Betfair

Who are Betfair?

Betfair was the first company to pave the way for the betting exchange format in gambling, where punters can use their knowledge to decide their own odds and bet against each other without ‘the middle man’ – the bookie. Betfair is undoubtedly the biggest provider of such a service. However,  their operations are not limited to it and also offer more traditional betting opportunities, such as online casino, poker, fixed odds, and more.

This review will break down Betfair and give you an idea what the betting company is about. It will pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of the bookie and will familiarise you with their main promotions, features and website. Have a read.

How to set up an account and claim your welcome bonus

To get access to all Betfair resources, including an array of promotions and prizes, punters are asked to register. The process is hassle-free and doesn’t take too long. Here is how to do it:

1. Visit Betfair.com

2. Click on the ‘Join’ button on the top of the page.

3. Fill in your personal information and set your bet limits

4. Make a deposit, and you are free to explore the Betfair world!

To claim the welcome package, you will be asked to enter a promo code during registration. If you are referred to the Betfair site by an affiliate partner, you would have a promo code that gives you a special bonus. Alternatively, simply leave the default promo code (VAL225) and once a deposit of £5 or more is made, a £25 free bet for betting exchange will be added to your account.

Betfair Promotions

Betfair is an excellent place to bet on football and horse racing. Apart from taking advantage of a host of promotional offers, punters can test their luck and knowledge with the betting exchange platform, where the betting options are endless and the odds are visibly higher than the average on the market. Betfair regularly updates their promotions’ list to give their customers a more enjoyable and profitable experience. Here are some of the main promotions they have at present:

1. £5 Free bet on Multiples – Bet £20 on multiples and receive a £5 free bet valid for multiples.

2. £10 Free in Cash – Win £10 for every referral you make.

3. Best Odds Guaranteed for Exchange – Betfair guarantees the best exchange odds on selected events  in football, tennis, cricket, horse racing, greyhound racing.

4. Best Odds Guaranteed for Horse Racing – Valid for both single and multiple bets, best odds are guaranteed for any horse race in the UK and Ireland.

5. Minimum Bet to Win Guarantee – Minimum bets placed between 10 am on the same day and the start of the race, guarantee contention for £500 prize.

6. Win up to 12, 500 euro on Twister Races – Compete and earn a place in the Betfair Twister Races leaderboard every week to get a share of the €12,500 prize pool.

7. Free Bet up to £25 on Won Multi Bets in Football – When your same game multi bet on odds of 4/1 or better wins, you get a free bet matching your winnings or up to £25.

Note: Betfair regularly updates its offers and promotions, so make sure you keep a close eye on their promotions page.

How Betfair started

Betfair’s relatively short existence in the bookie world hasn’t stopped the company from becoming a trend-setter in the betting world. “Death to the Bookmaker!” was the slogan under which they launched their company in 2000. The idea was to oust the bookmaker from what was considered its main role and replace him with the ordinary punter. This idea was materialised by the Betfair betting exchange platform, where punters can set odds and bet among themselves, with Betfair claiming a small fee for the service.

The betting company’s quick rise to the top is not down to mere chance! Betfair filled a market hole, which it continues to occupy today and is recognised as one of the biggest betting companies around.

Today, Betfair boasts over 4 million loyal customers and has a revenue nearing £700 million a year!

Website Usability

• Feature-rich
• Pleasing design
• Easy navigation
• Quick Loading

Betfair’s leading position in the betting exchange market is a testament to their commitment to technology and insight into the betting business. This is clearly reflected by the quality of their website. For one, it is completely devoid of clutter and has many useful features that give users control over how they use it. Once users register, they receive access to all the available website functions, including the option to personalise the interface and set their feature preferences. Via the control panel, they can also build a custom feed to receive the latest betting tips, tutorials and news from the Betfair blog.

Navigation around the site content is also very easy. Punters can simply click on a sports category of interest, found on the left side of the screen, and they will see all the events planned for the day. A simple click on the odds will send them to the quick-bet tab. It’s as simple as that.

Sports Markets Coverage

Betfair is hard to beat for a variety of betting markets offered. Most experienced reviewers would agree that their consistent presence in Top 3 lists for bookies with most sports covered is wholeheartedly deserved. Their strong focus on market diversity is rooted in the knowledge that not every punter wishes to bet on mainstream sports. There are plenty of punters, who have deep knowledge of local sports and events and want to bring that to fruition. Thus, on top of popular markets that every other bookmaker makes available, such as national and club football, horse racing, tennis, basketball, American football, Betfair opens the doors to betting on financial markets, eSports, virtual sports, Nordic sports, and many others.

Betfair Features

Cash-Out – With the Cash Out function punters can end their bets prematurely to prevent losses or secure winnings. Betfair offers an automatic setting for this feature, which takes ‘easy’ to a whole new level.

Match Live – This feature provides a dedicated page for your in-play bets, where you can stay on top of the latest action, analyse team and player performance, and manage live bets.

