DARTS BETTING SITES

List of the Best Darts Sportsbooks & Apps Online in September 2023

Darts is more than just a pub game that you play when you’ve had a few beers. It’s a global sport. In fact, it’s one of the fastest-growing sports in the world right now and offers a slew of betting opportunities for people seeking varied betting lines and a blend of Moneylines, Totals, Parlays, and Futures.

Before you take your first steps on these sportsbooks, be sure to read the following guide on darts betting sites and darts betting lines.

Casino

Darts Tournaments

The PDC runs tournaments through the year, so you’re never short of options when it comes to darts tournaments. You can bet on every game in every tournament—you’ll be spoilt for choice!

Choosing Darts Betting Lines

Moneylines are the most popular darts betting lines, but there are many other options available, including some interesting proposition bets. For instance, you can wager on whether the Highest Checkout will be higher or lower than a stated amount. Alternatively, place your money on the total number of 180s or whether there will be a 9-dart finish. Not sure what these bets mean? Read our darts betting guide below, where you’ll find info on all darts betting lines.

Bonuses and Promo Codes

All betting sites offer bonuses and promotions and darts betting sites are no exception. These offers give you everything from matched deposit bonuses to free bets and more. They are a great way to supplement your betting and could help to move you from the red and into the black.

Darts Betting Trends

Darts is at its most popular in the United Kingdom and northern Europe, with only a handful of players from North America (mainly Canada). But that’s changing, and more Americans are now following the sport. One of the biggest darts betting trends we’re seeing is that more people from the US are getting involved.

Pre-Match and Live Darts Betting

Most darts bets are placed pre-match, which means they are wagered before the first dart is thrown. But many darts betting lines are also active once the game is underway and these lines adapt to the action at the oche. If an underdog begins to exceed expectations, the markets will shift accordingly, giving darts bettors some unique opportunities.

The Best Darts Betting Odds

All darts betting odds are set by individual oddsmakers. They are not industry-wide, and so the betting odds offered by one site could differ greatly from the ones offered elsewhere. If you want the most competitive darts betting odds, you need to join the best sites and compare odds on all of their markets before you make any substantial wagers.

A Brief History of Darts

Popular sports often trace their origins back to pub games or games among friends, rudimentary pastimes that eventually evolve into something much bigger. It’s hard to trace these origins and so a lot of them devolve into mere myth and legend.

Such is the case with darts.

It has been said that the game got its start in medieval taverns when drunken soldiers would fling arrows at upturned barrels painted with targets. Known as “Butts” this game was likely played in some form or another for as long as humans have had arrows, alcohol, and time to kill.

If the medieval stories are to be believed, the idea of throwing—as opposed to shooting—arrows stems from the fact that newbie archers were often told to throw their arrows at targets before they were allowed to shoot them. Those newbie archers would then take their quivers to the local tavern, have a few ales, and continue the activity.

From there, the game evolved. Barrels were swapped for boards, projectiles became smaller, and the game spread rapidly through 14^th century England. Incidentally, this was also the century of the Great Famine, Black Death, and Peasants Revolt, so they clearly needed something to take their mind off current events!

By the 1800s, the game was common in taverns throughout England and had even spread further afield. This was when Brian Gamlin, a carpenter from Lancashire, decided to take things to another level.

Gamlin is the one credited with creating the modern dartboard and the modern game in general.

In the early 20^th century, a publican was taken to court for letting his patrons play darts. The courts argued that it was a game of chance akin to Roulette. They simply didn’t believe that anyone could intentionally aim and hit any of the numbers and believed it was more akin to a random wheel spin.

When the publican threw three successive darts at the 20 segment, the courts were proved wrong, the case was thrown out, and a legend was born.

Within a couple of decades, professional darts tournaments were being staged across the United Kingdom and after the Second World War, it spread to the United States.

The PDC vs The BDO

For many years, there were two major federations in darts: the Professional Dart’s Corporation (PDC) and the British Darts Organization (BDO).

The BDO is the older of the two and was founded in 1973 by Olly Craft. The organization staged tournaments throughout the United Kingdom and became the main governing body for darts in the country. It hosted amateur, semi-professional, and professional tournaments and even staged the first World Professional Darts Championship.

In the early 1990s, there was a dispute between Olly Craft and the top-ranking players in the BDO. The players eventually left to found their own organization (originally known as the World Darts Council or “WDC” but now known as the Professional Dart’s Corporation or “PDC”).

Similar breakaways have happened in other sports and they have usually been threatened as a way of gaining leverage in negotiations. They rarely work as there are a lot of variables at play, but the PDC was incredibly successful.

