A minimum bet is essentially the lowest stake amount you can place on a wager which varies from bookmaker to bookmaker. Read on to find out which bookies are best to bet with when you're looking to make those smaller wagers.
Best Betting Sites We Recommend for Minimum Bets
Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets 18+ New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Mobile exclusive. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won't apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. Full T&Cs apply. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org #ad
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£20 Backup Bet 18+ New UK players only | Min deposit req. £10 | Certain deposit methods excluded | Place 1 sport bet (3+ selections) | Excl Horse Racing | Min stake £10 | Max stake £20 | Min Odds 2/1 (3.0) | Max FreeBet £20 for football only | FreeBet valid for 7 days | FreeBet stake not returned | Full T&Cs apply. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org #ad
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Bet £5 Get £20 in Free Bets 18+ New UK+IRE Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first 5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x 5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. No cashout, restrictions + Full T&Cs apply. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org #ad
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Bet £10 get £30 18+. New customers using Promo code R30 only. Min £10 stake, min odds ½, free bets paid as 3x £10, free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet, free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is placed, payment methods/player/country restrictions apply. Full T&Cs apply. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org #ad
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Bet £10 get £40 18+ New customers only. Opt in, bet £10  on any football market at minimum 1/1 odds. No cash out. Get £40 in Free Bets on selected events. Free Bets expire in 7 days. Debit card / Apple Pay payments only. Full T&Cs apply. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org #ad
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Bet £5 Get £20 18+ New Customers Only. Opt in and bet £5 on sports (odds 2.00+) within 7 days. No cash-out. Get 4x£5 Free Bets for set markets, which expire in 7 days. Selected payment methods only. Full T&Cs apply. Bet Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org #ad
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Minimum Bets Per Bookmaker
| Bookie | Min. Deposit | Max Payout | Fastest Withdrawal | Min. Stake |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | £10 | £50,000 | 1-2 days | £0.10 |
 | £5 | £250,000 | 2-5 working days | 1p |
 | £5 | £2,000,000 | Within 24 hours (wire transfer, PayPal, paysafecard) | 10p |
 | £5 | £1,000,000 | Within 48 hours (PayPal) | 1p |
 | £5 | £500,000 | 40 minutes – 24 hours (Visa Fast Funds) | 5p |
 | £5 | £1,000,000 | Instant (Coral Connect) | 1p |
 | £5 | £1,000,000 | Instant (Ladbrokes The Grid) | 1p |
 | £10 | No max | 1-2 business days | 5p |
 | £5 | £2,000,000 | 30 minutes – 4 hours (Visa Direct) | 3p |
What Does ‘Minimum Bet' Mean?
UK Betting sites have a range of limits in place, including minimum deposits and maximum withdrawals, all of which are important for bettors to be aware of. One such limit is the minimum bet that you can are able to wager, and whilst many punters may not be interested in the very minimum amount that they can bet, knowing this figure can prove to be very useful for a lot of people.
The term ‘minimum bet' refers to the lowest possible amount you are permitted to stake on a given market. Generally with the biggest and most renowned bookmakers, the minimum stake will be anything from 1p up to £1. You should note however that the minimum stake can actually vary depending on the selected event, market, or bet type.
A classic example of this is in the case of live-streaming horse racing where betting sites charge an additional minimum bet requirement if you want to view the races. This will typically be in the region of £1.
Bookmakers have the right to place certain restrictions on specific customers should they feel necessary in order to protect their profitability and limit their liabilities. When you place your bet online, you will need to enter your stake. This is when you will be notified whether or not the stake you have entered meets the minimum requirement.
Betting companies benefit from setting very low minimum bets because there is a whole niche of punters, commonly known as ‘micro-rollers', who play with small amounts but collectively provide a hefty profit for the bookie. In addition to this, there is a very high likelihood that bettors who start betting with small amounts will gradually increase their stakes which means results in more profits for the betting site.
Why Place Low Bets?
Although the vast majority of people place bets with higher stakes than the minimum requirement, low bets can be just as appealing to many different types of bettors too.
Low bets are perfect for those who want to enjoy betting without risking big losses.
When trying out a new UK bookie, low stakes can be beneficial as they give you the chance to explore the full betting process of the site without committing larger amounts of money.
