The best online sites for sports fans in 2024

The internet is one of the best things that could have happened for sports fans. It transformed the way we watch games and events, digest news and stay up to date with our favorite teams. Never before have we had access to as much information, replays, live streaming and gaming content!

With that much information available, it can be tricky knowing which sources to trust and where to go for your sporting fix, and I want to make the process easier for you. Below, I take a look at the best online sites for sports fans in 2024 and I have broken this into two main categories: sports betting sites and sports news/stats websites – enjoy!

Sports betting sites

Sports betting is big business, but if you wanted to place a wager on your favorite NBA or NHL team back in the day, you would have to visit a bookmaker. Now, they are relatively a thing of the past and, instead, we can do our gambling online via the plethora of online sportsbooks available. Their platforms can be accessed on your computer or smartphone and offer a huge variety of markets and bet types for your favorite sports.

bet365

Bet365 is one of the most reputable sportsbooks available and I love the dedicated mobile app. It looks fantastic, is easy to use and offers full functionality of the main website.Bet365 covers all major sporting competitions, such as European soccer, basketball, tennis and golf, and the range of betting markets and odds is always excellent.

BetVictor

For NZ customers, BetVictor offers excellent markets on rugby and cricket but also covers a wide range of popular sports. It gives you a decent welcome bonus worth NZ$40 and you can regularly get boosted odds on games. It also offers live, in-play betting, so you can have a little fun as you watch matches.

1xBet

I like the layout and color scheme of 1xBet – it’s clean and modern, and the different game categories are easy to navigate. It covers a whopping 57 sports, which is one of the most extensive available, and this includes some more obscure sports like Muay Thai boxing and sumo wrestling!

PlayZilla

Although PlayZilla doesn’t have a mobile app, you can still place an on-the-go bet via its mobile-responsive website, and it covers an excellent range of sports markets. New customers can get a whopping welcome bonus worth up to NZ$150, and with 39 sports covered, you should easily find markets you want to bet on.

Sports news and stats sites

While sports betting is great fun, sports fans also want to stay up to date with the latest news and stats, so it’s a good idea to have a range of bookmarked websites in this category. There are hundreds of stat sites and generic world news sites that also have sports sections, but below, I’ve picked my favorite dedicated sports news and stats sites that give you real insight:

ESPN

ESPN is THE top news site for sports – without doubt! Sure, it concentrates on American sports, but it gives fantastic coverage to world sports too, including cricket, European soccer and more. The quality of the journalism at ESPN is top notch and it also produces a range of news shows and YouTube content that I enjoy.

Aside from the news, ESPN is a reliable source for aspects such as injury reports, game results and player stats. It features virtually every major sport you can think of, including Formula One, MMA and baseball. It also covers esports and you’ll find some useful sports betting tips too.

Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report is one of my go-to sites for NBA action and news but it also covers world football, NFL, AEW, WWE, MMA, boxing and a bunch of other sports. The site looks fantastic and I enjoy the modern design and the use of video clips in the news articles. Bleacher Report is also the producer behind one of my favorite animated sports shorts series – Game of Zones – and it makes fun animations for the NFL too.

Basketball Reference

I’m a stats nerd and I love nothing more than looking at player stats of both current and retired NBA players. I can’t count the times I’ve drooled over Michael Jordan’s PPG averages! When I want to do this, I turn to Basketball Reference.

This is THE ultimate stats site for NBA fans and it offers the most in-depth statistical analysis and all the historical data you need. You can look at box scores from games, season stats and comparisons of the best players. The site is easy to use, has fast loading times and the stats can be exported too.

Pro Football Reference

Like the NBA, pro football goes crazy for stats and there is a wealth of information available at Pro Football Reference. This is essentially the sister site to Basketball Reference and it is developed and maintained by the same people. I love how you can test your football knowledge with daily quizzes, and you can benefit from the same in-depth degree of statistical analysis.

I also like that there is a dedicated hall of fame section so you can easily search for historical data on the best hall of famers in NFL history. There is also a dedicated teams section for all the NFL teams, so it’s easy to get data on your home team.

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is another fantastic sports news and journalism website and offers a vast variety of daily news articles. The main focus is American sports leagues for both men and women, including the NBA, NFL, MLB, WNBA and NHL. However, the site goes beyond that and provides news articles on the exciting college sports scene, which is often just as popular as the pro leagues.

I like how, below the main navigation, you can select your preferred league, such as NBA, NFL or English premier League, and a ticker displays the most recent results and betting odds.

Get your dose of sports from these online sources

If you are into your sports then you will find these sports betting sites, stats sites and news sites especially useful and fun! Regardless of what sport you follow – whether it’s NBA basketball, European soccer or NFL football – these websites provide you with a wealth of information on your favorite teams and players, and allow you to immerse yourself in the sporting world.

Remember that many sportsbooks, such as bet365, have downloadable mobile apps, and websites like ESPN also have mobile app versions of their news content, so you can place wagers and follow your sport on the go.