One of the many reasons to visit your local bookie was that they used to show a lot of live sport on TV screens or it was a good way to follow what was happening in play. Now many betting sites show sports and racing from within their betting apps and on their website.
Betting Sites With Live Streaming
The great thing is that all this information is available in the palm of your hand without needing to leave your home. Which is the main reason Live Streaming Betting Sites are on the rise.
Some bookmakers allow free streaming on certain sports, and some require you to place a minimum bet in order to access the live stream.
It’s usually a good idea to have a few accounts with various bookmakers, just because odds can vary vastly between bookmakers, and you don’t want to find yourself in a position whereby you are accepting inferior odds just to watch a live stream.
We hope that you get a lot of information from this guide as we’ve spent hours researching all the live streaming betting sites to inform you of all the common issues you can face, such as time delays, betting strategies and which bookmakers are best for which sports and events.
Best Live Streaming Betting Sites
We’ve pulled a list together for you of the best ones to use just because of the sheer number of sites that are out there offering this service. It can be difficult to pick between the different ones, and whilst most betting sites claim to offer a live betting service, the quality of what they offer differs vastly from website to website.
Here’s our list of the best live streaming betting sites for 2024
Bet365 – Biggest Sports Range
bet365 is the largest bookmaker in the UK and one of the most trusted and respected of all the bookmakers. What makes them different is they were the first to see the potential of the internet and what it could offer punters and since they launched solely online, every other bookmaker, it seems, is playing catchup.
There’s no surprise they are top of the list regarding sports betting and live streaming as they were one of the first to do it.
You’ll find an extensive list of sports on offer via their live streaming service these include Football, Tennis, eSports, Badmington, Snookers, Darts, Volleyball, Cricket, Basketball, Handball, Table Tennis, Ice Hockey & Netball.
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They have one of the most generous bookmaker welcome offers so if you don’t have an account with them, today may be a good day to claim their bonus.
Coral – 100,000 Live Events A Year
One of the most prevalent features on the Coral site is their live streaming service, you can see what event is on as soon as you login as the streaming window is displayed prominently on the home page. You can tell they take their streaming seriously at Coral, you can access it from pretty much wherever you are on the site.
Given its prominence on the site and the fact they offer over 100,000 live events per year (nearly 2,000 per week) then it should be the go-to betting site or app for everything related to live streaming.
One of the handy features that they have is that so long as your account is funded you can watch live events. Horse racing however like other sites requires a minimum bet of £1 to be staked on a race and then you can watch it live from within the app.
Like other sites streaming is integrated with live betting or it can be popped out so and moved so it doesn’t block any of the live information. It’s fully compatible with the coral betting app which you would expect from a major sports betting company.
The live events guide is probably the best in the industry and it’s backed up with an easy to use interface. If you’ve never used a live streaming service before then Coral is a good place to start.
Once you’ve got the hang of it then why not try the multi view feature whereby you can view multiple events at once.
The only reason Coral doesn’t take the top spot from bet365 is that they don’t quite offer the range of live streaming coverage that bet365 does but it’s a close call between the two.
William Hill – Over 60,000 Events Streamed
With other 60,000 events live-streamed each you then it’s no surprise to see William Hill near the top of this particular list. Their streaming is slick, rarely buffers and it integrates seamlessly with their mobile app.
Live streaming is largely free, but you will need to place a bet of £1 in order to wach a horse racing live stream.
Some of the best sporting events can also be watched as part of their live streaming service, including La Liga & EFL Championship Football as well as live darts, tennis, snooker basketball, ice hockey, baseball, netball, badmington, cricket plus lots of other sports.
The quality of the streams is amazing and the betting has been integrated well into the live streaming service, so you can easily track your bets or place a fresh bet in-play.
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The popout functionality is particularly useful as it allows you to split the screen so none of the live-action is blocked. William Hill is one of the premier bookmakers in world sports betting so it’s no surprise to see that their services work seamlessly on mobile. Which also puts William Hill near the top of our mobile betting lists too.
