Greyhounds Betting Odds

Following the Second World War, greyhound racing enjoyed record attendances in the United Kingdom and some 34 million people attended races in 1946.  However, this figure soon dropped off after the 1960 UK Betting and Gambling Act allowed people to bet away from the race track.

It also allowed sponsorship and live television coverage of the races and this meant the numbers of people attending the races dropped.  Thanks to an abolition of on-course betting tax, people started to return to the greyhound tracks but for many, online betting remains the best option.

Every online bookmaker which is targeting people in the United Kingdom should offer greyhound betting.  While it is not as popular as horse racing, you are still spoilt for choice when it comes to greyhound betting websites.

To make your selection easier, here are the top 5 greyhound bookmakers:

However, before you head off to place a bet on the greyhounds, you must know the best way to choose your preferred bookmaker. There are many different aspects to selecting a good greyhound online bookmaker and one of the most important is the odds.

Best betting sites by category

Greyhound racing is found in many countries around the world where its conducted for pure enjoyment only at an amateur level.

However, in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Mexico, Spain and the United States, Greyhound racing is a big part of the gambling community. At a basic level, it is like horse racing but has never managed to reach the huge financial level horse racing has achieved.

There are two different forms of greyhound racing, track racing and course racing.  Track racing you will have seen before and is when the dogs chase an artificial lure around the track until they cross the finish line.

Course racing has been banned in many countries as it involves chasing a live hare but it continues in Republic of Ireland and western United States.

Owen Patrick Smith opened the first professional greyhound racing track in the United States and this led to the first betting on the sport.  Betting on greyhounds has always been a major part of the sport and it continues that way today.

As with anything on which you spend money, you want to get the best bargain possible and the same applies when betting on greyhounds.

If a product was available for £50 in one store and £80 in another store, you would not buy it from the more expensive store and the same principle applies when betting on greyhounds.  When you place a bet at an online bookmaker, you want to use the one which will give you the best value for your money and this means the one with the bigger odds.

While the differences in odds between bookmakers for greyhounds may not be as significant as other sports, they will still make a difference to your potential profit in the long term.

Taking one race as an example, Paddy Power had Swift Ditton available at 9/2 to win the 20:13 at Notts, while Bet365 were offering 4/1. With a £10 bet, this would only see a difference of £5 in the returns but if you like to bet on greyhounds regularly, this could soon add up.

Paddy Power is recognised by many in the industry as being the top bookmaker for greyhound odds but they are closely followed by Ladbrokes and William Hill.  In truth, there are so many greyhound races taking place across the globe throughout the year, odds will fluctuate between the major online bookmakers.

The great thing about betting on greyhounds is the number of events and they take place regularly throughout the year. In fact, you will struggle to find a day when you cannot place a bet on a greyhound race at an online bookmaker, there are just so many.

Greyhound race are usually split into different categories, with Greyhound Derby being the biggest in the United Kingdom and this must have a prize find of at least £50,000.  There are multiple greyhound derbies throughout the year in the UK in addition to Invitation Races and Minor Open Races, all of which should be covered by the online bookmaker you are planning to use for greyhound betting.

The leading online greyhound bookmakers will also cover races in other countries including the AAO’s in Ireland, Racing Secretaries A Class in the United States and Free For All’s in Australia.

Both Bet365 and Betfair usually come good with their coverage of greyhounds from around the world.  There is also another bookmaker out there called RaceBet who only cover horse and greyhound racing and they usually have races available from around the globe.

Despite greyhound racing being a simple race to the finish line, there are several betting markets available and these should all be covered by a serious greyhound online bookmaker.  The top greyhound betting markets include Win/Place/Each Way, Forecast, Reverse Forecast, Pick Three and Superfecta.

You may also find some other betting markets which appear occasionally for big meetings such as Trap Betting, which allows you to bet on the trap that will have the most number of winners in a race meeting.  Not every online bookmaker will offer this betting market for greyhound racing but the one you select should have each of the ones listed above for every race.

Paddy Power, William Hill and Coral are usually very consistent with offering these betting markets on greyhound racing.

In-play betting is not possible on greyhound racing due to the nature of the sport.  Most races are very quick and there is no time to place a bet during the race but thanks to the speed of the races, the turnover means you will have another race on which you can bet almost immediately.