Until 2020, both the BDO and the PDC hosted darts tournaments and had their own rankings, but the PDC was by far the bigger of the two. Many BDO players were rookies while the PDC was home to the best players in the world. The PDC also attracted the biggest sponsors and secured the best TV deals.

A sporting organization is nothing without its players and as the BDO struggled to hold onto the game’s most talented players, it began reducing its prize money and the frequency of its tournaments. Eventually, it simply couldn’t sustain itself and was forced to liquidate in 2020.

Today, only the PDC remains and it is just as popular as ever.

Darts Rules Explained

Darts is a very simple game, and that’s one of the reasons why it has proved so popular for so long.

Every darts match is contested between two players. Each player has three darts and they take it in turns to throw them. The goal is not just to get the highest score, but to ensure that their starting score is dwindled down to 0.

There are a few key rules to keep in mind:

• The Oche: The “oche”, pronounced “oh-key”, is the line behind which the players must stand when they throw their darts. In a professional game of darts, it is always 7 ft 9 ¼ in from the dartboard. The board itself must be hung so that the Bullseye is exactly 5 ft 8 in from the ground.
• Three Darts: The player approaches the oche, places their lead foot behind the line, and then throws three darts. There are no “do-overs” in darts, so if one of the throws misses the board, the score for that dart will be “0”. The same is true for when the dart hits the board but then falls out.
• 501 to 0: All players start with a score of 501. The goal is for the players to get their scores down to 0 before their opponent. If a player makes it to 0, the game (known as a “leg”) is over and then the next one begins. The players alternate who starts first, so if Player A throws first on the first leg then Player B will throw first on the second leg.
• Doubles to Finish: Players can only finish on a double, which is the outer ring. If they have 10 points left, for instance, then they must hit a double 5, as opposed to a single 10. If they miss the double 5 and hit the nearby 12 or 20, they will go bust, which means their turn will end. If they hit a 2, they can then win the game with a double 4.

Darts Scoring

To the uninitiated, the Bullseye is the most important target on the board. If you give a dart to someone who doesn’t know the game and ask them to hit the highest value target, they’ll probably aim for the Bull.

It’s the center. The smallest segment on the board. It’s also red. What more could you ask for—it has to be the highest-scoring space, right?

Not quite. In fact, there are several spaces on a dartboard that will give you more points than the Bullseye. The highest-scoring segment is actually the smaller red line on the “20” space, as it rewards a total of 60 points compared to the 50 points for the Bullseye.

You can also score 25 points for the outer green ring of the Bullseye.

Here’s what else you need to know about scoring in a game of darts:

• Single Numbers: There are 20 numbers on a dartboard and these numbers are colored with contrasting colors of black and white. If the dart lands in one of these triangle segments, it will reward the number of points shown above the segment.
• Doubles: The outer rim of the dartboard contains a segment known as a “double”. It alternates between red and green (red on the 20, green on the 1, etc.). When a dart lands in this space, the player scores twice the amount shown on the number segment.
• Triples: Each number also has an inner ring. It’s much smaller than the outer ring and rewards a 3x score, so if the dart lands on the inner ring of the 20, the score for that dart will be 60.
• Miss: If the dart misses the board or lands beyond the outer “double” ring, no points are scored. The same is true for when the dart hits one of the metal rings and bounces off the board. Simply put, if the dart is not in the board after all three arrows have been thrown, it won’t count.
• Fairness: The numbers on a dartboard are not completely random. You’ll notice that many high-scoring segments are positioned next to low-scoring ones. This means that if you aim for the 20 and miss, you could easily end up with a 1 or 5. It helps to create more of a balance.

American Darts

In eastern states like Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, there is a game known as “American Darts” that is completely different from the darts discussed in this guide and the darts played professionally all over the world.

If you’re from these states and are confused by the rules discussed herein, it’s probably because you’re picturing the wrong game.

This version of American darts developed in PA in the 1900s. It uses a square board decorated with an oval ring similar to the one used in traditional games of darts.

The main differences between this game and traditional darts are as follows:

• There is no “inner” Bullseye ring
• The boards are much thinner and often made of basswood
• The double and triple rings are located in different positions
• The board is lower to the ground and players stand closer to it

Elsewhere in the United States, and even in the aforementioned states, when people talk about “Darts” as a sport, they are referring to the same game played in the United Kingdom and across northern Europe. Of course, they may also be referring to lawn darts, a game that functions as little more than a summer pastime, but let’s not get into that.

Darts Betting Lines

There are numerous darts betting lines available during any given darts match or event. These may be a little confusing if you’re used to betting on ball games like baseball and football, but it’s basically the same mix of Moneylines, Spreads, and Totals, with a few Prop Bets thrown in.