If you aren’t sure what live streaming sports are coming up, then you can also take a look at their schedule and plan your sports viewing well in advanced.
If you don’ have a William Hill betting account then sign up today, it’s worth it just for their live streaming service.
Ladbrokes – Up To 2,000 Live Stream A Week
Ladbrokes have done an exceptional job in recent times in modernising their sports betting offering. They are perhaps best known in the UK for their high street betting shops but similar to other bookmakers that started this way, they’ve invested heavily in technology to give punters what they want.
One of the areas they’ve done well with is their live streaming services. They don’t state anywhere how many live streams that they show but we’ve estimated it to be around 2,000 live streams per week.
Ladbrokes and Coral are owned by the same company so there is no surprise to see them offering a very similar service to their sister company.
The only slightly negative thing we can say about Ladbrokes live streaming is they make it a bit harder to see what is on the live streaming schedule, that said we’ve always found the website and app slightly faster with Ladbrokes than other providers.
Also, it’s not really a feature anymore more of a must but it’s still worth mentioning that you can live stream on your mobile too from within the app itself.
Unibet – Global Sports Streaming
Unibet may not be as well known as some of the other bookmakers on this list but they are in fact one of the leading bookmakers in Europe. Unibet streams over 40,000 events each year, putting them up there with the best.
Given the European focus of Unibet, you’ll find a lot of events being live-streamed that the other bookmakers you are more familiar with may not be streaming.
Some of the lesser-known European football leagues are streamed by Unibet as well as the FA Cup, snooker and major tennis events.
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Where Unibet stands out from the rest of the competition is the steaming calendar is the best laid out of all the betting companies on this list, so finding out what is up and coming is relatively simple.
The standard features are also covered here, it’s £1 to watch a horse racing event and the familiar pop out on mobile is also available so you can position the live stream on your screen without blocking the vital stats and information that are also being fed through.
Unibet is one of the apps I have on my phone because there are occasions where I want to see a live stream and the other bookmakers don’t have it available. They’ve managed to compliment very well what the others are doing rather than straight-up copy it.
Betfred – Best For Horse Racing & Greyhounds.
Betfred stands out when it comes to horse racing and greyhound racing streaming, many bookmakers offering horse racing streaming but few match BetFred and when it comes to greyhound streams they are untouchable.
You can watch all the UK & Irish horse racing for £1 and all the greyhound racing is live via the Racing Post Greyhound TV or Sky. There is also a list of other sports that can be live-streamed via Betfred, these include basketball, tennis, snooker plus loads more.
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The ongoing promotions that Betfred offers their customers related to Horse Racing & Greyhound racing are also what makes them edge it against the other online bookmakers.
Sportingbet – Extensive List Of Sports
Sportingbet is another of the well established online bookmakers that have been around for a number of years.
Football, tennis, formula one and darts are what are covered best with the Sportingbet live streaming service and like most of the other bookmakers we have featured they also offer horse racing. They also off other sports which include volleyball, beach volleyball, table tennis and badminton.
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They possibly don’t offer enough on their own but similar to Unibet it’s definitely a bookmaker you want an account with as they step in where other bookmakers fall short. When you combine Sportingbet with two or three others on our list then you’ve pretty much got all sports covered.
Using Multiple Accounts For Live Streaming
We should consider live streaming a basic feature of most bookmakers these days. UK & Irish horse racing is available on all the sites we have reviewed. Tennis is commonplace, as is basketball.
It’s clear that several bookmakers only offer a basic service and have focused on other areas.
As a rule of thumb, you can live stream so long as your account is in positive balance or you’ve placed a bet in the last 24 hours, you don’t have to spend lots in order to gain access to this service.
If you find better odds with one bookmaker vs another but the bookmaker with better odds doesn’t provide a live streaming service. There is nothing stopping you from placing your bet with one bookmaker and then making use of other bookmakers’ live streaming service.
Live Sport Streaming Requirements
As always, the electronic device you are using to stream the service must meet certain requirements. We’ve listed some of these below if you are a tech-savvy person. If you aren’t, then typically so long as your device is only two or three years old, you should have no issues with streaming.
