Top Legitimate Online Sports Betting Sites
Reviewing The Most Reputable Online Sportsbooks In 2024
What constitutes legitimate sports betting on the web? Regardless where you are in the world, as a sports bettor, you should be ensuring certain criteria are met before you plunk down your hard-earned money in any virtual sportsbook. This guide will cover both legitimate USA online sports betting as well as the trusted options for UK sports bettors.
While there are no guarantees that your friendly neighborhood bookie will operate in a trustworthy manner, the Internet is home to a few reputable sports betting operations that deliver everything the demanding sports gambler is looking for. This includes regulation and oversight, a wide variety of major and minor sports offered, new innovations like live in-game wagering, respectable and dependable banking suites, and competitive lines, sides and totals.
Most Trusted Online Sportsbook
If you are looking to play with one of the most trusted sportsbooks in the industry, then Bovada is a fantastic choice. They have been in the online gaming industry for over a decade, and they have been delivering a top-shelf betting platform to millions of players from all over the world for longer than most.
New players can take advantage of a 50% matching bonus up to $1,000 as well as generous ongoing promotions and loyalty perks. Their sportsbook is one of the most trustworthy in the industry, featuring wagering options on every sport, live betting, mobile play, poker + casino games, and so much more. And they pay out like clockwork which is very important to the avid player.
Most Trusted And Secure Online Sports Betting Sites For 2024
Just a quick note to my visitors: I know it seems weird that every site is highly rated on legitimatesportsbetting.com. This isn't because we are lazy or cavalier with our site rankings. It's simply because we really do recommend only the most trusted online sportsbooks in the industry, which leaves out all the bad apples that would normally bring in a 2 or 3 star rating.
| Site Name | Bonus | Rating | USA | Visit/Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 50% Max $1,000 | 4.6 | Visit Site Read Review | |
 | 50% Max $1,000 | 4.4 | Visit Site Read Review | |
 | 20% Max $500 | 4.3 | Visit Site Read Review | |
 | 50% Max $1,000 | 4 | Visit Site Read Review |
The Review Process We Use to Identify Honest Sports Betting Sites
As mentioned above, there are some benefits to placing your sports wagers online as opposed to in the "real world". You can first and foremost investigate licensing quickly, and thereby only place bets with legally certified and regulated online bookmaking operations. Also, your local illegal bookmaker, or legally licensed casino accepting sports wagers, would never think of offering you a welcome bonus just for doing business.
However, in the online gambling industry, deposit matching welcome bonuses, refer-a-friend incentives, and other player rewards are consistently and frequently offered when you open and fund a real money sports betting account. Let's take an in-depth look at exactly how to identify a legitimate sports wagering website where you can grab your generous welcome bonus money and begin betting immediately.
Licensing And Certification
Governments like Curacao, Gibraltar and Panama, and the Internet gambling regulatory body located in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada, are all considered reputable and responsible license providers for online wagering.
A thorough investigation of the licensing and certification owned by any online sports betting enterprise is your first step towards choosing legitimate sports betting sites over less than reputable operators. There are other factors to keep in mind, to be sure, but for an honest and "above board" experience, make sure your sportsbook's licensing is legal, respected, and maintained.
Competitive Lines, Sides, and Totals
After legitimate licensing, even the beginning gambler knows enough to expect competitive lines, sides and totals from any website that considers itself as a provider of an honest and legitimate sports betting experience. If physical sportsbooks and most sports betting websites show the Seattle Seahawks as a 3.5 point favorite, and your bookmaker will only give you Seattle -3, and this consistently happens with NFL favorites, you need to move on down the road.
That one half of a point can be the difference between winning and pushing, and if your current gambling site is consistently providing money lines, parlay and teaser payouts, side, line and total numbers which are not competitive with the rest of the industry, suffice it to say that you are not enjoying one of the legitimate wagering destinations we have reviewed and recommend here on our website.
A Wide Variety of Minor and Major Sports Offerings
We are Internet gambling industry consultants, but we are first and foremost Internet casino, poker room and sportsbook enthusiasts. As such, we understand that casual, intermediate and veteran gamblers all tend to prefer one type of bet and one particular sport over the rest. You may prefer betting on the Super Bowl over betting on football games during National Football League regular-season.
Or perhaps you make bank predominantly on NCAA March Madness by betting multi-team parlays and teasers of by betting on legitimate Basketball games. We also have our favorite sports and wagers, but it is nice to have access to an extremely wide range of betting options.
There are many times when your favorite games are not offered, or you come across an especially sensitive piece of information which makes wagering on a particular sporting contest extremely attractive. Guarantee your gambling destination offers a wide variety of minor and major sports, and you will always be able to place an intelligent wager. (We have even uncovered a few legit sportsbook operations which allow wagering on entertainment options, political situations and reality television shows.)
Speedy and Dependable Betting Confirmation
Legitimate licensing and attractive betting lines are super important when choosing an Internet gambling site. But so is speed of betting confirmation. Some less than reputable Internet bookmakers offer ridiculously attractive parlay and teaser pay tables and betting lines, but are slow to confirm your bet. While not all of these operations do this purposefully, this can be a way to straddle certain sports bets and manipulate your wager.
Before opening an account at any virtual gaming destination, carry out a thorough investigation of the legitimacy and reputation that particular institution enjoys in the Internet gambling industry. Then after opening your account, place some very small wagers to test betting confirmation speed. Contact the customer support team and voice your concerns. Legitimate operations are happy to discuss such issues with you, and will always place your bets and send you confirmation in a speedy fashion.
Banking and Payout Choices
Governments like Curacao, Gibraltar, and Panama, and the Internet gambling regulatory body located in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada, are all considered reputable and responsible license providers for online wagering.
A thorough investigation of the licensing and certification owned by any online sports betting enterprise is your first step towards choosing legitimate sports betting sites over less than reputable operators. There are other factors to keep in mind, to be sure, but for an honest and "above board" experience, make sure your sportsbook's licensing is legal, respected, and maintained.
Secure Software
One thing I personally pay close attention to is the security of the website. For example if the sportsbook offers live chat, and the first thing they do is ask you for your username and password, you had better make sure it says https:// in the browser which demonstrates your using a secure connection.
If it's not a secure connection I would definitely look for another bookmaker who takes keeping your login credentials a little more secure. Generally this isn't a concern at any of the websites we recommend, but certainly something to pay close attention to if your playing elsewhere.
Other Important Considerations
The above considerations are the most important in identifying legitimate sports betting options. But there are always the intangibles to take into account as well. If you find two legitimately licensed and dependable operations offering great lines and speedy betting confirmations, then you will want to compare the overall user experience. How does the display look when you switch from your laptop to your smartphone?
Are there certain benefits and bonuses offered at one of the legitimate brands you are considering, but not at the other? Many times, the most dependable and reliable Internet sportsbooks will compete against each other for your business by offering sport-specific wagers and other site-specific incentives. Ensure that a review of the above five traits delivers favorable answers, then consider the intangibles. Only then will you guarantee that you are receiving a legitimate sports betting experience provided by one of the top operators on the Internet.
We have to additional websites in the legitimate family of sites which include legitimate online casinos and legitimate poker sites. Our goal is to review and offer recommendations on the most reputable sites in every genre of online gambling.