It’s Christmas time, the PDC World Championship is in full swing and you are wanting to place a wager on your favorite player to win it all, where do you go to place your bet? Or you and some mates have got tickets to the UK Open and to add to the in person experience you are looking to put a bet on one of that night’s darts players, where should you bet?
Luckily for you there are plenty of betting operators that are willing to take your bet and add a little more excitement to your darts viewing experience.
Betting across sports has become very popular in recent times and it’s nearly impossible to miss one form or another of gambling advertising (there are many who believe changes need to be implemented to limit gambling advertising particularly to children and teenagers).
If you are lucky enough to have a couple of spare quid to put towards your favorite dart player below are some ways on how to bet on your favorite darts tournament and favorite darts player.
BETTING DISCLAIMER While betting on darts (or sports and races) can be exciting, it can also become addictive and you can lose money, money that you may not be able to afford to lose. Before placing any bets are you betting money that you can’t afford to lose? Are you betting money that could this money be spent elsewhere on more important items such as food or basic clothing? If you do have sufficient funds to gamble with, do so in moderation and also watch your betting habits to make sure they don’t become something more serious.
Ladbrokes Darts Betting
Ladbrokes history dates back to Warwickshire in 1886, when the Schwind Pennington partnership started out as commission agents.
Eventually moving operations to London and with only a few betting shops from the mid 1960’s (under the new ownership of Mark and Cyril Stein), Ladbrokes’ growth exploded (also due to the new legislation legalizing better shops) across the country. Shops numbers increased from just over 50 to hitting over 1,000 by 1973.
Ladbrokes was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1967 and invested (and divested) in other diversified income streams such as hotels, casinos, racecourses and DIY retail chains, eventually buying popular bookmaker Coral in 1998.
After further asset sales (including Coral), the Ladbrokes and Coral groups decided to merge, becoming the London Stock Exchange listed Ladbrokes Coral Group as well as England’s biggest bookmaker. This group was eventually taken over by the GVC Holdings group (now Entain) in late 2017.
The Ladbrokes brand has now expanded to many countries with over 10,000 employees and 2,500 betting shops.
Not only is Ladbrokes a world leader in sports betting, it is a sponsor of popular sporting events such as Scottish Football and Group One Horse Racing such as the Cox Plate. Darts fans would have noticed the Ladbrokes logo at previous darts events such as the PDC World Championship and the World Series of Darts.
Ladbrokes covers all major darts tournaments, with head to head or tournament future events. They also offer novelty bets such as selecting the correct score should be a preferred betting option.
Ladbrokes livestream options across a wide range of sports however you must have placed a minimum bet to watch.
Other betting options available through Ladbrokes include an online casino and novelty games.
Owner: Entain
Website address: ladbrokes.co.uk
App available: Y
Promotions/Reward options: Ladbrokes does offer occasional promotions and rewards
William Hill Darts Betting
William Hill had its start in 1934 as the namesake of bookmaker William Hill. After passing through quite a few ownership groups (including a Japanese investment bank in 1997) the current day version of William Hill took shape when it was listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2002.
William Hill was eventually taken over by prominent US entertainment conglomerate Caesar’s Entertainment in 2020, delisted from the LSE, had its European business put up for sale and eventually purchased by its current owner 888 Holdings in 2022.
The William Hill brand has now expanded to many countries with over 2,000 employees and betting shops. William Hill also has a large history of sports and racing sponsorship, such as of popular sporting events such as horse racing’s Grand National and betting partners with football teams such as Chelsea. Darts fans would have noticed the William Hill logo at previous darts events such as the PDC World Championship.
William Hill covers all major darts tournaments, with head to head or tournament future events. They also offer novelty bets such as selecting the correct score should be a preferred betting option.
William Hill livestream options across a wide range of sports however you must have placed a minimum bet to watch.
Other betting options available through William Hill include an online casino and novelty games.
Owner: 888 Holdings
Website address: williamhill.co.uk
App available: Y
Promotions/Reward options: William Hill does offer occasional promotions and rewards
bet365 Darts Betting
The bet365 origins begin with the Provincial Bookmaking firm built by Peter Stokes and based in Stoke-on-Trent. Denise became managing director of this firm in 1995 and in 2000 borrowed money to fund the creation of a new online bookmaking service, bet365.
Bet365 were one of the first bookmakers to realize the potential of the internet and invested heavily in their online presence, also being the first bookmaker to regularly take bets from customers online. Bet365 eventually sold their betting shops to Coral in 2005 and focused on the online site.