Adobe Flash – support for Adobe Flash will stop in most web browsers from December 2020. There are a few sites kicking around that may still use Adobe Flash but these are few and far between. None of our recommended sites uses Adobe Flash for streaming.
HTML5 – HTML 5 is the lightweight replacement for Adobe Flash as it does everything Flash does but is a lot more lightweight and doesn’t suffer the same security and buffering issues that Adobe Flash does. HTML5 has been a standard for web browsers and apps for nearly a decade, so you’ll have to have an ancient device for it not to support HTML5.
App Store or Google Play – this is an optional feature but comes with several benefits. Many bookmakers allow you to stream from the bookie’s app to your TV if you have a compatible TV or TV add on that allows this.
Some smartphones and tablets allow you to do this from your browser. If it does then you can use the mobile version of the bookie’s website without the need to install a separate app.
Internet Connection – You will need to use a broadband connection or a Wi-Fi hotspot in order to stream effectively. Some public Wi-Fi hot spots block access to gambling sites, so that’s worth considering.
You can also use your phone or tablets 3G / 4G / 5G data connection to live stream.
The minimum bandwidth required for live streaming are around 512kb/s. Some bookies have low-resolution streams that run at 128kb/s, which is ok in a small view, but when you make the picture the full size of the screen it’s lacking.
Exploring Betting Markets and Odds
With betting sites with live streaming, one of the biggest advantages is the wide range of betting markets available. Whether you have a passion for football, tennis, basketball, or any other sport, you’ll find many options to place your bets.
Bookmakers strive to offer competitive odds to attract bettors. This means that you can expect to find odds that are in line with the industry standards and sometimes even better. The goal is to provide you with the best possible value for your bets.
Not only are there a variety of betting markets and competitive odds, but there are also different types of bets you can choose from. You have the flexibility to pick from various betting options, including traditional win/lose bets, over/under, and handicap betting.
There is a wide selection of sports that can be live streamed by the bookmakers.
We’ve listed some of the most common ones below:
Football – You can stream some top European football matches from the likes of Spain & Italy and the domestic cup competitions in the UK. The Australian and American Leagues are also great to watch and these are available to live stream from the likes of Unibet & Coral.
Horse Racing – Live horse racing is offered by all the major bookies like Paddy Power, but you will need to place a bet on the race to view it.
Greyhound Racing – Our recommended bookie for this is Betfred. You can watch Greyhound Racing for free with Racing Post Greyhound TV or Sky TV.
Tennis – has an exorbitant amount of in-play betting and you’ll find all tennis matches are covered in our list of recommended live streaming sites.
Snooker – These events are sponsored by a bookmaker and typically the bookmaker who is sponsoring the event with be the best place to watch the live stream.
Snooker live streaming has become a popular way for fans to stay connected and enjoy the excitement of the sport from anywhere in the world.
Darts – Darts live streaming has become increasingly popular among sports fans. With platforms like Bet365 offering live streams of major darts events, fans can now watch their favourite players compete from the comfort of their own homes and for free.
Cricket – County championships, test cricket, T20, ODI matches are all covered by bookies that offer live streaming.
Rugby – Is quite a popular sport in the UK but surprisingly isn’t bet on that much compared to other sports. This is probably why most bookmakers don’t have a wide selection of live streaming with Rugby. Also, things like the 6 nations are available to view on free to air television in the UK, so another reason bookies are unlikely to pay for the rights to stream it.
Golf – Given the length of a typical golf match and the fact the ball is hard to spot on a large screen TV, streaming golf on a tablet or phone probably isn’t the best user experience. Golf isn’t really something the bookies offer as a live streaming service.
Basketball – is one of the most common streamed sports, with major leagues in Europe & Asia plus it is one of the major sports in North America, there is a huge amount of basketball that can be live-streamed.
