What is an each-way bet and why is it popular for the Grand National?

An each-way bet is two bets in one: a win bet and a place bet, at equal stakes. If your horse wins, both parts pay out. If it finishes in a specified place position without winning, only the place part pays — at a fraction of the full odds, typically 1/4 or 1/5. For the Grand National, each-way betting is popular because the large field of 34 runners means bookmakers offer extended place terms, often paying out on five or six places. With 82% of Grand National bets being £5 or less, each-way gives casual punters a realistic possibility of a return even when their horse does not win. The nation's punt has always been an each-way affair.

How many places are bookmakers paying on the Grand National 2026?

Place terms vary by bookmaker and can change in the run-up to the race, so checking closer to the event is essential. Standard terms for the Grand National are four places at 1/4 odds, but most major operators enhance them for this race to attract once-a-year customers. Enhanced offers typically range from five places at 1/4 odds to six places at 1/5 odds, with the most generous operators occasionally offering six places at 1/4 odds. Compare at least three bookmakers before placing your each-way bet for 2026. The difference between four and six places can mean the difference between losing your stake and collecting a return.

How do I place a bet on the Grand National online — step by step?

Choose a bookmaker licensed by the UK Gambling Commission — look for the licence number in the site's footer. Register with your name, date of birth and address, and verify your identity (most operators run automated checks). Deposit funds using a debit card, bank transfer or e-wallet — credit cards cannot be used for UK gambling. Navigate to the Grand National market under the horse racing section, click the odds next to your chosen horse, select win only or each-way in the bet slip, enter your stake, review the details, and confirm. The process takes under ten minutes. If you prefer betting in person, visit any high-street betting shop, fill in a paper slip and hand it to the cashier with your money.

Black Market Betting in the UK: Risks, Scale and How to Stay Safe

The UK has one of the most tightly regulated gambling markets in the world. Licensed bookmakers are overseen by the Gambling Commission, subject to strict rules on customer protection, and required to contribute to the sport through the betting levy. But alongside the regulated market, a shadow industry has been growing at a pace that alarms regulators, the racing industry and law enforcement alike. Unlicensed betting operators — platforms that hold no UK licence, pay no tax, fund no sport and offer no consumer protection — are attracting a growing number of British punters, and the Grand National is not immune. If it is not licensed, walk away. This guide explains why.

How Big Is the UK’s Gambling Black Market?

The scale of the black market is difficult to measure precisely, because by definition it operates outside the regulated framework. But two recent pieces of research have put hard numbers to what was previously a vague concern.

An investigation by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, published in early 2026, found that the number of unique visitors to 22 unlicensed betting sites carrying British horse racing had grown by 522% between August 2021 and September 2026. Over the same period, traffic to licensed sites grew by just 49%. The study, led by James Porteous, Head of Research at the IFHA Council on Anti-Illegal Betting, tracked the trend over four years and found that by the final measurement period, unlicensed sites were attracting more than 600,000 unique visits per month from UK-based users. Those are not trivial numbers — they represent a meaningful share of the overall horse racing betting audience.

The Betting and Gaming Council put the issue in Grand National terms. The BGC estimated that £9.4 million — approximately 3.8% of the total £250 million staked on the 2026 Grand National — was wagered through illegal operators. The overall UK black market for gambling was valued at an estimated £4.3 billion annually, a figure that has been growing as regulatory pressures on the licensed market intensify.

The causes of the growth are debated. The racing industry and the betting sector point to affordability checks and increased regulatory friction as the primary drivers, arguing that punters who feel monitored, delayed or intruded upon by licensed operators are migrating to platforms where no such checks exist. The Gambling Commission disputes this characterisation, arguing that the growth of the black market predates the affordability pilot and is driven as much by marketing and technology as by regulation. Both sides have a point, and the truth is likely a combination of factors. What is not in dispute is the trend: the black market is growing, and it is growing fast.

Why Betting on Unlicensed Sites Puts You at Risk

Unlicensed operators exist outside the UK regulatory framework, and that means every protection you take for granted with a licensed bookmaker simply does not exist.

There is no guarantee of payout. A licensed bookmaker is required to honour winning bets under the terms of its licence. An unlicensed operator has no such obligation — and if it decides not to pay, you have no recourse. No ombudsman, no Gambling Commission complaint, no ADR (alternative dispute resolution) process. Your only option is to accept the loss and move on.

There is no customer fund protection. Licensed operators are required to ring-fence customer deposits so that your money is protected if the company goes bust. Unlicensed sites offer no such protection — if the operator disappears overnight, your balance goes with it.

There are no responsible gambling tools. No deposit limits, no self-exclusion, no GamStop integration, no reality checks. If you develop a gambling problem while using an unlicensed site, there is no safety net and no support infrastructure built into the platform.

There is no data protection. Unlicensed operators are not bound by UK data protection law (though GDPR applies broadly across the EU and UK). Your personal and financial information — name, address, bank details, betting history — may be stored insecurely, sold to third parties or used for fraud.

And there is no legal recourse. If you are scammed, cheated or simply denied a payout by an unlicensed site, your options are effectively nil. You cannot escalate to the Gambling Commission, because the operator is not under its jurisdiction. You cannot sue in a UK court, because the operator is typically based offshore in a jurisdiction with no interest in your complaint. The risks are not hypothetical — they are baked into the structure of every unregulated platform.

A BHA survey conducted in 2023 found that one in ten horse racing bettors (10%) admitted to having already used the black market for betting. That figure is almost certainly an underestimate, given the reluctance of respondents to admit to using unlicensed platforms. The reality is that a significant minority of British punters are exposing themselves to these risks — often without fully understanding what they are giving up by stepping outside the regulated market.

How to Check a Bookmaker’s Licence and Stay Safe

Verifying that a bookmaker is licensed is straightforward, and it takes less than a minute.

The Gambling Commission maintains a public register of every operator licensed to offer gambling services to UK customers. The register is searchable on the Commission’s website (www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk) by company name, licence number or trading name. If a bookmaker does not appear on the register, it is not licensed to operate in the UK — and you should not bet with it.

Licensed bookmakers are also required to display their licence number prominently on their website or app, usually in the footer. Look for the Gambling Commission logo or a licence reference such as “Licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission” followed by a number. If you cannot find this information, treat it as a red flag.

Beyond the licence check, there are several practical indicators that a site may be unlicensed. Aggressive advertising through social media channels or unsolicited emails is common among black market operators. Unrealistic promotional offers — “1000% deposit bonus” or “no wagering requirements on any offer” — are another warning sign: if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. Payment methods that bypass standard banking channels (cryptocurrency-only deposits, for example) can also indicate an operator that is deliberately avoiding the regulated financial system.

If you are already using a site that you suspect may be unlicensed, the safest course of action is to withdraw any funds you can and close the account immediately. Do not deposit further money, and do not provide additional personal or financial information. Report the site to the Gambling Commission through its online reporting tool — this helps the regulator identify and act against illegal operators.

The regulated market is not perfect. Affordability checks can feel intrusive, verification processes can be slow, and the odds are not always the sharpest. But the alternative — an unregulated market with no payout guarantee, no data protection and no support for problem gamblers — is incomparably worse. The Grand National is the nation’s punt, and it deserves to be placed with an operator that plays by the rules. If it is not licensed, walk away.