
1. bet365
Taking place every four years, the FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in football and is the most-watched sporting event in the world. First held in 1930, where Uruguay emerged as the inaugural winners, the World Cup is held every four years and has been won by some of the most celebrated football nations, including Brazil, Argentina, France, Italy, Germany and England. Naturally the tournament attracts a huge number of sports bettors and Betting.com picked out the UK’s best FIFA World Cup betting sites for 2023.
1. bet365
2. Unibet
New customers only. 18+, BeGambleAware.org. Min deposit £10. Money back as bonus. Wagering requirements: Sportsbook 3x at min. odds of 1.40 (2/5), Casino 50x. Only one bonus can be used at a time, Sportsbook bonus must be wagered before using the Casino, unless the bonus has been forfeited. Bonus will expire after 7 days of opt-in. Full T&Cs apply.
4. BetVictor
18+ New customers only. Opt in, bet £5 at odds 2.00+ within 7 days of registering, no cashout. Get 2x £10 Free Bets, set events at odds 2.00+. Plus a £10 Slot Bonus, selected games, wager 20x to withdraw max £250. 7 day bonus expiry. Card payments only. T&Cs apply, see below. Please gamble responsibly
5. Betfred
New 18+ UK customers. Register with CHELT40 between 09:00 on 10/03/2023 and 17:30 on 17/03/2023. Deposit, using a Debit Card, and place first bet on sports within 7 days of registering. Bet must be £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ in one bet transaction. £40 in Free Bets credited within 10 hours of bet settlement, expires 7-days after issue. First bet must be settled within 7 days of registration. Proof of I.D and address may be required. Full T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs apply.
6. Betway
New UK customers only. Min Deposit: £5. Maximum Free Bet: £30. First bet on a Football or Horse Racing multiple with 3+ selections. Overall odds: 3.00 (2/1) or higher. Free Bets available upon settlement of the qualifying bet. This is offer is valid for 7 days from your new account being registered. 50 Bonus Spins credited on placement of qualifying Acca bet.50x bonus wagering applies as do weighting requirements, bonus Spins only available on selected games and expires 7 days after being awarded. Debit card deposits only (exclusions apply). 18+. BeGambleAware.org. Bet The Responsible Way. Full terms apply.
Founded on the back of a bet on England to win the 1966 World Cup, it is only fitting that Betfred sits as one of the best FIFA World Cup betting sites in the UK.
Bottom line:
Betfred is ahead of the pack with its goal scorer promotions, which can be particularly valuable during one-sided qualifying fixtures.
Why we like Betfred:
Double Delight and Hat-Trick Heaven provide the potential for some big returns if you make the right pick. Customise your wager with their popular #PickYourPunt fixture or check out what others have put together. Daily Price Boosts are given a dedicated page, which will be stacked during the World Cup.
Pros | Cons |
Goal scorer promos #PickYourPunt Daily Price Boosts | Dated website design In-play can be slow |
What Betfred offers you
Stoke-on-Trent’s bet365 is one of the most well-known names in the sports betting industry.
Bottom line:
A top quality bookmaker who provide great coverage of football as a whole, bet365 are one of the best World Cup betting sites in the UK. They offer competitive odds and you can avoid any dramatic comebacks ruining your wager with bet365’s early payout offer.
Why we like Bet365:
Your bet will be marked as a winner if your team takes a two-goal lead thanks to Bet365’s early payout. Their accumulator bonus can lead to some big returns, and they provide more outright markets during qualification than many of their rivals.
Pros | Cons |
Early payout Accumulator bonus Qualification outrights | Big winners often limited Website not to everyone’s taste |
What Bet365 offers you
Part of the UK betting scene since 1946, William Hill is one of Britain’s best FIFA World Cup betting sites.
Bottom line:
William Hill are a great all-round sportsbook and provide punters with a range of betting options for World Cup outrights and individual matches.
Why we like William Hill:
William Hill have regular enhanced odds promos for World Cup matches, a great range of markets and submarkets for punters to enjoy and the option to build and customise your wager with #YourOdds.
