Recommended Snooker Betting Sites 2024
Snooker is having a bit of resurgence in popularity these last few years. Quite remarkable given that it looked unlikely to bounce back from the 1980s heyday of Alex Higgins and Steve Davis. It’s now a truly global sport, with Asian stars like Ding Junhui joining Ronnie O’Sullivan in bringing snooker to new audiences. Part of that popularity growth has led to new competitions, which represents a decent opportunity for punters. Indeed, snooker betting is also on the rise in recent years, as punters cash in on extra betting opportunities. Check out our picks for the best snooker bookmakers below:
Recommended Sites
Best Online Bookmakers for Snooker Odds
Snooker is, of course, a highly competitive sport. That, coupled with the fact the sport has a wider global base of players, means there can be some disagreement in the odds set by bookmakers. In short, you can find top snooker odds by shopping around at different online betting companies. For evidence, the odds for top players to win snooker’s most prestigious event, the World Championship 2019, are show in the table below:
| Bookmaker | Ronnie O’Sullivan | Mark Williams | Neil Robertson | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sky Bet | 9/2 | 10/1 | 16/1 |
 | Mr Green | 4/1 | 12/1 | 16/1 |
 | Betfair | 7/2 | 12/1 | 14/1 |
 | Paddy Power | 7/2 | 12/1 | 14/1 |
 | Karamba | 33/10 | 14/1 | 18/1 |
 | Royal Panda | 7/2 | 12/1 | 16/1 |
 | Sport Nation | 33/10 | 14/1 | 18/1 |
 | BetBright | 7/2 | 12/1 | 16/1 |
As you can see, some of the bookmakers have exactly the same odds. At this stage of the snooker season (the next World Championship will take place in April 2019; about eight months from the time of writing), that’s quite normal. However, you will also notice that there is a big difference in the odds for the favourite, the legendary Ronnie O’Sullivan. Overall, Sky Bet comes out on top here with a standout price on ‘The Rocket’. The 9/2 odds for O’Sullivan would return an extra £24 profit for a £20 bet than going with the 33/10 odds offered by Karamba Sport and Sport Nation. Although, it should be stated those two bookies have excellent odds on defending champion Mark Williams (14/1) and 2010 winner Neil Robertson (18/1).
Verdict: Sky Bet
Best Site for Snooker Betting Markets and Coverage of Events
As with most professional sports, more betting markets are available on the high-profile events, such as The Masters or World Championship, than less prestigious ones. However, both Sport Nation and Paddy Power Sport have demonstrated a commitment to bringing punters betting markets for smaller events around the world. As an example, on 18th August 2018, Sport Nation offered betting on 29 matches for the European Masters Qualifying tournament. While Paddy Power (and others) also covered those matches, Sport Nation went a step further by offering lots of markets on individual matches. Mark Allen vs David Lilley had 27 markets from Sport Nation, including handicap betting (59/50 for Allen to win by 3 or more frames), highest break (20/67 for Allen), exact score (4/1 for a 4/0 Allen win) and many others.
Verdict: Sport Nation
Best Bookie for In-Play Snooker Betting
Right from the start, we should pinpoint Betfair as one of the best bookies for live snooker betting. Although all of our recommended bookmakers have live betting options, Betfair arguably brings the best overall experience. One of the main reasons it gets such praise is that it offers free live snooker streaming for anyone with a Betfair sports book account. For the European Masters Qualifying tournament mentioned above, Betfair will show seven matches for free on its website, including Allen vs Lilley.
The good news is that those snooker matches that Betfair streams live for free will have more in-play markets available than other live matches. For example, James Wattana vs Jack Lisowski, a free snooker match shown by Betfair on 18th August 2018, had 11 live markets, including handicap betting, race to 3 frames, correct score and frame handicap. Matthew Stevens vs Zhao Xintong, a match played at the same time but not streamed on the site, had just four live betting markets.
