Betfair Review

8.0/10

top 5 reasons to bet at Betfair: £30 in free bets when setting up a new account (with the promotion code: BET234); Noticeably more lucrative odds than competitors; Allows for financial trading and betting through its patented LMAX trading platform; Betfair offers detailed news from the world of sport, as well as custom features to help sharpen wagering skills; Integrated access to racing post ratings, forms and detailed statistics

Description (Our Opinion)

Founded in 1999, Betfair is somewhat newer to the betting community than some of its peers, however has proven itself to be a market leader within the online gaming sector.

Betfair is commonlyrecognised as a pioneer within the betting exchange community, in that it introduced the betting exchange concept- allowing customers to bet at odds set by themselves or by other customers.

The brand is the world’s largest international online sports betting provider and hold s licences in licences in the UK, Malta, Italy, the United States and (through its joint venture) Australia.

Harbouring a global target audience, Betfair offers markets on a wide array of sports markets, including some of the more niche markets i.e. cricket, rugby- which clearly sets it above its competitors.

While Betfair offers just as many, if not more, betting options as other online bookmakers, Betfair is renowned for having a wide array of sporting markets, as well as being amongst the industry leaders with regards to in horse-racing activities with ‘exchange’ concept when placing a bet.

At the heart of Betfair’s success is its pioneering Betting Exchange, whereby customers can come together in order to bet at odds sought by themselves or offered by other customers, thereby eliminating the need for a traditional bookmaker.

Betfair offers a unique market in that it allows their customers to lay or back a bet. To lay a bet is to back something not to happen. For example, to lay Manchester United to win their match is to back them NOT to win. If you were to lay them, you would win your bet if they either lost or drew their match.

Despite being a site where you bet almost entirely against other users, Betfair offer a list of deposit bonuses and promotions, found here.

With Betfair you can not only lay any selection, but also choose the price you want to take, as well as decide how much you are prepared to risk. The shorter the price you wish to lay, the less money you have to risk compared to your potential reward.

Betfair implements a highly useful offering of live video streaming from most major racecourses, allowing all betting clients to view the action live, whilst simultaneously placing live bets.

Betfair offers a live and highly descriptive betting news section with up to date proceedings on listed events, as well as tips and predictions- a huge plus to those new to the betting game, and looking for guidance and clarity.

Hits: A highly up to date news section catering for betting markets; A unique market that deals either in bookmaker odds, or exchanges determined by the betters themselves- therefore eliminating the need to abide by bookie odds; Higher odds than numerous other online bookmakers
Misses: Markets can be somewhat late to develop leading up to an event; Customer service is limited to certain times; At Betfair you can be reliant on other punters, and are therefore reliant on their betting techniques; The type of bets available are more limited than on many sites

features

Mobile Betting
Live Betting
Live Streaming

Betting calendar
Blog
Calculators
Forms
Live Scores
Racing Guides
Sports News

Betfair Promotion Code

Casino
£ 200 Sign-Up Bonus
- To qualify: Open a New Account and Deposit on Betfair Casino
- To claim your bonus: Betfair Casino will match your deposit 100% up to £200
Poker
£ 2,500 Sign-Up Bonus
- To qualify: Download and install the Betfair Poker Software
- To claim your bonus: Earn VIP player points and Betfair Poker will give you a Sign Up Bonus up to £2500

Odds

All prices quoted on Betfair are 'Decimal' Odds differing from the traditional format

the Odds traditionally quoted in the UK in that they include your stake as part of your total return. If you place a bet of £10 at Decimal Odds of 4.0 and win, then your total return (including stake) is £40. In the UK this would be quoted as 3/1, returning to you winnings of £30 plus your original stake of £1

Betfair’s Exchange has fundamentally changed the sports betting market by offering customers improved pricing and an increase in choice and flexibility.

In the calendar year 2009, Betfair offered, on average 24 per cent higher odds than other online gaming companies on UK horse racing, and 9 per cent higher odds on matches for the top 5 European football leagues.

Betfair works off a ‘better odds’ platform. This works in that if a customer has entered a bet but, before it is confirmed, better odds become available- the customer will always obtain the best odds available at the time of matching.