My Betfair Rewards – Betfair offer new promotions every week. This tool allows betting exchange players to set their preferences and get notified about new or upcoming promotions.

Live Streaming – Like any other big bookmaker, Betfair offers a live streaming service to customers. Punters simply need to place a bet on an event to receive full access to its dedicated live streaming page.

Bet Builder – This feature allows punters to compile new bets and edit existing ones.

Mobile Betting – The Betfair specialised apps provide bettors with a convenient platform to make quick bets and follow the action. They can be downloaded from all the major app stores.

In-Play Betting

Around 16 betting in-play markets are available at Betfair. Compared to Bet365, this might not sound impressive, but it’s sufficient when you take into account the betting exchange odds in store. Betfair’s betting exchange platform is used by millions, so excellent opportunities to bet on major leagues and races are available at all time. The Betfair in-play allows punters to bet both for and against a chosen party at very favourable odds! The Match Live feature is well-thought-out and gives them all the information they need to be on top of their bets amid all the dynamics of the action. To back their decisions in real-time, punters can also take advantage of excellent quality streaming of live events.

Deposit and Withdrawal

Betfair covers most common methods of deposit and withdrawal. Punters can make a deposit in either one of these ways: credit/debit card, PayPal, Neteller, InstaDebit, Skrill, or bank wire. The minimum amount is £5, while withdrawals are limited to £5000. All withdrawals undergo security clearances. Their limit can be renegotiated under some circumstances – for this punters need to speak with the Betfair customer support staff. Transactions are free of charge and generally take up to 24 hours, except bank wires which could take up to 5 business days.

Odds

Betfair offers decent odds all across the board, but it is their exchange betting section that steals the show. The odds for the betting exchange are significantly higher than fixed or in-play odds other bookies offer, even with the 5% commission Betfair charges for winning bets. Furthermore, there a number of incentives and discounts off the commission for active players.

Betfair is also proud of their horse racing fixed odds and regularly guarantee the highest odds for selected events. Looking at some of their evaluations, we have to agree that they are giving competitors with established horse-racing traditions, such as BetVictor and Bet365, a serious run for their money.

Casino

For hunters of casino welcome bonuses, Betfair might prove a bit underwhelming with their £10 deposit winning £100 in free bets. However, they would be amiss not to try it out as Betfair’s genuine casino rush hides behind its welcome bonus. Jackpots swelling astoundingly quickly and a host of activity-based promotions for players assault the senses once you get beyond the first barrier. This is complemented by a great mix of popular and unique games with great graphics. Fans of movies, for example, can dip their feet into thematic games based on Marvel, Ace Ventura and other popular films or focus solely on winning instant rewards by playing on either one of the over 130 available slot machines.

For experienced casino players or those with more traditional tastes, table and card games such as blackjack, baccarat, poker, or roulette always remain an option.  Alternatively, there’s always the real rush of playing alongside real dealers.

Betfair partners with Playtech, the main provider of software for bookies. As such the quality of their casino games is guaranteed, giving players a smooth, visually-striking and enjoyable experience. Give the Betfair Casino a go and see what the fuss is about!

Security and Licences

Betfair has had its share of trademark bookie security breaches.  In 2011, for example, they reported that a big number of their customers had had their credit card information compromised. Security breach such as this is not the first occurrence in the bookmaker world as these entities are appealing targets for hackers. The encouraging bit is that Betfair reacted responsibly by taking serious steps to pump up their security and reporting this issue to the Security Organised Crime Agency. As a result, no other major incidents have occurred since then.

Betfair holds licences to operate from the UK Gambling Commission and the Gambling Authority of Gibraltar. This allows them to operate legally in a number of countries and assures punters that they are regulated by the recognised bodies.  Betfair has also worked alongside the authorities to fight corruption in betting.

To conclude, as of today, Betfair operates legally under the umbrella of the regulators and have worked hard to provide the needed security to their customers. As a result, this bookmaker is safe to use.

General Information

Company: Flutter Entertainment

Owner: Gary McCann (Chairman), Peter Jackson CEO

Headquarters: Stevenage, UK

Customer Care

Working Hours: 24/7

Channels: Telephone, Email, Live Chat, Twitter

Supported Languages: English, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian

Contact details: info@betfair.com

Betting

Min.Bet:  £2

Bet Limits: Rules Apply

Odds: Excellent odds

Website

Services – Cash Out, In-Play, Increased Limits, Live Streaming, Ask Trader

Unrestricted countries: Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom.

Supported Platforms: PC, tablet, mobile

Mobile App: Yes

Common misspellings: betfar, betfare, fairbet, begfair, beyfair

Alexa Global Rank: 2,300

Markets Covered

American Football, Athletics, Basketball, Boxing, Cricket, Cycling, Darts, Football, Formula 1, Golf, Greyhounds, Horse Racing, Martial Arts, Moto GP, Rugby, Snooker, Surfing, Tennis, Volleyball, Baseball, Politics, Financial.