Betfair Reviews and User Ratings

Full Betfair Bookmaker Review

Overall, Betfair is one of the best bookmakers available in the UK. As mentioned, they make our top 10 for 11 different categories – an absolutely huge amount that very few other bookmakers can compete with. 

A huge part of this is down to the markets offered, the consistency of their odds and their dedication to covering sports properly. The obvious advantage to having a Betfair account is the ability to use their sportsbook and their exchange site, and switching between the two is incredibly easy. For regular bettors, having an exchange account is pretty essential and Betfair ensures a great way of doing that. 

Advantages and Disadvantages

All explained in greater detail in this review, these pros and cons allow users to scan and understand where the strengths lie quickly.

• Established in 2012

• PPB Games Ltd

• UKGC licence number - 39411

First Impression of Betfair

My First Impressions

At OLBG we collect data on every bookmaker’s service, compiling the best bookies in a variety of categories, so that we can determine which bookmaker is the best at what. Based on this data, Betfair makes our Top 10 in 10 different categories, making it one of the top bookies in the country.

- Luke Bradshaw Lee, Senior sports betting editor

Live Betting

When it comes to live in-play betting Betfair ranks on our list of best bookies, offering great options when it comes to in-play action. With full statistics, line-ups, and standings offered on their in-play pages there are plenty of different things available to help the bettor with picking in-play bets.

Betfair comes in at no.6 on our list of best bookmakers for in-play betting and is an excellent part of the Betfair product.

Live Streaming

Betfair's full live streaming service is compatible with their app and on desktop, you'll be able to watch any live available sporting events. If Betfair upped the number and variety of sports that it offers live streaming on then it would start making its way onto our best bookmaker for live streaming list.

Betting Odds

You can see from our data, when it comes to betting on a number of different sport Betfair is among the best for plenty of them, including baseball, horse racing, football, basketball and tennis, among others.

Exchanges, in general, offer bigger odds than traditional bookies, as there is no bookmaker margin built into the prices. They also offer more markets and more market depth than anyone else, there should be an option that suits all bettors. You should also get your bet matched earlier in the day than on other exchanges.

Once you have an exchange account you can take positions within sports markets deciding that an event may happen (Back) or that an event may not happen (Lay). Thousands of customers are competing against each other, backing and laying daily, they are taking advantage of generous prices offered by opposing Betfair customers.

Also, remember that it is always worth checking alternative betting options, including best spread betting sites and betting exchange sites, depending on who you are as a bettor.

Betting App or Mobile Site 

The Betfair mobile app is very good.When you open the Betfair app for Android or IOS or on your tablet you can quickly see there is a lot going on, the screen is awash with the latest free bets, promotions, favourites and a quick bet slip. Now we are normally keener on the "less is more" adage with betting apps, as sometimes apps try to fit a quart into a pint pot, but despite the myriad of different typefaces, images and links, the Betfair app home screen just worked, and it felt like a place you would enjoy.
You can see that Betfair have spent time and money developing their app. When we checked there had been regular upgrades, this is a sign that the Betfair developers are constantly looking for ways to enhance the Betfair app.

Compare to the best betting apps in the country.

⚽ Football Betting

Betfair's high ranking for football betting as shown in the table above is important as the better prices allow for better winnings. With the vast majority of bets placed on football being accumulators even a small increase of odds over other bookies is massive.

Slightly different odds when it comes to bets in your acca's can make a massive difference in your overall winnings. To dive into things a bit deeper, head to our best bookmakers for football betting to see why Betfair makes our list.

Bet Builder 

Only Unibet can best Betfair when it comes to bet builder odds. Betfair offers markets in all the usual places, including golf and tennis, and American major leagues such as the NFL and NBA. If using one of the best Exchange betting sites users can opt for a Same Game Multi or OOT (Odds On That), the latter being bets previously created on request.

