse Racing
Boxing Day is traditionally a big day on the British horse racing calendar and 2023 is no exception, with race meetings happening throughout the country. There are total of eight Boxing Day race meetings in the UK this year.
| Course | Race type | Track type | First Race |
| Sedgefield*/Newcastle | Jump | Turf | 11:45 |
| Wetherby | Jump | Turf | 11:52 |
| Market Rasen | Jump | Turf | 11:55 |
| Fontwell Park | Jump | Turf | 11:57 |
| Huntington | Jump | Turf | 12:06 |
| Wincanton | Jump | Turf | 12:18 |
| Kempton Park | Jump | Turf | 12:45 |
| Wolverhampton | Flat | AWT | 13:50 |
* The Sedgefield meeting has been moved to Newcastle Racecourse due to maintenance.
Boxing Day Horse Racing: Where to place your bets
Kempton Park King George VI Chase Day
One of the most prestigious horse racing events of the year, the King George VI Chase Day is a massive Christmas festival event. The whole event takes place over two days. Boxing Day is traditionally the most interesting for punters as the card contains three grade 1 races out of the six scheduled. The King George VI Chase is the biggest race of the day countrywide, to the extent that the race is often streamed on big screens at the other racecourses around the country.
First race: 12.45
King George VI Steeplechase: 14:30
Last race: 15:40
Sedgefield Boxing Day Racing (Moved to Newcastle Racecourse)
The Sedgefield Boxing Day race has been relocated to the Newcastle Racecourse.
First Race – 11:45
Last Race – 15:10
Wetherby Racecourse Yorkshire Christmas Meeting
Dating back to 1940, the William Hill Yorkshire Christmas Meeting is one of the oldest and most popular Boxing Day races meetings in the UK. There are seven jump races on the card, including the Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase.
First Race – 11:52
Last Race – 15:20
Market Rasen Racecourse Boxing Day Races
The Rand Farm Park Boxing Day at the Races takes place at Market Rasen Racecourse on Boxing Day.
First Race – 11:55
Last Race – 15:25
Fontwell Park Boxing Day Races
Fontwell Park hosts a superb Boxing Day event in Sussex. Seven races will be competed in, all are jumping races and will take place throughout the afternoon.
First Race – 11:57
Last Race – 15:27
Huntington Day at the Races
Huntington Racecourse offer a fantastic Boxing Day event, one which has become the most popular date on their calendar. The event features seven races and is represented by both small and large stables.
First Race: 12.07
Last Race: 15:32
Wincanton Boxing Day Races
The Boxing Day event is by far the most popular date on the calendar for the Wincanton racecourse.
First Race: 12:18
Last Race: 15:45
Wolverhampton Boxing Day Racing
Wolverhampton racecourse hosts a seven race card on Boxing Day
First Race – 13:50
Last Race – 17:20
Boxing Day Tip:
The glamour race on Boxing Day is the King George VI Steeplechase at Kempton Park. The three standout horses in the ante-post betting are Allaho, Bravemansgame, Gerri Colombe and Shishkin. At the time of writing Betway have these four priced as follows:
Kempton Park
We feel that Alloho, Bravemansgame, winner in 2022, Gerri Colombe and Shishkin all have a strong chance. However we feel that Allaho will come out on top. Shishkin had looked like a good each-way bet at one point but his odds have shortened. If you are looking for an outsider to back each-way, we recommend Hewick, priced at 16/1 with Betway.
Check out the best betting sites for the King George VI Chase with Betting.com. Check out our guide to the race before making your picks.
Odds correct as of 16:00 on December 21 2023. Odds subject to change.
Horse racing betting opportunities for Boxing Day
Check out the best horse racing betting sites for boosted odds and festive promos. A range of bookies will have some amazing betting offers for the Boxing Day races across the UK & Ireland. Many Boxing Day free bet promotions are available to current customers, as well as new punters, interested in placing a horse racing bet over the busy Christmas period.
Here are all the various types of sports betting promotions available on 26th of December 2023. While some are sign-up offers others are targeted at existing customers.
Bet & Get
Opening a new betting account and depositing a certain amount to match the betting offer gives you free bet bonuses or free bet credits. Once you have deposited and wagered the £10 stake your account will be credited with the number of free bets that the bookie in question advertised.
Many bookmakers are offering some great betting offers like this: Bet £10 get £30 in free bets on horse racing.
Enhanced Odds
The best online betting sites will be competing for your attention on one of the biggest betting days of the year. Many will offer enhanced odds, or odds boosts. This is often on the main races of the day such as King George Chase and Rowland Meyrick. William Hill and bet365 are especially good for this.
Matched betting
Matched deposit bonuses are straightforward promotions that most bookies offer all year roundd where they will match a percentage of a deposit as a bonus. Generally matched betting is normally 50% and 100%.
ITV Racing Betting Offer
Due to ITV’s excellent coverage of racing bookies often work with them to attract punters. An example is the bet365 ITV Racing 4/1 Offer, which will be available on Boxing Day.
Extra Places
Punters looking to find value love an each-way bet and top bookmakers such as bet365 and William Hill will often offer extra places on certain races. They are sure to target some of the big Boxing Day races.
Best Odds Guaranteed
A best-odds guaranteed promise is offered by most bookmakers these days. This is where you will paid at the best price odds available whether you take an early price or wait.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites for Boxing Day
Check out out top list of the best horse racing betting sites in the UK before making your Boxing Day pick. For those having a wager on the big meeting at Kempton check out our list of the best King George VI Chase bookies.
Horse racing promos for existing customers.
Spread betting available
Great live streaming
Boxing Day Betting for US Sports
Punters who enjoy US Sports have both NFL and NBA fixtures to consider on Boxing Day.
In NBA there are two matches in the early hours. The Philadelphia 76ers take on Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks come up against the Phoenix Suns.
In the NFL you can wager on Baltimore Ravens against San Francisco 49ers.
Boxing Day Betting: Enjoy responsibly
So there you have it, plenty of betting opportunities for punters over Boxing Day, one of the biggest sporting and betting days in the sporting calendar, right in the middle of the festive period which in itself brings a load of sporting events to bet on. Remember that sports betting is a leisure activity and to gamble responsibly at all times.
