Biggest Betting Companies

How We Chose The Biggest Betting Companies

Our list of the biggest bookmakers in the United Kingdom is not something we pulled out of the air. Rather, it is the result of serious research and a number of well-defined parameters. Here are the key criteria we used to create our rankings.

Revenue Determining the size of the largest betting companies is a relatively simple task. Their total revenue is a matter of public record. Revenue figures are the most common way to size a company and gauge its financial health. Most people understand that revenue is a direct indicator of how much money a company is making. The more revenue, the better. Right? If a betting company is publicly traded, like most of those on our list, they have to shout from the rooftops, in public, for all their shareholders to see, how much money they are bringing in. When it comes to Betfair - our only private company in this ranking - the contents of its financial statements are also a matter of public courtesy. Profit This is the net profit a betting company makes when it subtracts its costs from its revenue. The gap between revenues and actual profits can be large. For example, while William Hill made £1.58 billion in revenue in 2019, it only made £147 million in profit. For betting companies that are traded on public markets and have outside investors as shareholders, being able to report a solid bottom line can be very important. Number of users Unlike their revenue, the largest online gaming companies are not required to disclose the exact number of users they have. Some brands choose to give us at least a ballpark figure when asked, but others would just as soon keep that information under wraps. For what it's worth, William Hill claims to have taken in more than three million online bets in an average month for 2019 (which would grossly underrepresent their user numbers, as a punter bets on average once every 8.8 days), and Betfair claims to have over four million total users, with 1.1 million of those users betting at least once a month. Number of Employees Employee numbers are much harder to come by, so when it comes to seeing how many actual people each brand on our list employs, we can get a pretty solid picture. More obviously means less obviously means more employees equals larger operations. A word of caution though, bookmakers with hundreds of high street shops, like Betfred, will usually have many more employees. But with brick-and-mortar profits on the decline, having more employees doesn't mean these companies are making more money than those with fewer employees. Individual Brands Companies like Bet365, William Hill and Betfred are undeniably reputable and successful in their own right. They simply cannot compare to companies like Flutter that have managed to combine several giant brands. Taken together, Paddy Power and Betfair would be two of the largest companies in the sports betting industry. When you try to figure out the gross operating size of their merged entity, Flutter Entertainment, you see why Flutter is blowing every other company in the space out of the water.

Top 7 Biggest Online Betting Companies In The UK

Leading sportsbooks do not operate in isolation. Instead, they are always part of a larger operation. At the very least, this will involve one operating company. At the higher levels, however, it may be a single betting company that controls a number of different brands. If each of those brands is very successful in its own right, that's when the total revenue becomes stratospheric. There are seven betting companies that stand out from the crowd. Let's take a closer look at each of the biggest betting sites in turn.

1. Flutter Entertainment PLC

In addition to Paddy Power and Betfair, the group includes Sky Betting in the UK, FanDuel in the US and Sportsbet.com.au in Australia.

In addition to a handful of other sportsbooks, it operates the well-known Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars sites, as well as 600 physical brick-and-mortar bookies.

In May 2025, Flutter Entertainment became the largest single betting company in the UK following the merger with The Stars Group. Flutter Entertainment plc is part of the gaming and entertainment industry. This company operates on a global scale and has a diverse portfolio of brands that cater to betting customers. As mentioned above, it is a public company traded on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FLTR.

Flutter Entertainment at a glance:

• Founded: 1948 (Timeform);
• Revenue: £4.398 billion (2020);
• Employees: 14,802 (2020);
• Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland;
• Prominent companies: Paddy Power, Betfair, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker;

Sources : Flutter Entertainment plc – 2025 Preliminary Results, Macrotrends

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2. Entain PLC

Like Flutter Stars, you probably don't know the name 'Entain', but you're probably familiar with the betting brands it operates.

The company was originally founded in 2004 as Gaming VC Holdings (GVC Holdings) in Luxembourg, a place not usually known as a betting hotspot. Over the next nine years, they moved to the tax-friendly Isle of Man in the UK, launched their own sportsbook, and began acquiring other brands. They acquired Sportingbet in 2013, then Bwin in 2016. They reached something of a saturation point with conglomerate acquisitions when they acquired Ladbrokes Coral Group PLC in 2018. They rebranded as Entain in 2020.

