Betfair Review
Betfair offers online sports betting punters an excellent and unique exchange platform which initially allows the sports betting exchange user longer odds on their market at the outset. With this model the betting exchange punters have the opportunity to bet against each another by calculating and setting their own betting odds or by laying their own priced bets in the lay betting markets. The huge wealth of sports betting markets on the betting page, as well as special bets on popular culture, political bets or financials can often be confusing for new betting exchange users who may be visiting the site for the first time. However, with a little bit of free betting exchange practice or by reading the tutorials on offer, new exchange punters will be up and running and ready to trade on sports in no time. In this Betfair review we will give you a little more information about the company as well as the pros and cons of using the Betfair sports exchange.
Betfair has been hugely successful since its launch back around the turn of the millennium, and saw enormous growth which led it to being listed on the London Stock Exchange. However, Betfair recently underwent a change of directorship and are lookign to streamline their operation by operating only in purely legal international markets, which may have seen some of their custom reduced. However, we predict that Betfair currently have a more long-term plan which could see them potentially partnering up with a company in the US or similar which could open them up to huge potential windfalls.
Betfair Site Design
Some people think that the Betfair site has a slightly cluttered feel to it, however, as stated, once the user is used to the way that the markets are laid out, they will soon find the wealth of options that are available to them and can find out how much money is matched or unmatched on each market. The Betfair site has a fairly strong, yet also quite quirky graphical style to its interface and new users will soon find a whole host of extremely useful betting features that are designed to help the users on the site make the best possible returns from their betting investments in the exchange, particularly when they learn to trade with skill and guile.
The good thing is that Betfair gives its new users in-depth tutorials and guidelines on how to use the betting exchange on the site and how it functions as well as offering guided walkthroughs.
Betfair Sports Coverage
It has to be said that the extent of Betfair’s sports betting coverage and its massive depth are all determined by the millions of users that are visiting the site each day and exchanging matched bets. The business model means that users are generating the flow and liquidity on the markets on offer. This means that Betfair offers more or less unbeatable odds coverage on hundreds of sports betting markets at any one time, and gives its users a huge wealth of tournaments and leagues to bet on. This means that Betfair tends to offer betting odds on sports or cultural events way before many traditional fixed odds bookmakers are able to put the markets up, or at least to offer any sort of real liquidity.
Betfair Special Features
Betfair offers many services that are not offered by sports-books that are competing within the same market. For one, like several other major bookmakers at the moment they are able to offer account holders live streaming of many major sports events for free. These streamed events include football, snooker, horse racing and tennis for members of the site who have funded accounts as well as many other major sports events and tournaments.
Betfair also has a comprehensive and in depth live score tool that gives up to the second scores, match incidents and results for thousands of events at any one time. This is obviously useful to sports bettors when it is placed next to the odds on the market that they are interested in.
Due to the nature of the betting exchange, Betfair is regularly able to offer the best available odds, because of this Betfair consistently averages around 10-15% higher with the odds on offer than many competing fixed odds bookmakers. However, it’s also very important to note that punters who have winning bets are then charged later on a percentage up to 5% on their winnings depending on how often they bet on the exchange. This percentage fee for using the exchange is based on a points system that in a roundabout way offers customers rewards on their loyalty.
Betfair Bonuses and Promotions
First of all, it’s important to note that the structural and technical mechanics of betting exchanges differ from those of fixed odds bookmakers, which ultimately makes it slightly difficult and impractical for Betfair to offer much in the way of specials and promotions. Therefore, the value to the sports betting punter is added to the site by offering consistently higher odds as well as many of the best place special prices on many of the outright leagues, golf, motor raving or race betting markets on offer.
The Bottom Line
In this Betfair review we would say that Betfair is currently without doubt the world’s leading betting exchange. It offers many unique betting opportunities, as well as top available odds and is also able to give its users earlier betting coverage and more available betting markets.
Potential Issues with Betfair
Some users might feel that the homepage on the Betfair website has a slightly cluttered feel and it can potentially be a little difficult to navigate around for first-time site users, some new users may also find the sheer size and amount of odds and markets on the exchange a little daunting when compared with more traditional fixed-odds bookmakers.
It can also be said that Betfair is a little lighter than other bookies on promotional offers, bonuses and other betting special offers, because of this it is really up to the punters to create their own value by using intelligence and being smart in the way they use the lay betting markets, essentially giving odds and acting as a bookmaker themselves.
