Leading UK betting exchangeGreat option for trying a matched betting strategy
November 14, 2023
James started working in the betting industry a few weeks before Roger Federer won his first-ever Grand Slam and a few months before Greece shocked Europe’s elite at Euro 2004.
Their Sportsbook has everything you’d want. That includes betting on 30+ sports at any given time, competitive Betfair betting odds, a site that’s pleasant on the eye, a decent welcome offer, Best Odds Guaranteed on both horseracing and greyhounds, ongoing Odds Boosts and more free bets than usual for their more loyal customers.
Across all sports, there’s a wide and imaginative variety of markets and their impressive in-play product and live streaming service adds to the excitement.
Then of course, there’s the Exchange. It won’t be for everyone and is a bit harder to get you head around than fixed odds betting, but price-sensitive customers and those who like to trade rather than bet have an extra product they can use without having to open a separate account.
If you’re looking for just the one site that ticks all your sports betting needs, this could be the one for you.
Betfair shook up the world of online gambling when it launched back in 2000 as one of the world’s first two betting exchanges. (read more about betting exchanges)
The business model of peer-to-peer betting was extremely successful and well-received and offered far greater value to punters who could get much better odds, and lay as well as back, when using it.
To add to the Exchange’s success, Betfair launched a fixed odds Sportsbook in 2010 to give customers the option to use the Exchange and Sportsbook on the same site under the same account.
Other Betfair products include casino, poker, Exchange games and Bingo.
In 2015 Betfair merged with Paddy Power to become Pady Power Betfair PLC, later renamed Flutter Entertainment. When they went on to acquire Poker Stars, Fan Duel, Sky Bet and Sportsbet, they became the biggest betting business in the world.
Betfair employs almost 2000 staff worldwide and has offices in the UK, Australia, Malta, Italy and Portugal.
Let’s get this Betfair review underway by looking at the Betfair sign-up offer.
Given the increasing popularity of Bet Builders and the growing desire of betting sites for customers to embrace them, perhaps it’s no surprise that Betfair’s welcome offer is based around exactly that: Bet Builders.
You’ll need to deposit at least £10 and place a Bet Builder for that value at odds of at least evens (2.0) in order to claim the offer.
So, what do you get? You’re looking at a Bet Builder worth a whopping £40, plus 10 free spins for £0.10 a spin.
The Betfair promotions page has news about a decent amount of ongoing offers you can claim. Here are some of the best to get stuck into.
Betfair will choose certain races every day as ones where they will pay out on more places than usual. This could make all the difference because it happens a lot that your horse could just miss out on a payout by one place.
One of the worst feelings you can have as a punter is to back a player to do something – like being first goal scorer, scoring anytime, being sent off, or having x shots on target- only for them to be substituted before they have a chance to do anything!
First things first, please note this offer applies to Exchange bets (more on this in a minute), not Sportsbook ones.
These days many betting sites have moved away from rewards programs, also known as loyalty programs.
Betfair betting is available across over 30 different sports, ranging from the obvious like football, tennis and horseracing to the less obvious such as squash, netball and table tennis. For the purposes of this section, we’re focusing solely on the Sportsbook side of things rather than the Exchange.
| Sport | Major competitions covered | Good features |
| Football | Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Champions League, Europa League, Ligue 1, FIFA World Cup, Euros, Copa Libertadores. |
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| Tennis | AT Tour, WTA Tour, Challenger Tour, Davis Cup, Ante-post Grand Slam markets. |
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| Cricket | Test matches, ODIs, T20Is, IPL, CPL, BBL, PSL, The Hundred, T20 World Cup, County Championship. |
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| Horseracing | All UK and Ireland daily races, Cheltenham Festival, Aintree Festival. |
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| Golf | PGA Tour, DP Tour, LIV Tour, LPGA, The Majors, Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup. |
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Snooker is bigger and better than ever as the sponsorship, prize money and media interest keep on increasing. So does the Betfair offering, with more markets than ever both pre-match and in-play, and with plenty of games also available on live streaming.
