Offshore Bookmakers: Best offshore bookies

Offshore Bookmakers: Best offshore bookies Depending on where you live, the offshore bookmakers could well be your only option for online sports betting. In many countries all over the world the local betting business has not taken advantage of the internet opportunities, be it because of tough competition from long-established names in the online betting industry, due to local laws and regulation or simply because it wouldn't make financial sense to move a betting business online. Even punters in countries with well-regulated online betting business, such as the UK, often choose to bet with bookmakers based offshore. The reasons for this trend are plenty - better odds, great deals and free bets, large limits, etc. The UK government has recently taken steps to tax the bookmakers who try to avoid paying local gambling taxes, by requiring offshore bookies which do business with UK customers to pay tax on those bets, which has led to some exodus of really quality names from the UK market. But there are plenty who remain to serve those punters who are now left with the daunting task to find another quality bookmaker.

We have ranked the best offshore bookmakers further down, but first, let's talk more about "offshore" and try to find a better distinction. Because what one bettor in the US may think of when they hear offshore bookmaker could mean something totally different to a punter from the UK or mainland Europe. In our opinion, the term "offshore bookmaker" encompasses those bookies who have based their businesses in countries friendly to online gambling operators, with lax tax on gambling revenues, yet the majority of their actual customers are based in other countries, outside their headquarters. In reality, these are nearly all online bookmakers, with few exceptions, of course. This is indeed the reason for the recent tax law in the UK, which tries to collect tax revenues from those bookies who are based offshore.

Best Offshore Bookmakers

Coral (USA customers not allowed) - the popular British bookmaker is sort of a hybrid between a local and offshore bookie, but the quality of service and reputation dictates that it finds a spot on our list of top offshore bookies. The high street betting shops owned by Coral are indeed a pure UK company that works with punters in the country and as such is far from being offshore, but the online betting arm of the business is based in Gibraltar (although licensed in both countries). Since the focus of our website is on online bookmakers, Coral is certainly an offshore bookie in this case. The best part for punters living in the UK is that they can easily cash out their winnings made at the website at any of the local betting shops. Bettors from other countries can use one of the many online payment options for both funding and cashing out.

Bookmaker - this betting site could be considered the perfect example of an offshore bookmaker. It is based, licensed and regulated in Costa Rica but it does very little business there. The main customers of Bookmaker come from the USA, UK and some of the Western European countries. Over the two decades this sports betting site has been in business, it has built a solid reputation unmatched by nearly anyone. It is certainly the most popular online bookmaker in the United States and many UK punters also choose it for the large betting limits and variety of sporting events offered. For example, the odds on American sports leagues like NBA , NFL and even NHL are much better here than at most UK bookies.

Betfair (no USA) - initially starting as a betting exchange licensed in the UK, Betfair moved completely offshore in Gibraltar in 2011 and has been an offshore bookmaker ever since. The main website of Batfair is indeed a betting exchange, but the company also offers a "sportsbook", which is the equivalent of an online bookie - offering set odds on sports independent from the betting exchange, yet under the same account umbrella, making it very easy for customers to bet at both the sportsbook and the exchange as they please. Remaining the largest betting exchange in the world, the reputation of Betfair remains solid, despite some controversy surrounding their premium charges, but those affect only the very big high rollers at the exchange and naturally the bookmaker side of the business makes the money from the vig in the odds, rather than to charge fees.

Of course, there are many other offshore bookies, as a matter of fact, most of the bookmakers are indeed based offshore, due to the better taxation offered by those countries and territories. But the above mentioned represent the very best offshore bookmakers and it give you a glance of the industry. If you wish to bet online at an offshore bookmaker, we highly recommend selecting from the list above. As with all betting sites, there are a lot of rogue operations and it is often very hard for a beginner to distinguish between a reputable bookie and a bad one. So stick to the tried-and-true and your online betting experience will be trouble-free.