Take a look below to learn more about darts betting lines:

Moneyline

The Moneyline is also known as the “Match Winner”, which tells you everything that you need to know.

The Moneyline is by far the most popular darts betting line. There is no Draw option, and while this usually leads to heavy odds swings and means you’re either betting on a short-priced dead-cert or a long-priced no-hoper, that’s not necessarily the case here.

In major tournaments, darts matches are very closely-fought contests and can swing one way or the other. There are still clear favorites for many of these matches, but the odds are not as varied as you might anticipate.

If you are new to darts and don’t really know much about the game or any darts betting lines, we recommend sticking with the Moneyline. The bets are easy to place and very straightforward. You’ll also know what you’re cheering for and won’t be left confused or overwhelmed.

Once you have watched a few games and have a better idea of how the rules work, you can start thinking about other betting lines.

The Moneyline is also known as the “Match Winner”, which tells you everything that you need to know.

The Moneyline is by far the most popular darts betting line. There is no Draw option, and while this usually leads to heavy odds swings and means you’re either betting on a short-priced dead-cert or a long-priced no-hoper, that’s not necessarily the case here.

In major tournaments, darts matches are very closely-fought contests and can swing one way or the other. There are still clear favorites for many of these matches, but the odds are not as varied as you might anticipate.

If you are new to darts and don’t really know much about the game or any darts betting lines, we recommend sticking with the Moneyline. The bets are easy to place and very straightforward. You’ll also know what you’re cheering for and won’t be left confused or overwhelmed.

Once you have watched a few games and have a better idea of how the rules work, you can start thinking about other betting lines.

Spread

The Spread comes into play when you’re looking for some better odds or probabilities, such as when a favorite is too short-priced on the Moneyline and you want odds that are a little more tempting.

In such cases, you can just back them on a Spread such as the -1.5 or -2.5. This means that they must win by 2 or 3 clear legs for your bet to be successful.

The Spread works both ways. In the above example, it would also give you a +1.5 and +2.5 option for the outsider, which means you would win even if they lost the match but did so by only 1 leg.

The best darts betting sites give you multiple Spread options, often listed as “Alternative Spreads”, and this provides you with options for higher and lower odds.

Correct Leg/Set Score

oking for a specific wager that returns high odds and payout possibilities? Check out the Correct Score.

As the name suggests, this market tasks you with predicting what the correct score will be.

In the case of the Leg Correct Score bet, the score can be difficult to predict and so the odds are usually generous. Each set has 6 legs. This means that the score per leg could be anywhere from 0-6/6-0 to 5-6/6-5. There are a lot of variables at play—will it be a tight game? Will one of the players run away with it?—so it’s a tough bet to win.

The Set Correct Score bet is a little easier. Most professional darts matches are played in a best-of-5 set format, so it’s possible for the score to be 3-0, 3-1, or 3-2 to either of the players.

You can still get good odds for each outcome though, especially if you’re wagering that the underdog will win more sets than the oddsmakers predict.

Futures

A Futures bet is one that covers the entirety of a darts tournament. These bets are very popular on darts betting lines as darts tournaments are much shorter than other major sporting tournaments.

Typically, they run for just a few days, which means you don’t need to wait for months like you do with the NFL Regular Season and Super Bowl.

You can back all of the players that have qualified for the tournament. If you place your wager several months before it begins, your options will be even greater as you can also choose the players that you think will qualify. Typically, the sooner you place a Futures bet, the better your odds will be.

These bets are still available live (when the tournament has already begun), but as the player numbers are beginning to drop by that point, the odds usually drop as well.

Parlay

A Parlay is when you add more than one bet to a wager, thus increasing the odds and the potential payout. Moneyline bets are the most popular for Parlays, but you can add many other types of bets as well.

There are usually multiple darts matches staged during the course of a single day or evening. A standard game lasts for no more than 30 minutes and most are over after just 20 minutes. This leaves plenty of time to get the next two players up to the oche.

If you ever catch a live darts match on TV, you’ll likely notice that everyone in the audience is rowdy and excitable. That’s because they’ve probably been there for several hours already and are usually drinking alcohol throughout. If you catch these televised tournaments early enough, you can watch a succession of top games and add all of them to your Parlay!

Darts Prop Bets

In addition to the darts betting lines mentioned above, there are a variety of Prop Bets available.

These are often limited to the biggest darts matches, in which case sportsbooks are more willing to go all-out with their selections, but the best sites also offer these varied bets on many smaller professional matches.

