The Best PayPal Betting Sites UK 2024

How We Review PayPal Betting Sites

Before we recommend any PayPal betting site, it’s put through the wringer by our experts. Here are some factors we consider in our reviews process.

• Licensing – All PayPal betting sites must feature a licence from the UK Gambling Commission to operate in the UK. We blacklist sites that don’t. 
• PayPal Availability – This one goes without saying! To feature on this list, PayPal must be available for deposits and withdrawals.
• Betting Bonuses – Does the PayPal betting site offer valuable and player-friendly bonuses? We like to see a generous welcome bonus and regular promotions for existing players. PayPal eligibility when claiming offers is important too.
• Sports and Betting Markets – A diverse range of sports markets and depth within each is essential at all the best online bookmakers with PayPal. 
• Site Design – The best PayPal betting sites are both easy to navigate and easy on the eyes.
• Special Features – What does the PayPal betting site do to stand out from the competition? Live streaming, in-play betting, bet editing, and early cash out are some of the extra features we look for.
• Mobile and Apps – While all PayPal betting sites should be optimised for play via the browser, the best operators provide a native app that can be downloaded.
• Customer Support – Friendly and reliable customer support is a must when your money’s on the line, whether it’s 24/7 live chat, email, or phone.

Quick Guide to PayPal

Looking for more info on PayPal’s history, its services, or something else? Here’s a crash course on all things PayPal.

PayPal’s History

PayPal originally started life as a company called Confinity, founded in 1998 by Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek. In 2000, it merged with Elon Musk’s financial services company X.com. Shortly afterwards, the company rebranded to the name we know today and went public.

In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay, further boosting its profile among consumers. Over the following decade, PayPal continued to grow, acquiring a number of additional companies and services before being spun off from eBay in 2014. 

In the following years, PayPal has continued to expand its offering — both online with acquisitions like Honey, and offline with the iZettle point of sale company. Available in over 200 countries and regions today, PayPal remains one of the most trusted payment services among consumers.

PayPal’s Services

At its core, PayPal is an online payments service. It lets you pay for goods and services across the web using your held balance or linked payment methods such as debit cards and bank accounts. You won’t have to share this information with the PayPal betting site — simply log in with your email and password instead. 

Another benefit of PayPal betting is the extra features you can access from your PayPal account. These include:

• PayPal App – Available to download for iOS and Android, the PayPal app lets you manage your money on the go, as well as making in-person payments. 
• PayPal Honey – A service that aggregates discounts and coupons and automatically applies them when you check out with PayPal.
• PayPal Pay in 3 – Split PayPal payments up into three monthly chunks.
• PayPal.me – Request money from friends and family using a unique URL.
• PayPal Crypto – Buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies straight from your PayPal account. There’s support for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, and you can start from just £1.

PayPal Fees

An advantage PayPal holds over rival e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller is there are barely any fees for consumers. Both online and in-store payments for goods or services are fee-free, provided there’s no currency conversion involved. 

There are a few occasions where you may pay fees with PayPal:

• Buying or selling crypto has fixed or percentage fees which depend on the size of the transaction.
• International personal transactions are charged at 5% of the transaction amount, with a £0.99 minimum and £2.99 maximum fee.
• Transactions involving currency conversion are charged at 3% above the base exchange rate.

Watch out for the inactive account fee too, which was added in November 2022. If your PayPal account is inactive for at least 12 months, you’ll be charged a fee of up to £9, taken directly from the account balance. To avoid this fee, simply log in to your PayPal account. 

PayPal Security

A key benefit of PayPal is it’s highly secure. All your banking details are stored within your account and protected with features like two-factor authentication (2FA), end-to-end encryption, and 24/7 fraud monitoring. PayPal also offers robust buyer protection, although this isn’t available for gambling transactions.

PayPal and Gamban

In early 2022, PayPal directly integrated the Gamban service into its payments platform. Gamban is a responsible gambling tool that allows users to block online casinos, sportsbooks, and related sites. When you enable Gamban in your PayPal account, transactions to betting sites will be blocked. Looking for more info on staying safe when betting online? Check out our responsible gambling page.

PayPal Betting Bonuses

All our featured PayPal betting sites have a range of offers up for grabs once you sign up. What’s available? Let’s take a look!