Verdict: Betfair
Types of Snooker Bet Explained
| Bet Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Outright result betting | A bet on the winner of an individual match or overall tournament. |
| Win, place and each way betting | Betting on a player to win a tournament, finish as runner up or both (two bets). |
| Frame & Session Betting | Placing a bet on the winner of single frame or session (usually four frames). |
| Century breaks | Usually constitutes betting on a player to achieve over/under a number of century breaks in a match. |
| Break betting | Can be a range of markets, including which of the two players achieves the highest break. |
| Points betting | A bet on the total accumulative points by a player in a match (the player might win the bet and not necessarily win the match). |
| First ball betting | A snooker bet on which player will pot a ball first in the match. |
| Maximum break betting | A bet that a specific player, or any of the two players, will achieve a break of 147 (highest possible). |
| Handicap betting and Asian handicaps | A bet on a player starting a match with a theoretical deficit/advantage in frames. |
| Accumulator and multiples | Placing a bet on two or more selections to win, with the odds multiplied but only won if all bets correct. |
| Player specials | Could be any number of special markets on a player, such as Ronnie O’Sullivan to achieve a 147 during a tournament. |
| Winning Margin | The margin of victory in frames for the winner. |
Snooker Betting Tips
s hinted earlier, the snooker landscape has changed dramatically since the ‘golden era’ of the 1980s. Back then, the sport saw a smaller pool of players, most of whom were from the UK and Ireland. Today, the sport has had considerable growth in its player pool, especially in China and other parts of South Asia. This is significant for punters because there is, at times, more of an unknown factor when betting on snooker matches. But, crucially, with these unknown factors there is also an opportunity to find the best value snooker odds.
If you don’t know, for example, who the best up-and-coming young Chinese stars are, you might want to consider checking out some snooker tipsters, i.e. those who know the game inside out, especially from a betting perspective. Snookerbacker.com is a very detailed blog, one that pinpoints both bankers and long shots for snooker bets. Indeed, it also covers many of the lesser known tournaments, which can often lead to some serious profit.
On social media, George Weyham, @GWSnookerTips, is a good Twitter account to keep an eye on for the best snooker predictions. He will cover most tournaments and publish results of success (and failures). In the past year, Weyham has pulled out some big wins, including 50/1 for Ryan Day to win the Romanian Masters and 40/1 for Mark Williams to win the Northern Ireland Open. Other, more generalised sites for tipping, such as OLBG, can also provide some decent insight.
Other sites will point to snooker betting systems, often selling subscriptions of their superior systems. Like with everything in life, fool-proof systems don’t always turn out to be as perfect as claimed – for betting on snooker or any other sport. For a start, no system is fool-proof, nor should you believe bookmakers have flawed systems that can be exploited.
However, there are some systems that have demonstrable advantages for punters, most of which surround live in-play betting. It’s complicated, but it effectively means following the in-frame odds live as a snooker match unfolds. The theory is that if a player is on the table in the early part of a break, the odds for his opponent will rise with each shot. The key is to wait until the odds have reached a high enough level for the seated player, then place a bet on him to win the frame.
The system may sound a little strange, but it works for snooker as one missed shot can let an opponent back on the table and essentially render a 40-50+ lead meaningless. Of course, there is no guarantee that you win, but it does have certain advantages. The main concern is having the time to monitor both the match and the odds fluctuations. Picking a top live bookmaker, like Betfair, is essential here.
Snooker Events
Conclusion
Snooker betting is an opportunity for punters in many ways. This is not just a throw away statement either; the push to globalise the sport, led by Barry and Eddie Hearn, means that we are seeing an influx of new players and tournaments like never before. That should be seen as a chance for punters to do a little research to pinpoint the value.
Moreover, there is a difference in the outright odds (and odds for other bets, too) offered by different UK bookmakers. Thus, if you have an insight or a solid snooker tip, you can certainly benefit by shopping around different betting sites. Above all, select a respected, top bookmaker for snooker betting. Choosing any from our recommended snooker betting sites list will leave you in good hands.
