Safe Betting Sites - Legal Online Betting

Besides fulfilling some minimum requirements - of holding a valid gambling license, ensuring that personal data are kept safe, and that games are fair – we here at ThePlayer.com have six main focus points when we evaluate a betting site.

• The Bets - sports available, type of odds, quality of odds, VIGs, etc.
• The Basics - usability, responsiveness, In-Play betting interface, etc.
• The Bits - extras like Cash-Out (Buy-Out), Bet Builders, mobile experience/apps, etc.
• The Bank - payment methods, withdrawal times/fees, limits, etc.
• The Bonuses - welcome bonus, recurring promotions, terms and conditions for rewards, etc.
• The Business - dependable company, other gambling verticals, licenses, etc.

These six areas have been selected for their measurability, which we as a data driven comparison site prefer over more subjective aspects like design and categorisation. It is easy to measure how fast a site loads, not that easy to measure ‘how good green looks’. Odds can be measured and compared, preferences in layout, not so much. We will offer our opinion on subjective matters but we will not let them determine our overall rating of a sports betting site. We will let the numbers talk, and leave the subjective to you, The Player.

The areas mentioned above are the building blocks of all online betting sites, and some bookmakers will build a castle, while others a shed - but some of us prefer to keep it simple, so what is most important is to identify what your needs are, and be aware that different betting sites are good at different things.

Sports betting is a very competitive business and being the best at everything is not possible – risk has to outweigh reward, and eye-catching odds are paid for by not so attractive ones. With this in mind it becomes obvious that it will not be financially feasible for a bookmaker to offer the best odds, in all markets, all the time. Fortunately for us, sports betting odds speak their clear language and by comparing odds we can make sure that we place our bets at the right time, and at the right place – but it might not always be at the same betting site.

The first week of Premier League or the NFL will have betting sites do everything they can (raise their odds, offer bonuses, etc.) to draw in new players, or reactivate old customers, only to lose focus completely a couple of weeks in when something else is in the spotlight. Some betting sites will chose to not even try to compete for the mainstream events and instead put their effort somewhere completely elsewhere. These are the kind of dynamics that drive betting markets, how good betting opportunities arises, and what we here at ThePlayer.com specialises in.

The best betting site will be the one where you get most value for your next bet

What we are trying to get at is, that to be able to fully utilise the services provided here on ThePlayer.com, you might have to sign up for several betting sites, and place your bets accordingly. For the casual gambler this might be overkill, but if you put down a lot of bets the fractions will add up over time.

If you reside in one of the below regions/countries you are either regulated locally by a licensing scheme (if you can click a region we will have you covered) or prohibited from online betting. If you do not find your country here, you are probably welcome to bet online with any of the sites above, but it is up to you to make sure that online betting is legal in your jurisdiction, and we make no claim as to this being a complete list.

• Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan
• Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bonaire (Sint Eustatius and Saba), Botswana, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi
• Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic
• Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic
• Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia
• Fiji, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories
• Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana
• Haiti, Heard Island, Holy See (Vatican City State), Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary
• Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland (sports betting prohibited), Israel, Italy
• Jamaica, Jordan
• Kazakhstan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan
• Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania
• Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar
• Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island
• Oman
• Pakistan, Palau, State of Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn, Poland, Portugal
• Réunion, Romania, Rwanda
• Saint Barthélemy, Saint Helena (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha), Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria
• Tajikistan, Tanzania (United Republic of), The Faroe Islands, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda,
• United States of America (except Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) (and its dependencies, military bases and territories including but not limited to American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands), United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uruguay, Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu, Virgin Islands (British), Wallis and Futuna, Western Sahara
• Yemen
• Zambia, Zimbabwe