Betfair (formerly the Sporting Exchange Limited) are one of the largest and most well-known companies in the world. The company was founded by a professional bettor and developer Edward Ray in 2000. Originally, the bookmaker worked only as a exchange (Betfair is known to be the first bookmaking operator in the world which offered punters to bet against each other), however, in 2013, along with the existing service, the company also launched a classic sportsbook. In September 2015, Betfair Group PLC. and Irish bookmaker Paddy Power announced a merger, which was completed on 2 February 2016. The new company was named Paddy Power Betfair. Now, Paddy Power Betfair PLC. are a world’s leading and most-known online sports betting operator. As of February 2018, the combined company operates under separate brands: Paddy Power, Betfair, Sportsbook, and TVG. Up to 96% of their total revenue are received from regulated markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the USA, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Bulgaria, Romania, Malta and Gibraltar.
Website usability
Noteworthy is that Betfair’s betting exchange and sportsbook operate on their own software platforms, delivering the best possible experience for all company’s customers. It is no exaggeration to say that the Betfair’s site is an excellent example of how a good website should look like. Despite a great variety of betting features and variants, the home web page looks attractive and extremely easy to navigate. The black and orange colour scheme has long become the peculiar visiting card of this online betting website. The smart and user-friendly design allows bettors to navigate through links and sections fast and easily. No matter whether you will choose exchange or sportsbook for placing your bets, both web pages have an intuitive user interface for browsing the full list of available options. With a special bar at the top of the main page, any bettor can choose between different products and services provided by the company: Exchange, Sportsbook, Virtual Sports, and others. The second upper tab provides links on Betfair’s most used sections and features: All Sports, In-Play, Cash Out, and Price Rush. Likewise, there are the trending sports disciplines that bettors most commonly choose for their wagers: Football, Horse Racing, Tennis, Cricket, Darts, and others. The left column below provides quick links to the markets of the most popular sports, championships, and daily matches. The central column contains changing graphics with Betfair’s current promotions and special offers. Hereafter, there is a list of up-to-date markets offered for matches from the top sports leagues and tournaments. The third column is also divided into several blocks. While the upper section offers betting odds provided for the next prestigious horse racing competitions, the field below delivers a large list of boosted odds for the top sports matches that will take place in the near future.
Sports and betting markets
As for sports covered, Betfair offer lots of markets for American football, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, cricket, cycling, darts, football, golf, greyhound racing, handball, horse racing, ice hockey, motor sport, rugby, snooker, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, Olympic Games, etc. It is worthwhile to note that the bookmaking company keeps pace with other top betting websites, offering special bets for politics, music, movies, TV shows as well. The strongest point of the betting exchange is that you can set the betting odds for a certain outcome on your own, and if someone accepts this price, your wager will become active. Another important factor to keep in mind is that Betfair do not work as a common bookmaker, setting a bookmaker margin. Instead, this operator charges a commission on winnings (about 5 – 7 %) which is known to be much more favourable. Basically, these features are particularly important for professional punters who usually try to find value and fiddle with a slight difference in figures. Generally, both exchange and the sportsbook provide attractive odds that are often among the best on the market.
Live betting
The in-play betting service is available on both the exchange and sportsbook sections of the website. The in-play section offers a wide range of betting markets and outcomes to satisfy the needs of the most sophisticated pundits. Apart from straight Home, Draw, Away selections, any bettor can look for the right bet in the Both Teams To Score, Handicap, Totals, Correct Score, Half Time/Full Time and many other markets. It is necessary to add is that some matches in the in-play sections boast cash out feature, so, bettors who are not sure about their decisions, are able to cancel their bets and get all or some money back (depending on the live score). In addition, the live betting section provides a match view as well as detailed stats, therefore there will always be a chance to check your assumptions with the real-time game results and statistics. Besides, any bettor is able to view head-to-head stats, the current form of both teams and read commentary without leaving the in-play web page.
