Betfair

About Betfair

Betfair was founded back in 2000 by a pair of entrepreneurs who saw a gap in the market for peer to peer betting, combining market style trading with sports betting. This really shook up the betting industry as with user generated odds available on the exchange, traditional bookmakers were no longer in total control of setting them.  One of the first betting exchanges, Betfair still has the biggest market share and heavily influences sports market prices globally.

Betfair were also first to introduce in play betting, allowing their users to enter and exit sports markets as a stock marker trader would.

Betfair is now owned by Flutter Entertainment, whose other UK facing brands are Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Pokerstars and tombola – so basically an all stars lineup of betting and gaming products. While Betfair’s USP remains its betting exchange (which despite its age is still one of the most innovative betting products there is), the other areas of the site are pretty impressive as well, as we shall see.

Getting Started

The Betfair registration form has everything on the same page. You need to fill in your personal details, address and phone number, choose a password and security question and acknowledge the funds protection arrangements and you’ll also be prompted to set a deposit limit (though this is not compulsory).

Next, you’ll be given the opportunity to opt into whatever marketing channels you’d like them to use to send you offers – email, push notifications, SMS, phone or post – and what types of offer you’d like to be sent – sports betting, casino, bingo.

The account verification procedure now starts. 6 digit codes will be sent to your email address and your phone number; both of these need to be entered in pop-ups on the Betfair site within 15 minutes of being sent, so be prepared for this.

Once you’ve done that, they will attempt to verify your age and identity electronically (which is why there’s a warning on the form saying “to set up your account quickly, please make sure your home address matches your official and personal documentation”.) You’ll see a pop-up saying that verification is under way, but in most cases it disappears within seconds and you’ll receive a welcome email. If it doesn’t (as could happen if you aren’t on the electoral roll or don’t have an established credit history) you’ll be prompted to upload documents.

It’s really nice to see that safer gambling messaging is prominent throughout the procedure; there’s a link to safer gambling information on the registration form and the welcome email highlights their safer gambling tools.

Bingo at Betfair

Betfair has had bingo for more than 10 years now and it’s always been the best-in-class Playtech bingo product.  There are more than 20 bingo rooms, many of which are shared with Paddy Power but because they have different names at each site (Betfair names all its bingo rooms on a fairground theme) this is not immediately obvious.

For example, the main network 90 ball room is called The Big Wheel at Betfair but The Gold Room at Paddy Power. The Roller Coaster Room at Betfair is the same as the Crystal Room at Paddy Power. And the Dodgems Room which features lots of different 75 ball patterns is the same as the Pearl Room at Paddy Power.

Despite this, the two sites don’t have an identical bingo room line-up.  For example, Betfair has the House of Cards room running Free Or Superbooks bingo games which has no Paddy power equivalent. And more importantly, Betfair has its own chat hosts.

Betfair also has many Playtech special rooms including Deal Or No Deal Bingo in 75 ball, 90 ball and Multiplier versions, Age of the Gods Bingo, Clover Rollover Bingo, Bouncy Balls Bingo, Cash Cubes and Spirit Twister, so there’s lots of different types of bingo to try out. Prize pools range from a few pounds to £100K in the network monthly jackpot game.

The bingo lobby also has a Games tab where you can play Playtech, Virtue Fusion and Eyecon slot games, some in progressive jackpot versions, without leaving the bingo part of the site. Most of these games can also be played as minigames inside bingo rooms.

You can save bingo rooms and side games to your favourites by touching or clicking on the little heart icon on the game tiles.

Slots and Games at Betfair

Betfair used to have two separate slots products named Casino (for Playtech slots) and Arcade (for everything else) but in 2020, both of these and all of the live casino products were merged into one Casino area. This was a masterstroke as it put a huge range of slot and casino games together that you normally wouldn’t expect to find under the same roof, making navigation much easier for players.

The Playtech slots are still easy to find as they are all in the lobby tab called “Premium Casino”. New releases are also all in their own tab. Other tabs include Top Slots and What’s Trending, where you can see what other player have been enjoying recently.

A lobby tab for Drops & Wins makes it super easy to find the games that are included in this long running Pragmatic Play promotion. Slingo games also have their own lobby tab.

If you don’t see anything you fancy playing immediately, you can browse through everything in the All Games tab. Here, the games can be sorted alphabetically, in order of most played or “Betfair’s Picks”. There’s also an easy to use search box.

The game tiles all have an information icon which you can click or tap on to bring up a panel with details of the game theme, provider, key features and Return To Player; this is really helpful when you’re looking for something fresh to play.

Betfair has an excellent choice of progressive jackpots including a version of Jackpot King and Red Tiger Dailies shared with Paddy Power and other Flutter brands. The Jackpot King is huge (in the past it’s exceeded £3 million) and the Red Tiger includes an hourly drop and a “daily booster” as well as the usual must drop daily jackpot.. As well as these, there’s Playtech progressives including Age of the Gods, Jackpot Giant, Kingdoms Rise and Sporting Legends plus Megapays from Big Time Gaming, IGT Megajackpots, Big Bass Jackpot Bonanza and lots of Eyecon jackpot slots. In most cases the current jackpot size is visible in the lobby, either on the game tile or in a panel at the top of the lobby tab.

