Darts has undergone a renaissance in recent years and that’s opened up a wealth of betting opportunities. With the PDC World Darts Championship attracting more than 12.8 million viewers in 2023, the sport is hotter than ever.
This guide will focus your aim so you can go for maximums each time you step up to the oche. So, if you’re ready, let’s learn about the nuances of online darts betting.
What are the best UK darts betting sites? Based on our knowledge and first-hand experience, these bookmakers are all worth taking aim at…
You can get £30 worth of free bets when you click here to join Bet365 and wager £10. Are there plenty of darts betting odds and options to use your bonus credits on? Yes. Bet365 offers more pre-match and live darts betting markets than most.
As you’d expect, all the major events are covered, including PDC tournaments. What’s also nice about Bet365 is that it covers feeder competitions such as the Modus Super Series. Finally, for something extra, there are bet boosts and virtual darts betting.
You can get £20 worth of free bets when you click here to join Coral and wager £5. Is that a good deal if you’re a darts betting fan? Yes. As well as the welcome bonus, Coral offers a variety of darts-specific bonuses, including odds boosts and in-play specials e.g. bet £5 get a £5 free bet.
Coral gives you the ability to make personalised combo bets using Bet Builder. It also has plenty of pre-match and live darts betting markets, including, outrights, handicaps, over/under, in-play and specials. Finally, if you’re new to the sport, Coral offers darts betting tips via its blog.
You can get £60 worth of free bets when you click here to join Betfred and wager £10. Does that put Betfred among the best darts betting sites? It certainly helps. £60 is one of the biggest sportsbook welcome bonuses UK customers can claim. When you combine this with coverage of all major darts competitions, including PDC tournaments, you’ll have plenty of ways to use your free bets.
What’s also nice about Betfred is that it has sport-specific promotions. This means you can get odds boosts and reload bonuses when you bet on darts. Finally, as well as offering live darts betting odds, you can watch matches in real-time by using Betfred’s live streams.
You can get a 100% first deposit bonus up to £200 when you click here to join 888sport. That bonus gives you the ability to speculate on dozens of popular sports, including darts. 888sport covers all the major events, as well as feeder competitions and qualifiers. There’s also plenty of variety thanks to darts odds covering outrights, over/under bets, handicaps, in-plays and props (e.g. number of 180s thrown).
In terms of extras, 888sport has a blog that features regular darts betting tips, as well as match previews/reviews. If you’re not quite ready for the latest tips, you can use the onsite darts betting guide to get a better understanding of the sport. To round out its online darts betting hub, 888sport sends personalised bonuses to your inbox. It also has live bet feed so you can see all of the day’s top wagers in real-time.
You can get £5 worth of free bets when you click here to join BetVictor and wager £5. Alongside all the usual pre-match and live darts betting markets, BetVictor has a trending bets feature. This exclusive feature tells you what other people are betting on which, in turn, can give you some inspiration when you’re out of ideas.
Other features that set BetVictor apart from other top-rated darts betting sites is its loyalty club. You opt in the BetVictor Loyalty Club, make five £5+ bets (min. odds 1/2 or greater) and get a mystery box that contains a free bet worth between £1 and £25. Add to this regular darts betting tips and BetVictor is a great place to speculate on the arrows.
Click here to join Betway and you’ll get £30 in free bets, plus 50 bonus spins, if your first acca loses. That acca doesn’t have to be on darts, but it could be. Betway has plenty of darts-friendly features. For example, you can use the “Coupons” tab to find quick combo bets.
There are also plenty of unique specials, including X player vs. the field and the number of nine-dart finishes. Finally, for darts betting odds you won’t find anywhere else, you can use #betyourway. This exclusive feature allows you to create your own bets, tweet them to @betway on Twitter and have them added to the site.
Online darts betting falls broadly into two categories: pre-match and in-play. Within each category are different types of darts bets that relate to individual matches and events as a whole. You can get a full explanation of the different bet types later in this guide. For now, here’s a quick overview of the different ways you can bet on darts:
We can give you the lowdown on the best darts betting sites and what they offer, but none of that matters if you don’t know the basics. So, here they are…
Sports betting is the act of wagering money on a specific outcome. For example, let’s say you’re watching the PDC World Championship and think Michael van Gerwen is going to win. You can bet on this outcome by making an outright win bet.
Darts odds are based on a variety of factors, including a player’s recent results, whether it’s a knockout tournament or league game, the number of entrants and the stage of the event. As a punter, you need to take these variables into account when you’re reading the latest darts betting odds and making picks.
For example, if Peter Wright has won two competitions in a row but is struggling in the Premier League, that matters. It’s not good enough to say that Wright will be the favourite going into any match. Yes, he’s won tournaments, but his league form has been poor. You need to think this way when you’re assessing the latest darts odds.
Once you’ve done that, look at your potential returns. UK darts betting sites list fractional odds. So, Peter Wright might be listed at 2/1. This means you’ll win two units for every one unit you wager. For example, if you stake £10 (i.e. 10 units), you’ll win 2X that amount e.g. 10 X 2 = £20. You also get your stake back on winning bets. Therefore, if you bet £10 on Peter Wright at 2/1 and he wins, you’ll get £30.
