Betfair began as a betting exchange in 2000. Exchanges are quite common now, but back then it was a revolutionary form of sportsbook. Since then they have launched a more typical kind of sportsbook, though the prices available can be tied into the prices that are offered on the exchange side.
For the purposes of this review, we will look at both the sportsbook and the exchange.
Betfair does not accept customers from the United States of America. There are other country restrictions in place too.
As a proper ‘bookie’ Betfair accepts bets on all the most popular sports such as Football (Soccer), Tennis, Cricket, Golf and Horse Racing, both UK and international.
They were the first site to offer the ‘cash out‘ feature that is now very popular and available at other bookies. They also uniquely offer their ‘price rush‘ feature where you can get better odds than those posted if the prices on the exchange are better for you. This is a ncie touch, though it will be limited to the amount of money available on the exchange at the time you are making your bet.
The minimum bet size allowed on this sportsbook is just 10 Euro cents or 10 Pence Sterling. Phone betting limits are much higher though.
Click here to bet at Betfair Sports
Minimum Deposit Limits
In general, the minimum amount you can deposit here is £10.00 with a couple of exceptions. The Paypal minimum deposit is just £5.00, while the Neteller minimum is £12.00. The £10.00 minimum applies to deposits by debit cards such as Delta, Solo and Maestro, credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard, Skrill, Clickandbuy, Western Union and cheques and bank transfers.
For Euro account holders, the minimum in general is €15.00 with the Paypal minimum being just €7.00 and the Skrill minimum just €10.00. The deposit options include Visa and Visa Electron, Laser Card (Irish customers only), Visa and Mastercard credit cards, Clickandbuy, WU, bank transfers and cheques.
Betfair now accepts Paysafe card deposits starting at just €10.00 with a limit of €500 per transaction. You cannot withdraw using Paysafe card.. There are other £5.00 betting sites with more deposit options.
| £ $ € | Min. Deposit | Max Deposit | Min Withdraw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paypal | £5.00 / €6.00 | €8,750 | £5.00 / €1.00 |
| Paysafe Card | €10.00 | €500.00 | not available |
| Skrill | €10.00 | €45,000.00 | €100,000.00 + |
Betfair Betting Limits
In line with their low deposit limits Betfair have reasonably low stakes limits too.
You can place a bet from as little as ten pence (£0.10) or twelve euro cents (€0.12) on most sports. Betting at very short odds may cause your minimum bet amount to increase a small bit.
In theory you can bet up to £8,000 on sports like horse racing, and as much as £20,000 on football. Longer odds will cause the max bet amount to be reduced, as this sportsbook works on a max win approach. You will be able to bet more on shorter odds.
Betting on the day of the sports event will allow you to get a higher stake limit, and betting a few days out will get you lower limits.
Best Odds guarantee and Price Rush
The best odds guarantee applies to UK horse racing, but the similar Price Rush can apply to many more sports. Effectively, if the odds move in your favour after you have placed your bet you can get better odds.
Deposit Bonuses
Any welcome bonuses or opening offers will be for New Customers Only. You must be 18 or older to open an account, and of course Terms and Conditions will apply to any bonus offer.
Mobile App
The sportsbook has an app available that is very useful for ‘live’ betting. With the ‘cash out’ feature available on the app, you can close your bet as soon as it goes into profit for you, even during the game that you are betting on, thereby ensuring a profit instead of seeing your pick go down in the last minute. Of course you will lose a bit of profit compared to letting the bet run, but it does guarantee a ‘green’ result.
The app is available in the itunes store for iphone users or can be downloaded directly from Betfair for Android mobile users.
Betfair Exchange
The Betfair exchange is similar to a sportsbook, except that of course you can bet against an outcome too, known as ‘laying’ the out come or ‘lay-betting’. Once revolutionary, now exchanges are fairly common and are known to most informed punters.
The minimum deposit limits are the same as for the sportsbook, as you really create a master account here and then transfer your money to the ‘wallet’ for the platform you want to play on.
The minimum bet for the exchange is technically £2.00 or €2.00, but you can of course manipulate this by backing and laying the same event, to get your minimum bet size down to a few cents. Of course you will lose a bit on the odds by doing this. As an example, you don’t want to bet £2.00 on your chosen sport, you only want to risk 50 pence, so you back your team for £2.50 then lay that same bet for £2.00. The result is a 50 pence win bet on your team.