Are Bookies Open Good Friday?

The Quick Answer

Are Bookies Open Good Friday?

In the UK high street bookies will be open on Good Friday.
Online bookies are sportsbooks are of course open all day, every day.

When betting shops became legal in the UK during the 1960s one of the rules was that they weren’t allowed to open on Good Friday, as it was deemed to be one of the most important religious holidays.

But the Good Friday rule was overruled in the 2004 Gambling Act, since when high-street bookmakers have welcomed in punters to bet on a variety of horse racing meetings and other sporting events. Indeed, Good Friday has become a traditional day in the bookies for many punters. Of course, you can now also bet at many online betting sites on Good Friday.

What Horse Racing Meetings Are There On Good Friday?

Despite being one of the biggest bank holidays in the United Kingdom, there aren’t anywhere near as many horse racing meetings on Good Friday as there are on lots of the other big bank holidays. Indeed, the action is often limited to just a few meetings on the all-weather.

But one of those meetings is All Weather Championships Finals Day, which takes place at Lingfield Park on Good Friday. After a series of fast-track qualifiers throughout the winter months, this eagerly awaited meeting provides the best all-weather horses with a chance to take home some decent prize money for winning six different races at a variety of distances.

The races that the horses compete for are The 3-Year-Old, The Fillies & Mare, The Sprint, The Mile, The Middle Distance, and The Marathon. It’s always a competitive and compelling card and, if you’re thinking of heading to the races on Good Friday, Lingfield is the best place to go.

Despite horse racing going ahead on Good Friday in England, there doesn’t tend to be racing in Ireland on this day. But Ireland does provide three glorious days of racing at Fairyhouse Racecourse across the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of the Easter weekend, with the highlights being Monday’s Irish Grand National.

Is There Any Football On Good Friday?

There aren’t traditionally any English Premier League matches played on Good Friday, or on Easter Sunday or Easter Money, with the Premier League preferring to offer a full fixture list on Easter Saturday.

But if you’ve got big plans for Easter Saturday, there’s nothing to stop you popping into your local bookmakers on Good Friday to put your football bets on.

Can You Bet On Golf On Good Friday?

There are normally a few golf tournaments on over the Easter weekend, with possible action from the PGA Tour, European Tour, Champions Tour, LPGA Tour, and other tours. Most golf tournaments will probably start on the Thursday before Good Friday, so it might be a good idea to place your bets on the Wednesday.

But if you’re itching for a golf bet on Good Friday, you should be able to bet on the day’s three-balls or in a variety of other specialized golf markets.

Can You Bet On Tennis On Good Friday?

Tennis is another sport that tends to carry on over the Easter weekend, with both the ATP and WTA tours staging events that attract some of the world’s best tennis players. By Good Friday, these tournaments will be in full swing so, if you’ve not got any outright bets on, you’ll have to place single match bets. Luckily, Good Friday is often semi-finals day, so you might get to bet on some of the top players.

Other Sports Betting On Good Friday

While horse and sports betting action may be limited in the United Kingdom on Good Friday, one thing you can be assured of is bookmakers will still make sure that there are lots of different betting opportunities for you if you’re thinking of heading to your local betting shop.

There will be virtual races going off every few minutes at virtual racetracks such as Portman Park and Steepledowns. We wouldn’t advise you to bet on these as the random-number-generated odds are very difficult to beat, but… if you must.

Lots of other countries also stage a variety of horse racing and other sports on Good Friday that you can bet on. This may include but won’t be limited to greyhound racing, baseball, ice hockey, rugby, cricket, boxing, cycling, darts, motorsports, snooker, speedway, and volleyball.

As ever, we’ll be trying to provide you tips for all the best horse races for Good Friday, as well as for a variety of other Good Friday sports events.

We hope that’s answered your question are bookies open on Good Friday, and we hope we’ve given you an insight into some of the things on Good Friday that you can be on. Happy punting and good luck!


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