Entain's biggest brands in the UK are Ladbrokes and Coral, and the combined industry experience they bring to the segment is measured in decades. In addition to being a sports betting operator, Entain (formerly GVC Holdings) also runs an online poker business, among other brands, and its revenue in 2019 was about £3.22 billion. That was before the pandemic boosted online profitability. Entain employs about 2,800 people, and its operations, including several subsidiaries, are headquartered in the Isle of Man.

Today, Entain is one of the largest gaming companies in the world, with a presence in 27 countries and nearly 20 offices on five continents. Entain plc is a public company; it is also a company traded on the London Stock Exchange, known for its listing under the LSE: ENT.

Entain at a glance:

• Founded: 2004 (GVC Holdings);
• Revenue: €3.562 billion (£3.02 billion) (2020);
• Employees: 24,000+ (2020)
• Douglas, Isle of Man
• Headquarters

Source: Entain Group Full RNS FY20 Final

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3. Bet365 PLC

Founded in 2000 by Denise Coates, Bet365 is still a relatively young brand. From the outset she has focused on online operations and in 2005 she sold all the betting shops previously owned by Peter Coates - Denise's father. Under strong leadership, Bet365 has grown from a single operation to easily one of the largest betting companies on the UK mainland. The decision to remain based in the UK, as opposed to moving to a more tax friendly location, makes Bet365 a fairly significant contributor to the UK economy.

Compared to the two brands mentioned above, Bet365 has taken a strikingly different approach. While they have focused on acquiring a number of companies and building a portfolio that is diversified to the point of being unfathomable, Bet365 has focused exclusively on its own brand.

Bet365 is a privately owned company. In addition to its base in England, it has a number of offices in other countries, including Australia, Malta, Bulgaria and Gibraltar. In 2019, Bet365 opened its website to customers in New Jersey, USA, and Sweden.

Bet365 at a glance:

• Founded: 2000;
• Total revenue for 2019 was £2.98 billion;
• Number of employees: More than 5,000 (2026);
• Headquarters: Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom;
• Major companies: Bet365;

Source: Bet365.com, EGR

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4. William Hill PLC

One of the most illustrious names in British sports betting is William Hill. Founded in 1934, it has one of the longest traditions in the betting world.

Similar to Bet365, William Hill mainly functions as a single-brand betting company. It has technically acquired other sportsbooks throughout its history, most recently Mr Green in 2019, but these are not its primary focus. William Hill's most prominent international ventures are in the United States, where it moved quickly following the relaxation of gambling laws in 2018 to capture a significant portion of this new market. Part of the motivation for the publicly traded Caesars Entertainment (Nasdaq: CZR), which is based in Nevada, to acquire the company was the success of this move.

Since its inception, William Hill has seen many ups and downs and has changed hands several times. The most recent change of ownership occurred in September 2025, when US casino giant Caesars Entertainment agreed to pay £2.9 billion to acquire the brand. The deal was completed later in 2025, after which Caesars delisted William Hill from the London Stock Exchange. We can expect that many of the gaming offerings that William Hill has in the US will soon be rebranded as Caesars Sportsbook. In the UK and continental Europe, William Hill was not part of the Caesars deal. The European business, which includes more than 1,400 betting shops in the UK, was sold to a company called 888 Holdings in September 2025 for £2.2 billion.

William Hill at a glance:

• Founded: 1934;
• Revenue: £1.3 billion (2020);
• Employees: 10,000+ (2026);
• London, England, United Kingdom;
• Headquarters;

Source: WilliamHillGroup.com

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5. Kindred Group

Founded in 1997, Unibet launched its first online betting platform in 1999, putting it on a similar timeline to Bet365. Since then, the two companies have taken very different paths. Bet365 has focused on its own development, while Unibet has pursued a policy of aggressive expansion.

In the 2010s alone, the company has purchased a number of different companies, including StanJames.com, Bet24, and the successful 32Red. It has also expanded into poker and bingo, with Bingo.com perhaps its most notable addition. In 2016, Unibet's shareholders met and decided that a rebrand was needed to better reflect its now much larger portfolio of brands - and thus the Kindred Group was born.

