Betting on The Grand National

If you've never placed a bet online before then don't worry its actually very simple. All you need is a credit or debit card and a couple of minutes to register an account, then you're ready to place your Grand National bet.

For details of how to actually place your bets, along with explanations of win and each way bets please see further down the page.

Choosing a Bookmaker to Place Your Grand National Bets

If you are new to betting then we recommend placing your grand national bets with one of these easy to use and well known bookmakers.

SkyBet
  • Easy registration process
  • Well known brand you can trust
  • £ 10 Free when you open an account
 
How To Open An Account
William Hill
  • William Hill are one of the favourite sites for peole to place their Grand National bets at
  • Trusted name with excellant customer service
  • William Hill accept all major credit and debit cards as well as other deposit methods like paypal and moneybookers
  • £ 25 Free when you open an account
 
Paddy Power
  • A trusted name with the highest level of customer service
  • Great account to have for TV specials betting such as X Factor, Britains Got Talent
  • Regular special offers and money back promotions.
  • £ 200 Free when you open an account
 
How To Open An Account
Ladbrokes
  • Ladbrokes is the easiest site to place your Grand National bet at
  • Trusted name with excellant customer service
  • Ladbrokes accept all major credit and debit cards as well as other deposit methods like paypal and moneybookers
  • £ 50 Free when you open an account
 
How To Open An Account
Bet 365
  • Easy registration process
  • One of the best online bookies out there who also reward long term loyalty with loads of regular offers
  • If you want to use just one bookie regulary then this is the one!
  • £ 200 Free when you open an account
 

Opening a Betting Account for the Grand National

Click on a bookmaker link from this site and you will be taken to the correct page. This page will show you where to click to complete the simple registration form.
There will be a button or link which may be called "join" or "register" or "bet now" or something similar. Once you have clicked this, you will be presented with a form, much like if you were buying something online, where you have to supply your name and address and a few other details such as a username and password so you can login each time you visit. Just make up a username and password which you will remember, but that cant be easily guessed by someone else.

SkyBet
  • Easy registration process
  • Well known brand you can trust
  • £ 10 Free when you open an account
 
How To Open An Account


Making a Deposit

Once you have completed the registration for you need to deposit some funds into your account. Find the "account" section to deposit funds. This maybe called "my account". You need to be logged in to your account to see this link, so if you havent done, enter your username and password.

The minimum deposit is normally £10 or 10 Euros. This money is then taken from your bank account (if you used a switch card) or credit card and shown in your betting account balance.
If you wish to bet less, SkyBet have a minimum deposit amount of just £5.

Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and Betfair accept Paypal as a deposit method.
Betfair, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power accept Moneybookers
Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and Betfair accept Neteller
For a list of other payment options accepted by different bookmakers see this online bookmakers page.

No more money is taken from your account so its easy to limit your losses, and of course you are free to withdraw your money whenever you want back to your bank account or credit card much in the same way as you deposited it.

How to make a Grand National bet

Once you have money in your bookmaker account you are free to bet up to that amount on any of their markets. There is a minimum amount for a bet which is normally no more than £2.

SkyBet accept bets from 5p upwards.

To place the bet simply find the grand national page. You may need to select Horse Racing from the main menu and then Grand National. If you cant find Grand National, then it maybe under 4.15 Aintree.

Once you have found the race, select the horses which you want to bet on.

These horses will then be added to a bet slip which normally shows in the right hand column towards the top of the page.

Now enter your stake for each horse and tick if you want to back the horse each way.

You will then be asked to confirm your bets.

SkyBet
  • Easy registration process
  • Well known brand you can trust
  • £ 10 Free when you open an account
 
How To Open An Account


Grand National Win Bet Example

Lets say you bet £10 on a horse to Win at 12/1.
With odds of "twelve to one" this means if the horse wins, you WIN 12x your stake + you get your original stake back too.
So you end up with 10x12 + 10 = £130
However if the horse doesn't win then you lose your £10.


Ok that's the easy one - but the problem is that you will only make money if the horse actually wins.

Some people prefer to bet Each-Way which means that you can also win some money if the horse "places". Typically for the Grand National this means finish in the first 4 although some bookmakers may pay on 5th (or even 6th) as well on a special promotion so its worth checking.

If you are placing a grand national each way bet then we suggest that you use one of these bookmakers who offer the best each way terms on the grand national.

Paddy Power
Boylesports
SkyBet

Grand National Each Way Betting Example

An Each Way (EW) bet is essentially 2 bets: A win bet AND a place bet.

So a £10EW bet is actually a £20 bet - £10 win and £10 place.

The odds you get on the win are the same as the quoted odds, but the odds you get on the place are lower, usually 1/4 of the quoted odds for the Grand National.

So lets say you bet £10EW (a £20 bet) on a horse at 20-1 with place terms of 1/4 1,2,3,4 . Lets look at the two bets separately.

The Win £10 will pay £10 x 20 + £10 stake back = £210 if the horse wins, but nothing if it doesn't win.

The Place £10 will pay £10 x 20 x 1/4 + £10 stake back = £60 if the horse finishes 1,2,3 or 4 (or however many places your grand national bookmaker is paying).

So in combination your £20 bet will pay £210 + £60 (both parts of the bet) if the horse wins but just £60 if it finished 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. There's no difference in payout between any of these places. (ie. you get no more for it finishing 2nd than you do for finishing 4th)


Your Grand National Betting Account

All online bookmakers have an "accounts" section where you can add money, withdraw money, check your account balance and see your betting history. This is very useful for keeping track of your bets.
They also all have excellant customer service so if you have any questions not covered here, try their live online chat or email or pick up the phone. They are all very friendly and will do their best to help you place your grand national bets.

Which Grand National Horse Shall I Bet?

See our quick guide of the leading contenders or view the full list of the 2012 Grand National Runners

Which Grand National Bookmakers

For some background information of the bookmakers we recommend you see our Grand National Bookmakers page. To take advantage of all the bookmaker offers, open several accounts via our Grand national free bets page.

GOOD LUCK!



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