The popularity of bet365 has been so successful that the Stokes family have become multi billionaires and one of Britain’s wealthiest families.
The bet365 brand has now expanded to many countries around the world including the recent US partnerships with Hard Rock Casino in New Jersey and Century Casinos in Colorado.
Bet365 is now a massive sponsor of sports worldwide, predominantly in the football space. The Coates family own the UK football team Stoke City and have had football kit sponsorship for several European teams. Bet365 is also a sponsor of popular sporting events such as horse racing and boxing. Darts fans would have noticed the bet365 logo at previous darts events such as the PDC US Darts Masters.
Bet365 covers all major darts tournaments, with head to head or tournament future events. They also offer novelty bets such as selecting the correct score should be a preferred betting option.
Bet365 offers one of the biggest online streaming options of races and events to their punters.
Livestream options include many lower tier sporting leagues as well as horse racing from around the globe.
Other betting options available through bet365 include an online casino and novelty games.
Owner: Private (Bet365 Group/Stokes Family)
Website address: bet365.co.uk
App available: Y
Promotions/Reward options: bet365 does offer occasional promotions and rewards
Betfred Darts Betting
Betfred initially started as Done Bookmakers, a single bookmaker shop in Salford, created by Fred Done in 1967.Eventually setting up its head office in Warrington, Through natural growth and acquisitions (Betfred acquired the Robert Walker chain in 1997), Betfred has grown into a betting powerhouse with annual revenue exceeding £3 billion.
Betfred was the name of the digital betting shop front with the company eventually changing its name to this in 2004. In 2011 Betfred also threw its hat in the ring to purchase the UK Government’s horse racing tote betting operation, eventually winning the auction.
Betfred has now expanded to many countries with over 1,500 betting shops as well as having a betting presence on many UK racecourses.
Not only is Betfred is a world leader in sports betting (Betfred were one of the first bookmakers to offer early payouts to punters before the event had finished), it is a sponsor of popular sporting codes and events such as football such as the Scottish League Cup and kit sponsor for Bolton Wanderers, Rugby League’s Super League, Snooker and Group One horse racing such as The Derby and Oaks. Darts fans would have noticed the Betfred logo at previous darts events such as the PDC World Matchplay event.
Betfred covers all major darts tournaments, with head to head or tournament future events. They also offer novelty bets such as selecting the correct score should be a preferred betting option.
Betfred livestream options across a wide range of sports however you must have placed a minimum bet to watch.
Other betting options available through Betfred include an online casino and novelty games.
Owner: Private (Fred Done)
Website address: betfred.co.uk
App available: Y
Promotions/Reward options: Betfred does offer promotions and rewards
Coral Darts Betting
Coral’s history started with bookmaker Joe Coral in 1926 initially operating on racecourse along with speedways, eventually opening an office in London.
From these initial racecourse operations, Coral took advantage of the 1961 legislation allowing the opening of betting shops and began to expand. This along with mergers and acquisitions such as the one with Mark Lane operations led to Coral becoming one of the biggest betting brands in the UK.
Not only was Coral one of the biggest bookmakers, they also expanded their footprint into other industries such as casinos, clubs, bingo games, restaurants and hotels. Coral Leisure as it was now known was then purchased by Bass in 1981 with Coral still at the forefront of UK bookmaking.
Bass eventually sold Coral to Ladbrokes however this sales was voided by the UK Government on the grounds of anti-competitiveness and Coral was then purchased via a management buyout. Further acquisitions continued (including the Eurobet purchase) leading to the new entity Coral Eurobet and this entity was eventually purchased by gaming firm Gala.
This firm was eventually purchased by Ladbrokes in 2016 with the new entity known as Ladbrokes Coral with each brand still run separately.
The Coral brand is mainly focused in the UK and has over 2,000 betting shops.
The Coral brand name mainly sponsors horse and greyhound racing however they have also dabbled in football sponsorship such as with Norwich City. Darts fans would have noticed the Coral logo at previous darts events such as the UK Open and the Coral Masters.
Coral covers all major darts tournaments, with head to head or tournament future events. They also offer novelty bets such as selecting the correct score should be a preferred betting option.
Coral livestream options across a wide range of sports however you must have placed a minimum bet to watch.
Other betting options available through Coral include an online casino and novelty games.