Matched Deposits

One of the most flexible PayPal betting offers is a matched deposit. Here, you receive bonus bet credit based on the size of your qualifying deposit. For example, take a 100% match up to £100 — if you deposit £100, you’ll get an extra £100 in bonus betting credit. This extra credit is separate to your real money balance and can’t usually be withdrawn, although you’ll keep the resulting profit from winning bets.

Free Bets

Free bets let you do just that — place a bet for free. They come in several flavours. For example, you could see a no deposit free bet of £5 when you sign up, or £20 of free bets when you deposit £10. Some free bets are unlocked when you place a qualifying bet, such as Bet £10 Get £30. 

Another type is the bet refund or risk-free bet. This is where your stake is returned as a free bet if your qualifying bet loses. 

Cashback

Available to new and existing customers alike, cashback returns a portion of your net losses, deposits, or wagers within a certain period. Anywhere from 1% to 10% cashback is common. Say a site offers 5% cashback on weekly losses, and you’ve lost £100 that week — you’ll get £5 back, either as bonus bet credit or real money that can be withdrawn. 

Top PayPal Betting Sites

Here are some of the best PayPal betting sites available to UK bettors.

Fast Withdrawals with PayPal

One of the biggest benefits of choosing PayPal for your betting transactions is its fast withdrawals. How fast is fast? Well, when you withdraw to PayPal you could receive your money within an hour or even instantly — although a same-day arrival is a more realistic expectation. In any case, sending money to a PayPal account is much quicker than a standard transfer to a bank account or debit card. 

That said, there are a few things that can slow down your PayPal withdrawal. First is the withdrawal policy of the betting site itself. All online bookmakers must approve withdrawal requests before they’re sent out — a speedy process at some sites and an arduous one at others. Check the terms and conditions for a clearer idea of how long your withdrawal will take.

Secondly, make sure you’ve completed any KYC requirements such as providing proof of identity or address. These are usually completed when you sign up, but you’ll see a notification in your account if any further steps need to be taken. 

Finally, watch out for wagering requirements if you’ve claimed a PayPal betting bonus. These may stand in the way of withdrawing bonus funds and any resulting winnings.

If receiving your money promptly is a main priority, take a look at our recommended fast payout betting sites. 

Alternatives to PayPal

PayPal betting isn’t for everyone. While there are lots of benefits, there are drawbacks too. For example, PayPal deposits are often excluded from unlocking bonuses. Plus, if you don’t already have a PayPal account, you might prefer to not have to set one up. Thankfully, if you don’t fancy betting with PayPal, there are plenty of alternatives available at top sports betting sites. 

Other e-Wallets

PayPal may be the most popular e-wallet on the market, but there are plenty of viable alternatives. If you already have a Skrill, Neteller, or AstroPay account, these services are readily available at sports betting sites and offer many of the same benefits, such as fast withdrawals and top security. What’s more, some users prefer Skrill and Neteller to PayPal because of their loyalty programmes. If you don’t already have an account with a digital wallet provider, it’s quick and easy to set one up.

Debit Cards

The main benefit of using a Visa or Mastercard debit card as your deposit method is that you won’t be excluded from unlocking bonuses like free spins and matched deposits. Additionally, there’s no need to create any additional accounts — simply key in your card number and CVC and you’ll be on your way. Withdrawal speeds are slower than e-wallets such as PayPal though, taking up to five working days to process.

Trustly

If you like the idea of using a bank account to deposit funds rather than an e-wallet, but are looking for some additional benefits, Trustly could be the best option for you. This service uses Open Banking technology to process payments with instant verification. No accounts are required — all you need to do is log into your bank via Trustly’s secure portal to set up a payment. Trustly offers instant deposits and faster withdrawals than debit cards, usually completed within two days.

Apple Pay and Google Pay

Another handy way to make payments at PayPal betting sites is via Apple Pay or Google Pay. Depending on whether you have an iOS or Android smartphone, you can use one of these services to make quick and easy payments. Using Touch ID or Face ID, bettors can confirm deposits with the click of a button, so there’s no need to share any sensitive information.

Prepaid Cards

A helpful alternative if you’d prefer not to share your bank details with the sport betting site is to use a prepaid card. Paysafecard is the best-known example — these can be purchased in shops in denominations up to £100. All you need to do to transfer the funds to your sportsbook account is enter the 16-digit PIN printed on the card. Paysafecard can only be used to deposit funds at sports betting sites, so you’ll need to use a different withdrawal method when cashing out. Another option is a virtual prepaid voucher, such as those offered by AstroPay. Additionally, if you’re happy setting up an account, you can also use AstroPay’s digital wallet function to make a withdrawal.

