Betfair Review

Betfair is the world’s largest internet betting exchange there is. It is one of the more recent bookmakers, forming at the turn of the 2000s by Andrew Black, and it was not until 2012 that fixed-odds betting was introduced to appeal to a wider audience. The company came together with Paddy Power in early 2016, and currently employ close to 2,000 people across the globe.

Deposit & Withdrawals

The typical shindig applies to Betfair when it comes to depositing and withdrawals, including Debit/Credit cards, but also bank transfer and PayPal. The latter aforementioned two will usually have your money withdrawn within a day, though the former can be as a long as a week so be prepared to wait. Deposit limits can be set for safe betting, as well as the clever loss limits too. The minimum deposit is a little above the usual $5, as it sits at $10, though you can withdraw any amount when it comes to Debit/Credit cards.

Customer Service

Betfair offers an extensive range of customer service expected these days with online betting companies. The help button is located at the top left of the page, leading to a detailed FAQ. Their social media links are compiled on the right, with live chat, telephone and email all options under the ‘Contact us’ tab. 24/7, 365 days a year too. Live chat is the usual method of choice for people with Betfair, usually due to its ease of access, compared to the telephone. On our site you will also find information about Betfair bonus and Betfair mobile app.

License Information

For customers Betfair licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission.

Types of bets

Betfair pride themselves on having, in their words, ‘best odds on all English soccer’. Where it’s claimed Betfair beat out all their competitors with bets on the Premier League and the Soccer League. Their betting markets are vast, with the betting exchange being their main draw-in. This allows the betting scheme known as matched bets, along with wagers with other betters. Commissions are put in place to confirm deals between people.

Sport coverage

In-play experience

Another strong point due to the betting exchange is their live betting, or in-play betting. With odds constantly changing, there is always something to bet/wager on through the betting exchange, alongside the standard in-play betting bookmakers offers. They also offer live streaming, which is reliable, much like that of Bet365 and William Hill. Though their attempt at virtual sports, such as virtual soccer, can be a bit hit and miss as it is computer determined, not a representational live stream of an actual game.

Live streaming

The Betfair site has been continuously improved over the years from the front splash page through to the betting interface and showing of events and markets.

The traditional colour scheme of the site with gold, black, grey and white has remained and the design and use of colours makes the site very easy to view and navigate.

Once reaching the front page, you now have a very uncluttered interface. At the top you have two menus, the top menu shows the full range of Betfair products whilst the second menu is where all the action takes place. From here you can get to any sport or market easily.

The rest of the home page has a selection of offers, a main offer and then 3 smaller sections with a further 3 offers which are a set of daily offers

With this layout Betfair are limiting your options. You can either login and start betting or you can explore the offers.

There is no cofusion and no other graphics to interfere with the main reason for being on the site…….to place a bet

Being an exchange the technology behind Betfair (both the exchange and sportsbook) is state of the art, which means the site is incredibly fast to load.

Of course Betfair started out as an exchange only, but now they also have a sportsbook offer which has improved in the range of sports offers since they joined forces with Paddy Power.

If we look at the exchange first then of course we know that Betfair has the highest liquidity (amount of cash out betting sites being bet) and because of this the prices and odds are going to be that much better, even than their own sportsbook.

When we look at the odds and price performance on their sportsbook then they have similar margins to their sister company Paddy Power.

Without a doubt they are the best (betting exchange) for odds on horse racing and soccer if you are a punter who bets on single selections and of course you can trade In-play with Betfair.

Because of the nature of Betfair being an exchange they can come up with an unlimited amount of markets, and soccer matches see them more often than not having well over 200 markets. At the end of the day a market on Betfair is one person’s opinion against another persons opinion, this is why it is called peer to peer betting.

Horse Racing is another huge sport for Betfair with races being covered from across the globe. You have a wide selection of racing including: France, USA, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Sweden, Chile, India and others

The exchange offers win, place, forcast and a selection of match bets while the sportsbook offers the full range of multiple and combination bets such as Yankee’s, Lucky 15’s and other standard bets.

Where the Betfair Sportsbook stand out on markets is with their “EW Edge” betting where you can decide how many places you want on your bet. The more places you add then the lower the price goes on your selection. This is a great way of building out a short price win and EW acca.

With Betfair covering a huge range of sports, both the exchange and sportsbook has something for everybody.

Of course the exchange platform is well known for being able to bet In-play or in running and the interface itself is very straightforward. When we move to the sportsbook the In-play interface is much more congested and not so easy to navigate. Clicking through to an individual match gives you the stats and live data on the left and the pricing and markets on the right.

Although it is easy to get to a market we found the grey, blue and white interface a little confusing.

Also on the right sandwiched between the live in play graphics and the data was a set of promos for games. For us we feel that once a player has clicked through to in play on a certain event he/she is looking to bet on that event. Other elements that have nothing to do with the event are just unwanted distractions.

If we start with the Betfair Exchange then the bonuses are quite limited due to the nature of the platform.

– Bet $10 on the exchange and get a free $5 bet on the Betfair sportsbook.
– Pay only 2% commission on all racing on Tuesday every week.
– Pay only 2% commission on special offers for various sports each month.

If we then look at the Sportsbook then we have a much wider range of offers.

– Acca Boost on your first acca of the week. Get up to 50% bonus on returns.
– Bet $10 on the sportsbook and get a free $5 bet on the Betfair exchange.
– Best Odds on Soccer on all 4 top English leagues.

Depositing and withdrawing funds into your Betfair account is very straightforward indeed.

Betfair have a range of payment options including cards and e wallets.

You can only use Betfair live chat if you are logged into an account. If you are not a member they have an extensive FAQ and help section which can be reached by clicking on help at the very top left of the screen.

The main exchange and sportsbook are licensed by the Gambling Commission.

The Betfair Virtual Sports are provided by PPB Entertainment Limited, and for customers in Ireland by PPB Counterparty Services Limited. Mini Games are provided by PPB Entertainment Limited and Betfair Casino Limited, Triq il-Kappillan Mifsud, St. Venera, SVR 1851, Malta, which are licensed are regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority.

Licence Numbers: MGA/CL1/185/2004 1st July 2015 & MGA/CL1/294/2006 16th July 2012. Some games are licensed and regulated by The Alderney Gambling Control Commission, The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission and The Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner, further information is displayed on the individual games where applicable. For customers in PPB Entertainment Limited and Betfair Casino Limited are licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission. Licence Numbers: 000-039426-R-319332-007 and 000-039435-R-319329-002.