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Betfair Bookmaker

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Why Join Betfair?
  • Betfair is popular for its revolutionary and unique concept of trading bets
  • Winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise
  • Over 30 sports markets to choose from

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Betfair Review

Last updated: 21-08-2020

The Betfair concept of placing and exchanging bets was pioneered by Betfair itself. The simplest explanation, one can say that Betfair is like eBay for sports betting. There are buyers and sellers (of odds), and Betfair is there only to take a commission of the winning bets. It’s a betting exchange where punters sort of challenge other punters to place bet on odds that they suggested themselves. Betfair just provides the “ground” for this concept with its web-site and doesn’t take part in the action of posting or appointing odds. This is probably one of the most interactive ways of sports betting you have ever seen. Also, Betfair offers a regular sports betting page for those that want to bet the traditional way with odds set up by the operator himself.

  • Unique concept for placing bets
  • Classy and prestigious operator
  • Web-site full of useful and well presented information
  • Active betting forum for members
  • Rookie punters may be confused
  • No US customers supported
  • Commission on net winnings

Background & License

The web-site was launched over a decade ago, and in 2003 the company received one of the highest official rewards for achievements in doing business, the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Concept-wise, Betfair is the largest operator of its kind with over four million customers served by 1,800 employees.

Betfair is licensed by the Government of Gibraltar and regulated by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner under the Gambling Act 2005. It has a great reputation and it is one of the more fun web-sites to be part of where a betting community is cultivated with the help of Betfair’s forum. It is often said that Betfair has the lowest juice on the Internet. By being an exchange it is often praised how entertaining it can be to bet at Betfair.

Deposit Bonus & Promotions

As a starting offer to get all new punters the needed kick start into a unique and very exciting experience, Betfair gives £100 as a free bet (New Customer Offer. Place 5x £/€10 or more bets to receive £/€ 20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum £/€100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5). Exchange bets excluded. 18+. T&Cs apply.).

Type Amount (%) Matched amount Wagering Code

Summary

The bottom line is that it takes time to learn and get used to Betfair’s concept of bet exchange, but only briefly. After several bets placed you will understand the basics of this completely different experience and you shouldn’t have problems in the future. The biggest feature of Betfair is that it organises tournament betting where the winner odds are almost always far better than those offered by standard bookmakers, while with the back/lay system you can lock in profits if the odds are moving in your favour. The downside may be the fact that Betfair is not very appropriate for sports betting beginners, however serious punters will enjoy the opportunity to act as a bookmaker for a change, therefore Betfair is highly recommended to serious sports betting enthusiasts.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much time is needed for a bet to settle?

Betfair aims to settle all of your bets within 30 minutes after the final result(s) for the event(s) have been confirmed. Until then the bet is still open until the results have been officially announced, which should take more than a couple of minutes. If your bets have not been settled after 30 minutes you can contact Betfair’s customer support.

How am I able to deposit or withdraw?

For each transaction that you want to make you will use the 'My Account' section of Betfair. That will be your main panel whenever you want to deposit or withdraw. If you want to make a transaction using a credit card, you will need to register a card with Betfair first in the ‘My Account’ section under 'My Card Details' tab. To withdraw funds just click on the 'Withdraw Funds from Betfair’s tab in the My Account section, and all available funds for withdrawing will be displayed. To deposit click ‘Deposit Funds into Betfair’.

Where can I learn betting terms?

Betting terms are important to know if you want to be a more insightful player. Knowing what each-way, accumulator or ante-post is can come in real handy when you are wanting to place bets. For that purpose we have created a betting glossary that you can use freely in your online betting adventures.

What languages are supported?

At the moment Betfair’s website supports nine different languages widely spoken throughout the world, including English (Australian, New Zealander, British and Irish English), Danish, German, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish. The same languages are used for providing customer support too.

How are bets placed?

Although Betfair is a betting exchange bets can be placed as at any other standard bookmaker. Find an event that you want to bet on and click on the ‘Back’ or ‘Lay’ odds (Back odds are colored blue, while Lay odds are colored pink). Click on the odds that you want to back or to lay and the selection will appear in your bet slip. Once in the bet slip you can continue with your bet at the odds proposed or you can propose your own odds that people can back or lay.

How safe are my personal details?

Your safety at Betfair is a priority. Betfair maintains security via many standard measures, like encrypting login information with SSL technology, regular testing of the software, enforcing strong passwords policy, temporary account deactivation after several unsuccessful login attempts, and strict authentication if sensitive changes are made to your account.

