Bet365 Leads U.K. Sports Betting Sites With 28% Share of Traffic

Similarweb data shows Superbowl, and World Cup 2022 are not as meaningful a driver of sports betting as Cheltenham, Grand National

Looking at Similarweb data on Web traffic to ten leading U.K. sports betting sites since October 2021, the biggest spike in web traffic to these sites came during the Cheltenham Festival in March 2022, and the Grand National in April 2022 – with the World Cup 2022 and last week’s Super Bowl in the U.S. not meaningful drivers of web traffic to sports betting sites.

Key takeaways

• Bet365 led all U.K. sports betting sites in January 2023, with a 28% share of traffic among the ten peers we studied, followed by BetFred.com with 16%, Sky Bet with 16%, William Hill with 11%, and Ladbrokes with 8%.
• Overall U.K. betting web traffic rose 8% in 2022, versus 2021, hitting 1.3 billion visits.
• January 2023 weakened in overall betting web traffic, falling 6% from the prior year and down 10% from December.
• Looking at web traffic over the year, March 2022 spiked 28% over February and April rose a further 9% over March. Those are the two biggest sports betting months in the U.K. because of Cheltenham and the Grand National.

Bet365 has large lead on peers in U.K. sports betting

Using monthly web traffic as a proxy for market share, Bet365 has a huge lead over the field, with a 28% share of traffic among the nine peers we looked at in this report. That’s not surprising, as Bet365 is the largest sport betting site globally as well.

What is surprising is that BetFred’s web traffic has surged over time, taking second place. The site had only 3 million monthly visits in January 2020, positioning it in seventh place of the peer group, but it has grown rapidly with a particular surge in web traffic in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Monthly traffic shows spikes in traffic in March and April and November

For all ten sites, there are big spikes in traffic in March and April. Those are the months of the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National, two huge sporting events that are specific to the U.K. Global events like World Cup 2022 generated a much smaller spike in traffic.

The below chart has an upward slope, showing demand for sports betting has been growing. For the full year 2022, aggregate visits to the ten leading sports betting sites in the U.K. rose 8% hitting 1.3 billion visits. January 2023 did show weakness both on a month-over-month basis, falling 10% versus December, and on a yearly basis, declining 6% versus the prior year.

Lack of spike in traffic around Super Bowl in 2023

Looking at traffic to the five largest sports betting sites in the U.K. over the past 28 days, a lack of a spike in traffic around the Super Bowl is notable. While the game is clearly a globally watched phenomenon, it does not seem to resonate with U.K. sports bettors.

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Report By: Jim Corridore, Senior Insights Manager

Methodology

Disclaimer: All data, reports and other materials provided or made available by Similarweb are based on data obtained from third parties, including estimations and extrapolations based on such data. Similarweb shall not be responsible for the accuracy of the materials and shall have no liability for any decision by any third party based in whole or in part on the materials.

by Jim Corridore

Senior Analyst

Jim provides insights across multiple sectors. With 30 years on Wall Street and numerous awards for stock-picking, he is a SUNY Albany graduate.