Pros | Cons |
#YourOdds helps you personalise your bets Great World Cup betting markets for outrights and matches Excellent in-play betting Regular odds boosts Acca insurance/boosts with Acca Freedom Competitive odds for European football | No VIP scheme |
What William Hill offers you
Read the full William Hill Review
Founded in 2006, Betway are one of the UK’s leading betting companies. They are one of the best football betting sites around. They are currently high profile within the sport, providing sponsorship for Premier League side West Ham United. They provide great World Cup coverage.
Bottom line:
Betway provide superb stats, quality promos and good value odds to boost your World Cup betting experience.
Why we like Betway:
Betway provide excellent information and stats in the build up to each World Cup game, allowing you to make informed choices when betting. During matches statistics and other details are available to punters to aid the in-play betting process. Their odds are usually competitive and overall they are one of the best FIFA World Cup betting sites in Britain.
Pros | Cons |
Easily accessible World Cup statistics Excellent website design Promos which can be applied to World Cup betting. | Customer support not at the standard of many of its rivals |
What Betway offers you
Founded as recently as 2020, BetUK has quickly become recognised among the best World Cup betting sites in the UK.
Bottom line:
Bet UK’s Acca Club is a great option if you are going to be placing accumulators on World Cup fixtures.
Why we like BetUK:
Earn profit boosts and free bets through the Acca Club. Specials markets are easy to locate on the left of the website, which is loaded with wagers to ponder during the World Cup. Their in-play betting is reliable, and quickly updates while the action is taking place.
Pros | Cons |
Acca Club Dedicated page for special markets Competitive World Cup odds Informative in-play console | Menus aren’t the easiest to navigate No live streaming |
What BetUK offers you
Bettors will prioritise different things even when it comes down to the best FIFA World Cup betting sites. Some will want promotions. Others will be keen to go wherever has the highest standard odds. If accumulators are your thing, the acca promos are going to be enticing. The number of outrights available is also a factor to consider.
Chris Sampson: I feel that the top online World Cup betting sites will go all-out with their promotions during qualifying and in the build up to the tournament. I want to see team and player specials alongside free bets and boosted odds. I want outright betting on the tournament to be available months in advance.
With the significance of the World Cup, bookies make a huge effort to attract punters.. While that gives us a lot of choice, it can also be a little overwhelming as you try to pick a betting site to suit your needs. To get a clearer look at the leading candidates, here’s a quick comparison table:
Site Name | Betting.com Rating | Best For | Sign-up Bonus | Full Review |
Betfred | 4.1/5 | Goal scorer promos | Get £40 Bonuses With £10 Stake | Review |
Bet365 | 4.4/5 | Early payouts | Bet £10, Get £30 Free Bets | Review |
William Hill | 4.5/5 | Customised wagers | Bet £10, Get £30 Free Bets | Review |
Betway | 4.3/5 | World Cup research | £30 matched free bet | Review |
BetUK | 4.3/5 | Acca rewards | Bet £10, Get £30 Free Bets | Review |
At Betting.com, we have researched to find the positives and negatives associated with several FIFA World Cup online betting sites. Settling on a bookmaker for a major event like this is a personal choice, however, so it is important that you set aside some time to weigh up the pros and cons of each bookmaker for yourself.
To help with that process, here are seven factors to consider:
The first World Cup took place in 1930 and was won by Uruguay, the host nation. The tournament has evolved significantly since then. In recent years the World Cup Finals has been a 32 team competition. From 2026 the number of teams at the finals has increased to 48. Naturally, betting on the World Cup, in the qualification rounds and the finals themselves, has changed a great deal over the years. Punters now have a vast choice over how they enjoy a World Cup wager.
World Cup odds are calculated on the probability of something happening. The odds of France winning the World Cup, for example, are significantly shorter than the odds of Japan winning the World Cup. That’s because the probability of France winning the World Cup is much higher. If France won the World Cup after you placed a £10 bet on them to do so at 6/1, you would win £60. But if Japan won the World Cup after you placed a £10 bet on them to do so at 250/1, you would win £2,500.
