Ladbrokes is the world’s oldest bookmaker still operating today. Their company was established in England 126-years ago (1886). After a long run as the UK’s largest commission agent for horse racing they were in a prime position to capitalize when in 1961 sports bookmaking became legal in the United Kingdom.
Taking immediate massive action, they opened betting shops all over England and was the first bookmaker to offer fixed odds on football matches. Their offline business is still one the largest with 2700 betting shops and 16,000 employees, but their internet at division is the preferred choice of punters from all over the globe.
Ladbrokes makes our list of recommended live betting sites primarily because they have unique markets. Any serious punter knows the highest value live bets can be found in markets that others are not betting on aggressively.
At Ladbrokes, you’ll find less popular sports such as WNBA (woman’s professional basketball in the US) and minor volleyball competitions (like Polish Volleyball) available for in-play wagering. I can tell you as a professional sports bettor of many years – these markets are as soft and computerized as you’ll find.
What I mean by this is their system doesn’t take into account all known factors.
A sports handicapper might know AZS Czestochowa tends to start off slow against weaker teams, but once the first game progresses a bit, they tend to dominate for the rest of the match. Here you’ll find computer odds that take into consideration only the starting odds, current score, and past trends for all similar games (most of which – might not be relevant).
While it’s an intelligent computer, it’s sometimes exploitable. They bank on the facts that most their users are recreational gamblers and that they have enough vig built into the odds to cover themselves.
Now don’t get me wrong – in most cases they are correct. Their percent markets are often in the 110% range (9.09% house advantage), there are however plenty of times where value can be found live betting at Ladbrokes.
The strongest thing I like about them is their hassle-free bonus offers. The offer is unique for each currency they offer, but for anyone living in the UK or Ireland, you’ll be welcomed with a £50.00 risk free bet.
All you need to do is go to the promotions code section of their website and enter F50 under offer codes. If your first wager of at least £5 loses, Ladbrokes will credit you back 100% up to £50 free. If you live outside the UK or Ireland you have to see for yourself for the relevant bonus offer.
I also like that Ladbrokes is available in 18 languages and currencies. This provides a lot of variety in the sports they cover.
Here you’ll find the major football domestics leagues: English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and MLS from the US, but they also have a ton of minors covered as well as majors from all around the globe.
For cricket you’ll find English Country Cricket, Indian Premier League, Twenty20 Cup, Ashes Test Series and several other leagues and competitions. Tennis coverage is obviously massive – as is the case with most live betting sites.
For the most part, all the markets you’d expect to find for the other sports exist as well. Some of those sports include gridiron, hockey, handball, Formula 1, basketball, snooker, darts, rugby and baseball.
Lack of Live Streams – In 2010, they invested £3 million to secure internet broadcast rights and announced plans to stream 30,000 sports matches per year from their website. They started up with this, but whatever happened to these streams is anyone’s guess. While they’re one of the best bookmakers for live horse racing streams, most of their In-Play markets on sports now require you find the stream elsewhere or watch the match on television.
They have a plethora of offers on hand, from a well-populated bingo room with mass liquidity to a flagship site on the Microgaming poker network and an online casino that is second to none.
If you enjoy live betting sports and are in the mood to pass a little time doing some degenerate gambling – consider their live dealer casino. Here you can play roulette, blackjack or baccarat against an attractive female dealer spinning the wheel or dealing the cards on a physical gaming table. These games are broadcast live from their dealer studio in Latvia.
Ladbrokes is the gambling company that players trust. They’ve been in business since 1886, have 2700 live betting shops and 16,000 employees. They are publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange, and licensed both in both the UK and Gibraltar. The bottom line when you play at Ladbrokes and win, you will get paid.
The same can’t be said for many other betting sites – where voided bets, slow pays and excuses to close accounts are common. If you’re looking for a safe and secure website to wager at, you might consider the industry’s oldest and most trusted site.
