Athletics has never been much of a hit with online gamblers. As such, if you are a fan of track and field and are looking for a place to get a bet on, it can sometimes be a little bit tough to find a bookmaker to accommodate you.
It’s for exactly that reason that we have put together this page, which is entirely dedicated to trying to make athletics betting that little bit easier.
First you’ll find a breakdown of what features to look out for before joining any online bookmaker and following that is a comparison of the best athletics betting sites and mini reviews of our top options.
On This Page
Features To Look Out For…
- Welcome Bonus – the bonus you get when you join any online bookies is usually the best of all their promotions so make sure you maximise the opportunity by getting the best size and deal for your deposit amount.
- Review Rating – our review rating reflects an indepth dive done on each bookmaker with those offering the best level of service coming out on top – it also takes user reviews into account.
- Promotion Frequency – some bookmakers are way more generous than others and run more promotions so be on the look out for as many offers as possible.
- Events Covered – athletics is not well covered by all bookmakers so signing up with someone who has plenty of markets is going to mean you’re more well catered for in the long term.
- Specials – some bookies are offering special bets on athletics focussed on different athletes, their medal performance or finishing positions. These are worth checking out as they can often offer good value.
Best Bookmakers for Athletics
- Biggest new player welcome bonus.
- Maximum score review rating.
- Wide range of athletics markets & odds.
- High promotion frequency outside athletics.
- Best odds across the board.
- Biggest bonus for smaller deposit amounts.
- Wide range of markets & bets.
- Request odds on any bet you like.
18+ New customers only. Opt in, bet £10 on any football market at minimum 1/1 odds. No cash out. Get £40 in Free Bets on selected events. Free Bets expire in 7 days. Card payments only. T&Cs Apply, see below. begambleaware.org | Please gamble responsibly
- Request odds feature.
- 300% sign up offer
- Plenty of markets.
- Lots of different bets per event.
- 400% sign up bonus for new players.
- YourCall allows requesting of odds.
- New and improved design/layout.
- 300% sign up offer
- Plenty of markets.
- Lots of different bets per event.
- Most frequent event specific promotions.
- Weekly loyalty offer (earn a £10 free bet).
- Daily specials worth checking out.
- Improved odds online vs in shops.
- Wide range of markets for athletics.
- Get a price on any game or event #getaprice.
Athletics Betting Reviews
Hopefully the above table has given you a decent idea of what you can expect in terms of athletics from the top online bookmakers. To help you that little bit more, however, we’ve shortlisted out three bookmakers and written a brief review explaining just why they stand out from the crowd for betting on track and field.
#1 For Athletics – Betvictor.com
There are few sports for which Betvictor aren’t a good betting destination, and the bookmaker also ranks as the best athletics betting site. It should be noted, however, that just like the other sites on our list (and those that didn’t make it) Betvictor do not generally offer as many athletics options as they offer for other sports.
When the Betvictor have athletics markets available – during the athletics season and particularly when big events are upcoming – there is a dedicated ‘athletics’ section of the site available within their ‘more sports’ dropdown.
Head to that section and you will find a list of the events and competitions which Betvictor price up, which will generally always include any upcoming major meet, such as the European Championships, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games. Alongside event winner markets for those competitions, they will also typically offer some special markets related to the overall performance of major athletes or of the British team as a whole.
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<p><em>New customers only, 18+, <a href="/bookies/betvictornew.php">T&C's apply</a>.</em></p>
#2 For Athletics – William Hill
Another widely and wholly trusted online bookmaker which offers a very decent service to those punters looking to bet on track and field is William Hill.
Just like Betvictor, the availability of athletics markets from William Hill is very much seasonal and there will be times of the year when no athletics options appear on the bookmaker’s site. What you can be sure of with William Hill, however, is that they will cater for all of the major events including the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Championships.
Markets are typically available for those competitions both during the action and for a few weeks leading up to it, and can be quite varied with good depth of bet types per event. Event winner markets are offered for many of the individual events during major championships, and other options such total medals, world records broken and similar markets are also often available.
Bet £10 get £30 free bet at Will Hill!New customers only, 18+, T&C's apply.
#3 For Athletics – Paddy Power
A popular bookmaker that pride themselves on offering punters a varied and offer filled betting service across the board, Paddy Power round out our countdown of the three very best betting sites for athletics.
Featuring a dedicated athletics section on their website as and when markets are available, Paddy Power can be relied upon to price up all of the big events in major meets such as the European Championships, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Olympics.
Unlike some bookmakers, too, Paddy Power also occasionally run some ante post athletics markets well in advance of events. At time of writing, for instance, we are close to three years away from the next Olympics but the bookmaker already have a market for the winner of the men’s 100m.
When big competitions and meets do roll around it’s also worth keeping an eye on the specials and promotions run by Paddy Power. They are a bookmaker, after all, with an enviable reputation for running special offers related to all major sporting events – as you’ve probably seen from their adverts.
Click here to join Paddy Power!New customers only, 18+, T&C's apply.
Bet Type FAQ: Athletics
As a sport without much of a gambling tradition attached to it, athletics is not generally well served by online bookmakers. What we mean by that is that only the very biggest of events are typically covered and even those have something of a sparse selection of available markets. If and when there are different athletics bet types available, they will often be limited to the following three varieties.
Event Winner – Doing largely what they say on the tin, event winner markets are the most common type of athletics bet and allow punters simple to bet on a competitor to win their given track or field event. In many cases, each-way betting options will also be available and typically cover the first three in any event.
Total Medals – For big events such as the Olympics or World Championships, some bookmakers will also run total medals markets. These will generally be markets through which you can predict the number of medals won by the Great Britain team, or occasional by major athletes.
World Records – The least commonly available of our three athletics markets, world records markets will sometimes be offered for the biggest events at the biggest international competitions and meetings. These markets typically allow punters to bet on whether a world record will be broken in a given event or on whether a specific athlete will break the record in their event.