Bonuses

As described fully in our 27 best acca insurance offers article, this is Betfairs version, called Acca Edge. This is unique to Betfair and is worth taking advantage of. You do have to accept slightly diminished prices in return for extra places, but the Acca Edge is available across a range of sports. 

As you would expect from Betfair there are a range of promotions for existing Betfair customers, both via the Sportsbook and the Exchange. The Betfair My Rewards Programme gives you a choice of three rewards packages, you then decide which is best for you. There are pros and cons for each package, it's really dependent on how you use Betfair. 

However, along with sister company Paddy Power the rewards are some of the best available from any bookmaker. As well as questions and answers, there is some basic step by step 'How-To's' as well, so you know what to expect when signing up.

Cash Out

Cashout is a very important betting feature for punters these days so it's crucial that bookies integrate this feature into their mobile betting apps. Betfair have done this well allowing their customers to instantly cash out their bets on any device they like.

🏇 Horse Racing

Betfair are also ranked highly when it comes to Horse Racing betting and they feature as one of our best bookmakers for horse racing betting. You get fantastic horse racing odds with Betfair, with the exchange perfect for traders, especially if you’re betting on outsiders. The sportsbook is still excellent if that’s your port of call.

Betfair Best Odds Guaranteed offer is available daily on all UK and Ireland horse racing bets, from 8.00 am. For example, if you get a tip for horse racing,  take the 6/1 Early Price and your selection wins at 8/1, Betfair will pay you at 8/1. The Betfair BOG applies to single and multiple bets placed and has a maximum benefit set at £1,000.

🇺🇸 US Sports Betting

A full range of American Sports is available. At the time of writing, only the MLB season isn’t up and running, with the other major leagues in full swing. Beyond that, and maybe somewhat surprisingly given its lack of international racing coverage, there are lots of international markets for these sports, particularly for basketball.

🏈 American Football Betting

Line shoppers should absolutely head to Betfair when hunting around for the best value on NFL betting because they regularly have the longest odds for American football, that goes for college football and the CFL, as well as NFL games. It’s worth checking out our best NFL betting sites in more detail to see how Betfair compares.

🏀 Basketball Betting

Not only can you also create your own bet builders on basketball games, there are supporting statistics on screen to help inform your decision. Betfair is a solid option for basketball betting, overall. Keep tabs on the top basketball betting sites though, to see in more detail why they top our list.

⚾ Baseball Betting

Betfair’s selection of markets for each game is seriously impressive – you’d struggle to find a market that you can’t bet on and they should absolutely be a first port of call when it comes to baseball betting. Their stats offering is right up there, and while they don’t run any baseball promotions, their in-play offering is great and you can get cash out on a number of different baseball markets. 

🏒 Ice Hockey Betting

Like the basketball offering, as well as the biggest league in the sport, the NHL, there are a huge number of other leagues around the globe. You can bet on games in Switzerland, Sweden, England, the Czech Republic and more. There are good outright future markets for NHL betting, and the markets within games are loaded.

🐕 Greyhound Betting

Whether you’re making bets, or just want to check the form and stats, Betfair’s greyhound service is really good. There are odds on over 150 different greyhound races per day across the whole country. Betfair, as it does with most sports, lists handy tips, bet explainers and types of greyhound races on the greyhound page so that you have extra info at your fingertips when betting. You can see how Betfair compares among the best greyhound betting sites in the chart below.

🎯 Darts Betting

Matthew Edgar

Darts editor and wdf professional

Betfair essentially offers all the things that you want, and often expect, when betting on sports, that some bookmakers reduce for smaller sports and events, which is why we rank it no.2 on our best darts betting sites list. Great live streaming, cash out and in-play options, fantastic odds and, to top it off, darts-specific promotions. You can often get odds boosts across lots of different darts markets, including the World Championships, Premier League and The Masters, so make sure you have a look when hunting around.

Compare to the best darts betting sites in the UK.

Best bookies for darts betting

Score by selected category (hover over chart for details).

