The best foreign betting sites that accept Irish bettors

Since 2017, I have been playing and testing betting sites outside of Ireland, and I love it. Here is, without further ado, my selection of betting sites that are not approved by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland and that accept Irish bettors without a VPN.

The most popular bookmaker in Ireland for its odds and reliability, discover our detailed test [+]
An excellent operator, not yet known, but with everything: high odds, bonus every days, live betting... [+]
New bookmaker that offers high odds, very easy to use, with a great bonus and accepts Irish [+]
Full broker with BLACK software that gives access to the best odds in real time + Access to Pinnacle and betISN + Orbit Exchange (betfair market) [+]
Trustworthy broker, easy use. Offers private access to Pinnancle + software to get best odds in real time [+]

List updated in October 2024.

Foreign sports betting sites, also known as non-GRAI betting sites, are not allowed to directly advertise to bettors in Ireland. Therefore, you won't be able to find them without conducting thorough research on the internet.

These operators do not have a license in Ireland, but they must possess a foreign license, often from Curaçao eGaming (the most reputable license). Therefore, most of them are just as safe as the betting sites approved by the GRAI authority.

⚠️ Be very careful of websites or social media posts that offer a huge list of offshore betting sites, they haven't been able to test them all and often these operators with strange names are simply scams (I'm thinking of Spinanga, Sportaza, RTbet, Velobet, Betifly...).

But then why be interested in this kind of online betting site?

Advantages and disadvantages of betting sites not licensed in Ireland

✔️ The main advantages	❌ The main disadvantages
Better odds [+]	Irish players are not always accepted [+]
Better welcome bonuses [+]	Some sites are scams [+]
More betting options [+]	You must choose a betting site without a VPN [+]
More competitions available [+]	The most popular sites sometimes have to change their URL [+]
Possibility to bet on eSports [+]
More deposit and withdrawal methods [+]
No betting limits [+]
Registration is very quick and simple [+]

To help you understand this very specific world of non-GRAI betting sites, I invite you to navigate through the previous list; I will cover each topic in detail. But before that, I want to reassure you about the legality of sports betting without a GRAI license.

Is it legal to bet on a foreign site?

Yes, as a player, you do not risk any sanctions by placing real money bets on a foreign site not authorized in Ireland. Irish law aims to regulate and control online gaming operators rather than punish players. However, in doing so, it imposes a lot of taxes and restrictions on operators, which inevitably affect players.

What is illegal is for a betting site outside of Ireland to advertise to us. You will never see the name of a foreign site on the football jerseys of an Irish team or on a billboard. But this is not your problem.

Can a player be punished if they bet with a foreign bookmaker?

No, as a player, you do not risk any administrative or criminal sanctions. However, the risks are mainly related to the security of funds and the protection of personal data. In case of a dispute with an unauthorized foreign site, we will not have any legal recourse in Ireland. But is this really a problem? You probably already know this, but all licensed operators limit or close the accounts of winning players. When licensed operators have gone bankrupt, players were not reimbursed (even though they paid taxes through low odds).

✔️ Why do foreign betting sites offer better odds?

First, it's important to understand that these international betting sites are in competition with operators from all over the world. They need to be competitive, whereas .ie betting sites are few in number and face significant regulatory and tax constraints. But is this really our problem as bettors? We are not here to fatten the State and the operators.

In Ireland, betting operators must pay high taxes and comply with strict regulations imposed by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI). These constraints increase their operating costs, which forces them to offer less advantageous odds to compensate.

On the other hand, betting sites without a license in Ireland can operate in jurisdictions with lower taxes and fewer regulations. This allows them to reduce their costs and offer more attractive odds to attract bettors. Additionally, these sites may have different business models, with lower profit margins compensated by a higher volume of bets.

Typically, in Ireland, the odds on the most popular matches are not that bad, as bettors compare them, especially on 1X2 bets. However, the odds are much worse on secondary sports events, minor leagues (when they are offered), or less popular sports here.

Ready to access the best foreign betting sites, access my detailed list here [+]

✔️ Get better welcome bonuses, but be careful!

