Champions League Betting — Free Bets, Betting Markets, and Tips
As the curtain on the 2023/2024 Champions League was closed with yet another trophy for Real Madrid, winning 2-0 against Borussia Dortmund, UK punters now have to wait for the next edition. Elite European football is returning with the group stage draw on August 29th.
However, Champions League betting starts even before that, with four qualification stages for lower-ranked teams. To get you up and ready for the next edition of the world’s most prestigious football championship other than the World Cup, our Free Bets team will guide you through the betting options, bonuses, and tips to boost your winning bets!
Best Champions League Free Bets and Betting Boosts in the UK
Before we start with some basic tips, it’s time to first focus on the choice of UK sportsbook sites that give you the best odds and opportunities for UCL betting. Focus on these renowned bookies if you wish to use enhanced odds, free bets, and accumulator boosts for Champions League matches:
- Rewarding and frequent promotional offers
- A large variety of casino games are available
- The ever-expanding sportsbook and varied markets
- Very strong odds
- Simple and user-friendly website and app
- Very limited payment options are provided
- Fewer live streams, when compared to peers
- Well-reputed and one of the biggest brands
- A wide variety of markets and sports are available
- Swift withdrawals
- Safe and secure
- Live chat support and proactive gambling support
- Regular promotional offers and free bets
- Many restricted countries
- Average website design
- Dedicated mobile app is present along with a mobile responsive site that is easy to use.
- Football betting markets are extensive allowing users a wide range of choices
- Gigantic Jackpots offer huge winnings
- Help Desk feature with its FAQs and guides provides useful information about all aspects of the bookmaker
- Promotions offered are minimal
- Betting margins are not generous
- User-friendly web interface
- Mobile responsive casino and sportsbook
- Diverse selection of games and sports
- Exemplary customer support
- Diverse and hassle-free payment options
- Does not support crypto payments
- Limited to only a few select countries.
- Great customer service
- Exciting free bets and promotional offers
- A wide variety of niche and popular sports and games are available
- Many payment methods are accepted
- Top-notch casino games
- Comprehensive FAQ section
- No mobile application is available
- Fewer welcome offers
- Limited live streaming options
- One of the most reputed and trusted bookmakers in the industry
- A vast number of payment methods are accepted
- Promotes safe gambling
- Excellent in-play betting and live-streaming service
- New and attractive promotional offers and bonuses
- Heavily information-loaded website
- Customer support is offered only through live chat and X
- New users keep their stake from welcome bonus
- Chance to get supercharged sports betting odds
- Cash out can also be supercharged
- Margins can be high for the industry
- Limited payment options available
- Few boosts offered on the sportsbook
- Smaller stakes are pooled and offer huge payouts
- Safe and secure
- Interesting bonuses and rewards
- Various bet types are available due to pool betting
- User-friendly app and website
- Top-notch racing live coverage
- Only debit cards are accepted for payments
- In-play betting is not offered
- Attractive welcome offers and scratch cards
- Amazing app and website experience
- Quick withdrawals with no extra charges
- Safe and secure
- Interesting Esports options
- Fewer payment methods as compared to other sites
- Fewer live streaming options
Betting Offers for Champions League Games
There are several bonus offers that are commonly found on the most prominent UK betting sites regarding UCL matches. If you enjoy placing bets on the group stage and the knockouts, you are in for some good news — UK betting sites primarily focus on UCL markets and bonuses.
These allow you to get a betting boost even as a beginner and keep your balance rolling long enough to explore the main betting options. Here’s a list of offers you will find on sites from our list of recommended sportsbooks:
- Free Bets — If there’s a best way to start your UCL betting journey, it’s betting with free bet offers. These are especially convenient for new punters, and if you join one of our recommended sites like Bet365 and William Hill, you’ll find a nice £30 free bet boost for depositing the minimum of £10. Go on and use it to place your first Champions League bet, and if you lose, the stake will be returned to your balance.
- Odds Boosts — Punters who make a wise choice to join one of the most reputable UCL betting sites in the UK will get the chance to use odds boosts. These special offers give you better odds to maximise your profits on selected games. For example, the odds of Atletico Madrid beating Lazio last year were 1.60 in most sportsbooks, but with a bit of digging, you could have found higher odds of 1,65 to 1.70 in major sportsbooks.
- Acca Boosts — With so many betting offers available in 2024, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t reap the rewards and get accumulator boosts. These give you higher odds based on the number of legs you place on your bet slip, and the more matches you add, the higher the boost will be.
How To Get Champions League Free Bets
The new season might still be a bit far away, but preliminary qualification matches start this July. So, you can grab free bets right away by registering on one of the sites from our list, and here’s how you get to use your free bets in time for qualification games and group stage matches:
1. Choose the Bonus You Like
By scrolling through our list, you’ll be able to see lots of enticing offers and free bets for UK betting sites. You can go through these to check the details and see which offer seems the most appealing to you.