Sports and In-Play

Betfair offers plenty of variety to make sure that punters are not bored with betting. The only thing that may be missing is the exotics, since the nature of a betting exchange can be a little tricky and because of that it is very difficult to offer certain generic promo offers and bonuses that you can find at other standard bookmakers. The odds displayed may be confusing at first, but you’ll get the hang of it easily. The odds are given in fractional or decimal format, and they are posted or suggested by the punters themselves. There are two kinds of odds for each selection, back and lay. If you accept odds then you “back” the outcome and assume the role of a punter. If you “lay” a selection, that means you are suggesting odds of your own and thus you assume the role of a bookmaker.

Football

So, when you read that some top sports betting web-site offers a wide range of football, think of Betfair and its selection of sports markets, from the top football leagues like the Premier League, or Seria A, to obscure competitions like the football league of Bahrain or Jordan. There are over 50 football betting markets and specials like who will be the next manager of a certain football team, or will the star player stay in the club, etc.

Horse Racing

The horse racing section, one of the most popular sections along with the football betting opportunities, covers all British and Irish race tracks, along with Australian ones. Betfair offers three types of race betting: exchange (where members can back or lay runners), fair price (members get the highest official on-course bookmaker fluctuation), and tote betting. With the new Betfair racing page you can view exchange, fair price and tote odds, all at the same time.

Live In-Play Betting

Live in-play betting at Betfair is an unrivalled experience because Betfair is able to offer its members the chance to cash out for a profit during a sporting event, like a football match, horse race or other event. This is due to the unique back and lay system with which punters don’t have to wait for the final outcome of the event. There is also a live video section with which punters can watch the sporting event that they placed a bet on as the action unfolds.

Banking & Service

Betfair operates with a closed loop policy, which means that Betfair will always insist on withdrawal of funds with the same method used for depositing. With this policy both Betfair and its users are protected against fraud and money laundering activities. If you want or if you need to change the method, first you will have to level off any deposits made with the same method. Betfair accepts all the credit and debit cards that are used most commonly by people, like Visa, Visa Electron, Visa Delta, MasterCard, Maestro, Solo and Laser. The waiting period for the money withdrawn with credit/debit cards to arrive at your account can take 2-5 working days. This time period does not depend on Betfair, since Betfair processes your withdrawal almost immediately, but on the bank instead. However, the cheapest and quickest way for depositing and withdrawing would be with the e-wallets offered, including PayPal, Neteller, Skrill and ClickAndBuy, since they take up to a maximum of 24 hours to be processed and don’t impose fees. You can also deposit or withdraw via bank transfer or cheques. Currencies available at Betfair are UK Sterling, Euro, US Dollar, Hong Kong Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Danish Krone, Norwegian Krone, Swedish Krona and Singapore Dollar.

Customer service at Betfair is excellent, when we take into consideration that Betfair is not considered a bookmaker. The support representatives are there to ensure that everyone can wager freely and to answer any questions they might have. Betfair offers plenty of great guides for inexperienced punters, and a vast FAQ section that you should really read since it contains almost every question and answer that newcomers might have. If you don’t like reading, the customer support representatives are available 24/7 via online contact form, email, UK, Irish, Australian and international phone numbers or Tweeter.

The security of your personal information is a priority at Betfair. The measures taken to ensure the protection of its members include encryption of login information, using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology, internal and external security tests of Betfairs software, passwords checking against Betfair’s minimum password strength policies, authentication steps for sensitive changes to your account etc. We may conclude that Betfair is a safe place for betting.

Payment Method Name Depositing Withdrawing Withdraw Time

Mobile

1. Please create an account with Betfair before your proceed with the installation and use of the Betfair mobile betting app by going to www.betfair.com.

2. After the completion of the registering process you can pres on the ‘Mobile’ button under the ‘Sports’ tab and you will be redirected to Betfair’s mobile info page or just type www.betfair.com/onmobile in your address bar.

3. When you arrive on the mobile info page you can insert your mobile phone number in order to receive install instructions and a link on your mobile that will take you to the required destination. After that the installation is really easy and fast. It just takes a single tap on the button that prompts you to install and the process will end before your realise it.

4. Alternatively you can press the ‘Apps’ button next to the ‘Mobile’ button under the ‘Sports’ tab and access Betfair’s unique apps page where you can find all of the apps released by Betfair for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, iPad and tablets, including apps that are additionally installed for a more unique betting experience like you’ve never seen at other sports betting web-sites, for example, an app that will help you have a better view of the sports analytical data, app for monitoring the in-play sports markets etc. The opportunities are just endless.

