Cricket Betting sites

Best sites for Cricket betting by category

The History of Cricket

Since medieval times cricket has been played in England although the original game was simply a matter of stopping a ball from hitting a field’s gate with a stick. The rules have developed and more nuanced versions of the game have developed over time. It was actually gambling that increased the popularity of the sport as it was a sport that was legal to gamble on back then. The game was later exported to British colonies in the 1800s which can be evidenced by the main cricketing nations being India, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South Africa. The sport is growing around the world though, and as of November 2023, there are 108 ICC members.

How we Evaluate and Rank Cricket Betting Sites

When we review a betting site we consider several different factors before reaching our conclusion.  We take many things into account because there is no one thing that makes a great betting site, they are instead only as good as all of their parts combined. Everyone that joins a betting site has a different set of priorities so there is never going to be one “best” site that applies to everyone but we do our best to find something for everyone. Things that we look for include:

• Having a Great Welcome Bonus
• Offering Existing Customers Promotions and Free bets
• Good value odds
• An extensive range of betting markets
• Live betting and Live streaming
• A quality betting App
• A good range of flexible payment methods
• 24/7 customer support

Our top Cricket betting sites

#1 22Bet

22Bet is a safe pair of hands when it comes to cricket betting. They have everything you need and more, with a huge amount of cricket coverage from major international matches through to minor domestic leagues, from all around the world. At the time of writing, they had 29 different leagues and tournaments available to bet on. Of course there is in-play betting as well as pre-match, and you are given a large amount of data and statistics around the player's form, the teams head to head history, and the current state of the game. The odds are good value and the majority of their promotions are compatible with cricket betting.

It is not just us who think highly of 22Bet, they won several awards in 2024 notably including the prestigious “Sigma Eurasia’s Best Sportsbook of the Year”.

#2 Megapari

Megapari takes cricket betting seriously and has a link to their cricket section directly from the top banner on the homepage. Once there you are shown all upcoming matches in chronological order which is handy for getting bets down on games literally about to start. They have a wide range of cricket leagues to bet on, spanning the Indian Premier League, the South African SA20, through to the Hong Kong Tri-Nations series. If a cricket match is taking place anywhere in the world, chances are they will offer odds on it. Great value odds at that, especially when betting on the underdogs to win. You do not have to bet on match winner though, there were around 40 different betting markets per match when we were doing our research.

#3 20Bet

20Bet has a great cricket section and an incredible amount of betting choices when looking at the major matches, some 360+ in the T20 international between India and England. You can bet on not just the match winner but a large number of “over/under”
to score markets, to win the toss, will there be a tie, and more. The odds are good but what really stands out is the incredibly well designed statistics table, available for all the big games, showing the teams current form, player stats, and basically everything you could possibly want to know when researching your bets.

#4 1xbet

1xbet has not only the most cricket leagues covered but also by far the most betting markets available for those matches. The exact number will vary, with larger international games having the most options but smaller less well-followed events will have fewer markets. Those major internationals can have anything up to around 600 different betting options, which is a remarkable amount. You can bet on the games live and enjoy not only live streaming of the matches when logged in, but also in-depth statistics of the match all well presented in front of you.

#5 Rabona

Rabona offers good odds on cricket events and is ahead of the rest when it comes to the odds betting In-play. There were dozens of matches to choose from spanning the globe when we were researching, they had some incredibly minor matches covered which was great to see. Streaming is available on the majority of games, as long as you have an active account and are logged in.

Is Cricket betting legal?

Much like all other sports it is universally accepted that in order to gamble online on any sport you must be above the minimum age limit. This limit will vary from territory to territory and it is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with the regulations where you reside. It is also the case that you must gamble with your own money and both deposits and withdrawals must be to your own accounts, this is to comply with international AML (Anti Money Laundering) standards. All sites that we recommend are regulated and licenced to accept international players and if your jurisdiction is not allowed you will be informed before you can register.

Popular Cricket Betting Markets

• Match Winner

This is simply who will win the game but unlike other sports there are a few scenarios that could happen which make this bet not quite as simple as it seems. The first thing to bring to your attention is that a draw is not a draw in the traditional sense of both teams scoring the same amount, instead a draw is awarded when there is no clear winner and the time limit for the match to be completed has been met. In the unlikely event that both teams are bowled our for exactly the same score, this is actually a “tie”. To further complicate things not all games are a draw as something called the Duckworth-Lewis method can be used to project what is likely to have happened IF a team had more time to finish their innings and a result derived from that. All bookmakers will have their own market rules so be aware of what applies to your bets to avoid disappointment.

• Completed Match

Perhaps a surprising market if you are used to betting on other sports but in cricket the games are not finished fairly often if there is bad weather. Unlike other outdoor sports such as football or rugby, cricket matches are halted when it begins to rain or when the light becomes too dark to play. Because for each format either both teams must be bowled out or a certain number of overs be bowled games are often finished with no winner. Betting on this market involves studying the local weather conditions more than anything else, as rain is the most common cause of a match not being completed.

• Series Winner

International matches are normally played as part of a “tour” where one team visits another team's country. As part of this tour the visiting national team often plays a series of friendly matches with local teams, and the host nation's national team either three of five times as part of a “series”. Whoever winsthe  most matches in the series is the series winner. The most famous example of a series is played between England and Australia and it is known as “The Ashes”.

• Toss Winner

At the start of each cricket match a coin is tossed and whoever correctly predicts heads or tails is allowed to decide if they want to bat first or bowl first. Despite appearing to be random and pure luck, it is possible to bet on which team will win the toss.

• First Wicket

There are a lot of betting markets connected with the first wicket to be taken. You can bet on which bowler will take it, you can bet on which over it will fall, you can bet on which batsman will be the first one to be out, as well as how many runs will be scored by the time the first wicket goes down.