In a more competitive market, it is important to stand out, and promotional offers are a very interesting lever for foreign betting sites. They often operate in jurisdictions where regulations are less strict, allowing them more freedom in how they attract customers. Large welcome bonuses, sometimes free bets or combined offers with casino games, are part of their arsenal.

⚠️ But be careful because these operators also want to remain profitable through well-established methods of retaining their customers (you!).
Carefully check the conditions to unlock the welcome offers; in general, I advise you simply not to accept them.

How to refuse welcome bonuses?

It’s very simple and don’t worry, they won’t close your account.

Either the option to not take a bonus is available, but you need to look carefully during your registration
Or you can simply register without depositing and contact customer service, often via chat, to ask not to participate in the welcome offer.

If the support tells you that it is not possible to refuse the bonus, run away; this betting site is a scam (at all the operators listed on foreignbookmakers.com, you can refuse the welcome bonus).

Carefully study other promotional offers

On the other hand, I advise you to fully take advantage of the promotions, tournaments, or competitions offered by betting sites without a GRAI license because they are generally very interesting, as they are not limited by Irish regulations.

Loyalty programs (or VIP programs), if you are a big player, are extremely interesting on an offshore site. Reload bonuses are also attractive.

From time to time, you will be offered boosted odds, risk-free bets, cashback, challenges, etc. Stay attentive to emails from your favorite foreign bookmaker(s) (and don’t hesitate to sign up for them).

💡 What I sometimes do is contact customer service and ask for a small bonus. The support team will be happy to give you a free bet or a deposit bonus; they have a budget for that. Of course, you should not abuse it, but it works 90% of the time. Especially if you play on several sites and haven't bet on one of them for a while.

✔️ A wide range of sports betting options

Irish legislation is very precise. It even lists the types of bets allowed for each match of a given sport. As a result, what is not listed is prohibited, so all exotic bets or those occasionally adapted to certain types of matches are not offered. Also, the GRAI must validate, for each match, the betting options proposed by each operator. This keeps our zealous officials busy, but it restricts us greatly.

At the best foreign betting sites, you will have access to the following options for almost all matches and sports:

Asian Handicap Betting
Over/Under on fractions of goals, for example 2.5, 3.5
Total Number of Yellow/Red Cards / Corners / Shots
Multiple Goalscorer Betting
Minute of Goals Betting
Header Goals Betting
Number of Assists by a Player
...

Generally, on a football match, I see more than 1000 betting options. I recommend you learn about the workings of Asian handicap betting, which are very interesting for uncertain matches.

✔️ What competitions can be found on international sports betting sites?

All those offered on a .ie site plus the less popular leagues such as leagues from Asian, African, South American countries, or competitions for younger athletes (U17, U19, U21, for example, in football or NCAA basketball). In tennis, you can bet on ITF tournaments, Challengers, mixed doubles, and regional matches. In rugby, there is Rugby League (Rugby XIII), national leagues of less popular countries, and youth and local club competitions... the list is long.

Most importantly, I recommend looking at US sports, such as Baseball (not just MLB, but also NCAA) and Ice Hockey. Foreign betting sites are well known for bets on combat sports like UFC MMA but not limited to it.

Explore the competition catalogs now:

The most popular bookmaker in Ireland for its odds and reliability, discover our detailed test [+]
An excellent operator, not yet known, but with everything: high odds, bonus every days, live betting... [+]
New bookmaker that offers high odds, very easy to use, with a great bonus and accepts Irish [+]
Full broker with BLACK software that gives access to the best odds in real time + Access to Pinnacle and betISN + Orbit Exchange (betfair market) [+]
Trustworthy broker, easy use. Offers private access to Pinnancle + software to get best odds in real time [+]

There is also the possibility to bet on eSports

Competitive electronic sports tournaments are very popular among the younger generation, not so much here, but especially in Asia and the United States. With a foreign bookmaker, you can access this market with good liquidity, good odds, and good betting options. These games include League Of Legends, DOTA, Valorant, Fortnite, Call Of Duty, Starcraft2, etc. I'm not a specialist, but there might be a way to stand out with in-depth analyses of the teams, players, and games offered.

