Betfair Betting Exchange

About Betfair

Betfair is the world's leading betting exchange. It was founded in August 1999 by Andrew Black and Edward Wray in order to commercialise proprietary betting technology they'd developed.

Unlike with conventional bookmakers. All bets on Betfair are placed by users who either want to back a selection to win, or lay a selection to lose. Betfair matches the bets between people with opposing views.

Betfair is the trading name of Betfair Limited, registered as a limited company in England and Wales.

Range of Sports

Betfair provide betting opportunities on horse racing in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.

They also offer bets on a wide range of other sports including:

American Football, Athletics, Australian Rules Football, Bandy, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Chess, Combat Sports, Cricket, Cycling, Darts, Gaelic Games, Golf, Greyhound Racing, Handball, Ice Hockey, Rowing, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Snooker, Football, Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo and Winter Sports.

Odds Trading

In addition to regular betting, Betfair also gives you the opportunity to trade the odds, either prior to or during an event.

The idea is you back a selection at higher odds and lay the same selection at lower odds, to guarantee a profit, whatever the outcome of the event.

There are many ebooks and software programs around help you with this. See the Exchange Trading section for more information.

SP Betting

SP is an abbreviation for ‘Starting Price’ and traditionally has been determined by the on-course bookmakers.

Betfair have introduced their own SP, which is based on bets placed by both backers and layers in any market. With no margin for profit built in it gives you much better odds than traditional SP.

Click Here to claim your Betfair Free Bet

Betfair API

The Betfair API is an application programming interface that enables developers to create software that seamlessly integrates with the Betfair sports exchange.

Typically applications can be used to automate many aspects of your betting or trading.

You can either develop your own applications or buy software from a vendor, such as Bet-IE or Grey Horse Bot.

Commission

Betfair operate a layered commission structure whereby the more you bet, the lower your rate will be. Commission is charged on your net winnings from any single market.

You do not pay any commission on losing bets.

Their standard commission rate is 5%, but you will be able to decrease that depending on the volume of bets you have matched.

Commission amounts can easily be offset by the increased odds you get betting on a betting exchange, opposed to betting with a traditional bookmaker

To open an account with Betfair click here

Also From Betfair

In addition to the betting exchange Betfair has also established a games portfolio, including Betfair Poker, Betfair Casino and a number of exchange-enabled games.