Ah bookies, what would we do without them? We need them and hate them in equal measure.  

The days are gone when the bookie in his flat cap and sheepskin coat trundled up in his white roller and opened a satchel full of cash (at least for us online betters).  Now the bookie is a vast impersonal multi-national conglomerate, he still has the same comforting name we grew up with, but that’s about the only link with the past.

Now it’s all sophisticated marketing techniques, flashing adverts, and free offers.

Can we resist?    Nope!

So here are some links and summary details for those I recommend.  Just click on the logo or blue link to go directly to the bookie’s web site.

Betfred are the world's biggest independent bookmakers.

Established in 1967, they have now expanded to around 500 shops all over the UK.

Fred is known as The Bonus King, a reputation he has earned through giving more bonuses and consolations back to punters.

Typical examples are:

• Up to £25 Free Bet*
• Treble odds for just one winner on all luck 15/31/63’s
• Up to 100% bonus on yankee/lucky 15
• Up to 200% bonus on Canadian/lucky 31
• Up to 500% bonus on Heinz/lucky 63
• Payout on first past the post and amended results on singles and multiples
• No 5p rule 4’s
• Betting without the favourite on selected races

and lots more great deals and offers.   (click here to visit Fred’s site)...

A vast array of racing, sports, casino and poker action.  

For us racing lovers they offer tempting odds and a very generous sign-up deal.  Their site is crowded and complicated, but a few minutes to get to know it will reward you handsomely.  Premier caters for American sports as well as UK, European and even further afield.  

With a wide choice of payment / repayment options, they deserve a look. (visit now)

Premier Bet

Britains oldest-established bookies (and clearly proud of it).  At the time of writing, they are offering a £250 (approx $500 / 400 euros) bonus on a first bet - see the site for details.

However, they are well up with all the latest technology, including “mobile” betting.  Download their software into you mobile/cellphone and you can place your bets without the rest of the passengers on your train getting all your best research!  Significantly, their system won’t except a US cellphone number.

A wide range of racing and other sports events are covered, again including major US events , but try to sign up and the “country” drop down list does NOT include the USA, and significantly, their system won’t except a US cellphone number

.

Their site is tidy though cluttered, and - a useful feature  - you can instantly select the style of odds you prefer by a single click - I like that!

If you want a change they also have a wide selection of online games to play in their casino . (visit Heathorns web site...)

Totesport

This is probably my favourite site in terms of its clean look and ease-of-use.  They have less whistles and bells than some of the other bookies, but what they do offer (all that you could reasonably expect) is well organised and well presented.  They have an easily accessible online-help facility for those new to online betting.

The site is split into Sports, Casino, and Instant Games, all offering humungous bonusus to join up and place your first bet, plus “special” bonuses which - at the time I reviewed the site - were up to £500 (with strings of course).

From anywhere on the site you can access a mass of statistical data, you can also turn on “ToteSport Radio” to get the latest in UK sports betting. (visit Totesport...)

I liked the Ladbrokes site.  An easily found button in the top left corner allows quick switching between decimal and fractional odds, upcoming races are easily located, as are commentaries, form, stats etc.  The red and green colour scheme is a tad “in your face”, but when you get used to it, it is surprisingly legible and easy-to-use.

I was reviewing this site at nearly midnight, and the site seemed slow. I don’t think its slowness was due to the thousands of punters piling in at that time.  The windows seemed a little slow to open, but that could have been my severely overloaded computer - I suppose.
 

One nifty feature which caught my eye was the “Nag Me” facility, whereby you can select up to 25 horses to “follow”.  Nag-Me’s auto-emailer will get in touch with you the day before any of them runs.  I like it!

As usual, the site also features a range of alternative ways to lose your money including major sports, Dogs, Poker, Games and “Specials” such as politics, TV programmes, even the date when the new Landsowne Road stadium will be finished - if it’s anything like Wembley, winning at odds PLUS inflation could add up to a tidy sum.

Getting back to horses, the real die-hards can also bet on US racing when the UK shuts up shop! (visit Ladbroke’s site)

I’ve commented before on the quality of web sites - some good, some awful, but this one really does take the prize.  It really is a model of quality and good taste, and a pleasure to use - congrats to their programmers.  

I was going to criticise the absence of an odds selector until I spotted it tucked away in the bottom left corner - so zero out of ten for location, 9 out of 10 for offering four choices: decimal, fractional, American and Italian.

There may be slightly less choice here - but only slightly (only six games, but well - how many silly games can you play in an evening?

I was able to immediately bet on the American evening racing, European championship football and an in-play world cup cricket match.  I could have done all this from my mobile/cellphone had I wished.  

There was also a “digital” button which would take me straight to a sign-up for Sky TV Interactive or “At the Races” channels where (along with lots of other choices) I could have enjoyed BetDirect’s interactive racing and games service, even virtual racing (I gave that one a miss).

Finally I toured their information pages.  I was very impressed by the quantity and quality of what was on offer - less so by the tiny font they used.  I am very old, and so are my eyes.  I’m afraid it was “specs off and nose against the glass” to read some of this stuff!  Now I have a headache! (go to BetDirect now...  )

Victor Chandler

Now here’s an interesting site!

For a start, they make no attempt to separate horse racing from other forms of sports betting, and - more unusually - from their casino games section. One Victor Chandler account gets you access to all of them including poker and roulette. They also have a functional mobile / cellphone service too.

I can’t say much about the games, except that may of them seem to be unique to Victor Chandler.

For the racing fan there are some cool things, including being able to view UK and Irish racing live and online, or to listen to their live radio service including commentaries on many live events.

The site is well laid out and easy to use, and a click will change it over to any of 9 languages, although French, German and Italian are not amongst them - nor Australian!

Betting on US racing is extensive and tailored precisely to the American racing scene, with payouts in dollars, timing to the American system. An extensive glossary of terms and an extensive “Introduction to American Racing” is provided too.

Finally - some very nice sign up bonuses are on offer right now!