Promotions and bonus offers
The bookmaker provides numerous bonuses and special offers for clients. Depending on the country of residence, bettors are eligible to participate in various bonus programs and promos. The new customer bonus is getting more and more popular among both professional and recreational bettors. Now, new punters from the UK and Republic of Ireland are able to get up to £100 in the form of free bets. For this, it is enough to register with Betfair, place at least 5 x £10 single bets on the Sportsbook. The bets should differ from each other and come with minimum betting odds at 1/5. Once you have placed 5 qualifying bets, a £20 free bet will be awarded. Each customer can get the bonus up to five times, amounting to £100. Apart from the new customer bonus, Betfair often offer a lot of other continuous and temporary specials. There is also a very attractive offer for sports fans and bettors from Armenia, Portugal, Bulgaria, India, Belarus, Chile, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Tunisia, and Ukraine. Newcomers from the specified countries are able to take part in the Free £20 Exchange Bet promotion. To get the free bet, a punter needs to register the new account with Betfair and place a qualifying bet amounting to at least £20 within 7 days of the registration. If the bet loses within this period, the betting operator will refund £20 on the bettor’s account within 72 hours after the bet settled. A full list of the current bonus offers is always available on the Betfair’s website.
Mobile betting
Like some other top-rated rivals, Betfair deliver the cutting-edge and highest-quality mobile betting applications for punters. The special link to the mobile betting section is on the top of the website main page. There are two different applications available for bettors: the Sportsbook app and the Exchange app. Both applications can be downloaded and installed on any Android or iOS-based gadget. Like the desktop version of the Betfair’s website, the mobile software solutions provide the massive number of options to simplify making the right decisions and choosing the best selections for your wagers. Apart from looking through hundreds of pre-match and live odds, you will be able to access your bet history, deposit and withdraw money via a great number of payment methods, watch live streams and scores, etc.
Customer support
The customer support team provides high-quality assistance in all matters relating to creating a new account, depositing and withdrawing funds, participating in promotions, getting bonuses, and all other aspects of sports betting. To get to the help section, you need to follow the Help link at the bottom of the main page. The support home page provides the quick search bar, the list of top queries, and FAQs to help users find answers to their questions within no time. Otherwise, any bettor can contact the Betfair customer support team by telephone, Live Chat, email, Facebook or Twitter. It is worth mentioning that it takes about 30 seconds to receive high-qualified consulting through telephone or Live Chat, while a typical response time takes approximately from 2 to 4 hours.
Payment options
Betfair support dozens of payment methods to allow users to select the most convenient way of depositing and withdrawing money from their accounts. Depending on the country, where an account is registered, a bettor can choose the most convenient and favourable cashier option. In particular, deposit methods available for UK customers include Visa, Visa Electron, Maestro, Mastercard, Delta, Bank Transfer, QIWI, EntroPay, Neteller, PayPal, Poli, Skrill, Western Union, and others. As for withdrawal, Betfair support: Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Delta, Bank Transfer, QIWI, EntroPay, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, etc. In addition, any customer is able to choose among multiple currencies to work with: GBP, AUD, DKK, HKD, NOK, SEK, SGD, USD, and others.
Summary of the Betfair review
With the lowest bookmaker’s margin and, as a consequence, the highest betting odds on the market, Betfair are always on the top of the list among the best world’s online bookmakers. Providing company’s users with the possibility to set the odds on their own, Betfair’s betting exchange has long become a unique venue for professional punters to compete with each other in predicting sporting events outcomes and finding value in various sports betting markets. The highest-quality and intuitive website design significantly simplifies navigation for users while selecting outcomes for their bets and moving from one website section to another. Appealing bonus programs and special offers that draw the attention of both novice and experienced bettors also belong to the strong points of this online bookmaker. Summing it all up, it is safe to say that the both exchange and sportsbook departments definitely make Betfair Paddy Power Plc. the strongest rival in the world of sports betting.