Are lists of the best betting sites in Ireland paid for by the bookmakers?

The claim has two parts. One is whether any ranking is paid for. The other is how common that is, which needs a count.

The count needs a sample: the first-page results for the main query, each page and date stored in our research folder, each read for four visible features. Until that is done, the second part cannot be answered.

Bottom line: Whether paid rankings exist is a rules question; the count needs a recorded sample.

The ASA Code, points 3.31 and 3.32, say that advertising must not be passed off as an editorial review. Points 4.32 and 4.33 deal with how comparison claims are supported.

Section 55(1)(qa) of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 covers search results shown without clear disclosure of paid placement. Whether it applies to a static ranking page is not clear, so we disclose in any case.

The Code covers paid places and preferential listings. Editorial content and natural listings fall outside its scope (points 2.2 and 2.3).

Bottom line: Verdict: cannot be checked on 7 November 2026. The rules require disclosure of paid placement; a count of actual pages is not yet recorded.

Pages are reported as a group without names unless the owner's lawyer agrees otherwise.

Bottom line: Four visible features are read on every page in the sample; none is recorded yet.

As a blanket statement, the claim is wrong in these cases:

• A list earns no commission and says so, with a method you can follow.
• A list carries paid links, but its order follows a published formula that payment does not enter.
• A list is paid and ranks by payment, but discloses that clearly; the claim is true, and the disclosure is what the rules ask for.

Paid links and ranking by payment are different things. The page must say which applies.

Bottom line: Payment alone does not decide the matter; disclosure and a followable method do.

1. Look for an Ad label before the first operator link.
2. Find the sentence that discloses the commercial link.
3. Open the method page and see whether the order follows stated criteria.
4. Match each licence number to the GRAI register.
5. Note the date the page says it was checked.

If a list has no method and no disclosure, treat its order as advertising. Our own disclosure is on the page on how we make money.

Bottom line: Label, disclosure, method, licence number and date: five checks that need no special tools.

• Can unlicensed sites operate legally?
• Are new betting sites safe?
• Comparing odds fairly