✔️ Security and variety of withdrawal (and deposit) methods

Is there a risk of not being able to withdraw?

You may have read that the risk of betting on a foreign site is not being able to withdraw your winnings. It’s true if you deposit with a shady betting site; this happened to me a long time ago. So how do you avoid getting scammed?

Be aware that a gambling operator must subscribe to specialized services to offer odds and matches, as well as games and casino games, which are actually "rented" from game publishers. For the odds and game services to get paid, the bookmaker needs to prove its legitimacy. To do this, it must have a gaming license, with the Curaçao license being the most common. Thanks to this license, it will have access to payment methods.

💡 Check that a gaming license is displayed (and look up the number on the respective site). If the betting site also offers casino games, it’s a plus.

Sometimes, to avoid being blocked by Irish authorities, the site does not display its license. Just ask the support team for it and verify.

However, some operators are pure scams. Avoid signing up with a betting site listed on a site with a huge list of betting sites; it smells like a scam. You can trust the sites I recommend; I have tested them. But always stay cautious:

💡 Refuse the welcome bonus (see above), deposit a small amount, place one or two bets, and ask to withdraw. If it’s refused, move on and, most importantly, let others know on specialized forums.

A slight downside is that sometimes withdrawals are long, and certain withdrawal methods are temporarily suspended. This has often happened to me; you need to be patient and ask the support team to notify you when the situation is resolved.

💡 The safest way is to withdraw using the same payment method you used to deposit.

Yes! It is possible to bet with cryptocurrency

Personally, I don’t see the point in doing this, but yes, it’s possible. Why would you first bet on the value of your cryptocurrency and then bet again on a football match? Moreover, in Ireland, the taxation on cryptocurrency gains is very high, and the accounting follow-up required is very tedious.

I also advise avoiding cryptocurrency-only bookmakers that offer only this payment solution (even if there is BTC, ETH, etc.). Why don’t they offer other payment methods? It’s suspicious in my opinion.

✔️ Bet without limits, or almost, with a foreign betting site

I'm not saying that all foreign betting sites will allow you to bet without limits. To achieve this, I rather recommend using what are called sports betting brokers (see the dedicated page [+]). However, you will likely be less limited in terms of bet amount and frequency.

Here are the main reasons for betting limits:

Risk Management: Betting sites seek to minimize their potential losses. If a bettor consistently wins large sums, they are considered a risk. By limiting these bettors' stakes, they reduce their exposure to significant losses.
Arbitrage and Surebetting: Some bettors exploit differences in odds between different bookmakers to guarantee a profit, regardless of the event's outcome (surebetting). They limit these bettors to avoid losses related to these strategies.
Professional Bettors: Highly experienced or professional bettors, who use sophisticated statistical models or have more accurate information, can be perceived as a threat to the bookmaker's profits. Limiting these bettors helps protect profit margins.
Promotion Abuse: Bettors who excessively exploit bonuses and promotions, using strategies to maximize profits without taking real risks, may also be limited. Sport betting sites aim to prevent abuse of these promotional offers.
Suspicious Behavior: If a bettor shows signs of suspicious behavior, such as unusual betting patterns that may indicate attempts to manipulate results (match-fixing) or other fraudulent activities, sites can impose limits to protect themselves from losses and maintain the sport's integrity.
Gain Limitation: To control cash flow and maintain stable financial management, operators may limit bettors' potential gains, ensuring that payouts remain within manageable limits.
Prevention of Massive Losses: During major events or very popular bets, bookmakers may limit stakes to avoid massive losses if a large number of bettors win simultaneously.

So, avoid abusing promotions or placing high capital bets on minor league matches, and everything should go smoothly.

✔️ You will be registered in 5 minutes, without a VPN

⚠️ Let me clarify right away that you should not use a VPN to access an international bookmaker. In fact, all operators prohibit this, but they will still let you do it during registration and deposits. They only check when you withdraw your money, and you will be blocked. The forums are full of such testimonials.