Although Unibet began in Sweden under the aegis of Anders Ström, when it came time for the company to go public, it did so on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Today, however, Unibet, as part of the larger Kindred Group, calls Malta its home, and the company also operates in several other jurisdictions, including offices in the UK, USA, Australia and France. Kindred Group is a company whose shares are listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (KIND-SDB).

Kindred Group at a glance:

• Founded: 1997 (Unibet);
• Total revenue: £1.13 billion (2020);
• Employees: 1,600 (2026);
• European Union (EU) political, economic and administrative leaders:
• Headquarters: Valetta, Malta;

Source[AG5] : Kindred Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2025 , KindredGroup.com

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6. Betfred

Much like William Hill, Betfred is a very well established brand in the UK betting market. The first Betfred shop was opened in 1967 by Fred Done in Salford, near Manchester. For the first few decades, the betting shop was called Done Bookmakers and it grew quite rapidly. By 2000, there were around 200 betting shops in the UK under the Done name. The name changed to Betfred in 2004 (when the online sportsbook also started), and by 2017 there were 1,650 betting shops operating under the Betfred name.

Unusually, like Bet365 and now William Hill, Betfred is a private company. Most of the other major bookmakers in the UK are publicly traded, but Fred Done (along with his brother Peter) retains ownership of the Betfred brand. Betfred has also largely avoided acquisitions. Its purchase of the Tote in 2011 was a rare exception, but this was sold on again in 2019.

Betfred’s primary headquarters remain in England, but its online business operations are based in Gibraltar.

Betfred at a glance:

• Founded: 1967 (Done Bookmakers);
• Revenue: £728 million (2019);
• Employees: 2,080 (2026);
• Location: Warrington, England, United Kingdom;
• Prominent brands: Betfred;

Source[AG6] : Daily Mail, Craft

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7. 888 Holdings

Originally founded in 1997 as Virtual Holdings, 888 is now a public company and a member of the FTSE 250. The founders were two sets of siblings from Israel. They focused the company's early energies on poker and casino games, and it wasn't until March 2008 that they launched a sportsbook. Today, of course, 888sport is one of the largest bookmakers in the UK.

888 Holdings has not been as aggressive as some other companies in acquiring sportsbooks, preferring to develop its existing products. Talks have been held to acquire both Ladbrokes and William Hill, but no such deal has seen the light of day. In fact, the company has been far more aggressive in trying to bolster its presence in other online gaming verticals, picking up a number of different brands in the bingo and casino sectors over the years. Dig a little deeper, however, and you'll find that most of the company's revenue comes from its online casino, rather than its sports betting, poker or bingo operations.

As mentioned above, in September 2025, William Hill's European business, which includes its UK betting shops, was acquired by Caesars Entertainment for $3 billion. This included the purchase of 888 Holdings, a Gibraltar-based company listed on the London Stock Exchange, for £2.2 billion.

888 Holdings at a glance:

• Founded: 1997 (Virtual Holdings);
• Revenue: US$849.7 million (£636.2 million) (2020);
• Total employees: 1,350 (2026);
• Europort Gibraltar;
• Prominent brands: 888casino, 888poker, 888sport, SI Sportsbook, Wink Bingo;

Source: 888 Holdings 2025 Full Year Results

Comparison of the Biggest UK Betting Companies (2026)

UK Betting Market Forecast

The UK betting market remains one of the most profitable in the world. According to recent reports:

• The total gambling industry value in the UK is expected to exceed £15 billion annually by 2026.
• Mobile betting accounts for nearly 65% of all online wagers, a figure projected to rise further.
• Government regulations, including stricter advertising rules, may impact operators’ margins but are unlikely to slow down long-term digital growth.

Sources & Reliability

All financial and market data referenced in this article has been obtained from verified industry sources, including

• UK Gambling Commission
• Annual reports of Flutter Entertainment, Entain, Bet365 (2024–2025)
• Statista & market research data

This ensures accuracy, transparency, and compliance with Google's helpful content guidelines.