Live casino sections often contain games from one provider only but at Betfair the Live Casino area includes titles from Evolution, Playtech and Pragmatic Play which means you’ve got Playtech Live slots, themed roulette games including Age of The Gods and Mega Fire Blaze, Mega Ball, Crazy Time, Adventures Beyond Wonderland, Sweet Bonanza Candyland and a big selection of roulette, baccarat and blackjack tables, several of which are exclusive to Betfair.

Betfair also has a poker product which works with or without a download, plus a whole extra lobby for “Exchange Games” including Card Derby Racing and Hi Lo as well as blackjack and baccarat.

Sports Betting at Betfair

The sports betting provision at Betfair is second to none and I consulted our resident sports betting expert Darren to get the full lowdown on it.

The Betfair Exchange presents all odds in decimal format which can take a bit of getting used to.  Back odds are in blue and lay odds in pink; the latter is where you can play bookmaker and lay (i.e. take) bets on the event outcome. Pretty much every sport you can think of is available.  When you click or tap on an event such as a Premier League football game, a large variety of other markets are shown as available to “trade” on including under and over goals, both teams to score, correct scores and many more – just as at a conventional bookmaker. There’s also links to in play betting and instant cash out, which make trading out quick and easy with no need to do the maths manually. Other great features include the facility to back or lay horses each way or to place (with the number of places depending on the number of runners).

While the prices at the Exchange generally reflect the true odds of the outcome rather than including a profit margin as with a traditional sportsbook, be aware that you’ll pay 2%, 5% or 8% commission on all winning bets depending on which commission plan you sign up to (the higher commission plans give you access to promotions).   No commission is payable on losing bets.

Betfair also has a traditional sportsbook which was introduced all the way back in 2012 to cater to casual and mainstream bettors who may find the Exchange a little intimidating. All sports are very much available at fixed odds including football (the main focus), UK and international horse and greyhound racing, motor sports, darts and basketball.  A virtual sports area lets you place bets on horses, greyhounds, football and motor racing even when there’s no live events on.

There’s also a well stocked betting in-play area with the ability to stream live events when placing a bet, plus a good esports area. The sportsbook layout is quite similar to the exchange, with quick links to various sports running across the top and towards the left on desktop and across the top and through the browse menu on mobile. You can build bets on a variety of sports, cashout winning or losing bets in-play and search for your favourite teams or events via a good search function.

But this is Betfair, so as expected it also has some great bespoke features and promotions. In football and a few other sports, there is an excellent stats tile placed next to the displayed odds giving you more depth on current form; it’s an excellent tool when deciding which outcome to place a bet on. Alongside weekly (and sometimes daily) bet and get free bet promotions on football are some excellent price and super price boosts offering tremendous value.

“Acca edge” is Betfair’s version of acca insurance and “beat the drop” offers a chance to win cash by answering a number of questions. But where this sportsbook truly stands out is in offering safe sub on eligible league games. This kicks in if a selected player is substituted; your bet is transferred to that player if it is yet to win. It’s included in all singles, multiplies and bet builders. Lastly there is a 90 minute guarantee on the majority of football match odds. This means if a goal is scored in injury time which turns a winning bet into a losing bet, Betfair still pays it out as a winner. This is not available anywhere else.

TL;DR? With a regular sportsbook as well as the exchange, you really can have the best of both worlds.

Other Things To Consider

In 2021 Betfair adopted a No Wagering model for its bonuses and promotions. Free spins winnings are always paid in cash and bonuses only have to be played through once; anything you win from them is yours to keep. So while they don’t have a huge number of promotions, they make up for that in quality. Also note that if you visit the promotions page without being logged in, what you see won’t be at all representative of what’s on offer.

Prize Pinball is Betfair’s free to play daily game and as the name suggests it’s hugely fun to play. Drop the ball into one of the pockets and collect the prize (unless it’s the No Win pocket, of course). Prizes are typically bonus, free spins or cash but they switch them about a bit to run themed promotions when there’s a new game out or sporting event on. If you’ve played £5 cash or more on casino games the day before, you’ll get the Plus version of Prize Pinball which has a guaranteed win.

Betfair also scores highly for safety and security – here’s some of the reasons why:

• Flutter is one of a very small number of operators to be classified by the Gambling Commission as having a high level of player funds protection against insolvency – all customer funds are held in a trust fund for complete peace of mind.
• Apple and Android apps enable easy, secure mobile play.
• An extremely comprehensive FAQ means you will rarely need to contact customer support, but if you do there’s instant live chat available.

Betfair accepts many different payment methods including cash (via a Paddy Power shop), but do be aware that if you make your first deposit using an e-wallet you won’t be able to claim the welcome offer.

Final Thoughts

There’s a great deal to like about Betfair over and above the betting exchange itself. The range of other products is superb, and the lack of wagering requirements coupled with the gold standard level of player funds protection and comprehensive safer gambling content show that they really care about their customers.

If you don’t already have an account there, it’s well worth checking out whether you’re into slots, bingo, casino, poker or sports.