Top 10 Best Betting Sites in the World

Searching for the best betting platforms is something that nearly any punter starts the journey with. There are many lists, comparisons, and reviews available online. Our article will not be an exception: we will show 10 top global sportsbooks, provide transparent methods we used to select them, give them brief overviews, compare them, and take a look at the advantages of legal bookmakers. Let’s begin!

The List of Betting Websites

This article will consist of 10 sportsbooks that we’ve chosen as the best ones. We selected them based on their popularity using the data from SimilarWeb and some other metrics. More on that in the paragraphs below.

The Criteria We Used

Here are the parameters we chose to use to make the list.

SimilarWeb Popularity Score

SimilarWeb is the platform that accumulates web traffic metrics for various websites. We used it as a main parameter to create our list. The reasons: it’s transparent, it’s reputable, and web traffic is a great way to measure popularity.

Reliability and Ratings

These metrics are obviously important. Good ratings and high scores on various platforms are great.

Availability in Nigeria

We included whether the platform is available in the country or not. In our brief reviews, we included the legal status of the platform in Nigeria. If it doesn’t hold a valid license, the service must at least be accessible to the residents of the country.

Top 10 Betting Sites in the World

Below, you can find a list of the top 10 sports betting websites that we compiled using the aforementioned metrics.

bet365

As the most popular wagering and gambling platform in the world, bet365 has been in operation for decades, earning the trust of its users. Established in 2000, it’s among the pioneers of the market, and the company’s successes have made its founder, Denise Coates, a billionaire.

The bookmaker offers a fully-fledged experience to punters and gamblers alike: endless lists of available disciplines and slots. Useful and well-designed mobile apps, top-notch customer care, and various wagering options make the platform a great choice for nearly anybody.

The service is available nearly anywhere in the world, although it’s banned or restricted in some countries due to their laws. Unfortunately, there’s no Nigerian registration for bet365, but the sportsbook is accessible to the residents of the country.

Hollywoodbets

Pioneer on the market, Hollywoodbets was initially a physical sportsbook based in South Africa and focused on horse racing. Established in 2000, the platform is a reputable bookmaker that attracts a wide audience.

It features many sports to wager on, offers a useful website with a classic design, and has many apps. Flexible withdrawal options and customer care available around the clock are also nice additions.

The platform is mainly presented in South Africa, Mozambique, Ireland, and the UK, and doesn’t hold a Nigerian license. Nevertheless, it’s still fully available to the residents of the country.

Bet9ja

This platform is among the highest ranking ones in the global ratings. Offering a wide list of available disciplines, the bookmaker is pretty good at offering high odds on football and other games. Useful mobile applications, a good user interface on the desktop website, various communication channels to contact support, and a great reputation make the platform a solid solution for bettors. The lack of a welcome bonus is probably the only serious drawback of the bookmaker.

Unlike the websites listed above, bet9ja is not only registered and licensed in Nigeria, it’s also headquartered in the country. Nigeria is also where the platform originated. So it’s fully available to the local residents, and possesses a registration issued by the national regulatory board.

SportyBet

Founded in 2011, this platform is a reputable choice for wagerers and punters on the African continent. Offering a sizable list of disciplines, including some eSports, a large number of bonuses and promos, and a feature-packed Android application, the bookmaker provides an experience that can be enjoyed even by the most demanding punters.

SportyBet operates in Nigeria on a fully legal basis. The platform holds registrations from the Lagos State Lotteries Board and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission. The sportsbook offers dedicated customer support channels for the residents of the country.

BetKing

Founded in 2018, BetKing is relatively young compared to most of the other entries on the list. The reasons for the platform’s popularity are clear: it’s easy to use and features mobile applications for both iOS and Android with accessible design. The bookmakers offer good odds and various wagering markets.

BetKing was founded in Nigeria, it’s registered in the country, and holds a valid local license. Obviously, the service is fully accessible to Nigeria’s residents.

Betway

Another pioneer on the list, Betway, was launched in 2006. The website offers a simple registration process, quite low stake amounts, various bonuses, and a well-made mobile solution. This makes it a perfect fit for various players.

The platform is officially registered in Nigeria. So it’s fully legal to bet on the website in the country. This also means that Betway has to fulfill certain requirements in order to acquire its license.

Parimatch

Established in 1994, this is one of the oldest services on the list. It had its time to polish the features, improve the capabilities, as well as to hold on its advantages. The website might offer a UI that’s a bit dated, yet it’s still perfectly intuitive to use. There’s also an Android app to allow you to access the bookmaker from anywhere.