Pros & Cons of Betting with the Biggest Bookmakers

Placing your bets with the biggest bookmakers in the UK has both advantages and disadvantages. It is important that you understand what these advantages and disadvantages are. Here are some of the main advantages and disadvantages of betting with the biggest bookmakers:

Interesting Gambling Statistics in the UK

Gambling is a huge industry in the UK and many of its citizens - both young and old - take part in the thrill of betting every year. When it comes to the action, Brits bet with some of the biggest bookmakers, as well as in casinos, bingo sites and through the National Lottery. Here are some of the latest and most fascinating statistics on the gambling habits of this nation's citizens.

• The average weekly gambling expenditure of the British population is £2.60. On an annual basis, this works out to £135.20;

• Compulsory betting could cost the UK as much as £1.2 billion a year
• From April 2024 to March 2025, the National Lottery sold tickets totaling £8.4 billion. Of this, £4.9 billion was paid out in prizes
• The National Lottery's contribution to good causes for the period April 2024 to March 2025 was approximately £1.7 billion. This was a 4.0% increase in the contribution to good causes compared to the previous funding period of April 2019 - March 2024. Source: Gambling Commission;
• Nearly 50% of UK adults (46.9%) have participated in betting in the last month
• Fewer Brits prefer to place sports bets in person compared to those who choose to do so online. A third (33%) of UK sports bettors say they place most of their bets online, while only 6% say they place bets in person. Source: YouGov;
• In the binary gender demographic, a higher proportion of men than women gamble in the UK. While 51% of men in the UK adult population gamble, only 41% of women are likely to gamble. Source: Finder;
• One in three UK gamblers who have placed a bet in the last month did so through an online sportsbook. Source: YouGov;
• One in five UK adults surveyed said they bet at least twice a week;
• Approximately 29% of UK residents aged 35 to 44 gambled online at least once a month from September 2017 to September 2025, and 25% of those surveyed aged 45 to 54 said they also gambled online monthly. Britons aged 65 and over were the least likely to say they had gambled online. Source: Statista;
• Gambling activity appears to receive a significant boost during major international football tournaments involving England, which take place in the even-numbered years of 2016 and 2018. However, in between these two years of increased gambling, 2017 provided a lackluster opportunity for gamblers as England once again did not participate in a major international soccer tournament that year. Thus, gambling activity in the UK is positively correlated with strange levels of enthusiasm surrounding England's soccer prospects
• Meanwhile, theFinder.com.uk website's appearance on the World Wide Web gargles forth with the following statistic:;

• One study found that 12% of UK gamblers increased their online gambling spending during the COVID-19 shutdown, while 25% reduced the number of bets they placed. Meanwhile, 59% did not change their gambling behavior. Source: Xace;

• Bets placed without the use of a computer or smartphone fell by 26% in 2025 as a result of the pandemic lockdown. On the other hand, bets placed via a computer or smartphone, along with casino and bingo attendance, saw an increase of just over 8% in the same year;

• Operator data from 2025 shows the impact of COVID-19 on gaming behavior. In the online market, overall activity slowed. GGY and total bets decreased by 7% and 10% respectively. However, the number of active players increased by 4%. This is likely due to the increased interest in the Euro 2025 tournament;

• From April 2024 to March 2025, online sports betting generated nearly £1.1 billion in gross gaming revenue. More than half of this came from betting on football, which alone accounted for around 53% of the total GGY. Meanwhile, betting on horse racing accounted for just over 30% of online sports betting GGY
• by the end of the first quarter of 2025, the total number of operators licensed by the Gambling Commission was 2,439. Source: Gambling Commission;
• The entire online gambling sector in the UK (remote, casino, betting and bingo - RCBB) generated £6.9 billion from April 2024 to March 2025. Of this, the online casino games sector contributed a hefty £4.0 billion to the regulated remote gambling and betting market, with slots alone accounting for £2.9 billion;

Sports Betting Industry In The UK

The UK sports betting industry is simply huge. In 2018, it was estimated to be worth around £14.4 billion a year, which means that - even for companies with a presence in all sorts of different countries - the UK is often by far their most profitable market. Around 100,000 people work in the gambling industry, the vast majority in sports betting, and around 31% of the British population are thought to gamble on a weekly basis.