Sports Offered

American Football
Basketball
Boxing
Cricket
Darts
Financials
Floorball
Football
Golf
Greyhounds
Handball
Hockey
Horse racing
Motor Sports
Poker
Politics
Rugby League
Rugby Union
Snooker
Tennis
TV/Novelty
UFC
Volleyball
Winter Sports

Currencies

Language

Bulgarian
Chinese
Czechoslovakian
Danish
Finnish
German
Greek
Italian
Japanese
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Turkish

Deposit and Withdrawl

Betfair offers a simple, and secure, online money transfer system direct to your playing account. Simply enter the amount you wish to deposit, confirm your password and submit the form.

Making a withdrawal from your Betfair account is as easy as entering an amount to withdraw, and confirming the transaction.

Note: for any deposit or withdrawal to occur, one has to be a registered Betfair player. To process a withdrawal from a Betfair account, a user needs to select 2 easy options, namely:

"My Account" --> "Withdraw Funds from Betfair". Your ''Available to Withdraw'' updated balance will be displayed on the screen.

Simply select which payment method you wish to withdraw, insert amount and confirm password. Withdrawal times entirely depend on which payment method used, however generally take 2-5 days to clear.

Note: A client must withdraw to the same source that he/she initially used for the deposit. Almost all deposits and withdrawals are either free, or have a commission fee of approximately 1.5%

ClickandBuy
Laser Debit
Maestro Debit
MasterCard Credit
Moneybookers
Neteller
PayPal
Personal cheque
Solo Debit
Visa Credit
Visa Delta Debit
Visa Electron Debit
Western Union
Wire Transfer

Company Facts

Betfair also owns LMAX- a platform that has developed an exchange market for online retail financial trading-which has evolved from Betfair’s exchange technology. LMAX was originally established by Betfair in 2007, and has invested significant resources since then in developing its proprietary exchange, with a launch expected to take place in the final calendar quarter of 2010.

Betfair also owns Betfair US, which comprises TVG (a licensed US horse racing wagering and television broadcasting business) and a development office in San Francisco.

In addition, Betfair has a 50 per cent. shareholding in Betfair Australia, a joint venture which operates a licensed betting exchange business in Australia.

Betfair has twice been named the UK’s “Company of the Year” by the Confederation of British Industry and has won two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, being recognised for Innovation in 2003 and most recently for International Trade in 2008.

Betfair employs more than 2,000 people, with more than 100 also employed by Betfair Australia. The Betfair Group owns licensed operations in the UK, Malta, Italy and the United States and (through Betfair Australia) in Australia.

Founding year: 1999
Licensed In: UK, Malta
Head Office: Waterfront, Hammersmith Embankment, Chancellors Road, London, England W6 9HP UK
Phone Number: +44 (0) 208 834 8000
Email: info@betfair.com

Customer Service

BetFair's customer service is superb with the helpdesk and telephone betting manned 24/7 by English speaking Betfair brokers and Helpdesk staff, and 3pm to 5am (Beijing time), 7 days-a-week by Mandarin/ Cantonese speaking staff.

The brand offers email and telephone options for online support, as well as postal methods for those less technically inclined.

Betfair is well known for having swift, knowledgeable and helpful customer service.

You can contact Betfair by the following means:

Email (contact form)
Telephone
Mail

Extras

Casino: Betfair has recently launched a casino site and is offering a very generous deposit bonus. They also offer several games with ZERO HOUSE MARGIN. It features over 40+ casino games including a dozen card games (featuring Pai Gow, Blackjack, Red Dog and Three card poker), 17 different multi-line slots, 3 single line slots, table games like craps and roulette as well as video poker. There is a lot of casino action going on at Betfair!

Poker: Betfair Poker has quickly become a major destination for European-based poker enthusiasts. They offer a very generous sign up bonus as well as a very juicy refer-a-friend bonus. Betfair Poker sponsors the World Series of Poker Europe as well as the European Poker Tour. Betfair Poker offers plenty of tournament action, whether it be sit & go, multi-table tournaments or some of their freerolls.

Exchange Games: Betfair offers a unique twist on traditional casino games with its Exchange betting system. Get in on the action yourself in addition to backing or laying against the player or the house in traditional Betfair fashion on games such as: Baccarat, Blackjack, Hi/lo, Hold'em, Omaha hi

Visit Betfair