Online Bookmaker: Betfair

Overview

UK betting firm Betfair was founded in August 1999 by Andrew Black and Edward Wray and is now one of the gambling industry's most innovative brands and one of UK's most famous online betting sites while also operating as a betting exchange. Sports betting on Betfair's exchange is different to other traditional bookmakers. Players have the option of placing a bet by backing, but can also lay odds on an event - - effectively becoming the bookmaker! The UK betting operator is proud to have won the Queen's Award for Enterprise, in the Innovation category in 2003, and again in 2008 in the International Trade category. Betfair is also the official betting partners of Arsenal FC and FC Barcelona.

Betfair Sportsbook

Markets and odds
Betfair provides its players with the opportunity to bet against one another in lots of sporting events from all over the world as well as TV contests, politics and more. It tends to offer odds on sports events way in advance of traditional fixed odds bookmakers. It should be noted that there are no traders at Betfair who set the odds or create the margins - all the odds come from BBetfair customers! Players can also find additional markets to bet on, but not as many as offered by other big bookmakers. Betfair offers odds that are a lot better than most other traditional bookmaker, but does take a commission of 5% from winning bets.

The betting site
The website has been designed to offer an easy way to find things fast, with a list of popular sports on the left and other functions like recently visited, popular links and much more. Players can check out Betfair's extensive news and predictions features on their website. Betfair also provides punters with charts and statistics to help them monitor markets and events.

Live Betting
Live betting is very popular on Betfair, and as players can trade their bets during a live event the odds reflect the actual trading in real time. Odds are updated every few seconds and players can quickly monitor the best prices. Betfair offers free live streaming of football, horse racing and tennis to their registered users. One drawback is that due to the constant trading in the markets the odds tend to change frequently, and players need to move fast in order to back or lay a bet at the price they want.

Betfair Casino

Betfair Casino was recently re-launched and is now one of the leading casinos on the internet. BetfairOne thing that makes Betfair Casino stand out is the Zero Lounge, where casino players can play Baccarat, Blackjack, Jacks or Better or Roulette with no house edge. This means that the casino has no actual mathematical advantage against the player like in ordinary casino games. In simple words by removing the zero from the roulette wheel casino players can play with a true 50/50 chance on red or black! In the main lounge players can enjoy a great number of slots, card games, table games, Asian games, video pokers as well as many progressive jackpots. Betfair Casino offers some generous promotions, including a 100% first deposit bonus and a VIP scheme with monthly reload bonuses, competitions to win prizes and all inclusive tickets to spring events.
Ways to play at Betfair Casino
Like most large online casinos you can play at Betfair casino instantly on your browser to access a great number of games including the Zero Lounge, or download and install their casino software application. This will take approximately 2 minutes and you can enjoy the advantage of faster response times on a wider selection of games.

Betfair Casino software
Betfair has re launched its casino recently and is now powered by Playtech, the leading casino software provider.

Betfair Poker

Befair Poker used to operate their poker room under its own software and network but has recently re-launched and now belongs to the popular Ongame Poker Network. This means more traffic, more players to play with and more tournaments to join in. At the new Betfair poker players can filter their options with drop-down menus and useful table functions like player notes and easy-to-use stats. There is an impressive bonus, up to $2500 and extra promotions for all new and existing poker players.

Other Gaming Products

At Betfair players can enjoy Exchange Games - something that not many bookmakers offer. Exchange Gaming gives the player the ability to place bets on the outcome of a computer generated event. So players can play X Baccarat, X High Low, X Omaha Hi, X Blackjack and X Holdem. Betfair also offers an Arcade section with popular slots, favourite classic games and virtual sports as well as a number of promotions for new and existing customers.

Bookmaker's Company Information

About
Betfair was founded in August 1999 by Andrew Black and Edward Wray in order to commercialise betting technology that had been under development for the preceding year. The technology used by Betfair is proprietary and, as well as being protected by copyright, is the subject of patent protection in various jurisdictions.

The Betfair group of companies ('Betfair') offers a global portfolio of gambling products and services. This includes the world's leading betting exchange (a concept pioneered by Betfair), which is provided in the UK. Betfair's other betting platforms include a bookmaking operation provided from Malta and a second betting exchange in Australia.

Separately Betfair's established gaming products include Betfair Poker, Betfair Casino and a number of exchange-enabled games. All of these are offered from Malta.

Licence
Betfair Limited & Betfair General Betting Limited are licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission to offer betting services from the UK. Licence Numbers: 105-002062-R-104133-002 & 105-002065-R-104134-002. Betfair Pty Ltd is licensed and regulated to offer Australian Markets by the Tasmanian Gaming Commission.

Betting Markets
American football, Australian Rules, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Cricket, Darts, Golf, Greyhound Racing, Handball, Horse Racing, Mixed Martial Arts, Ice Hockey, Motorsport, Pelota, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Snooker, Tennis, Volleyball.

Security
Betfair possesses a Verisign Class 3 Secure Server Certificate and is a fully regulated and licensed betting and gaming operator in a number of leading jurisdictions. Your card details remain encrypted and are stored on Betfair's secure servers. Betfair uses DataCash and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc as their secure payment partners.

Payment Methods
Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron, Solo, Switch, Delta, Laser, Bank Wire, Cheque, Neteller, Moneybookers, CLICK AND BUY, click2pay, Western Union.

Currencies
UK Sterling (GBP), Euro (EUR), US Dollar (USD), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Hong Kong Dollars (HKD), Singapore Dollars (SGD), Swedish Krona (SEK), Australian Dollars (AUD), Norwegian Krone (NOK).