You need a foreign bookmaker that accepts Irish players without a VPN, which is the case for all the operators listed on my site. Okay, sometimes there are not many, but you can trust them.

With a foreign betting operator, there is no postal letter to receive, you deposit quickly, play immediately, and withdraw without any problems. I don’t know what else to tell you, except that two-factor authentication systems can sometimes be annoying, but that’s the case everywhere. Usually, Google Authenticator is used or the betting site’s app directly.

❌ Unable to register with a foreign betting site? the solutions

First, if you were registered with an operator that no longer accepts Irish players at some point, just contact customer service, and they will provide you with an accessible address. However, generally, with the mobile app, there is no problem.

As mentioned above, do not use a VPN, otherwise the betting site will not let you withdraw your money. It's forbidden, period.

If when you try to connect, the site blocks Irish IP addresses or Ireland is not listed among the available countries, do not insist. There are other international bookmakers ready to welcome you. Here is the list again:

The most popular bookmaker in Ireland for its odds and reliability, discover our detailed test [+]
An excellent operator, not yet known, but with everything: high odds, bonus every days, live betting... [+]
New bookmaker that offers high odds, very easy to use, with a great bonus and accepts Irish [+]
Full broker with BLACK software that gives access to the best odds in real time + Access to Pinnacle and betISN + Orbit Exchange (betfair market) [+]
Trustworthy broker, easy use. Offers private access to Pinnancle + software to get best odds in real time [+]

If you really want to access the best betting sites like Pinnacle or other Asian bookmakers, or place bets on a betting exchange, you will need to go through a sports betting broker. It's a bit more complicated than betting offshore with a betting site, but I manage it very well. I have explained all this on a page here.

❌ How to spot foreign betting sites that are scams?

Finding them is very simple, just type "betting sites without Irish license" into Google and look at the sites that offer a list of 40+ bookmakers with implausible names; you can be sure that 90% are scams. From my experience, I've only found about ten worthwhile ones at any given time. Over time, many operators give up after receiving orders from authorities, which could risk their gaming license. It's a cat-and-mouse game.

Spotting foreign betting sites that are scams requires vigilance and thorough checks. Here are some signs and tips to identify these dubious sites:

Absence of Gaming License:
◦ Verify if the sport betting site has a valid gaming license issued by a recognized authority (Curacao eGaming, Malta Gaming Authority, etc.). The absence of a license or a license issued by an obscure jurisdiction is a red flag.
Bad Reviews and Negative Feedback:
◦ Check reviews and feedback on specialized forums, bookmaker review sites, and platforms like Trustpilot. Numerous negative reviews or recurring complaints are indicators of problems.
Unreasonable Bonus Conditions:
◦ Extremely generous bonus offers with unrealistic wagering conditions can be lures to attract bettors. Read the terms and conditions carefully.
Payment Issues:
◦ Frequent delays or unjustified refusals of payment are classic signs of a scam site. Look for testimonials from bettors having difficulties withdrawing their winnings.
Nonexistent or Ineffective Customer Service:
◦ Test the customer service before depositing money. If the support is hard to reach, does not answer questions, or provides evasive answers, it's a bad sign.
Transparency and Legal Information:
◦ Check the legal and contact information on the site. The absence of details about the company, such as physical address, license information, or terms and conditions, is suspicious.
Experience and Reputation:
◦ Prefer bookmakers with a long history and a good reputation in the industry. New sites may offer good opportunities but require increased vigilance.

Why choose a foreign bookmaker that accepts Irish players without a VPN?

So, why not just use a VPN to access any sports betting site in the world? This is what VPN sellers suggest. Let's do it and see what happens:

✔️ I sign up on MySuperBet.com pretending to live in India, thanks to my VPN, and everything goes smoothly.
✔️ I deposit and place bets with my VPN on. Everything goes smoothly.
✔️ I log in again with my VPN and place bets. Everything goes smoothly.
❌ I want to withdraw my winnings, and then the drama begins. I can't prove my address in India, and I learn, to my astonishment, that using a VPN is prohibited in the site's terms and conditions.