However, you can bet right up until the start of the race and this means you can wait until the last minute to check the dog on which you want to bet is ready to race.

Live streaming of greyhound racing is not as widely covered as horse racing but so many online bookmakers are covering different races, you should at least find live commentary on the greyhound race you want to bet.

Many of the top greyhound betting sites will offer free coverage of a greyhound race using Racing Post TV but on some you will need to place a qualifying bet, usually at least £1 on a race.

Coral is perhaps the best option for live coverage of greyhound races as they offer Racing Post TV and other races for free.

You will find greyhound reload bonuses and promotions available at many online bookmakers but you can start by using the generic sign-up promotions if you have not already used them.  These range from money back offers if your bet loses or free bets when you deposit and bet a specified amount.  Either way, they are a good option to start greyhound betting.

The top online bookmakers for greyhound racing will have offers on races regularly and Paddy Power is a good example.  They usually offer a different special every week and it comes in the form of a money back special.  For example, if your dog finishes second to the favourite in a race, you will get your money back as a free bet.

This is just one of the many greyhound promotions runs by Paddy Power throughout the year.

Some online bookmakers will also offer a refund if your dog fails to start and BetVictor is a good example of a betting site which employs this promotion.  You can also find extra paid each way places during big greyhound meetings, so there are plenty of bonuses and promotions available when betting on greyhounds.

You have many options for online greyhound betting and a lot of bookmakers have competitive odds, good market coverage and promotions.  So, one of the deciding factors should be the quality of the website and how safe and secure the betting environment is when placing bets on greyhound racing.

There are several factors to consider when choosing an online bookmaker for greyhound betting and we have covered each of them below.

It’s not always easy to judge the quality of a website if you do not use the internet on a regular basis.  You will find that many online bookmakers have a different design to their website whereas some will have a generic design and the only difference will be the name and logo.

When betting on greyhounds, choosing websites which have created their own design is a good place to start.  Bet365, Paddy Power, William Hill and Ladbrokes all have very different looking websites and while they each operate in a similar way, they are distinctive and have created a brand for themselves.

Those bookmakers which take greyhound betting seriously have a link to their greyhound markets above the fold of their homepage.  That means you do not have to go scrolling down the page to try and find the link to greyhound betting markets.

The top online greyhound betting sites will have quick links to their greyhound markets and allow you to create your own coupons, including all the races of your choice.  This makes greyhound betting more efficient because there can be so many races on the same day, it can be difficult to know where to start.

Greyhound races come thick and fast throughout the day and you have little time in-between races to deposit new funds.

Therefore, the deposit methods available on your chosen greyhound betting site need to be instant because you could miss the race on which you want to bet.  You can find races starting every 5 minutes and if there is a delay in your account being funded, you could miss many races.

The best online bookmakers for greyhound racing will offer instant deposit methods including debit/credit card, Neteller, Skrill and PayPal.  These options and more such as Paysafecard should be included for withdrawals and there should be no fee attached to them.

As highlighted above in the deposits and withdrawals section, greyhound races are quick and new races are starting within minutes of others finishing.

If you have a problem with a bet on a greyhound race or a question about greyhound racing, you need an immediate response.  Online bookmakers with a 24/7 live chat service are ideal for greyhound betting because you can get a response from the support team immediately.  If the bookmaker has a 24/7 telephone line then even better because you can speak a person and explain the situation clearly.

Good greyhound betting sites should also have a customer support email and postal address.

Greyhound betting is available almost every day of the year and if you are going to be regularly active, you want an online bookmaker you can trust.

This starts with the necessary gambling licenses and all top greyhound betting websites will hold a gambling license from the United Kingdom, Malta or Gibraltar.  There are other gambling licenses available but we recommend using online bookmakers for greyhound betting which has at least one of these three licenses.

The full name of the gambling license and the license number should be clearly displayed on the website.

When adding funds to your account it is vital your financial details are kept safe and you can assure that by using a betting website which as an SSL Certificate and the latest encryption technology.  If you can see the word ‘Secure’ written in green in the address bar, you know are in good hands when betting on greyhounds.

Finally, several online bookmakers are still involved in greyhound sponsorship and in many of the big UK and Ireland meetings.  Theses bookmakers have shown an interest in greyhounds and can be trusted but some of the names, such as StarSportsBet may be new to you so remain cautious when placing your greyhound bets.