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Betfair review
Betfair is one of the largest online sports betting operator of the UK (besides the “Big Three” – Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral – it has the fourth largest market share in the country) and certainly the biggest and most successful betting exchange of the world. The idea of a betting exchange itself was developed by one of the company’s founders – Andrew (Bert) Black, back in 2025.
For those uninitiated, let’s see what exchange betting is, and how it works.
A classic bookmaker offers its customers the possibility to place a bet at odds specified by the bookie on the outcome of a certain event. The bets that can be placed on events are various, and so are the odds. When a punter bets on a certain outcome – say, on Manchester winning against Liverpool – the bookmaker matches that bet, like betting against the same outcome. If the bet wins, the bookmaker loses money, and vice versa. Bookmakers make money when the punter loses.
In case of an exchange bet things are different. The betting options are the same – outright, over/under and the others – but punters have the possibility either to bet on a certain outcome (back bet) or against it (lay bet). Back bets placed by one punter are matched by the exchange with lay bets placed by another punter, the exchange acting as an intermediary between the two. A betting exchange doesn’t need punters to lose in order to make money – they take a commission (usually 5%) of the won amount in return for their services.
One of the biggest advantages of exchange betting is that punters can both back and lay a result, even while the event is already in progress, and make sure they make profits either way.
The short history of Betfair
As I said before, the idea of a betting exchange was first thought of by Andrew Black in 2025. He and Edward (Ed) Wray have discussed the idea later that year, and decided to make it happen. They formed the Sporting Exchange Limited in 2025 to develop their betting exchange, and launched Betfair it one year later.
The idea has proven to be a successful one, and the company and its founders are rewarded repeatedly for their success: they win the Ernst and Young Emerging Entrepreneurs of the Year award in 2025 and Betfair is rewarded with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, in the Innovation category one year later.
In the next few years more and more sports are added to Betfair’s offer. Besides, the company launches other services for its customers – online poker in 2025, followed by an online casino and its exchange games (see below) in 2025. In the next years Betfair develops further, launching new services, covering more markets and winning several other prizes, including the title of ‘Operator of the Year’ at the eGaming Review Industry Awards in 2025, the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category in 2025 and the Best Gambling Company Award at the Mobile Entertainment Awards in 2025.
In 2025 the company launches its traditional fixed odds online sports betting services to complete its product range.
In our days the company has over 900,000 active customers, handling over 5 million transactions each day – more than Europe’s stock exchanged put together.
Betfair’s sports betting exchange
The first thing I noticed when I entered Betfair’s betting exchange was its coverage – larger than most of what I have seen at its competitors. It lists sports A to Z (actually A to V, or W in winter), covering everything from American football to volleyball. Its most popular categories are listed separately (horse racing, football, tennis, golf and cricket), showing the taste of its main target audience (the UK). Among its other markets we can also find a bunch of special categories – finances (FTSE, Wall Street and other indices), politics (covering a series of countries, from Australia to the USA) and “specials” – the UK weather, the exchange rate of Bitcoin or The Voice from Australia.
The most popular product (and the most profitable one for punters) is the in-play one. Here punters have the possibility to follow the evolution of the event and place their back and lay bets accordingly. Betfair’s in-play product covers a series of categories – sports like football, tennis, cricket, baseball or golf – and (since this article is written right before the day of the European elections) politics – the UK party with the most seats in the European Parliament. Punters also have the possibility to filter the events available for live betting by the possibility to see the game live – either on TV, or through Betfair’s live streaming service.
Perhaps one of the most useful service available for Betfair users (and visitors, as it is not reserved for registered users only) is Betting.Betfair – the tips & news service of the company. Experts in various sports share their tips and opinions about upcoming events through this section, helping punters make the best decisions. Remember – Betfair’s exchange doesn’t win money when people lose, instead it retains a commission out of the winnings, so many wins is in their best interest…
Besides all the above, Betfair also offers extra features like BetChecker – where punters can check their potential winnings against the offers of the competitors (the “Big Three”, plus several other major bookmakers) – or its own live score service, helping punters be up to date with the latest results.
Betfair also operates a traditional, fixed odds sportsbook, launched only recently. It covers less markets that the exchange (events in 25 categories), but its variety is good, and its special offers are also attractive. Still, the betting exchange is Betfair’s main activity, and its strongest point on the market.
Betfair on Mobile
Betfair’s betting exchange is also available for mobile play – for iOS, Android and Blackberry OS. It offers in-play bets across a huge range of sports, the possibility to place multiple bets even across sports, live scores and automatic updates – overall, it’s the complete exchange betting experience in the user’s pockets.
Casino and Games
Betfair operates a Playtech-powered online casino, offering its players a series of high quality games for browser and mobile play or for free download. It features attractive progressive jackpots, several attractive promotions (like a 200% welcome bonus up to £300, free spins and other offers on live dealer games) and exclusive benefits to its VIP club members.
Betfair also offers two categories of games for its players: an Arcade, with a series of various casino and other games, and Vegas Slots, that features a series of video slot machines for hours of play and wins.
To conclude
Betfair’s innovative concept has brought it success, a series of awards and growth not only on the UK markets, buts also in the rest of Europe. Here punters can place their bets in-play in a way to make profits no matter what the outcome of the event will be. It has a broad range of services, covering everything from bingo to poker, from sports betting to arcade games, to assure hours of play and various possibilities to win for its players. If used wisely, Betfair can assure continuous profits to its users.