Ice Hockey – it’s a low scoring sport similar to football, so has a huge following with punters. You’ll find all the major ice hockey games streamed through the bookmakers we’ve recommended on this list.
American Football – has gained in popularity over the last decade outside of North America, with talk of an NFL London franchise being formed. Given its growth it’s popularity with punters has also increased. You’ll find NFL, College games and the Super Bowl being streamed by the bookies.
Baseball – You find plenty of MLB games plus other major leagues being shown by all of the recommended bookies in our list.
Boxing, UFC and MMA – these sports rely heavily on Pay Per View, so it’s unlikely you will find a major event being streamed.
Esports – has grown in popularity over the last decade. Betway offers the best Esports betting service and streams all the major Esports events. Esports gained in popularity because it’s an event that is streamed predominantly on none betting platforms. Given that the major Esports events are sponsored by gambling companies, expect the rights for streaming to be included in a sponsorship deal.
Other Sports – volleyball, beach volleyball, table tennis, handball, futsal, badminton, bowls, squash are all streamed by the gambling firms.
If you are hoping to find a bookmaker that can stream Live Premier League matches, you won’t find one. This is because the TV companies hold the broadcast licenses, so they aren’t legally allowed to stream them.
Time Delay
As with all online live streaming, there is a slight time delay when Amazon announced they had the rights to stream the Premier League over the festive period in December 2019 / January 2020. There was a time delay on their service vs a live TV broadcast.
There are technical reasons this is the case, and it’s the challenge that tech companies face as more and more content goes online.
The thing to consider is why you are using a live streaming service and also carrying out in-play betting. You can face a delay of up to 45 seconds when you factor in the delay on the live stream and the 10s lag in when carrying out in-play betting. Some bookmakers are better at others than this, but it’s something that’s worth considering and it’s a limitation in technology rather than a problem with your device or internet connection.
Notifications can ruin exciting sports like horse racing or football, so turning them off is a good idea..
Rules & Regulations
Although certain sports are free to view as a live stream from within a betting app, there are some rules and regulations to be familiar with.
First, everything the bookmaker is streaming is subject to copyright law, and the bookmaker has to pay for the rights to stream the event. Breaking copyright laws by redistributing or recording a live stream could lead to legal problems and losing your betting account.
In order to open a betting account in the UK, you have to be 18 years of age and you must hold a funded betting account in order to stream. So this means that in order to live stream using a betting account, you have to be a minimum of 18 years of age.
Security and Supported Payment Methods
One of the top priorities when engaging in online betting is ensuring the safety of your financial transactions. Live streaming betting sites that offer safe payment methods provide a secure and trustworthy betting experience.
When choosing a betting site, it is crucial to pay attention to the available payment options for depositing and withdrawing funds. The best sites offer a wide range of convenient payment methods to cater to the diverse needs of their customers.
Some of the popular payment methods include:
- Debit Card Payments
- E-wallets like PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller
- Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Bank transfers
- Prepaid cards like Paysafecard
These options offer flexibility and convenience, allowing users to choose the method that best suits their preferences. Safe betting sites use advanced encryption to protect transactions.
Encryption safeguards personal and financial data from unauthorised users and is used on all betting sites we recommend. This ensures that users’ privacy is maintained and their information remains confidential.
Conclusion
Live streaming on betting sites has many advantages for both experienced bettors and casual sports fans. Whether on a laptop computer, desktop or mobile device you want a consistent experience from your sports betting operator.
These platforms improve betting by streaming live sports to your device. Live streaming is not just for entertainment; it helps with betting decisions.
Betting sites with live streaming make sports betting more engaging. Enjoying live streaming on betting sites should not compromise responsible gambling practices. Users should always set limits and gamble responsibly to ensure a healthy and enjoyable experience.
With choosing a betting site with live streaming, it is crucial to opt for a trusted and reputable platform. Choose a reputable betting site with excellent reviews to ensure a smooth and fun betting experience while prioritising user safety and fairness.
By choosing a trusted platform and practicing responsible gambling, users can enjoy the many benefits that live streaming brings to the world of sports betting.