• The Most 180s: How many 180s will there be in the match? Most betting sites give you a fixed total and then ask you to bet on whether there will be “More/Over” or “Less/Under”. 180s are fairly common in a darts match, but the frequency can vary. Sometimes, you’ll see one after another when players are really hitting their strides. Other times, they fall into a rut and you see less than 2 throughout the match.

• The Highest Checkout: With the Highest Checkout wager you’re betting on the player you think will record the biggest points checkout. This is the amount that takes them down to zero (and wins the leg) with three darts. Bear in mind that the best player doesn’t always win this line, as they are more likely to score highly beforehand, thus leaving themselves a smaller target for their final throws.

• The Full House: A Full House is when a player has the Most 180s, secures the Highest Checkout, and also wins the match. If they do 1 or 2 of these things, the bet fails—you need all of them. It’s not uncommon for players to win the match and have the most 180s, yet still not secure the Highest Checkout, just as it’s not uncommon for someone to have the most 180s and lose. Keep this in mind when betting on Full House lines.

• 170 Finish in a Match: 170 is the highest score that can be checked out with 3 darts. It’s a rare achievement and depending on the length of the match and the quality of the players, you’ll usually see odds of between +1000 and +2000 for this bet. Remember, you’re not just wagering on whether someone will achieve that checkout once they have a score of 170. They also need to make it to 170 in the first place, and there is no guarantee that will happen.

• First Dart: Will the first dart hit the Triple 20 or the Single 20? Will it go wayward and land on the 1 or the 5? Players always aim for the Triple 20 with their first dart and it’s incredibly rare for them to miss so poorly that they hit anything other than the 20, 1, or 5. As a result, betting sites will often limit the betting lines to these options. Some even include an option for “All Other Scores” alongside the Triple and Single 20.

• Score Props: Some sites allow you to wager on what the score will be after a specific number of legs, usually 4. For instance, you could wager that Player A will have taken a clear 4-0 lead or that things will be fiercely contested at 2-2. Darts is a lot like tennis in the sense that the player who throws first usually wins, so it’s very common for legs to swing alternately. This means you can typically get very low odds for 2-2 and high ones for 4-0.

• Point Props: Will the first three darts score more or fewer points than the number shown? The number varies based on the quality of the players, but it’s usually around 100.

Darts Betting Strategies and Tips

There are no guaranteed ways to consistently win while betting on darts. Darts betting strategies just don’t work and if anyone claims otherwise, they’re probably trying to sell you a book or online course.

There are some great darts betting podcasts out there, though, and you should also read general darts books to learn more about the game.

In fact, one of the best things you can do to increase your chances of success is to learn about the game and its players. You should also pay attention to the latest news and form while following players on social media to see what kind of mood they’re in.

Darts players are trained professionals, but they’re also human, and if they’re going through a tough time, they are susceptible to losing their concentration and getting complacent. That sort of information could help you when looking for the most profitable darts betting lines.

Here are a few other tips for betting on darts:

• Collect whatever bonuses are available to you
• Search around for the best darts betting odds
• Utilize live betting where possible
• Watch the games that you’re betting on
• Pay attention to nervous and inexperienced players—they could throw a lead away in a high-pressure match
• Follow the form

Bonuses Available for Darts Betting

The best darts betting sportsbooks offer a slew of bonuses that you could use to improve your chances of success. These bonuses are offered to loyal players as well as new ones and they include all of the following:

• Match Deposit Bonuses: These promotions “match” your deposit to a fixed percentage. If it’s a “100% match” for instance, then your deposit will effectively be doubled. You can then use those funds to double your bet or place another wager. Check minimum deposit amounts and wagering requirements before you collect.
• Free Bets: Although free bet wagers are great, they come with a few terms you must be aware of. Firstly, they may be very small in size and have win/cash out limits. Secondly, they often require you to bet on odds of -100 or more. They may also have wagering requirements that apply to your winnings.
• Parlay Refunds: If you lose a Parlay because of a single bet, you could qualify for a refund based on this promotion. They are rare and they are also underappreciated, but if you love to place Parlay bets then these promotions are very useful.
• Loyalty Bonuses: Although loyalty schemes are more common on online casinos, you can find them on sports betting sites, as well. They may use a different name, such as “Free Bet Club”, but the idea is the same: if you remain loyal, you’ll get occasional free bets.
• Mobile Bets: Sportsbooks want you to play on your mobile device as the convenience means you’re more likely to make frequent wagers. To encourage you to make the switch—if you haven’t already—they might offer you free bets and other promotions.
• Free Spins: If the sportsbook has an online casino attached, you’ll almost certainly find free spin offers to encourage you to play. Casinos are more profitable for betting operators, and they want you to use your sportsbook winnings on their slots and table games.