The platform is officially present in the Nigerian market. It holds local licenses and operates on a fully legal basis.

1xBet

Launched in 2007, this bookmaker is quite experienced. Operating across the globe, 1xBet is among the most popular and reputable in the world. Designed to be as useful as possible and offering a list of wagering features, the platform fits the needs of the majority of punters. It also provides one of the best customer support services in the world of betting, and features extremely useful mobile apps.

1xBet has acquired a Nigerian betting and gambling license in 2020. Since then, the platform has gained a lot of popularity among the punters in the country.

NairaBet

This platform emerged in 2009, making it a rather mature bookmaker. The features include the overall ease-of-use of the website, although it looks a little too dated. A sizable selection of offered sports and odds that are in line with what is offered on the majority of websites makes NairaBet a platform that can attract a wide audience of punters.

The bookmaker originated in Nigeria and is officially registered in the country. It’s the main market of this sportsbook, so it’s focused on providing a great experience to local residents, including customer care support.

MerryBet

This sportsbook was established in 2013. In its decade of operation, it has acquired enough popularity and gained the trust of its users. The platform offers many goods to the clients: the wagering options and markets are quite versatile, there are many sports available, and the methods accessible for withdrawal are quite useful. Once you add good bonuses and a fully-functional mobile app to the mix, you start to understand why many punters choose this platform.

Merrybet is a Nigerian platform, it’s based in the country and possesses all of the required national licenses. Local players should have no problem gambling and wagering on this sportsbook.

Comparison of the Best Betting Websites

Let’s compare what these sportsbooks might offer their users. The list will include various important features to give you a clear picture of what you can expect.

Platform name/Features	Year established	Mobile App	Registered in Nigeria
bet365	2000	Yes	No
Hollywoodbets	2000	Yes, Android/iOS	No
Bet9ja	2013	Yes	Yes
Sportybet	2011	Yes, iOS/Android	Yes
Betking	2018	Yes	Yes
Betway	2006	Yes, iOS/Android	Yes
Parimatch	1994	Yes, Android	Yes
1xBet	2007	Yes, iOS/Android	Yes
NairaBet	2009	No	Yes
Merrybet	2013	Yes, Android	Yes

Best Sportsbooks for Football

Football is the most commonly played game on the planet. Literally all betting platforms (apart from those that focus exclusively on eSports, but these are rare) include this sport in their selection of disciplines.

Below are some of the platforms that have good betting options for football and a decent number of available events, as well as good odds:

• 1xBet
• bet365
• Bet9ja
• NairaBet
• MerryBet

Independent Betting Websites

These are small online companies that offer sports betting and gambling services. Some are better than others, but we would recommend sticking with reputable sportsbooks that have some experience on the market until you’re sure that the independent bookie can be trusted.

The Differences Between Online Bookmakers and High-Street Ones

High-street bookmaking is how the world of sportsbooks started. While they are still popular, in many ways such solutions are outdated. The majority of online bookmakers now operate on a fully legal basis, and they have to meet certain criteria in order to require registrations. Sometimes the requirements are very lax, but in other cases, they might be shockingly strict.

Although many high-street bookmakers are also legal and fully registered, they are often less strictly regulated.

The Advantages of Using Legal Online Bookmakers

Apart from being often fully legalized and operating under local registration, legal online bookmakers can offer some of other advantages:

1. They are often more actively monitored and regulated;
2. Obviously, in the case of online platforms, you can access them from any place you want without the need to visit any store;
3. The processes are often more transparent;
4. Usually, online bookmakers offer more bonuses;
5. Better odds, since you can easily look for them among competitors and find what suits you the most.

What to Do if You Have Problems with One of the Reputable Bookmakers

Sometimes you might run into issues even if you use the most trustworthy platform out there. Here are some steps you can take.

1. If the problems can be caused by the issue on your side, such as logging in or registering, try to check Internet connection and refresh the website;
2. If you have doubts, or the problems are clearly caused by the bookmaker’s side of things, such as the errors or delays with withdrawals or verifications, contact customer care. All of the websites listed in this article feature customer services of a great level.

Conclusion

In this article, we provided brief overviews of the most popular betting websites in the world that are also accessible in Nigeria, and have a good reputation. We also talked about the advantages that online sportsbooks provide over high-street bookmakers, and hopefully answered most commonly asked questions on the topic of popular wagering platforms.

FAQ