As we will discuss in further details later in this article, low bets are ideal for placing Yankee, Lucky 15 or any other full cover wagers as they provide the chance to reap large rewards at a lesser cost.
Punters who wish to use up what’s left of their bonus without having to deposit more money into their will also be able to take advantage of low minimum bets.
Finally, and probably the common way that low stakes are used is by punters who are backing a longshot bet, where wagering a small amount can result in big rewards.
How to Win Big with Low Bets?
Accumulators
Accumulator bets are easily some of the most popular bet types thanks to their high risk, high reward nature. In an acca bet, the odds of each chosen selection are multiplied by each other and can result in an extremely high pay out. Even with a small stake, potential winnings can quickly reach into the hundreds or thousands. Naturally, the more selections you choose, the less likely your chances of winning, but all it takes is one exceptionally lucky day to make that tiny bet pay out big time. Most bookmakers will offer accumulator bet promotions to make your acca bets even more lucrative.
Full Cover Bets
Full cover bets can be seen as a package bet which covers all possible combinations in a bet. There are many different types of full cover bets, such as the Heinz and the Trixie bet, which include a different number of selections. The difference between full cover bets and accumulator bets, is that you don’t need all the selections in a full cover bet to win, for you to receive a pay-out. This means that you will have a greater chance of getting a return, but at a higher cost as you will need to pay for the increased number of lines in your bet. This is where minimum stakes can be beneficial as with individual lines costing as little as 10p, you could easily place a full cover bet for less than £1.
Jackpots
Many betting sites offer high pay-out jackpots which do not require high stakes to join. These jackpots can come in many different forms with one of the most common being predicting the outcome of a selected number of football matches in a gameweek and gaining a share of the prize pool depending on how many selections you manage to predict correctly. Jackpots can easily have total prize pools reaching into the hundreds of thousands and with such a low entry fee, can prove be hard to resist.
What are Some of the Biggest Wins with Small Bets?
Just in case you still had any doubts about the potential of utilising a betting site’s minimum stake, we’ve compiled a list of some of the biggest accumulator wins to come out of these bets.
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£272,500 from £2.50 – One lucky man from Berkshire started out his 2011 on the right foot when he placed a £2.50 bet on a 9x accumulator and walked away with £272.5k. This was the highest amount ever paid out by Ladbrokes for a multiple bet and has not been beaten since.
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£500,000 from 30p – Back in 2001, an anonymous Manchester United supporter won a six-figure pay-out from a 30p bet. The man bet on a 15x acca with odds of 1,666,666/1 on a series of outright bets and had actually placed the bet months before he won.
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£585,00 from 85p – In 2011, an anonymous punter from Malta bagged more than half a million pounds from a mere 85p bet at William Hill. This lucky player wagered a 19-match accumulator with odds of a whopping 683,738/1 to win.
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£1 million from 50p – Fred Craggs, a 60-year-old man Yorkshire wagered a measly 50p on an 8-fold horse racing accumulator and walked away with an incredible seven figure pay-out.
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£1.5 million from £2 – Steve Whitley is another lucky punter, who in 2011 used a free ticket to place a £2 bet on six horses and ended up leaving a millionaire. Against all odds, one of the horses Whitley wagered on lost all 28 of its previous races!
Other Common Betting Terms
ThePuntersPage Final Say
Minimum stakes appeal to a wide range of different people and can come in handy for a variety of bet types, where a small bet has the potential result in an extremely high payout. Knowing the minimum stakes allowed on different betting sites is important to prevent any form of confusion, and can help you know exactly where you stand when making your bets.
For additional info, feel free to explore our in-depth article on betting payment methods.
Minimum Bets FAQs
Betting limits refer to the minimum or maximum stake that you are permitted to wager on a bet at any moment.
Ultimately, it is the different bookies who decide how much to set as their minimum bet requirement. Many factors are taken into consideration when making a decision including the different types of events, markets, and bet types.
Yes. These terms can be used interchangeably, and both refer to the least amount of money you can bet on a single event.
At the time of writing, the lowest minimum stake is 1p which can be found at Ladbrokes, bwin, and BoyleSports.
The minimum bet at Paddy Power is 10p.
The minimum bet at bet365 for UK punters is 10p.