NRL Betting Sites

The NRL is one of the biggest sporting codes in Australia, capturing the attention of sports lovers particularly in New South Wales and Queensland throughout the winter months. Unsurprisingly, this also makes it a popular league to bet on, and in this article we’re going to take a look at all you need to know about betting on the NRL, including which are the best NRL betting sites, the different bet types that you can place, and much more ➡️ 

NRL is short for National Rugby League and it’s arguably the best Rugby League comp in the world. The season runs from early March until the Grand Final around the first week of October. Most of the time, the season has 27 rounds and each team can have 3 byes. The Grand Final is played at Stadium Australia on Sunday night in October.

NRL Ladder

In the NRL regular season, each team will earn 2 pts for a win and 1 point for a draw. As well as 2 pts when they have a bye. The margin of each game is also used in case there’s a tie between two teams on the ladder. At the end of the regular season, the top 8 teams will be eligible to play in the finals and the team that came first is crowned with the Minor premiership.

NRL Finals System

The NRL finals system works the same way as the AFL, here’s a quick summary;

Qualifying and Elimination Finals

1st Qualifying Final - 1st vs 4th 

1st Elimination Final - 5th vs 8th

2nd Elimination Final - 6th vs 7th 

2nd Qualifying Final - 5th vs 8th

Semi Finals

1st Semi Final - Loser of QF1  vs Winner of EF1

1st Semi Final - Loser of QF2  vs Winner of EF2 

Preliminary Finals

1st Preliminary Final - Winner of QF1  vs Winner of SF2 

2nd Preliminary Final - Winner of SF1 vs Winner of QF2

Grand Final

Winner of PF1 vs Winner of PF2

NRL Teams

At the moment, there are 17 teams in the NRL competition. The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters were both established back in 1908, hence their massive rivalry. Meanwhile, the Dolphins entered the comp in 2023 but there could be more teams on the way soon.

• BlueBet - I enjoy NRL betting online at BlueBet, the official sponsor of the Dolphins. They have updated NRL markets with a lot of variety. Bluey also offers unique promos throughout the season. The payment methods are really good at this site and they have a blog with expert NRL tips as well. One of the top NRL Betting Sites in the market, in my view.
  
• PlayUp - Enjoy same game multi and other excellent features for betting on the NRL at this site. I’ve also noticed that they do offer good odds for underdogs, which is always nice. They also sponsor the Wests Tigers and have a lot of unique offers for every round of the season. It’s one of my favourites. If you’re looking for one of the best NRL Betting Sites, PlayUp could be it. Here’s the full PlayUp review to learn more about this Aussie bookie.
• Palmerbet - Get some of the best NRL odds at this site. They’re always going the extra mile when it comes to NRL promos as well, they’re really unique. I also like their blog, which has expert NRL tips. Along with a massive range of markets and same game multi, betting on the NRL is good at Palmerbet.
  
• Draftstars - While it’s not possible to bet on the NRL at Draftstars, they’re the only DFS provider for the NRL. You can enter weekly NRL contests at Draftstars and enjoy playing for some of the best prize pools

• Dabble - They take betting on NRL via a mobile device to another level in Australia. It’s a social betting experience that you need to check out. Basically, you can follow other punters and copy their bets as well. They also have same game multi available and excellent payment options. One of the best betting apps that you’ll find in Australia, trust me.
  
• Topsport - The Topsport app is another favourite of mine and arguably, it’s better than using their website. The app is super fast to load between pages and I can easily get a bet on before the game from my mobile. How good is that?
  
• BlueBet - BlueBet has improved its app a lot over time and they have come up with an excellent NRL betting app. If you’re at the game, you can easily bet on the NRL with their well designed app. Enjoy good odds and promos as well. They also sponsor the Dolphins so their commitment to NRL online betting Australia is sky high.
• Bet365 - The International giant - Bet365 - has an excellent betting app that I think is more friendly compared to their website. There’s a massive amount of markets to bet on, great odds and unique promos to take advantage of. 

• PlayUp: Some of the best promos and they sponsor the Tigers.
• BlueBet: Enjoy unique promos from the Dolphins official sponsor.
• Palmerbet: Get the best NRL odds and take advantage of their promos.
• Bet365: Watch live streaming and place live bets with a user friendly interface.
• Dabble: Download the best social betting app in Australia.
• Winnersbet: Earn rewards while betting on the NRL with Winnersbet.
• Draftstars: Play NRL daily fantasy contests and Origin as well.
• Picklebet: One of the underrated NRL betting sites in the market, great app, enjoy unique features and enticing promos.
• Topsport: Download their user-friendly app for the NRL season.
• BoomBet: Back same game multi’s at BoomBet.