Pay by Phone

Another alternative is to use a pay by mobile service like Boku. All you need to provide to deposit funds is your phone number. A code will be sent to your mobile via text, which you’ll then enter on the betting site when prompted. Simply choose how much you’d like to transfer and the cash will land instantly. Payments will be taken from your bank alongside your monthly phone bill, or from your top-up balance if you’re on pay as you go (PAYG). Again, this method can’t be used for withdrawals, so you’ll need to use an alternative such as a debit card.

Top Sports at PayPal Betting Sites

Once you’ve got your preferred payment option set up, you’ll be wanting to check out some of the available sports to bet on. The best sports betting sites offer a wide range of options, with everything from handball to lacrosse featured. Here are some of the most popular categories you’ll find at PayPal betting sites.

Football

As the UK’s favourite sport, it’s no surprise there are bundles of football markets available at PayPal betting sites. Whether you enjoy predicting the scores in the Premier League each week or just like to have a punt on the big cup finals, you’re well catered for.

Available markets go well beyond the team to win too. Bettors can wager on just about anything from the number of corners there’ll be in a match to which minute the first goal will be scored. If you have a hunch about how the game will play out, bets like ‘Team X to win from behind’ are good fun too.

Tennis

Tennis is another exciting sport to watch and place bets on, thanks to the fast pace and wide range of matches. There are tournaments all throughout the year, but the Grand Slams are a great place to start if you want to watch along. These are the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open.

Live betting is a popular option for tennis fans, as you can predict which player will win the next game or set in real time. That means even if the match is a foregone conclusion, there’s still plenty to wager on. Alternatively, you can place an outright bet on a top player like Casper Ruud or Iga Świątek to go all the way in one of the Grand Slams and cheer them on throughout the tournament.

Golf

The majors are the most high-profile golf tournaments and take place in the summer each year — the Masters Tournament in April, the PGA Championship in May, the US Open in June and the Open Championship in July. As for the winter months, the Dubai Desert Classic takes place in January and the South African Open in December, among others. If you prefer team sports, the Ryder Cup is golf’s biennial competition that pits Team Europe against Team United States. 

In addition to betting on which player will win a particular tournament, you can have a punt on which player will be top of the leaderboard at the end of a round, whether or not a player will make the cut, who the top points scorer will be in team events like the Ryder Cup, and much more.

American Sports

If you have an affinity for American sports like basketball, baseball, ice hockey, and American football, you won’t be disappointed with the plethora of options available at PayPal betting sites. NHL and NFL in particular are a real spectacle to watch and great fun to have a flutter on. You’ll find there are lots of bonuses up for grabs in the run-up to big events like the Super Bowl.

Betting on American sports also opens up a new world of betting markets that you won’t find in the major UK sports — in the NFL you can bet on player props like the number of passing yards a player will achieve, while the NBA offers markets like the number of rebounds a player will make.

Responsible Betting with PayPal

With so many different betting options available at PayPal betting sites, it can be easy to get carried away. There are several warning signs that your gambling habits may be becoming unhealthy. These include feeling irritable when unable to gamble, chasing your losses, lying to your loved ones about your gambling habits, and stealing or borrowing money to use for gambling.

There are numerous responsible gambling practices that all bettors can follow in order to safeguard themselves from addiction:

• Never think of gambling as a way to earn money.
• Set up limits on your time spent on betting sites.
• Set deposit limits to keep the amount you spend in check.
• Never chase your losses by betting more.
• Unsubscribe from emails from betting operators.
• If you feel you need to take a step back from gambling but are struggling to stop, use self-exclusion tools to block your access to betting sites for a set period of time.

If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling problem, there are various resources and organisations that can help:

• Begambleaware.org
• GamCare
• Gamban
• Gamblers Anonymous UK
• GamAnon
• Gordon Moody Association
• Young Gamers & Gamblers Education Trust

Compare the Best PayPal Betting Sites

Ready to get started with one of our top PayPal betting sites? Browse our comparison list — there are plenty of welcome offers to weigh up. Once you’ve found your ideal destination, click through to sign up, claim your welcome bonus, and start betting with PayPal.