EU Betting Sites — Best European Bookmakers

Sports betting is growing in popularity worldwide. Annually, the number of bookmaker companies opened in Europe increases tenfold, indicating the growing popularity of this area. For this reason, competition between bookmakers is also growing, which leads to a constant rivalry. In this review, we consider the best betting companies who seem to win this competition and tell you a few words about how we rate these sportsbooks. In addition, we will also study some features of the best EU betting sites.

TOP-3 European betting sites

How We Rate the Best European Bookmakers?

It is no secret that many users pay special attention to security regarding online activities, especially if it involves money. Indeed, choosing a reliable betting company is not easy, and security is the crucial factor on the Internet. The number of users who will use its services depends on how reliable the bookmaker is. This, in turn, affects the place of the bookmaker company in the international ranking of bookmakers.

Most often, experts advise you to read the reviews of users of betting sites in order to understand which companies are reliable. It is also essential to look at the rating on the bookmaker reviews site.

It is also important to note that the rating of a bookmaker is influenced not only by reviews and its reputation but also by age.

Agree: the site that has existed for several decades is more credible than the one that was created last month. The popularity of a bookmaker in the betting market is almost always the main indicator for a client when choosing a bookmaker. If a company has been around for a long time, this usually means that it is quite reliable. However, we don’t think that the frequent mention of a company’s name on the Internet is always an indicator of its reliability. Many owners simply make paid ads on third-party resources so that their site appears in the first lines of search results. Check this point in order not to be mistaken with the choice of the bookmaker.

It’s Licensed by the Local Gambling Commission

Another important factor that influences how we rank the company is the availability of a license. On the websites of reliable companies, users can always find available legal information. This usually includes the license number and the name of the licensee who issued this license to a particular company. In order to check for sure how true the information about its license was published by the bookmaker, you can additionally go to the licensor’s website and see if he has a link to the bookmaker’s license page or not.

Today in the world of betting, one of the most affordable and popular licenses is the Curacao license. Despite the presence of certain drawbacks, it is in great demand among bookmaker companies around the world.

The licensing of companies is carried out by the Ministry of Justice, in particular a special department called Curacao E-Gaming. This department is responsible for managing online gambling and is one of the oldest regulators of the gambling business in the world. This department has been operating since 1996.

One of the advantages of the Curacao license is the fact that it is a single license for all types of activities: sports betting, online casinos, poker rooms, bingo, lotteries. In most cases, companies will need to purchase separate licenses for each type of entertainment. There are two types of licenses: master and sub-licenses. Formally, they differ in the first right to sub-license other companies.

Why is Curacao license in high demand among companies? There are several important reasons for this. The main one is the availability of this license. In the first year, the company will have to pay about 20,000 euros, which is not much compared to other licenses. The license price depends on many factors, the main one being the type of license that the company has chosen. In addition to the license, the company can also purchase a package of services, which includes opening an offshore company, as well as opening trading and bank accounts, and even providing servers for hosting Internet resources and user data.

Also, this Curacao license has a low tax rate compared to other licenses – its value is only 2%. In addition, companies do not have to pay sales tax, and this license has no duties. License terms may change, so it’s best to check this information on the licensor’s official website. These rules, described above, are valid until 2026.

​It Has a Wide Range of Safe Payment Methods

Customers often choose a betting company based on the availability of payment methods available to them. Today, Internet payment systems are very popular among bookmakers. This is a simple and very convenient way, offered by most of the offices. It allows residents from different countries to carry out monetary transactions. Also, the most common methods are transferring funds using debit cards with Visa and MasterCard systems. They are available in almost every country in the world. Also, it is possible to replenish an account using mobile payments in some companies, but this option is not available for players in all countries.

The only drawback that a client may encounter is the long processing of requests for withdrawal of funds and the appearance of an additional hidden transaction fee when converting currency.

Electronic wallets have become equally popular. Most offices accept payments through international electronic wallets without commission.

However, a commission is charged for each transaction when withdrawing funds from the electronic payment system itself. The way out is to cash out through the registered cards of the payment system or form applications through an electronic exchange office.

​It’s Available In All European Languages

Recently, many companies have appeared on the bookmaker market, whose website has been adapted for different language versions. This attracts the attention of the players, as they work with the company’s website becomes much easier for them. Traditionally, the primary language is English, but also many companies can switch the language – most often, the most popular languages ​​are German, French, and Chinese. Also, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Russian, and other languages ​​are now available in different companies – the choice of language depends on the territorial location of the company, as well as on what audience the bookmaker is targeting.

​It Offers a Lot of Bonuses

Many clients appreciate good bonuses and choose companies that offer regular promotions and good bonuses. Today, every betting company is trying to attract as many customers as possible. Therefore, bonus systems, promotions, promotional codes, and other exciting offers are available to customers. In addition, there are options when companies do not offer registration bonuses to new players; instead, each new user can receive a 100% bonus on their first deposit. It is important to note that in order to clear the bonus, the player usually needs to wager the amount of the deposit several times.