This is a sport that won’t be for everyone, but it does have a big following and remains one of the biggest betting sports in the UK. At Betfair you can bet on who will win, the winning distance, who will finish in the Top/Bottom 3 and bet on the race without the favourite. All UK races are available on live streaming and all UK races have the Best Odds Guaranteed promise on them, just as they do for horseracing.
See all brands that offers Greyhound betting
So how are the Betfair betting odds?
We often say that there’s not much to choose between the biggest UK bookies because their prices (Odds Boosts aside) tend to be very similar. Not only do Betfair generally have among the highest odds on mainstream markets, but they really excel when it comes to such markets as first goal scorer in football, top batsman in cricket and outright winners in the likes of snooker and darts. So, you certainly get decent value for your money.
In this part of the Betfair betting review, we delve into the unique features that enhance the site’s value and user experience.
This Betfair review primarily focuses on the Sportsbook product, but it’s impossible to overlook Betfair’s second offering – the Exchange.
Betfair’s Cash Out betting is one of the best in the industry (click here to check other cash out options).
Betfair stands out for its extensive range of live-streamed events across various sports.
Betfair stands out from most UK betting sites by extending the Best Odds Guaranteed feature to greyhound racing, not just UK and Ireland horse racing.
The Betfair betting app is available on both Android and iOS.
Read our comprehensive review of the best betting mobile apps
Betfair offers comprehensive customer support.
Betfair provides a variety of payment methods to facilitate easy deposits and withdrawals. The following table outlines these methods, the minimum amounts required for deposits and withdrawals, and their respective processing times. It’s recommended to pass your KYC (Know Your Customer) check as early as possible to ensure smooth transactions.
| Method | Minimum Deposit | Deposit Time | Minimum Withdrawal | Withdrawal Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISA/Maestro | £10 | Instant | £10 | 2-5 business days |
| PayPal | £10 | Instant | £10 | 12 to 24 hours |
| Mastercard | £10 | Instant | £10 | 2-5 business days |
| Neteller | £12 | Instant | £10 | 12 to 24 hours |
| Much Better | £10 | Instant | N/A | N/A |
| Paysafe Card | £5 | Instant | N/A | N/A |
| Rapid Transfer | £10 | Instant | N/A | N/A |
| Skrill | £10 | Instant | £10 | 12 to 24 hours |
| Apple Pay | £10 | Instant | N/A | N/A |
| Qiwi | N/A | N/A | £10 | 12 to 24 hours |
| Webmoney | N/A | N/A | £10 | 12 to 30 hours |
| Bank Transfer | £10 | 2-5 business days | £10 | 2-3 business days |
Flutter Entertainment, which owns Betfair, Paddy Power, Poker Stars and Sportsbet in Australia, has been recognized as one of the top 25 companies to work for in 2023 by LinkedIn. This recognition applies specifically to Ireland and Australia, where Flutter Entertainment was ranked number 2 and 21 respectively.
LinkedIn’s Top Companies list is based on eight key pillars, each reflecting an essential aspect of career progression. These include the ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity, educational background, and the employee presence in the awarding country.
Betfair recently faced penalties for accepting bets on Swedish Under 21 football matches, leading to a fine of 4 million (Swedish) SEK. According to 2021 Swedish regulations, betting operators are prohibited from offering betting options on youth football in Sweden. Despite this, Betfair’s Exchange featured 128 such matches with $109,235 worth of bets wagered on them.
Betfair defended its actions by stating that the bets were peer-to-peer wagers on the Exchange, rather than bets laid by the company to customers. Despite this defense, Betfair accepted the fine and agreed to discontinue offering such matches on their site in the future.
No, you bet at Betfair on the Exchange and on the Sportsbook using the same account. You can also bet on Casino using that account, as well.
Yes, Betfair has Best Odds Guaranteed on all UK and Ireland horseracing events on a daily basis and the offer also extends to all UK greyhound racing.