As mentioned, the popularity of the NRL in Australia means that, invariably, there are a whole lot of NRL markets on which to bet. Different punters obviously have different ways of betting – some like to simply stick to betting on the result of a game, others like to focus on the performance of individual players, while some might tend to focus more on long-term futures bets. Often, punters will choose to bet on a variety of different things, too. In this section, we’ll take a look at some of the different markets types you’ll have available to you when betting on the NRL.

Markets, Bet Types, Odds

As with every sport, the first market that you’ll see when looking at NRL markets is the moneyline. This is the easiest form of betting, and simply requires you to select who will win – with each team given odds based on the bookmaker’s perception of how likely they are to win. Outside of this market, at the top of each match page you’ll also be presented with the line – which gives out a handicap to one team and then offers even odds for each team to ‘win’ once that handicap is added – as well as an over/under market for total match points.

After those, you’ll start to get into the more obscure match markets. You can bet on things such as individual half results, and with the best bookmakers you’ll also be able to find alternate lines both for the match result and for the total match score. Then, depending on the range of markets offered by the bookmaker that you’re using, you’ll have the option to bet on player props. Some of these are available virtually everywhere – things like ‘first tryscorer’ – while others might only be available with some bookmakers.

And that’s just the markets for individual games. You’ll also be able to find futures markets with most bookmakers. There are usually a few of these available, beginning with the Premiership winner and going through to which teams will finish in the top eight and top four, which team will finish with the least wins, which player will win the Dally M Medal, and of course, towards the end of the season, the Clive Churchill medallist for the best player on the ground in the Grand Final.

NRL Betting Rules

There are a handful of rules that you should also be aware of when betting on the NRL. For example, in the NRL, when the game is tied at the end of regular time an overtime period is added. This means that you should be aware whether this overtime period will count towards your bet, which it typically does; for example, if you’ve bet on the total match points, you need to know whether overtime scores count towards the total. Usually it does, though more confusion can arise if you bet on something like a second half market – in this instance, make sure you’re aware of the rules of the bookmaker that you’re using in terms of whether overtime counts as the second half.

We’ve already told you which bookmakers we think are among the best NRL betting sites, but you might be wondering how we come to these conclusions. We take a look at all the options and consider a number of key metrics in order to decide which bookies we think are among the best to bet on the NRL with, and in this section we are going to take a look at a couple of the most important things that we consider during the course of our research.

First and foremost, we take a look at the range of NRL markets as well as the odds that are on offer. These are two of the most important things to consider at any point when looking at different bookmakers, and when researching for the NRL we specifically consider these metrics as they relate to this league. Most bookmakers tell you exactly how many markets there are for each individual match, so this is an easy way to check in on their range of markets, but we also click into these games to take a look at exactly what these markets are, as well as how the odds they offer for those markets compare to competitors.

We also consider how easy it is to bet on the NRL, something which predominantly relates to the quality of the website and the existence and quality of an app. If a bookmaker has a really good website and, perhaps even more importantly, an app which is very easy to use, then that evidently makes it more straightforward to bet on the NRL, and subsequently those bookies get a tick in their favour.

We then consider a few other factors, probably most notably the customer support platform. This comes a little down the list in terms of importance – certainly it’s not as important as the range of markets, for example – but it is still important that the bookies we recommend have a decent customer support platform in case you run into any issues while betting on the NRL.

These are the major things that we consider when looking for an NRL betting site. They are each important in their own right, but as mentioned there are certain things that we value more than others when doing the research to find the best NRL betting sites.

Most if not all bookmakers provide customers with some offers and promotions, but how regularly these appear as well as how valuable they are can vary dramatically depending on the bookmaker. It’s worth noting that Australian regulations dictate that these promos can’t be advertised to anyone except customers – this is to avoid using them as a lure to attract new punters – so you will need to be signed up and logged in to see any with a bookmaker.

Given its popularity, it’s probably no great surprise that there are fairly regularly promotions related to the NRL which pop up. One such example might be a multi-related offer, something which many bookies opt to offer. This could be something like if you put on a four-leg multi and one leg fails, you’ll get your money back as a bonus bet. There might also be offers on individual bets, such as early payouts if your team gets a certain number of points ahead of their opponent – this is something that Bet365 has offered in the past, for example.

Generally these promotions are going to have their flaws, and they are often constructed to sound like they offer something a little better than what they really do – it’s worth reading the terms and conditions, too, to ensure you understand what they really mean. They’re also not going to be something you can bet exclusively on, and bookmakers may even remove your eligibility for promos if you only bet on them. However, as a complement to your normal betting, the offers and promotions related to the NRL can certainly be worth checking out.