The majority of darts betting odds you’ll see listed on Bet365, Coral etc will be pre-match picks i.e. you’re making a prediction before the match starts. However, the best darts betting sites also offer live, aka in-play, markets.
In-play darts betting markets allow you to make predictions which an event is in progress. The nature of these markets is such that odds are constantly changing. Why? Because the dynamics of a match are always changing. Each dart thrown will affect not only the score but the flow of the match.
Therefore, the odds have to move accordingly. This is what makes live darts betting exciting but, at times, tricky. The ever-changing nature of the market means you have to not only understand the sport but track the action in real-time using updates and/or live streams.
The most popular in-play darts betting markets focus on the winner of a specific leg. Once the first dart is thrown, the question becomes: who is going to win? Live bets allow you to answer that question in real-time. For example, you might think Player X is going to win the match but, in one particular leg, you feel like Player Y is going to check out first. This is where live darts betting comes in handy.
There used to be two major forces in the darts world, the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) and the BDO (British Darts Organization). The former attracts the best players and biggest audiences, while the latter was the sport’s original professional organisation.
The PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) World Darts Championship starts in late December and concludes in early January. It takes place inside Alexandra Palace, London, and it’s the biggest knockout event in darts. It was first held in 1994 and quickly became the premier World Championship. Its status as the main event in darts was confirmed when the BDO folded in 2020.
The BDO (British Darts Organization) was set up by Olly Croft in 1973. It became the go-to organisation for darts players thanks to the BDO World Darts Championship. That event ran from 1978 to 2020, but it lost its lustre when the PDC equivalent launched in 1994. The BDO World Darts Championship has since been replaced by the WDF (World Darts Federation) World Darts Championship.
BDO World Darts Championship official site
Premier League Darts is a series of weekly tournaments hosted by the PDC. The season runs from February to May and the format pits the sport’s top-ranked players against each other in a series of matches. The player with the most points at the end of the season wins the league.
The PDC World Matchplay darts tournament has been running since 1994. It typically takes place in July at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. What’s notable about this tournament is the fact players have to win matches by two clear legs.
This 32-player tournament took place in Dublin, Ireland, from 1998 to 2020 before it moved to Leicester, England, in 2021. It’s among the top five most prestigious events in darts, with former winners including Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.
World Grand Prix official site
To expand on what we discussed early about bet types, here’s a rundown of the most popular betting options in darts:
Getting ahead of the curve in sports betting requires a combination of focus, research and discipline. Using these principles as a foundation, here are six darts betting tips that could help you hit the bullseye more often:
To beat the bookmaker you have to think like one. If Gerwyn Price is listed as the 1/2 favourite for a tournament, ask yourself why. What has Price done recently to warrant those odds? Has he previously performed well in the event? Are some of his biggest rivals in a slump? Ask yourself those questions and you’ll be thinking like a bookmaker.
The format of a match matters. Some darts players perform better in knockout tournaments like the PDC World Darts Championship, others are better in league games. You also need to consider the length of a match. Short-form games (e.g. first to three) have more variance than long-form games. Therefore, if you’re betting on a short-form game, there could be more chance of an underdog winning.
Underdogs can be good value with 180 bets because, even if they don’t win the match. This is because it’s possible to score a lot of 180s but still lose because of a poor checkout rate (i.e. missing doubles).
One of the best darts betting tips you can use to your advantage is a love of the sport. Be a fan. Keep up to date with the latest events and results. Follow players on social media and consume all the content you can find.
Backing means you’re picking a player to win. Laying means you’re betting against someone (i.e. betting they won’t win). You can do this by making a pre-match outright bet on a particular player. Then, once the match begins, you can use the live darts betting markets to lay against your initial pick (if the match dynamics suggest it’s a good bet).
The final darts betting tip to keep in mind when you’re using our top-rated sportsbooks is to claim as many offers as possible. From welcome bonuses and free bets to odds boosts and cashback offers, never miss an opportunity to get something extra.
You can find the best darts betting odds at top UK sportsbooks such as Bet365, Coral, 888sport and Betfred. These bookmakers not only offer competitive odds, they cover all the biggest darts events with outrights, live bets, handicaps and specials.
You can bet on darts by joining one of our top sportsbooks, making a deposit and tapping the odds. Once you’ve made a pick, enter your stake on the bet slip and confirm it. This locks in your bet and, if it’s successful, you’ll receive a cash payout.
We list all the latest and greatest online darts betting bonuses. Our experts not only sniff out the best darts betting offers, they look through the terms and conditions to make sure they offer true value. This means every promo we recommend is the highest quality possible.
Yes! Live darts betting is not only possible but popular. Our top-rated UK darts betting sites allow you to make in-play wagers on the outcome of individual legs and matches, as well as correct score picks and specials.
You’re all set. That’s just about everything you need to know about darts betting online. You might not hit the bullseye with every bet you make. However, with the bonuses, odds and features you get at the best darts betting sites, you’ll never fall short of the mark when it comes to value and entertainment. So, if you want to embrace the fun of darts betting, take aim at our recommended bookmakers.
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