In addition, companies offer other bonus offers for their clients – it can be bonuses for the first deposit and 5% bonuses for multiples of more than five events, and other interesting offers for betting on certain championships.

You can find detailed information about the bonuses presented on the official website of the bookmaker.

​It Has Competetive Odds

The most important thing for all players who come to play and place bets is the odds. These are numbers that reflect the likelihood of an event occurring. Bookmakers determine them independently based on an analysis of the upcoming event, its popularity, and the number of people who have made bets on this or that outcome.

For bettors, the coefficient is also a measure for calculating the amount of payout and profit. In general, the coefficient reflects the probability of winning the outcomes – according to it, the players determine how high it is and satisfy the bet’s conditions.

What are the margin and the calculation of odds of bookmakers? In European bookmakers, the standard odds are straightforward to calculate – by dividing 100 by the percentage probability of winning. Do not forget about the difference that the office includes to make a profit. It is included in every bet, and therefore the investor’s real income will be slightly less, and the organization will benefit from any result.

Those companies that are especially popular among players tend to offer relatively high odds compared to their competitors. For example, the margin on the site can be 6-8% in the pre-match and 10-11% in life. Equivalent outcomes are most often estimated at 1.90 – 1.90. Most often, companies offer good quotes for the most popular sports – for example, football matches. Experienced players are also advised to look into sports such as hockey and rugby, where the odds offered are often very tempting.

This type of odds is not the most popular, but it is used in many countries. Many experts note that these ratios are more difficult to calculate and understand. This ratio is usually expressed as numbers greater than 100 and has the value “+” or “-.” In the first value variant, the player sees how much he can win if he bets one hundred monetary units. And the second, on the contrary, shows how much must be bet so that the player can get a net profit.

The advantage of this type of odds is that the format can be easily converted to decimal. If it is negative, then you need to divide one hundred by the coefficient and add one. If positive, you need to divide the coefficient by one hundred and add one.

Thus, if you have a coefficient of -400, then you need to divide 100 by 400 and then add one. It turns out that your coefficient is 1.25.

​Brief Guide To The European Betting Industry

The sports betting industry is developing every year. Sports betting allows you to earn money relying not on blind luck but on your knowledge, the ability to make correct predictions, analyze statistics, and build a strategy.

In Europe, bookmakers and making money on betting are a common phenomenon. Before starting to bet, you have to search for information about international betting sites in the European Union, free bets, European sports betting sites, mobile betting, risk-free bets, competitive odds, free bet stakes, online games, betting markets, popular European sports, bet types, deposit and withdrawal options, online operators, online gambling laws, European betting companies and so on. This information will help you to choose the right way to bet.

For many, betting on the outcome of a game or sports competition is just a hobby that adds adrenaline to their lives.

This occupation has turned into a profession that provides a stable income for others. To start making money on bets, you need to study the theory, existing strategies, try them in practice, test them, heed the advice of experienced professionals, read sports predictions from experts.

​Is Sports Betting Legal in the EU?

Sports betting legislation is an interesting topic to get to know to bet around the world, most notably in (mainly) prosperous Europe. Many countries have completely different approaches. In most countries of Europe, betting is developing rapidly and conquering more and more peaks, but outside the EU, the process of legalization of bookmakers is still underway. Interesting are the positions of different states regarding the taxes levied, prohibitions, and restrictions imposed on bettors and bookmakers. Today in Europe, there are no countries where bookmakers are prohibited.

Legal bookmakers are those who have received a license from the gambling commission – the body that gives the right to organize activities in the field of gambling. Any office that cannot provide a permit is operating illegally. In countries where the legal framework for the betting business has not been developed, sweepstakes operate in the gray zone (not prohibited, but not allowed).

​What Are Sports Most Popular Among European Bettors?

Without a doubt, one of the most popular sports on online betting sites is soccer. Moreover, this sport is the most popular among European bookmakers and among representatives of other geographic regions of the world. For this reason, many bookmakers are constantly coming up with new game offers for their customers, trying to offer the best odds and margins. The best coverage is also offered for soccer betting, especially for the major events in the top world leagues.

​You can bet on almost everything here:

• the origins of segments of matches, halves, whole halves, tournaments;
• individual statistics of teams or players;
• handicaps or totals;
• multi goals and accurate score.

In football, the difficulty of betting lies in the fact that it is not always easy to predict the result. Due to the high level of competition in most championships, sensations you cannot predict in advance regularly occur.

Hockey is also a popular sport for European players. The line and pattern of hockey are inferior to football, so hockey bets have small limits and high margins.

​However, there are also several advantages:

• many matches for regular bets;
• frequent comebacks to win outsiders;
• good min odds;
• bonuses for big tournaments.

