Betway
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.
- Easily accessible World Cup statistics
- Excellent website design
- Promos which can be applied to World Cup betting
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.
What Betway offers you
- Loads of World Cup info and stats: Loads of stats are available pre-match to help you with your picks, plus when betting in-play Betway provide you with all of the necessary info for making informed live bets.
- Great football bet builder: Betway has a Bet Builder, which is available for all World Cup games, enabling you to create your own bet. Punters can make multiple selections from the most popular markets (goals, cards, corners, etc.) to make one bet. The sportsbook’s #BetYourWay allows you to make bet requests via Twitter using the aforementioned hashtag. Betway will price up your desired bet, which you should be able to access under the #BetYourWay tab on the selected event.
- Free Bet Club: Opt in to Betway’s Free Bet Club and you can earn £15 in free bets each week if you meet the qualifying criteria.
- Interesting Promotions: Betway regularly offer odds boosts and plus a great free to play competition “4 to score”, available for the World Cup, which can win you free bets and cash.
BetUK
Founded as recently as 2020, BetUK has quickly become recognised among the best World Cup betting sites in the UK.
- Best Odds for EPL
- Best Odds for UCL
- Acca Club
- Dedicated page for special markets
- Competitive World Cup odds
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.
What BetUK offers you
- Acca rewards: BetUK’s Acca Club can be lucrative if you regularly place accumulators. Profit boosts and free bets are available if you qualify.
- Dedicated specials page: Find enhanced accas and other bets on BetUK’s specials page.
- Solid in-play offering: BetUK’s in-play system is one of the best in the business. Odds update quickly, the page loads smoothly, and there’s plenty of information to absorb.
- Information on game pages: Team form, win probabilities and head-to-head records are available on the game-specific pages to help inform your bets.
Betfred
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.
What Betfred offers you
- Double Delight and Hat-Trick Heaven: Back the first goalscorer and see their odds doubled if they score twice. Odds will be trebled if they hit a hat-trick.
- #PickYourPunt: You can contact Betfred to design your own wager combining various markets with #PickYourPunt. Other #PickYourPunt selections can be found on game-specific pages. They will be available for many qualifying matches and for the World Cup finals.
- Daily Price Boosts: Look for the Daily Price Boosts section on the left-hand side of the website for higher odds on your World Cup games.
- Acca Insurance: Receive free bets on qualifying accumulators if you narrowly miss out.
BoyleSports
BoyleSports has the second-most betting shops in Ireland. They have translated their success with in-person betting to a significant online presence.
Bottom line
BoyleSports’ feature allowing you to combine odds in a market is something which stands out from many of their rivals.
Why we like BoyleSports
You can combine odds at BoyleSports, which is particularly appealing in the correct score market for World Cup games. If you’re regularly placing accumulators, you will be lined up for rewards. Also look out for boosted odds.
What BoyleSports offers you
- Combined odds: In markets like correct score and anytime goalscorer, combine different wagers a unique bet. For instance, you can back the match to finish 1-1, 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 rather than placing a bet on a specific score.
- Acca Insurance: Insure a leg of your accumulator or boost your winnings with BoyleSports’ Acca Rewards promotion.
- Price boosts: Find a selection of price boosts for World Cup matches.
- Acca Loyalty: You could be eligible for a £5 free accumulator if you place five other accumulators.
SBK
SBK are fairly new to the scene and are making a big impression on sports betting in the UK with their extremely competitive odds. SBK is a mobile only sportsbook established in 2019, which, naturally, has a great app and a superb all-round mobile service. Football is one of their main areas and they are among the UK’s leading World Cup betting sites.
Bottom line:
Competitive odds and great coverage of the World Cup and the sport as a whole, SBK is a great place to have a bet when on the move.
Why we like SBK:
SBK’s superb app and mobile offering make it one of the best sites to use if you are having a wager on the go. Along with their competitive odds, instant bet builder and range of markets, this makes SBK one of the UK’s best World Cup betting sites.
What SBK offers you
- Wonderful mobile experience/app: A modern look and pleasing to the eye, navigation is easy and user friendly. Using the app it is obvious that it was designed specifically for mobile phones, with everything fitting comfortably into a small screen. With less graphics and sound effects, it means that less powerful mobiles can also comfortably support the site.
- Attractive World Cup Odds: SBK have consistently competitive football odds and the World Cup is no exception.
- Variety of payment methods: SBK offer punters a wide range of payment options with its range of debit card and e-wallets accepted in line with or better than many of its competitors.
- Great selection of submarkets: SBK have a fantastic amount of submarkets.
Check out the best betting sites in the UK and the best football bookies with Betting.com.
How our experts choose the best sites to bet on the World Cup
Bettors will prioritise different things even when it comes down to the best 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.
Compare the best World Cup betting sites of 2024
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 | Full Review |
| Bet365 | 4.5/5 | Early payouts | Review |
| Betway | 4.4/5 | World Cup research | Review |
| BetUK | 4.4/5 | Acca rewards | Review |
| Betfred | 4.3/5 | Goal Scorer promos | Review |
| BoyleSports | 4.3/5 | Combined Odds | Review |
| SBK | 4.3/5 | High odds | Review |
How to choose the best site for you
At Betting.com, we have researched to find the positives and negatives associated with several 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:
- Focus on licences: Safety is vital when betting. Licensed bookmakers are the only place to bet and be confident in your security.
- Compare welcome offers: Welcome offers are a good way to start off your time with a bookie. Check their terms and conditions to make sure their sign-up offer is appropriate for your betting habits.
- Look at World Cup odds: First up, it is handy to see which markets are available on the World Cup. Then, it’s worth comparing their prices with other bookmakers.
- Check payment methods: All punters want deposits and withdrawals to be processed quickly and without hidden fees. See how many payment options are available.
- Research their reputation: Whether it’s scrolling through forums or searching for reviews, it’s helpful to see what other punters have thought of a particular bookmaker.
- Mobile experience: Download the bookmaker’s app to get a feel for the mobile experience. Check that the offers and features you can access on the website are available on your preferred mobile device.
- Trial registration: To really understand what it’s like to be a regular punter, you need to sign-up. First impressions matter, and the registration process can give you a clear idea of if this is the bookmaker for you.
Betting on the World Cup explained
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.
Odds
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.
Picks
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.
Types of World Cup bets
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.
Total Goals
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.
Goal scorer markets
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.
Group winner
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.
Tournament winner
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.
World Cup betting strategies
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.
Get to know more about the World Cup to bet smarter
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.
Previous World Cup Winners (Last 10 Tournaments)
- 2022 – Argentina
- 2018 – France
- 2014 – Germany
- 2010 – Spain
- 2006 – Italy
- 2002 – Brazil
- 1998 – France
- 1994 – Brazil
- 1990 – West Germany
- 1986 – Argentina
Who is the favourite to win the World Cup in 2026?
At the time of writing, most bookies have France as the favourites to win the World Cup in 2026. The French are 6/1 with most bookies with Brazil 7/1, England 8/1, holders Argentina 10/1, Spain 11/1 and Germany 14/1.
Who is competing at the World Cup in 2026?
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 determined 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.
What are the key dates to keep in mind?
The 2026 World Cup runs from Thursday 11 Jun 2026 – Sun, 19 Jul 2026.
Qualification matches – 2023-2025
Opening match – Thursday June 11 2026
World Cup Final 2026 – Sunday June 19 2026
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