I got myself into trouble without being able to claim anything, even with the most reputable global betting sites.

Therefore, you need a trustworthy sports betting site that is accessible without a VPN and accepts Irish players. Here are the ones I use:

The most popular bookmaker in Ireland for its odds and reliability, discover our detailed test [+]
An excellent operator, not yet known, but with everything: high odds, bonus every days, live betting... [+]
New bookmaker that offers high odds, very easy to use, with a great bonus and accepts Irish [+]
Full broker with BLACK software that gives access to the best odds in real time + Access to Pinnacle and betISN + Orbit Exchange (betfair market) [+]
Trustworthy broker, easy use. Offers private access to Pinnancle + software to get best odds in real time [+]

❌ Foreign betting sites change URLs or even sometimes rebrand

To avoid lawsuits from the authorities of countries where they do not have a license, and thus risk losing their international gaming license, it has become common for some operators to hide their gaming license and also to change URLs regularly and sometimes even rebrand.

This is not a real problem for bettors who always have access to their sports betting application or a new URL sent by customer support, but it is a problem when a new player is looking for a trustworthy operator since the new brand does not have a reputation.

💡This happens, and I recommend subscribing to a good newsletter (hint, hint) to stay informed about these changes.

The ABC’s of sports betting outside of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland

First of all, it’s necessary to paint a picture of online foreign sports betting. We have complained about the situation concerning this market which can really be pervasive for players: we will review the biggest actors on the market outside the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, we will weigh the pros and cons of this practice and we’ll analyze the risks and benefits relative to sports betting on offshore betting site and broker’s sites.

To sum up, we will share our opinions with you and with objectivity, hindsight and precision. Our foreign sports betting guide [+] has been developed to respond to questions that all Irish bettors inevitably end up asking them-selves: “why aren’t my bets turning a profit?” If you’re Irish, a fan of online sports betting and you haven’t won enough, it’s maybe because you haven’t yet just how greedy bookmakers approved by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland can really be. However, they can’t be blamed: they are so highly taxed on their income that they are obliged to siphon off part of the winnings distributed to players. Without that they couldn’t sustain their activities.

Which bookmaker or broker for betting?

Savvy gamblers know that on platforms like 1xbet or Betfair all the conditions are just right for being able to earn huge amounts. However, choosing a foreign sports betting bookmaker or broker isn’t something that should be done at random. A scrupulous study should be conducted in advance in order to be sure that the offers, services and guarantees of whichever dealer a player chooses completely meets their expectations. As it turns out, our site is precisely what’s needed to help you to choose the best betting site or broker for foreign sports betting [+].

In fact, we will provide you with different fact sheets that evaluate the pluses and minuses of each sports betting dealer outside the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. We put under the smallest details under the microscope including the site’s design, the quality of the odds, the range of sports offered as well as the kind bonuses and promotions that they offer. And when we find a foreign bookmaker that accepts Irish players or we retain a broker, we’ll allow you to benefit from their offers at prefer-ential terms! You will then be able to relive the feeling of discovering a betting site like Pinnacle when it was first introduced into the European market in March 2015 and then you’ll be able to bet on sports enthusiastically all with the guarantee of earning lots of money.

Our approaches and tips for winning more

Winning more by betting on foreign sports [+] is possible, provided that you know how to go about it. By adopting the approaches and tips from our guide, you won’t have any trouble parlaying your bets on sites from bookmakers and brokers that authorized elsewhere in Europe and in the rest of the world. Step by step, we will help you to make the right choices, to develop the right instincts and to cultivate an expert view on sports betting.

To win more betting on sports, we to be different from ordinary mortals and not just consider sports betting as a passion but as a science and a discipline that demands rigor and methodology. We will help you to acquire the necessary skills and to increase your income. Soon, foreign sports betting will no longer be a mystery: it will no longer just be a playground; it will become your liveli-hood.