• Man of The Match

As the name suggests this is an award for the player that makes the most impact for his team during the match, and it does not have to go to a player on the winning side (although it usually does).

• Top Performer

This market is available in two versions depending on what position you are betting on. You can back who will be the best batsman or the best bowler. The batsman is simply who scores the most, the bowler is a little more complicated as it is usually a combination of who takes the most wickets but also gives away fewer runs. Check the market rules for exactly how your betting site settles the market, but they usually state they will settle based on the official announcement.

• Highest Opening Partnership

If you think your team will get off to a good start, although not necessarily win, then this is a good bet to consider. It is a wager on which opening pair will score the most runs before one of the batsmen is out. It will not matter how many runs are scored, all that matters is whether it is more or less than the other team.

What are the most popular types of Cricket bets

There are a few types of bets that can be placed on cricket but the most popular type by far is a single bet (as opposed to a multiple / accumulator bet). These single bets can themselves be placed in two distinct ways which we will look at below:

• Pre-match: A pre-match bet is one that is placed before a game has begun. Often odds for a cricket game will be available in the week before it takes place, although perhaps all the markets will appear only on the day before or the day of the game. Any bet placed anytime before the first ball has been bowled is a pre-match bet. These bets usually have high bet limits and the odds are relatively stable.
• In-play: Betting In-play means that you are betting on a game that has begun and is currently taking place. You may find yourself unable to bet every so often and this is usually due to a wicket being taken as the bookmaker will need to adjust the odds. Bet limits are usually lower and also the odds are not as good as pre-match but it is generally agreed to be a more exciting way to bet.

Cricket Bonuses and Promotions

Specific cricket bonuses do exist but they are not a common occurrence. It is much more common to have general bonuses that apply to cricket bets.

What are the best Cricket Welcome Offers?

Welcome offers are usually not sport specific, and so the common ones that you will be able to use in conjunction with cricket bets are:

• Free Bets - Almost always this involves depositing and placing a qualifying bet. There will be certain terms and conditions involved with the qualifying bet, usually involving the minimum odds of your choice and sometimes it might need to be an Acca bet. Then either when that bet settles (sometimes it must also lose!) you will be credited with a Free bet in your account. Use it just like a normal bet only when you submit your balance will remain the same, if it wins you get the winnings added to your balance.
• Enhanced Odds - This is where the betting site has selected a bet, usually on the most popular event of the week, and significantly boosted on the odds on this bet winning but only for new customers. These bets are always great value and if they win that is usually it and you just keep the winnings, but sometimes the boosted amount is awarded as Free bets. There is a limit to how much you can place on these bets but it will vary depending on the site you are joining.
• Deposit Match bonus - These bonuses are added to your account either once you deposit and they are there to bet with, OR sometimes you must wager your deposit a certain amount of times and then the bonus amount is given to you as cash. In either scenario there is a minimum amount of wagering at a minimum odds level for you to complete before you can withdraw the bonus or winnings from it.
• Money Back offers - These are a refund of your losses when you open an account and begin betting with your own money. The specifics can vary from a full refund of your first bet if it does not win, through to a partial refund of a % of your total losses for your first days play.

What are the best Cricket existing user bonuses?

Existing customers can also be eligible for many different bonuses when betting on cricket. There are some very specific cricket only bonuses but it is more likely that you will find a generic bonus for which cricket is an eligible sport. Each bookmaker is free to run whatever promotions they wish but the main ones that you can expect to find are:

• Top batsmen refund - If your top batsmen bat is settled as a loss, but your batsmen scored over 50 runs, then your stake is refunded as a free bet.
• Reload Bonuses - These are usually applicable to any sport but sometimes must be used on cricket. You deposit the required amount into your account and are given a bonus amount on top, either upon deposit or once a certain amount has been wagered.
• Free bets (If) - This type of offer is usually connected to a specific match or cricketing series, and will refund your losing bet under certain circumstances. It might be if a game is not finished due to rain, or your series bet refunded if the result is 3-2, or your match winner bet may be refunded if a certain amount of runs were scored.
• Free bets (Bet and Get) - This offer is a staple at online bookmakers in the majority of countries, basically as the name suggests you get a certain amount, sometimes it must be on a certain sport such as cricket, and once the bet has settled you are rewarded with a Free bet credit usually to the same amount.
• Acca Boosts - This bonus is used to encourage and reward customers adding more and more bets to their Accas. The bonus %s get higher the larger the number of bets in the Acca, sometimes up to as much as 100% extra can be paid out. These offers are usually unlimited and all existing customers can take part as often as they like.
• Price Boosts - These are specific bets chosen by the bookmaker on a specific cricket match where the odds on that selection have been increased, usually to above the market rate. The good thing is that you are usually getting good value with these bets. The bad thing is that you have no choice in what it is you are betting on.

Are there any Cricket betting Apps?

Most betting sites will have an App for you to download to your smartphone allowing you to bet conveniently from anywhere at any time. Cricket is one of the games that you can bet on from the Apps and the bets can be made either pre-match or In-play. The better Apps also include live streaming allowing you to watch the match as it progresses. You should be able to cash out bets (providing that is something the bookmaker supports) at any time and basically do all the things your account can do from a desktop device.

What are the major Cricket events or tournaments for betting on?

The Cricket T20 World Cup

The Indian Premier League (The IPL)

The Ashes

Womens Cricket betting

Even though it was played as early as the 1700’s women’s cricket is still not well established

Sport. India, Australia, and England have the best supported international teams but they are dwarfed in comparison to the men's game. In order to increase spectator interest some games are played in the morning before the men’s day/night games in recent years which has helped. In terms of betting you will find odds available on the main women’s events like the Women's T20 World Cup and Internationals but much less at the county level.