Rugby World Cup Betting Sites in Australia

Every Australian rugby player dreams about winning the Rugby World Cup. Held every four years, the World Cup is also one of the favourite events among rugby bettors. Here we take a closer look at the best Rugby World Cup betting sites in Australia.

Our experts also reveal how to find the highest Rugby World Cup odds and explain popular markets. Take a look at our list of top 5 Rugby World Cup betting sites or scroll down to learn more about the tournament.

Best Australian Rugby World Cup Betting Sites

Betting Site	Best Feature	Payment methods	Secure Link	T&Cs
Unibet	100% AUSSIE Watch and bet live!				Visit Site	Reliable Bookmaker with Flawless Track Record
PlayUp	100% AUSSIE Great Sports Coverage				Visit Site	Key Player on the AUS Betting Scene
bet365	100% AUSSIE Best Live Streaming				Visit Site	Geo restrictions apply. You must have a funded account or have placed a bet in the last 24 hours to access. Under Australian law, we are required to inform you that Live Streaming on bet365 is exempt from Parts 3 and 4 of the Broadcasting Services (Online Content Service Provider Rules) 2018.
Draftstars	100% AUSSIE Leading Fantasy Sports Betting Site				Visit Site	POLi for Quick FS Tournament Buy-ins
Palmerbet	100% AUSSIE Great App				Visit Site	Traditional Values and Great Betting App

We like to keep things simple when we are betting on the Rugby World Cup. That is why Unibet is our number 1 Australian Rugby World Cup betting site. Unibet and bet365 are also worth checking out, while for Rugby World Cup fantasy betting, Draftstars lead the way. You can look at the final list of the top Australian Rugby World Cup betting sites above…

Unibet – Top Rugby World Cup Bookmaker

For us, Unibet should be one of your go-to bookies for betting on the Rugby World Cup. If you want to get a wager on the tournament early, then Unibet is your best bet. They have futures Rugby World Cup betting markets years in advance of the start of the next tournament. You will also find lots of different pre-match markets and Rugby World Cup live betting odds are displayed on both desktop and mobile too.

To find out more about this top-quality Aussie Rugby World Cup betting site, check out our review of Unibet’s offer.

Rugby World Cup Odds

So, the odds are in for the 2023 Rugby World Cup and unsurprisingly The All Blacks are the clear favourites with all the major Australian Rugby World Cup betting sites. However, if you want to back them then it makes sense to shop around. Our Rugby World Cup odds comparison table below illustrates just how vital it is to find the best odds.

Rugby World Cup Winner Odds Comparison

The table below shows just why you should always try and track down the best odds for your Rugby World Cup bets. For example, say you wanted to back Australia to win the Rugby World Cup. They are priced up at 15.00 with both bet365 and Palmerbet. However, if you back them with Unibet you will get odds of 17.00. That represents a big difference in returns if your wager wins, demonstrating the direct effect that odds have on overall profits.

With no fixtures on the calendar yet for the Rugby World Cup, we looked at the odds for the upcoming Lions tour to South Africa to demonstrate the difference in match odds between Rugby World Cup betting sites. With bet365, the overround for the Lions Futures market was 108.83% while with bet365 it was 107.9%. That is a difference of just over 1% and in the long run that translates to a big difference in overall returns.

Rugby World Cup Betting Tips

The Rugby World Cup is a unique event and sometimes form can go out the window. For example, Japan’s win against South Africa in 2015 defied logic, as did their win against Ireland in 2019. If you can spot the matches most likely to produce an upset you’ll be very well rewarded.

However, most of the time the cream does rise to the top and if you are going to have a few bets on the next Rugby World Cup your bank account might benefit if you follow our Rugby World Cup betting advice…

• Pedigree Counts: As we stated earlier, shocks can and do happen in the Rugby World Cup. However, more often than not the rugby union superpowers come out on top when they play the minnows and it usually a question of how much they will win by. Look at betting on the handicap markets when there is a mismatch if you want to get a wager on at decent odds.
• Head To Head: History has a habit of repeating itself in sports and the Rugby World Cup is no exception. Some countries capitulate at the sight of the certain jersey. Ireland was considered one of the favourites before the last Rugby World Cup but the game was up for them when they faced New Zealand in the last 8. Ireland has never beaten the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup, so if those two teams play again you’ll know what team to bet on!
• Weather Watch: The weather is the biggest equaliser in rugby union. Teams that play champagne rugby and who like to pass the ball around struggle in wet and windy conditions. If the forecast is for rain and wind it can often pay to concentrate on the Total Points markets. The worse the weather is, the lower the points total will be so a bet on the ‘Under’ when the weather is bad is often the way to go.

Betting Markets

Aussie punters who fancy getting involved in Rugby World Cup betting have lots of different markets to choose from. In the next few sections, we look at some of the key Rugby World Cup betting markets, including Futures, Match and handicap betting. We also briefly discuss some of the most important player markets too so if you want to know more, keep on scrolling!

Rugby World Cup Winner Futures

Almost as soon as the Rugby World Cup finishes, Aussie betting sites will form markets for the next renewal. These ‘Futures’ markets are usually win or each way with bookies normally paying 1/2 odds for 1-2 places.

That means that if you back Australia each way at odds of 17.00 with Unibet you’ll need them to at least reach the final to get paid on the place part of your wager. In order to get the maximum returns, you will need them to win the final. At our top Rugby World Cup betting sites, futures markets are also available for Player Of The Tournament, Top Try Scorer and Top Points scorer.