This mobile app from Betfair is available for almost any today’s smartphone or mobile that you can use for surfing on the internet. However the functions are different for each device. Betfair’s mobile betting app is actually a web application that you can access from a variety of devices without the need to download it. It can easily be accessed through Betfair’s web-site. With the app you can make payments and withdraw winnings directly. Currently Betfair has more than two hundred thousands of active mobile punters throughout the entire year.

There is still work to be done on the aesthetics of Betfair’s mobile app. Nevertheless, it is one of the soundest mobile betting experiences out there. By looking at it you will find that it is not too flashy and can be used with customisable settings that you can modify according to your preferences. Refresh times and the degree of complication in placing bets are stripped to the minimum. With Betfair’s mobile betting app you will have the option to learn all the rules of the game before you start placing bets.

The Betfair mobile app has a functionality that facilitates and enables a quicker procedure of placing bets on your favourite sports markets. You will be able to place Back, Lay and starting price bets on the exchange, and you can modify all partially matched bets. Your profits and losses for any sports or racing market can be monitored very easily and you can track the dynamic market betting percentages. The mobile tools you could be using include easy depositing funds into your account, transferring of funds between wallets, and viewing of your betting history and all current bets. There is also cash out feature that will help you lock in a guaranteed profit on your bet no matter what happens with the rest of the game.

iPhone

There are two Betfair mobile versions available for iPhone. One can be downloaded from the App store, while the other can be accessed with the least effort as a web application.

Android

The Android app provides all the necessary functions too as the desktop version of the web-site. You can have a full access to your account, the full range of online markets, bets, and you can make deposits and withdrawals with it.

Blackberry

Betfair mobile betting can be accessed through Blackberry too. What Blackberry users essentially do is they visit the mobile version of the desktop where all the functions are present as for other devices.

iPads & Other Tablets

The iPad app has been re-launched recently with new updates because of the strong market demand and the continual growth of tablet users.

By signing up with Betfair you will gain access to some of the most popular sports among punters, and those usually are football, cricket, tennis and horse racing. There are other betting markets too, like ice hockey, golf, American football, basketball, darts, snooker and others. The mobile version provides a separate home screen tab where only racing events are shown, which is handy for racing punters. The live in-play betting service is the main feature of this great mobile web application for sports betting, where your most preferred markets can be saved into a separate bookmark page where you can access them more easily than having to browse among the different sports markets.

The New Customer offer at Betfair for newly registered users includes a £50 free bet. You just have to open an account, bet at least £5 at min odds of 1/5 and if you lose your bet you will be refunded with the same value of your bet. As you become a full member of Betfair you will be exposed to many other promotions and free bets too. For example, with the Acca Insurance all accumulator stakes made with the app will be refunded if only one leg lets you down. There are lots of similar offers that are usually focused on football or horse racing punters.

The people behind Betfair, the creators of the world’s first betting exchange, are not scared of having to launch new and innovative products on a continual basis, and to implement software and creative ideas by using the very latest in technology. Betfair understands the need for an excellent betting technology and tries to seize every opportunity for an improved betting experience for punters. People that use mobile devices or tablets 99% of their time to surf online are going to enjoy by using most with Betfair’s mobile app. The Betfair mobile apps are free and can be acquired as soon as you have opened your Betfair account.

Soccernews Editor Rating

  • 5/5
  • RATING

Processing over 15 million bets each day, Betfair has set the bar high in the online gaming industry. The omnipresent spirit of innovation follows you every step of the way, while you place your wagers at some of the best odds on the market.

- Reviews Editor, Soccernews.com

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Certified Legal & Regulated

Company Information

Company:Betfair

Year Established:1999

License: Gibraltar

Support E-mail:

Live Stream:Yes

Early Cash Out:Yes

Language

EnglishPortugueseRussianSpanishSwedish

Popular Payment Methods

Target Markets

UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, South Africa, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands

Notable Restricted Countries

France, Belgium, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, China, Japan, Israel, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Thailand, Canada, Cuba, Greenland, Mexico, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, USA

5

Our Rating

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Certified Legal & Regulated

Company Information

Company:Betfair

Year Established:1999

License: Gibraltar

Support E-mail:

Live Stream:Yes

Early Cash Out:Yes

Language

EnglishPortugueseRussianSpanishSwedish

Popular Payment Methods

Target Markets

UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, South Africa, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands

Notable Restricted Countries

France, Belgium, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, China, Japan, Israel, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Thailand, Canada, Cuba, Greenland, Mexico, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, USA

5

Our Rating
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