The best in-play betting sites and bookmakers for live betting football

BY SOCCERBASE STAFF5:00 PM 01 FEB 2024

We rank the best bookmakers for in-play betting on football matches and tell you who our top pick for the best live betting bookmaker is.

Having a good bookmaker for inplay betting is crucial for football punters. Nearly half of all bets placed on football occur after the whistle has blown.

Inplay betting is a key part of our offering here at Soccerbase, with our free Telegram channel sending out free inplay betting tips every day of the week.

Let's dive into our rankings for the best live betting bookmaker. To form our rankings, we looked at the range of available betting markets, live streaming, in-play statistics, the competitiveness of odds, speed of access to games and markets, and customer rewards, such as odds boosts, and free bet offers for existing customers.

1. bet365

bet365 is the home of in-play betting, and a must-have for anyone who wants to live bet football matches. The in-play section is quickly accessible from the bottom of the navigation, giving you effortless access to the live betting menu. bet365 streams hundreds of thousands of events each year so that you can watch football matches from all around the globe. Their range of markets is best in class with in-play Bet Builders and niche markets like 'Race To' corners, goals before specific minutes and live player betting options. They also offer in-depth statistics, such as expected goals and action areas, to monitor games you can't watch. They have player stats for your Bet Builders so that you can track shots, fouls, tackles and more. You can also choose to favourite matches you want to keep an eye on in-play. They are also the most competitive odds, which is why they are our top-ranked live betting bookmaker.

Bet365 Offer

2. Sky Bet

Sky Bet comes in second place for our best live betting bookmakers. One area Sky Bet does outdo top-ranking bet365 is the number of in-play odds boosts it offers customers. Especially during live televised games, several odds boosts are available to customers, from match odds to player betting markets, which is a great way to extract additional value. The Sky Bet user interface is also straightforward to navigate, allowing you to access the in-play football games quickly. Fewer markets, live streaming options, and statistics are the main differences from bet365.

Sky Bet Offer

3. Paddy Power

Paddy Power have recently improved its live betting features and has now solidified its position as one of the premier football betting offerings. They have a wide range of markets, including in-play Bet Builders. Their odds are less competitive than other major operators, but they make up for it, giving punters value back through many in-play odds boosts on a wide selection of games. They livestream less than competitors, and coverage isn't as broad as, but they offer a platform worth exploring for avid in-play football betting customers.

Paddy Power Offer

4. Betfair

Betfair have the same software and owner as Paddy Power, so naturally it should rank alongside it's UK counterpart. They also have a unique offering in the betting exchange, which allows you to back and lay selections (betting on something not to happen). Betfair also have a huge range of live streaming options and rank second to bet365 in this category.

Betfair Offer

5. Betfred

Betfred have been a key operator in the UK market for many years and have two standout features for in-play football punters. Their live betting prompts from the Racing Post give users AI-generated betting tips from historical match data and live on-field events. There is nothing else like this in the market; it covers over 90 leagues! Betfred's famous double delight and hat-trick heaven offer applies to in-play next goalscorer bets. So, if your next goalscorer wins and then goes on to score two or three, you'll receive double and triple the odds! As already noted with other bet365 competitors, they livestream fewer events but have some live betting features worth checking out.