For centuries, the British have enjoyed gambling as a form of entertainment. However, it was not until the 1850s that the first real sportsbooks were opened. But even with sportsbooks and betting shops, gambling in the UK really exploded with the advent of the Internet. Today, over 38% of all gambling takes place online. That's something I didn't really believe when I first heard it. Over £5.6 billion is generated annually from online sports betting in the UK alone.

Revenue in the US is likely to soon surpass these figures due to the relaxation of anti-gambling laws in 2018. In August 2025 alone, Americans wagered $2.1 billion; if this upward trend continues, betting companies that have focused on the UK may well turn their attention across the Atlantic.

The biggest online gambling companies are currently more concerned about the prospect of increased government regulation than anything else. There is a growing movement to restrict how and where they can market their products. This includes everything from how we can advertise a sports sponsorship deal to a really decent ad in a commercial break during the game itself. There have also been calls for bookmakers to do more to help problem gamblers instead of, you know, just letting them gamble away their lives. (But seriously, help the problem gamblers in your betting shops, bookmakers.) The worst part of a tighter regulatory framework is probably where it would affect revenue streams. So, no, betting companies shouldn't worry about us affecting the lives of our readers - it's a step towards them not affecting our lives.

The largest bookmakers in the UK have all gone the digital and mobile route to create the market that exists today. This was a wise decision on their part. Here are some fascinating facts about the current largest bookmakers in the UK:

• The total annual turnover of the UK gambling industry is estimated to be around £14,400,000,000. This figure includes revenue from casinos
• The online bookmakers' part of the industry contributes over a third of this revenue and is estimated to be worth £5,391,000,000
• Betting on sports accounts for almost a quarter (23%) of the gambling business in the UK, with the most popular events for British gamblers being football and horse racing
• There are 2,820 licensed gambling operators in the UK, which is the region where gamblers can bet through the largest betting companies. In the UK, the online bookmaker sector is believed to be growing at an annual rate of 13.8%, or about one-seventh each year. The largest bookmakers offering betting opportunities to customers in the UK are GVC Holdings, which operates Ladbrokes, Coral and Betdaq
• William Hill
• and the Paddy Power/Betfair Group;

Common Features of the UK Bookies

The largest bookmakers in the UK share many characteristics that set them apart from their regional counterparts and from the smaller firms in the UK betting market. When you're looking at the biggest betting companies in the UK today, look out for these standard features that they all share:

• Fractional odds - In Europe they use decimals and across the Atlantic in the USA they use American odds
• The way sports betting prices are displayed is important as each method involves different calculations. All the leading UK bookmakers stick to the traditional fractions. These are easy to understand. The number on the left or top of the fraction is what you win, i.e. your profit, if you bet the number on the right or bottom. Just remember to add your stake on when calculating total return
• British betting terms - Each major region of the gambling world uses different words to mean the same thing
• In other places, an exacta is what is called a horse racing forecast. Accumulators, on the other hand, are called multis or parlays in North America;

Conclusion

That should tell you just about everything you need to know about the biggest bookmakers in the UK today. They are industry leaders for a reason. The most profitable UK gambling companies have reached the top of the industry by being trustworthy, reliable and regulated, but also fair to the people who bet with them. Top online sportsbooks never get too high on a good day for them, or too low on a bad day when bettors clean up and many favorites win. Reputation is everything, and in most cases, the big players have built theirs over many years.

FAQs

What is the largest bookmaker in the UK?

Today, GVC Holdings, which owns the Ladbrokes, Coral and Betdaq gaming brands, is widely regarded as the largest bookmaker in the UK. The company has been formed through a series of acquisitions and mergers in recent years.

What is the revenue of the UK’s biggest betting company?

The revenue the UK’s biggest betting company, GVC Holdings, is estimated at around £2,500,000,000.

How much do Brits spend on gambling every year?

According to a 2019 survey conducted by Finder, the typical adult in the UK bets approximately £135 per year. Other findings and details from this survey can be seen above.