Match Betting

Most Aussie punters will be very familiar with Rugby World Cup match betting. Once qualification is finished and the draw completed, match betting markets will be formed as soon as the Pools and fixtures are finalised.

Match betting on the Rugby World Cup is the same as soccer match betting. Punters have three options Team A to win (1),  Team B to win (2) or the draw (x). Make sure to shop around for the best odds before placing any Rugby World Cup match bets. Overrounds give a good guide to overall value, but prices can vary for each team so keep your options open.

Rugby World Cup Handicap Betting

In the early stages of the Rugby World Cup, in particular, handicap betting can prove a profitable way to wager. In the pools, some of the world’s best teams come up against essentially amateur sides and the match betting odds are prohibitive. If you want to bet on a match that fits that description then backing on the handicap markets can provide a bit of value.

For example, if Australia played Uruguay you would expect the Wallabies to start -35 points. If you back them -34.5 points you need them to win by 35 points or more to get a return. The opposite applies if you back Uruguay +34.5 points. You’ll need them to lose by less than 34 points OR win to land your bet.

Tryscorer Markets

Let’s be honest, the vast majority of Rugby Union fans tune in to see spectacular tries scored by their favourite players. So it’s no wonder that Tryscorer is still one of the most popular Rugby World Cup Betting markets. If you manage to nail a first or last tryscorer, you will be rewarded with very generous odds. Winning anytime tryscorer bets are less lucrative but they give you a much more realistic chance of landing a winning Rugby World Cup bet.

Live Betting – Unibet Leading The Way!

Thanks to the Interactive Gambling Act from 2002, Australian online betting sites cannot legally offer live betting on their desktop or mobile sites. However, all of the bookies we mentioned above have come up with a workaround that sees them display live odds on their sites and their members just have to make a phone call to start with Rugby World Cup betting.

To see the latest Rugby World Cup live betting odds with Unibet simply click on the ‘Live Right Now’ button at the top of the home page. This will take you to the Unibet Live Betting suite where you can look at a list of all currently live and upcoming live betting events. The odds are displayed and if you see a price you like you just dial the number shown and an operator will place your bet.

Rugby World Cup Fantasy Betting

No matter what the sporting event may be, Draftstars will likely have a fantasy league available. This is the newest craze sweeping across Australia and more and more Aussies are now jumping on the daily fantasy league bandwagon. If you haven’t yet given fantasy Rugby World Cup betting a try, then make sure to pay Draftstars a visit for the next Rugby World Cup.

They will have daily fantasy leagues for all the biggest Rugby World Cup matches. The prizes are usually very generous and entry fees range from $2 all the way up to $50 for some competitions. It is even possible to create a custom Rugby World Cup Fantasy League with Draftstars and just compete against your mates. You can find out a whole lot more about what they have to offer if you read our comprehensive analysis of Drafstars.

Live Streaming

For now, at least, none of the Australian betting sites we reviewed had Rugby World Cup live streaming available. Unfortunately, you’ll only be able to watch the Rugby World Cup live on terrestrial or satellite television. Unibet and bet365 offer live streaming for a wide selection of sports. Visit their websites or check out our reviews to learn more about live sports streaming with Australian betting sites.

Rugby World Cup Mobile Betting Apps

By the time the next Rugby World Cup rolls around it is likely that more betting will be done on mobile than on desktop. Younger punters are welded to their mobile phones and Aussie bookies are adapting to this new landscape. Bet365 really impressed us with their Rugby World Cup mobile betting apps for Android, Apple and other devices.

Android users need to visit bet365 via their mobile browser and they can download the app direct. If you are an Apple Device user then you can download the bet365 iOS App from the App Store. iOS 8/1 is needed and the App is 36.1 MB. For even more information on the Rugby World Cup mobile betting experience with bet365, read our impartial bet365 mobile betting app review.

History And Records

If you want to increase your prospects of profiting from Rugby World Cup betting, clues about future results can often be found by looking back at previous tournaments. A quick glance at the winners’ table shows that the big guns from the Southern Hemisphere have won 8 out of 9. England remains the only Northern Hemisphere side to have won it. They lifted the Webb Ellis trophy in 2003. Australia has won it twice, in 1991 and 1999.

Two rugby union legends share the record for scoring the most Rugby World Cup tries, Bryan Habana and Jonah Lomu with 15 apiece. Aussie Drew Mitchell is next best with 14. Michael Lynagh is the record Aussie points scorer in the Rugby World Cup with 195, 82 points less than the record holder Jonny Wilkinson who scored 277. New Zealand is the most successful Rugby World Cup nation with a total of 3 wins (1987, 2011, 2015).

Tournament Format

The first Rugby World Cup in 1987 was by invitation only. Qualification was introduced in 1991 when 8 of the 16 slots were awarded to teams that prevailed in a 24 team qualifying tournament. The format for the next tournament in 2023 will see 12 teams qualify automatically; all the quarter-finalists and also the 3rd placed finishers in the 4 groups at the previous tournament.

At the last Rugby World Cup, a total of 20 teams competed and they were split into 4 groups of 5. Each team plays the others once in the Pool Stage and the top 2 from each Pool advance to the last 8. The tournament then becomes a knockout event, with the last two teams standing playing in the Rugby World Cup final.

Betting On The Rugby World Cup FAQs