If bowls is your sport of choice - maybe you've even played it yourself down at your local park? - then why not try your luck with an online bet on a competitive game soon? If you use our list of recommended bookmakers for your bet, you can expect:
For punters who bet on bowls, there are some annual events that are "must watch". Take a look at our list below for some of the most popular:
World Outdoor Bowls Championship
Held every four years, this is the premier competition in the outdoor bowls calendar. For the past three tournaments, it has been held in New Zealand twice and Australia once. Both countries also picked up a lot of wins from each competition (influencing bowls betting tips for next season!), giving them the current lead in the titles table.
World Indoor Bowls Championship
Every year, the World Indoor Bowls Championship is held at Hopton-on-Sea on the Norfolk coast. There are 5 different categories that players can compete in: singles and pairs for men and women, and a category specifically for players with more than 5 titles. Most of the championships have previously been won by British (Scottish or English) players, but Australia and Wales have had some past wins too.
World Singles Champion of Champions Again, often held in Australia and New Zealand. This competition pits all of the players who win national titles that year against each other. It is split into men's and women's categories and sees the best bowls players in the world go head to head every year, including in 2024.
There are many more events going on throughout the year, but these are doubtless the best to wager on. And you can use our list of recommended bowls betting sites to start playing for real money today!
Because of the way bowls games are played, there are fewer outcomes to bet on than other sports. The two main choices that you will have for placing a stake on are listed below:
Outright Tournament Winner
Match Winner
Betting on Bowls online is much easier than you might think, with only a few steps standing between you and a juicy bet on, say, the World Indoor Bowls Championship. Just follow our simple guide below to get started:
Pick an online bookmaker to sign up with - we have a list of recommended sites for those in Britain to take advantage of
Deposit somemoney so that you can start betting straight away
Pick the event and category that you would like to bet on, then pick who you want to back
Place your bet with your chosen amount, making sure all of the details are correct before you confirm your wager
Be sure to claim any welcome bonuses when signing up to get more bang for your buck, which might require entering a promo code. Once you've placed your bet, all that's left to do is to wait and see if your pick wins.
Bowls isn't as big in the betting world as some other sports, so there aren't as many dedicated bowls promotions for wagering on games. Still, there are always plenty of sign up bonuses and free bet promotions available for players in Britain that you can use on any sport. Be sure to save those up for your next bowls betting session!
With all of that said, make sure to check a few different online bookies around the time of the most popular bowls events (e.g. the World Indoor Bowls Championship), as you never know when a site may start giving away some promotion or another specifically designed for indoor bowls betting.
Editors Pick
100%
100% deposit bonus of up to £30
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New UK & Ireland customers only. £10. First deposit matched up to £30. 1x wagering at odds of 1.75 to unlock Free Bet. Credit Card, Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. Full Terms apply.
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£30
Bet £10 get £30 when you place your first bet
T&Cs Apply
New customers only – Minimum deposit of £10 using deposit code 30F - A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10 placed on any sports market - Minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) - Free bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days - Free bet stakes not included in returns - Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time. General deposit method & withdrawal restrictions apply & Full Terms apply.
Although bowls betting isn't as popular as some other sports, it works in exactly the same way as wagering on any other sport in the United Kingdom. Online bookmaker sites aimed at UK players will typically list their bowls betting odds in the fractional format (2/5, 25/1 etc.) though Eurocentric sites might use decimal odds (1.9, 2.3 etc.) instead.
Let's stick with fractional odds here - if you successfully bet £3 on a player with 7/3 odds, your total payout would be £10. That's £7 of profit, plus your original £3 stake. Back a player with odds of 4/9 odds, however, and you'll need to bet £9 to make just £4 profit. That's a total payout, in this case, of £13.
You can usually switch between both formats on most online gambling sites, but British players should get used to seeing fractional odds by default.
If you prefer to use your smartphone or tablet to get online, then you'll be glad to know that you can use it to bet with too.
There are plenty of online bookmaker apps and mobile friendly sites offering outdoor and indoor bowls betting that will let you place a wager on your favourite player, as well as check the latest bowls betting odds, pick up a promotion or track the progress of your current wagers.
These apps and sites are compatible with most phones (Apple, Android, Samsung, etc.) and are usually just as easy to use and navigate as a desktop version. Plus, you can log into apps/mobile versions of any sites you're already signed up with using the same credentials.
Bowls isn't quite as popular with online bookmakers as other sports, so you might find it more difficult to pick up bowls betting tips than those for, say, football or rugby. That's why we have listed a few bits of advice below, just to help you get started:
Hopefully our feed of tips and predictions will help you on your way to picking a winner, though any site that offers odds for outdoor and indoor bowls betting may have some pearls of wisdom for you too.
Although it isn't as popular with punters as some other sports, you shouldn't let that put you off! Bowls has some great events and games to bet on throughout the year, and it's a great way to get yourself more invested in watching with any relatives you may have who enjoy the game.
Use our guide, bowls betting tips and list of the best events to get started and, hopefully, you'll be on the right track to picking a winner. Don't forget that our list of the best online bookmaker sites for players in Britain is right here, with all of the action just a click away.
T&Cs Apply
New UK & Ireland customers only. £10. First deposit matched up to £30. 1x wagering at odds of 1.75 to unlock Free Bet. Credit Card, Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customers only – Minimum deposit of £10 using deposit code 30F - A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10 placed on any sports market - Minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) - Free bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days - Free bet stakes not included in returns - Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time. General deposit method & withdrawal restrictions apply & Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
18+ only, new customers only, gamble responsibly. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New online customers only, min £10 stake, win only, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 3x £10, 30 day expiry, free bet/payment method/player/country restrictions apply. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customer offer. Place 5 x £10 or more bets to receive £20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum £100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5). Exchange bets excluded. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New UK & Ireland customers only. £10. First deposit matched up to £30. 1x wagering at odds of 1.75 to unlock Free Bet. Credit Card, Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customers only – Minimum deposit of £10 using deposit code 30F - A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £10 placed on any sports market - Minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5) - Free bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days - Free bet stakes not included in returns - Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time. General deposit method & withdrawal restrictions apply & Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
18+ only, new customers only, gamble responsibly. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New online customers only, min £10 stake, win only, min odds 1/2, free bets paid as 3x £10, 30 day expiry, free bet/payment method/player/country restrictions apply. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply
New customer offer. Place 5 x £10 or more bets to receive £20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum £100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5). Exchange bets excluded. Full Terms apply.
T&Cs Apply to All Bonuses. 18+ only. Gamble Responsibly.
We get lots of different questions about bowls online betting but, for some of the most common ones, take a peek at our list below:
Bowls isn't as popular with online bookmakers as some other sports, so you may be a bit limited when it comes to what you can bet on. Plenty of sites do cover bowls, however, and will always give you odds for the biggest games of the season.
Stick to the most reputable and well-known bowls betting sites and you shouldn't ever have any problems. If you're having trouble figuring out which sites are trustworthy, just take a look at our recommended UK venues on this page.
Bowls betting promotions aren't as common as other sport-specific bonuses, so finding an offer may prove tricky. But there are always lots of promos, like welcome and reload bonuses, that can be used on any sport. Watch out for those before betting on your chosen game!
It's a sad fact that you'll probably be quite limited as to what bets you can make, as even the top bowls betting sites tend to give odds on only the overall competition champion(s) and single match winners.
We have tried and tested a LOT of betting sites and used our expertise to pick out the best, safest and most generous British online bookmakers around. You can take a look at all of our recommended venues for players in the United Kingdom here.