Like any sport, odds can be a dealbreaker for some and it’s especially true in NRL online betting. So I’m going to give you a quick example of NRL odds from a few NRL betting sites that I like to bet with, such as Betfocus.

For this NRL betting guide, I used a Round 17 clash between the Warriors and Broncos. There were slight differences between each site for the favourite (Warriors) with Volcanobet offering the highest odds. While if you wanted the best odds, Colossalbet came out on top.

NRL online betting gives you a lot of variety and bet types to take advantage of. But what are the best NRL bets? Here’s my view on the bets that I think you should be using at NRL betting sites.

• Head to Head - With betting on NRL, head to head is useful for betting on underdogs and multi bets.
  
• Line / Handicap - NRL games have a line set for both teams. If a team is favoured, the line will display a number with a minus in front, -10 for example. They must win by this margin for the bet to succeed. Meanwhile, the less-favoured team will also get a line, such as +10. This means that they need to get within 10 pts or the bet loses.
  
• Total Points (Over/Under) - Every NRL game has total points that you can bet under or over. Generally, the Under is good in the finals or if rain is predicted. The Over is recommended in good weather conditions or two high scoring teams playing each other. 
  
• 1-12 Margin - If the head to head odds are tight, the 1-12 margin can offer better value odds. Many Google Pay betting sites have this bet type available.
  
• 13+ Margin - If a team is predicted to win easily, take up the 13+ margin instead of head to head.
  
• First Try Scorer - Bet on a player to score the first try. Usually, wingers are recommended but forwards can offer massive odds. 
  
• Same Game Multi - Like AFL betting sites, most NRL sites have same game multi too. This enables you to bet on a single game and turn it into a multi.
  
• Multi Betting - In betting on NRL, multi betting can be popular for combining different games into one bet to get massive odds.

Betting on future events can come with a lot of benefits, especially when it comes to betting on NRL. So, let’s look at some of the most popular options that I think you should consider.

• Premiership Winner - Decent Rugby betting sites need to have this futures market. At any time during the preseason or regular season, you can back a team to win the Grand Final. The odds will be better if you do it before the season.
• Minor Premiers - You can also bet on which team will finish first at the end of the regular season. Usually doesn’t change much from year to year so look at last year to get a good idea.
  
• Top 4 Finish - Bet on a team to finish in the top 4. Comes with good value odds if it comes off.
  
• Top 8 Finish - Back a team to finish in the top 8. Good for betting on teams that finished in the bottom 8 in the previous season.
• Team Wins (Over/Under) - You can try and predict how many games a team will win in a season.
  
• Top Tryscorer - It’s possible to bet on which player will score the most tries at betting sites. Try and focus on wingers in high scoring teams.
  
• Top Pointscorer - You can also bet on the top pointscorer. Generally, I would recommend betting on halfbacks with goal-kicking skills like Nathan Cleary.

There are a number of things that are important to look out for when searching for the best betting site, but when you narrow that down to a search for the best NRL betting sites, you can hone in on a few specific features. In this section, we will take a look at some of these features.

One feature of particular note which we haven’t discussed yet in this article is live betting. This form of betting is growing increasingly popular, but it isn’t yet available with every bookmaker, and among those with whom you can live bet, the range of markets and value available can vary greatly. If you want to watch part of an NRL match to get a feel for how things are unfolding before placing a bet, then finding an NRL betting site with a live betting platform, and ideally one which offers a number of different markets and good odds, can be pivotal.

This wide range of markets is key when live betting, but even if you’re betting on pre-game markets then, for many punters, it’s important that there are lots of betting choices available. Of course, if you just want to bet on things like moneyline then you won’t need to worry so much about this as every betting site will have that and some of the other most common markets, but if you like to have a wider range of choices available then you’ll definitely want to consider how many markets a bookmaker offers.

Finally, another important consideration when looking for an NRL betting site, and indeed a betting site for any sport, is the quality of the website and specifically the mobile app. Having a slow or difficult to use – or even in some cases, the absence of one entirely – means that you’ll likely be bound to your computer when betting. What’s more, there’s often a correlation between bookies with poor mobile apps and bookies with poor desktop sites, so if one of them isn’t much good it’s likely the other isn’t either. To make your NRL betting experience that little bit smoother, make sure you find a betting site with a decent app and ideally desktop site.

These are the major features to look out for when hunting for the best NRL betting site. There are other things that you may want to consider depending on what you value as a punter, but the aforementioned components of a bookmaker are certainly among the most important for many bettors.