Owner: Entain
Website address: coral.co.uk
App available: Y
Promotions/Reward options: Coral does offer occasional promotions and rewards
Paddy Power Darts Betting
The first bookmaker on this list with its beginnings in Ireland, Paddy Power started in 1988 as a result of the merging of several popular Irish bookmakers. Formed partly as a way to insulate against the infiltration of UK bookmakers into Ireland, the merged entity was aggressive in its expansion, building to match the size of the potential UK bookmaker raiders.
Paddy Power expanded throughout Ireland with some of its popularity due to being one of the first bookmakers to introduce novelty bets to the wider public which also helped grow its brand, including unusual betting markets such as the infamous Barack Obama presidential term bet offering.
The owner of Paddy Power, Power Leisure eventually listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2000 to raise funds for future expansion into the UK market as well as overseas. As part of their expansion, Paddy Power purchased popular Australian bookmaker Sportsbet in 2010 and by the early 2010’s were the largest bookmaker in Europe.
Popular UK betting exchange Betfair was the next target for Paddy Power, with the eventual merger completed in 2016 and the new entity brand name changing to Paddy Power Betfair with Power Leisure also changing its name to Flutter Entertainment.
Paddy Power is mainly focused on the Irish and UK markets and has at least 500 betting shops under its brand.
Paddy Power (and its brand names) have plenty of sports sponsorship worldwide including football teams such as Huddersfield Town and full sponsorship of the ITV horse racing channel. Darts fans would have noticed the Paddy Power logo at previous darts events such as the Champions League of Darts.
Paddy Power covers all major darts tournaments, with head to head or tournament future events. They also offer novelty bets such as selecting the correct score should be a preferred betting option.
Paddy Power livestream options across a wide range of sports however in most cases you must have placed a minimum bet to watch.
Other betting options available through Paddy Power include an online casino and novelty games.
Owner: Flutter Entertainment
Website address: paddypower.co.uk
App available: Y
Promotions/Reward options: Paddy Power does offer occasional promotions and rewards
Betfair Darts Betting
Betfair is the youngest bookmaker on this list, founded in 2000 as a betting exchange rather than as a traditional bookmaker. Andrew Black and Edward Wray started Betfair using a technical background to build the infrastructure of Betfair and the peer to peer style betting exchange.
Betfair’s growth was rapid amongst punters with many horse races and events holding significant amounts. Betfair also expanded via acquisitions such as the popular UK form guide publisher Timeform in 2006 and the TVG network in the USA in 2009.
Betfair also looked to enter Australia, which turned out to be a rather difficult expansion. A scare campaign was waged by the industry incumbents and the Australian mainland states initially blocked the license of Betfair, with Betfair eventually going through the courts to get licensed.
The benefit of this style of betting exchange was the ability to bet in game or in race which was very popular for punters. Traditionally with bookmakers or betting houses once the race or game started no more bets were allowed however this was turned on its head with Betfair.
Betfair was eventually listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2010 and in 2016 merged with Paddy Power to form Paddy Power Betfair. Betfair maintained its brand independence and is still the most popular betting exchange brand on the market.
Betfair is also a popular sports and race sponsor, from sponsoring football teams across the world such as being the first betting company to feature as a sponsor on an English Premier League kit in 2002 (Fulham) along with worldwide teams such as Palmeiras and Cruzeiro. Betfair is also a prominent horse racing sponsor covering races such as the English St Leger. Darts fans would have noticed the Betfair logo at previous darts events such as the World Matchplay event.
Betfair covers all major darts tournaments, with head to head or tournament future events.
Betfair livestream options across a wide range of sports however in most cases you must have placed a minimum bet to watch.
Other betting options available through Betfair include an online casino and novelty games.
Owner: Flutter Entertainment
Website address: betfair.co.uk
App available: Y
Promotions/Reward options: Betfair does offer occasional promotions and rewards
There are plenty of options to place a wager on your favorite darts tournament and on your favorite darts player. Make sure you do your research as to the type of bookmaker you wish to use and more importantly shop around to find the best deals or if any bonuses are available.
BETTING DISCLAIMER
While betting on darts (or sports and races) can be exciting, it can also become addictive and you can lose money, money that you may not be able to afford to lose.
Before placing any bets are you betting money that you can’t afford to lose? Are you betting money that could this money be spent elsewhere on more important items such as food or basic clothing? If you do have sufficient funds to gamble with, do so in moderation and also watch your betting habits to make sure they don’t become something more serious.