Best bookmaker for sports coverage
While football inevitably rules the roost in betting terms, offering a wide range of sports is important in helping pull in the punters. Leading tipster site bettingexpert.com runs the rule over which bookmakers offer the most comprehensive coverage
Many factors beyond the odds on offer come in to play for punters when choosing which bookmaker to bet with, as evidenced by our analysis of these over the course of last year, from social media to customer service, live streaming and mobile functionality.
The range of sports on offer is arguably just as important. Football of course remains the most common sport to bet on. But there are plenty of others that attract punters these days and it’s important to remember that not every bookmaker offers odds on every sport.
We analysed 25 online bookmakers from the UK who are offering odds across 50 different sports.
We took a look at the range of sports available to bet on at the industry’s top bookmakers. In this analysis we considered the sports on offer at the following operators:
888sport
Bet365
Bet-at-home
Betfair
Betfred
Betsafe
BetVictor
Betway
Boylesports
ComeOn
Coral
EnergyBet
GentingBet
Ladbrokes
LeoVegas
Marathon Bet
Matchbook
Netbet
Paddy Power
Sky Bet
Sportingbet
Titanbet
Unibet
William Hill
Winner Sports
We surveyed each bookmaker in our study daily from 15-29 March 2019, collating the number of sports with odds on offer. We also included non-sports categories such as entertainment, politics and entertainment sports, for example, professional wrestling).
American football
Athletics
Australian football
Badminton
Bandy
Baseball
Basketball
Beach soccer
Beach volleyball
Biathlon
Bowls
Boxing
Chess
Cricket
Curling
Cycling
Cyclo-cross
Darts
eSports
Entertainment
Financials
Floorball
Football
Futsal
Gaelic football
Gaelic hurling
Golf
Greyhounds
Handball
Hockey
Horse racing
Ice hockey
MMA
Motor racing
Netball
Olympics
Politics
Pool
Rowing
Rugby League
Rugby Union
Ski jumping
Skiing
Snooker
Squash,
Surfing
Swimming
Table tennis
Tennis
Trotting
Volleyball
Water polo
Weightlifting
Winter sports
WWE
And the winner is…
There was quite a difference between the odds-providers on the list. Our research found that Coral and Unibet were king of the bookies in this regard, each offering odds on 39 different sports.
888sport follows closely, offering 38 sports, while Bet365, LeoVegas, EnergyBet and NetBet all cover at least 36 sports.
On average, from all the bookmakers and exchanges tested, it’s concluded that only 12 individual sports are offered, with Matchbook covering the least, while bet365 had the most.
Beyond football: Most popular sports
So which sports were offered by all bookmakers in our survey? Only 12 were offered across the board, albeit up from the nine when we last undertook this analysis in November of last year. Those 12 are:
Australian football
Basketball
Boxing
Cricket
Cycling
Darts
Football
Golf
Motor racing
Rugby union
Snooker
Tennis.
There were also several sports which were offered by the vast majority of the 25 bookmakers surveyed. These included American football, entertainment, Gaelic games, greyhounds, horse racing, ice hockey, MMA and rugby league.
The data illustrates how only a few sports are actually available at all bookmakers and it is safe to say these attract the majority of bets and revenues, yet, variety is a trait that can undoubtedly make bookmakers more interesting and attractive to punters.
Top bookies for team sports
Teamwork makes the dream work. It’s true in life just as much as in sport, which is why so many punters love the collaboration of team sports. The most popular sports on the planet are almost all team-based so it’s no surprise that a bookmaker comparison shows how many betting sites follow suit.
Some bookmakers are certainly a bit better at it than others. Based on our findings, Coral came out on top by offering odds on 22 different team sports. There are another three sites which could be considered amongst the best bookmakers for team sports with EnergyBet, bet365, and Bet-at-home all offering odds on at least 20 team sports.
Top bookies for individual sports
When it comes to sports that are pursued and played by individuals, tied for first place were bet365, Unibet, and 888sport, each offering odds on 17 different individual sports. In second place, just one point short, were Coral, LeoVegas, and NetBet offering 16 of the 26 individual sports.
The majority of bookmakers are offering between nine and 13. Non-team sports allow individuals to stand out from the pack and the same can be said for bookmakers.
Top bookies for unconventional sports
Not everyone enjoys betting on football, golf and tennis. Some people prefer to wager on more unconventional sports, so it is worth taking a look which bookmakers offer bets on those. Coral is the only bookmaker offering odds on beach volleyball, while Sportingbet was the only offering swimming.
Other sports that can be bet on, only with a handful of bookmakers, are ski jumping, squash, and the Olympics. Although, that will certainly change as we get closer to Tokyo 2020.
About bettingexpert.com
Providing expert tips and in depth betting theory, bettingexpert.com is the world’s biggest social network of sports betting tipsters. Its global community of experts compete for prizes by sharing their strongest tips on upcoming matches across 25 different sports to help millions of sports bettors place knowledge-supported bets, with the best odds available from a variety of bookmakers. Betting Expert is owned by Better Collective, the leading developer of educational platforms within the igaming industry.