Click on it, and you’ll be redirected to the site’s main page to grab it. It’s always a good idea to know a bit more about the site and free bet terms and conditions before you start. So, take a sneak peek at our UK bookmaker reviews to learn more about the offers, rules, and how to claim them.
2. Register on the Site
The next step is the crucial one since you will need to create an account to play on UK sportsbook sites. You can do it through our links in bookmaker reviews or revisit the list of best UCL betting sites at the top of this guide.
Once you’ve decided which betting platform you would like to join, simply click on the “Sign Up” or “Register” button. It’s sometimes dubbed “Join Now”, depending on the site. Once there, fill in the registration details and verify it via email.
3. Make a Deposit and Grab the Free Bet Offer
The final step to take once you have opened your account is to make a first deposit and grab your free bet offer. Make sure first to check whether the bonus is categorised as a “Free Bet” or a “Risk-Free Bet” since the mechanics of use can be different.
Some sites give you free betting funds to spend on your UCL games, while others will issue a refund of your wager if you don’t hit it in case of risk-free bets.
Betting Markets and Specials
To get on with your UCL betting plan on time for the 2024/2025 season, it’s crucial to get familiar with the markets and betting options. Most UK bookies offer specials on UCL games as well, and here’s what you can expect:
- 1×2 Bets — The most commonly placed bets of UK punters on UCL games are 1×2 or match-winner bets. These allow you to bet on home to win, away to win, or draw.
- Outrights — Before the season even starts, you can already bet on the tournament winner, so visit our UK bookies to predict the 2024/2025 winner at the best odds possible!
- Total Goals — Bet on a total number of goals in a game or a halftime period.
- Double Chance — Unlike 1×2 bets, double chance is more of an insurance option, giving you two winning outcomes out of three. It lets you place a bet on a team not to lose since you can bet on either team to win, home to win or a draw, and away to win or a draw.
- Handicaps — Handicaps let you place a bet on a team to win with a margin of one, two, or three goals.
- Qualification Bets — You can bet on a team to advance to the group stage through qualifications or teams to reach the knockout stages.
- Halftime/Fulltime — Bet on the outcome of a halftime-fulltime game period or halftime-fulltime goal combinations.
- Prop Bets — Prop bets and specials allow you to bet on goal scorers, the number of cards, corners, and even whether VAR will be used as a goal-decisive technology in a game.
You can also bet on UCL matches live and place player prop wagers. For instance, you’ll find the best odds in the UK to bet on Harry Kane scoring for Bayern Munich in a game at odds higher than 2.00 on our selected sportsbooks.
History of UCL
The UCL officially started in the 1992/1993 season, but trophies won by teams before that in the European Cup also count. In total, 23 different teams have claimed the trophy before, and Real Madrid is the absolute record-breaker here. They snatched their 15th title this year, so it will be exciting to see if they can pull off another double-run next season.
AC Milan comes in second with most titles won, holding the runner-up position with seven titles. Liverpool FC and Bayern Munich hold six titles each, while Barcelona has five. Ajax Amsterdam holds four as the Dutch powerhouse, while Manchester United and Inter Milan have three titles each.
The group system of the tournament started in 1992 and it was valid up until this year’s edition. The 2024/2025 season will be the first time that UCL has changed formats ever since the transition from the European Cup to the UEFA Champions League as we know it.
Our Champions League Betting Tips
At Free Bets, you’ll always find inspiration for your UEFA Champions League bets since our team works tirelessly to bring you weekly and monthly updates. We’ll be discussing the 2024/2025 season together and giving you betting tips round in and round out.
For now, make sure to get ready for the season by following team transfers. Once the lineups are complete, you can pay attention to coach strategies, the number of goals scored on average, and team form as the new season draws near.
Plus, as a regular here at Free Bets, you’ll never lack Champions League betting offers and free bets, so make sure to revisit this page for info on the best new UCL betting bonuses.
Key Dates and Format Change for 2024/2025 Season
Since the format of the Champions League is changing for the first time in decades next season, we’ve compiled a list of key dates to have in mind:
- The first qualifying round starts July 9th
- League phase draw on August 29th
- League Stage matches start September 17th
- Final, right league stage rounds wrap up on January 29th
- Knockout stage on starts February 11th
- Round of 16 — Start March 4th
- Quarterfinals — Start April 8th
- Semi-finals — Start April 29th
- Final — May 31st
The league will have 36 teams for the first time in history, with a jump from the regular 24-team group stage system. There will be a total of eight matches played by each team compared to the regular six-match group stage season we’ve all gotten used to.
Eight top-ranked teams in the league format will advance to the round of 16, while teams that finish from 9th to 24th spot will go through play-offs to qualify for eight remaining knockout phase seats.