The most attention is paid to World Cup odds during the chunks of qualifying matches and the summer of the tournament itself. Outright markets howeer, are available months, or even years, in advance at the best World Cup betting sites. Obviously you can get odds on individual matches in the qualification stages and in the finals.
World Cup odds for individual games can sometimes be short, especially during the group stages, so one way of increasing them is through accumulator betting.
More commonly referred to as an ‘acca’, accumulator betting is when you bet on two or more World Cup games but combine them into one bet. Because the odds are multiplied, you’ll win an enhanced amount if all the selections in your acca are correct.
Making picks for the World Cup takes a lot of thought and you must follow the action closely. Knockout football is notoriously unpredictable. There are always a few upsets in qualifying, and some matchups can appear to be very one-sided, which can make it tricky to find betting value.
The types of bets for the World Cup are the same that you will see on other international football tournaments. Seasoned football bettors will already have their preferred markets.
Bookies will set a line for the total goals in a match. The most common number is 2.5. Punters will then bet on the over or under – if you bet under 2.5, your bet wins if there is zero, one or two goals in the match.
There are plenty of goal scorer markets for the World Cup. These include anytime goal scorer, last goal scorer and first goal scorer. You can also back a player to score twice or to score a hat-trick at most of the best World Cup betting sites.
The group winner market is available during qualifying and for the group stage of the main tournament. You can also bet on teams to finish in the top two.
The most popular of the outright markets is betting on the tournament winner. Many bookies will put these odds live soon after the final of the previous World Cup.
Building a betting strategy for international football can be tricky. The usual factors like form, head-to-head and team news all matter, but the long gaps between fixtures can leave you with a lot of uncertainty. It is useful to look into the statistics, and potentially consider how nations have fared at major tournaments in the past. Watch a lot of international football to understand it better and look at previous World Cups and other international tournaments such as the Euros as a guide.
The World Cup first took place in Uruguay in 1930 with the host nation becoming the first World Cup winners. As of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 22 final tournaments have been held and a total of 80 national teams have competed. The trophy has been won by eight national teams. Brazil,with five wins, are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy, with four titles each, Argentina with three titles, including the last tournament in 2022, France and inaugural winner Uruguay each with two titles, and England and Spain, with one title each.
Seventeen countries have hosted the World Cup, most recently Qatar who hosted the 2022 edition. The 2026 tournament will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, which will give Mexico the distinction of being the first country to host games in three World Cups.
The hosts are the only nation to qualify automatically. Up to and including the 2002 tournament the holders qualified automatically. All nations apart from the hosts go through a qualification process where teams compete in groups to decide who qualifies automatically and which teams have to go through the playoffs.
Most bookies have Brazil and France as the two favourites to win the World Cup in 2026. Brazil and France are 6/1 with most bookies with England 8/1, holders Argentina 10/1 and Germany 11/1.
Canada, the United States and Mexico will host the tournament in 2026. The rest of the nations who are members of FIFA will compete to make up the remainder of the 48 teams at the tournament.
The Preliminary Draw of the World Cup 2026 Football is planned to take place in July of 2023. This draw determines the grouping of all qualifying zones of the world’s soccer continents: each nation aiming for FIFA World Cup Football success, having their base in the Asian Zone (AFC), African zone (CAF), North, Central American and Caribbean zone (CONCACAF), South American zone (CONMEBOL), Oceania zone (OFC) either European zone (UEFA), is drawn in a group, in which their opponents will also be revealed. The 2026 world cup qualification matches will be held between 2023 to 2025.
The 2026 World Cup runs from Thursday 11 Jun 2026 – Sun, 19 Jul 2026.
Qualification matches – 2023-2025
Opening match – Thursday June 11 2026
FIFA World Cup Final 2026 – Sunday June 19 2026