Bookmaker ratings
How We Rate Bookmakers
The published criteria and weights behind every bookmaker rating on this site — licensing first, then place terms, price competitiveness, concessions, market depth, payouts and safer-gambling tools — applied identically whether or not we earn commission.
On this page
The gate: licensing
Before any scoring, a bookmaker must hold a current licence from the Gambling Commission for Great Britain, verified against the Commission's public register. This is pass or fail. An operator that fails is not rated and is not linked from this site.
The seven criteria
| # | Criterion | Weight | What we measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Festival each-way terms and extra places | 25% | Places and fractions offered on the big handicaps (Coral Cup, Pertemps Final, County Hurdle, Grand Annual) and the Grade 1s, compared with the standard scale; whether enhanced terms are offered early or only on the day |
| 2 | Price competitiveness | 20% | Win-market overround across Festival races compared with the market; frequency of best price; consistency between ante-post and day-of-race pricing. Requires a licensed odds feed |
| 3 | Best Odds Guaranteed | 12% | Whether offered, on which markets, from what time of day, with what maximum |
| 4 | Non-runner no bet | 12% | Whether and when NRNB is offered on Festival ante-post markets, and the price cost relative to the standard book |
| 5 | Market depth | 10% | Ante-post markets on all 28 races; how early they open; place-only markets; without-the-favourite markets |
| 6 | Payouts and account handling | 10% | Withdrawal speed and methods; clarity of terms on offers; complaint handling and ADR provider |
| 7 | Safer-gambling tools | 11% | Ease of setting deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion; reality checks; visibility of support links; participation in GamStop |
Weights sum to 100%. Each criterion is scored from 0 to 10 against a published rubric; the weighted total gives the rating out of 10.
What is not scored
- Sign-up offers or free bets. They are described factually on the free bets page with their full terms, but a large offer does not raise a rating.
- Brand size, advertising or sponsorship of races.
- Whether we have an affiliate relationship.
How the scoring is shown
Every rating page shows the score for each criterion, the evidence used (with the date checked) and the weighted total, so that the rating can be checked and challenged. Where a criterion cannot be verified, it is shown as not yet scored and the rating is withheld.
Independence
The criteria and weights on this page are applied identically to every bookmaker. Affiliate relationships, disclosed on the affiliate disclosure page, do not affect scoring, ordering or presentation. A bookmaker cannot pay for a rating, a position or a review.
Review cycle
- Every rating is reviewed before each Festival and again after it.
- A rating is re-scored whenever a bookmaker changes a relevant term (place terms, BOG, NRNB, withdrawal terms).
- Readers can challenge a score via the contact page; challenges are handled under the corrections policy.
Current status
As of 14 September 2026 no bookmaker ratings are published: criterion 2 requires a licensed odds feed that is not yet connected, and criteria 1, 3, 4 and 5 are being verified against each bookmaker's current Festival terms. Ratings will appear when that work is complete and not before.
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