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Snooker Betting

Steve Madgwick

Editor-in-chief

I’m always on the lookout for great snooker betting sites. Select any random snooker match on Betfair and you should find around 15 markets available to bet on at your fingertips per match; that’s something that’s difficult to find elsewhere. Betfair also offers a good option when it comes to in-play betting on particular snooker events, so bear them in mind if you’re a big fan of in-play betting in general.

Compare to the best snooker betting sites in the UK.

🏉 Rugby Betting (Union & League)

After factoring in all our rankings, Betfair comes out on top. Whether using the sportsbook or the exchange, Betfair is the best rugby betting site in terms of event coverage, everything from the Rugby World Cup and the Six Nations, down to domestic club games, and markets offered. There is a high premium to pay on the exchange, but given the sheer range in markets, the competitive odds and the consistency in their promotions, the overall package more than makes up for it. It’s also worth noting that the stats provided alongside the live streaming are excellent. 

Check out why it’s no.1 in our top rugby betting sites in more detail in the chart below.

Best bookies for rugby betting

Score by selected category (hover over chart for details).

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for more info.

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🏏 Cricket Betting

James Banting

Tipster competition assistant

With all things considered, Betfair’s offering is pretty good. It covers all the major tournaments and regularly has some of the best odds and the best variety of markets. You can get odds boosts on specific bets, and supporting stats are displayed alongside. The only downside is that it doesn’t offer live streaming, but given the rest of the setup, it’s a very solid aspect of its product.

We list the 10 best cricket betting sites here.

🎾 Tennis Betting

By James Banting - If you’re already signed up to Betfair, wagering on other sports, then the transition to betting on tennis is a simple one. And if you’re new to Betfair, you’ll find the site and app easy to navigate through. The odds are consistently excellent, you’ve always got the choice to switch to their exchange, and you can stream live matches, with in-play statistics alongside. They are the fifth best tennis betting site according to our OLBG data.

🏌️ Golf Betting

By James Banting - Golf odds tend to vary from bookmaker to bookmaker and finding the best odds for your golf bet won't necessarily be from the same bookmaker each time you place a bet. 

Golf odds will generally be pretty similar across all bookmakers and the small fluctuations will be down to the discretion of the bookmakers' traders. The one exception to this tends to be the Betfair Exchange which pits punters against punters.

🏎️ Motorsports Betting

Andy Powell

Content editor

Like many sportsbooks, Betfair split their markets into Formula1, and then other motorsport grouped together (NASCAR, Superbikes etc). It’s worth remembering, however, and not all sportsbooks do, but they cover speedway markets also. The website is so clear, easy to move through, and all markets are easy to find. If they could thrown in the same boosts here that they do to other sports they’d rocket up our list, but even without those, it’s still brilliant.

Compare to the best motorsport betting sites.

🥊 Boxing Betting

Frank Monkhouse

Boxing editor

As with betting on any sport, Betfair’s app allows users the choice between their sportsbook and their exchange, and it’s no different for boxing betting. If you need a little help in where to place your penny, Betfair’s pre-fight previews will also help guide. Because of these, across the UK’s best boxing betting sites, Betfair is a solid option that suits beginners and more experienced bettors and ranks third in our best boxing betting sites.

Compare to the best boxing betting sites.

Other Sports Betting

Whilst these sports might sound very niche, there is a massive market for fans, and millions of them in the UK, so good coverage of niche sports and events is key to be reviewed on OLBG.

Betfair offers extensive betting options for Handball, volleyball, cycling, AFL betting, and esports. Handball includes global competitions; volleyball,covers European Championships and various tournaments; cycling features future tours and current races; AFL betting has comprehensive stats and esports offers all major games like League of Legends and CS:GO.

