The best rugby betting sites bring League and Union fans a step closer to the excitement of their beloved hard-hitting games.
Below you can find the best rugby betting sites for punters of all shapes and sizes. Our selections have been ranked and reviewed by our betting experts and are all licensed bookies.
We have an in-depth review process that we put every betting site through in order to assess and rank the very best.
While some bookies will be stronger than others in certain areas, the best rugby betting sites tend to have the least weaknesses.
Our areas of assessment include security and licensing, welcome bonuses and ongoing promotions, mobile experience, rugby odds and markets, payment methods, customer support and industry reputation.
We only recommend betting sites that are licensed and regulated. This way we know that players will be sure of betting in a safe and secure environment.
We also want to see the latest security measures being utilised on sites such as data encryption software to ensure your sensitive personal information isn’t at risk of being hacked or shared. The best sites will demonstrate commitment to responsible gaming too and include a number of tools that players can use to protect themselves.
The majority of punters place wagers on their mobiles these days, so its crucial for the best rugby betting sites to offer fully-optimised and streamlined mobile betting experiences.
The best sites have downloadable betting apps for iOS and Android, offering swift loading times and user-friendly design.
We also like to see innovative features like touch ID, so bettors can log in, deposit funds and place bets with minimal fuss. We do include sites without betting apps, as long as they have an excellent mobile betting site you can access via web browser.
To gain a place on our list of recommended online betting sites, competitive rugby odds are a must.
We accept bookies use margins to gain an edge over the punter, but we take pride in helping you find value. During our review process, we compare and contrast odds from a host of providers, which allows us to separate the best-priced sites from the rest.
If you hold multiple betting accounts, you can compare prices and take advantage of the best odds when it suits you.
When it comes to selecting the best rugby betting sites, we believe the more variety on offer for punters the better their experience will be. We favour betting sites that offer the widest array of markets to bet on.
We want players to be able to place a bet on who will be the highest try scorer at a Rugby World Cup years before the competition starts, as well as every conceivable match bet on your Saturday afternoon Premiership clash.
The rankings on the page include all the best bookmakers for the most popular Australia competitions, including the best NRL betting sites.
The last thing we want is for a punter to win a bet and then not be able to withdraw their winnings to their preferred payment method.
These days we expect to see debit cards from Visa and MasterCard accepted, as well as e-wallets like PayPal, Trustly, Skrill, Neteller, Apple Pay and ecoPayz.
The more customer support options available on rugby betting sites, the better.
24/7 live chat should come with quick response times. It’s still important to have email and toll-free phone numbers for bettors to use if they prefer, while some bookies will help customers out through their social media accounts.
All the best rugby betting sites in our recommended list have been thoroughly background checked to weed out any brands that have acted unfairly.
The sites with the longest and strongest reputations are favoured. We also keep an eye on what other bettors are saying about using them.
Despite the many differences between rugby union and rugby league, there are many overlaps when it comes to their popular betting markets.
Below are some of the most popular rugby betting markets that span both codes:
The world’s premier rugby league club competitions are the Super League in Europe and the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia.
The Super League runs during the summer months through the Magic Weekend and the play-offs right up until the Grand Final at Old Trafford. You can bet on individual matches across a range of markets as well as outrights like Regular Season Winner, Team to Finish Bottom, Regular Season Top Try Scorer and Man of Steel award.
The NRL sees Australia’s and New Zealand’s top 16 sides go head to head to lift the Provan-Summons Trophy. Popular markets here include Grand Final Winning Region, Most Losses in the Regular Season and Top 8 Finish in the Regular Season.
The game is played internationally by European, Australiasian and Pacific Island countries, with the Rugby League World Cup the pinnacle of the sport where the top 16 teams duke it out for the Paul Barriere Trophy. There are plenty of match betting markets here including Handicaps, Double Chance and Highest Scoring Half.
In terms of rugby union club competitions you have the Premiership in England, Top 14 in France, the Currie Cup in South Africa and League One in Japan.
You also have the United Rugby Championship (URC) involving clubs from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. Then there's Super Rugby Pacific involving clubs from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
In international rugby, the Six Nations is held every year in Europe between England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy, while the Rugby Championship pits New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina against one another.
The Rugby World Cup was first held in 1987 and takes place every four years and has only been won by New Zealand, South Africa (both three times), Australia (twice) and England (once).
The best rugby betting apps are available for free and downloadable on iOS and Android devices. You want to be able to open them up at the touch of the button and experience a fully-optimised mobile app without lagging or freezing.
The best rugby betting apps have a user-friendly interface and are intuitive to use. These are great for punters looking to make in-play rugby bets and for those who bet regularly on the move.
If you're a rugby punter, you'll enjoy betting at any of the recommended rugby betting websites listed on this page.
All of these sites are fully licensed and have been reviewed to ensure they provide the best rugby betting experience possible.
We wish you the best of luck with your rugby bets!
Handicap betting is used in rugby to even up mismatched teams. One of the teams is given a hypothetical advantage or disadvantage, with points being given to them or taken away. This creates greater value when one team is the heavy favourite and the other is an outside bet on the match winner market.
To make a rugby bet, choose one of our fully licensed and regulated online bookmakers and sign up for an account. Once you’ve provided and verified your details, you’ll be able to assess the rugby betting markets and make your bet.
By registering at any of our recommended rugby betting sites. Simply sign up for an account and you’ll be able to bet on the world’s premier club competitions like the Super League in Europe and the NRL in Australasia as well as the Rugby World Cup.
To win in rugby betting you need to do your research and take a number of factors into consideration. We advise new bettors to assess the form and fitness of players and teams before placing wagers and to take in as much expert insight as possible.