Bettors prefer to bet on total, handicap, and sending-off in hockey. Not a single match on ice is complete without penalty minutes.

The top 5 most popular sports for online gambling experience also include basketball.

The discipline has four-game segments, making it attractive for bets on even-odd, totals, and handicaps in quarters, halves, and the match.

Before starting the game, you can make a bet in the pre-match mode for the first segment and then make live predictions for the rest. This strategy turns one long meeting into four short ones. The outcome of each quarter will allow you to accurately predict the outcome of the next.

Also, betting fans are attracted to tennis. In some bookmaker companies, this sports discipline is the second most popular after football. Bettors love to make live bets. Matches on the court are much more dynamic than football matches, the favorite changes from game to game. You can bet on the winners of the segments of the game, personal statistics of the participants, totals, handicaps.

​The advantages of tennis:

• many matches;
• high odds;
• frequent comebacks;
• the simplicity of analysis of the athlete’s form;
• low margin.

​Which formats of odds are used in Europe?

Today, most bookmaker companies use the three most popular types of odds: European, English, and American.

European odds became popular and were actively used at a time when the betting business from the UK began to gradually move to France, from where it subsequently spread throughout Western Europe. At first, only British sports betting offices were available in Western Europe. But after a while, French and German gambling offices began to compete with British companies.

In most of the new offices, that the English coefficient is too complicated for the players to understand. Therefore, the familiar European, or, as it is also called, the decimal coefficient, appeared. At the moment, the European coefficient is mandatory (though not always by default) in all bookmakers in the world without exception, and in many of them, it is the only one. The European coefficient is written in decimal form – these are traditional values ​​of 2.0 for us, 4.3, etc.

​Are Winnings Taxed in Europe?

Different sports betting websites have different systems of taxation for gambling winnings and betting bonuses in the gambling business, and not only do tax rates differ, but also their targeting. For example, on many European betting sites in the UK, Czech Republic, Belgium, Slovakia, Spain, and Denmark, customer tax is taken only on the gross income of betting companies.

In Germany, the player must pay 5% of each bet made. If the bet is winning, 95% of its amount is multiplied by the odds before being paid out. In case of loss, the bookmaker pays 5%.

In France, the tax also applies to all rates. It is about 9% of the total in online betting and in horse racing – 12%.

Countries such as Greece, Romania, and Poland are taking a long-term approach. They practice taxation based on the players’ bets made over one year.

For example, players from Greece do not pay taxes if they win less than € 100 per year on betting online. However, if they win more than € 500, the tax rate will be 20%. Each taxation system has its advantages, disadvantages, and features appropriate to the region. Currently, gambling laws are changing in some European countries, and over time, we will see how this will affect the market.

​Online Betting Tips for European Punters

For those who place bets on the betting sites in Europe or other online gaming platforms for the first time, it is important to understand the rules and features of online betting, not to lose money.

Experts advise following simple rules:

​Try a Live-Betting

Today, almost any bookmaker provides its players with the opportunity to place bets online. This type of bet is considered one of the riskiest – and not only the player but also the bookmaker is at risk.

Players and bookmakers need to make important decisions in a very limited period without analyzing them. At the moment, more emotional factors act on the player than logical ones. Therefore bets can sometimes be far from justified. These circumstances can prevent the player from making the right decision.

Therefore, live bets can only be made by professional, experienced players, and the odds for a large number of sporting events are set by reputable gambling establishments that have a decent staff of specialists and are confident in their probability.

For experienced players, live bets are the main source of income, and for beginners, this type of bet is a potential danger.

​Use Betting Apps to Bet On-The-Go

Today, in addition to the main website of the company, many bookmakers offer players special applications that can be downloaded to smartphones with iOS and Android systems. With the help of such applications, you can quickly place bets, register an account, receive bonuses, replenish a deposit and withdraw funds. That is, to use all the functions of a full-fledged site. The advantage of the applications is that you can place bets from anywhere in the world, and you do not need to be tied to a computer.

​Read User Reviews

Before you start placing bets on the company’s website, look at the players’ reviews about this office. Very often, reviews help to conclude about the reliability of the company – here you can find out how good the odds are offered by the bookmaker, how quickly you can replenish the deposit and withdraw funds from the gaming account, as well as additional information that will help you when you place bets.

​Take advantage of bonuses and promo offers

Very often, bookmaker companies offer a good selection of bonuses – not only for experienced players but also for beginners. Very often, you can get a bonus for registering or for replenishing a deposit. This is a good way to save your money or try placing a bet on the company’s website for free.

​Conclusion

A large number of players prefer to place bets on the websites of European companies. Most often, European bookmakers are the guarantor of reliability, which is why they are so popular among players. For those who want to place bets in European bookmakers, we advise, first of all, to check the bookmaker for reliability and availability of a license, read the players’ reviews and only after that decide which bookmaker company to choose to place bets.

FAQ

Last updated on 06 Feb 2023- 14:47