🗳️ Political Betting

Nigel Skinner

Blog content manager

Offering markets across their sportsbook and their exchange Betfair’s political output is impressive. Existing customers can expect exactly what they’re used to from other sports, while newcomers will find the section easy to navigate. As well as the big markets that you’d expect to find, Betfair also offers specials, such as wagering on the reunification of North and South Korea. They rank no.4 in our best political betting sites.

Compare to the best political betting sites.

🎭 Entertainment and Specials

Jake Ashton

Senior news editor

Ranked no.3 in the country in best entertainment betting sites. Jump onto Betfair’s “Special Bets” section and you can get action on anything from Love Island winners, to who will pick up gongs at the next Oscars. From odds on who will perform at the next Super Bowl halftime show, to an entire section on WWE markets. It caters to a wide range of users, all with the same slick and reliable interface that we’ve come to expect across its sports markets.

Compare to the best entertainment betting sites.

Casino

Betfair has a fantastic casino with all players from small to large stakers given the best experience possible on the platform.

A huge range of slots and interactive promotions are on Betfair Casino to keep the most demanding of players happy and consistently able to use the services available.

You can see further information in our Betfair Casino review which takes a look at each individual section on there.

Betfair Account Opening Process

If you have decided to open and create a Betfair new account this Betfair sign up guide will answer all your questions.  

If you are already fully informed, and ready to open a Betfair new account just follow the simple bullet points below.

1. Click the Betfair sign up banner on this page.

2. Click the bet now tab, this will take you to the registration page.

3. Complete all the requested information, including any Betfair Promo code/Referral code (if applicable).

4. Tick that you agree to the terms and conditions.

That is it.

Navigation and user experience [desktop v mobile]

The Betfair site and app both have a similar layout with the black and yellow colours staying consistent throughout the platform. Betfair's design is well-structured and the design overall is efficient despite its interface absolutely crammed full of info. I found myself using the app over the desktop more and more, which is no sleight on the desktop version, but the app definitely feels more intuitive. Our user reviews point towards the reliability of the site being impressive plus the app being good due to the fast sign in process on there.

Placing a bet

This section should only really highlight if there are issues, as the process is almost identical on every site. Within a few minutes of signing up to Betfair I placed a couple of bets on different sports, one of which took advantage of the welcome offer, and I used their bet builder feature, which was very indeed. Placing a bet on Betfair is straightforward with the betslip instantly appearing on your screen when you click a selection.

Managing your account

As mentioned above, the design really makes this tick. On the desktop version, it’s stuff left and right of screen (menu and search to the left, account and bets to the right). On the app, it’s at the bottom, with search, account and bets at the top, with a main nav bar at the bottom that can get you to different sports, in-play options and casino (plus return to the home page).

Responsible Gambling Features

You can set your deposit limit while you’re signing up; long before you’ve got close to actually making a bet. 

There is also a Settings tab at the bottom of the page, no matter what page you’re on, that allows you to make changes to limits, as well as odds formats, or odds change preferences/notifications.

There are the following measures within its functionality: 

• Deposit Limit

• Loss Limit

• Session Limit

• Wagering Limits

• Reality Check

• Time-Out

• Self-Exclusion

• Support Groups & Organisations

• Advice on Keeping in Control

• Parental Controls

• Self-Assessment

All are explained in further detail on their safer gambling page. As well as this, on the same page they list links to the likes of the National Gambling Helpline, Be Gamble Aware and the National Gambling Treatment Service.

Bookie Review Expert Contributing Team

Opinion, research and data collection for this review by

• James Banting (Horse Racing, Golf and Tennis)

• Nigel Skinner (Football and Politics), 

• Matt Edgar (Darts)

• Frank Monkhouse (Boxing)

• Andrew Powell (Horse Racing, Ice Hockey and Motor Sports)

• Jake Ashton (Entertainment and Specials)

🛂 Fact Checked - Sam Darkens - Commercial Manager

✍️ Written by - Luke Bradshaw Lee - Commercial Content Manager

✏️📚 - Steve Madgwick - Editor-In-Chief