Betfair Pros & Cons
Hits
- Australia’s largest betting exchange
- An innovative way to bet on sports
- Typically market leading odds
- Wide market coverage
- Comprehensive expert tips and analysis
- Quick payouts
- No maximum bets
- You can lay selections to act as bookie yourself
- Great
- settled fast
- Flexibility tutorials like Mastering the Exchange
- In-play betting and cash outsLow turnover requirement
- Better liquidity than smaller rivals
- Markets to back, lay and trade
- Automated & 3rd party betting applications
Misses
- Charges a commission on winnings, however, these means what commission Betfair takes for each bet – other bookmakers have hidden, built-in margins in their odds.
- Can be confusing for beginners compared with the simplicity of traditional online bookmakers (Struggling to understand the Betting Exchange? See our Beginner’s Guide to Betting Exchange
Betfair Services & Features
Betfair provides Australia’s market leading betting exchange, which allows punters to go head-to-head with one another placing and taking bets at odds of their choosing.| Deposit Options | Minimum of $5 – Visa, MasterCard, bank transfer, BPAY, POLi, Skrill |
| Withdrawal Options | Electronic funds transfer, Skrill, Neteller |
| Transaction Fees | None, although you will be charged commission on winnings. This varies depending on the different sport or racing markets bet into. Full commission information found here: https://www.betfair.com.au/hub/commissions-and-charges/ |
| Live Betting | Back and lay from the jump to first past the post on racing, taking advantage of highly fluctuating odds and trading on your position during the race if necessary |
| Multi Betting | Betfair acts as a traditional bookmaker for its multi betting and Tote offerings, and it allows you to combine multis from Australian sports with those from the UK and other overseas markets |
| Rewards | No loyalty scheme |
| Premium Charges | A small number of successful Betfair Australia users will incur premium charges if an account is in profit and commission paid on winnings is less than 20% of gross profits, although there are some exemptions |
| Betting Exposure | Befair will hold enough funds in your account to cover the worst case scenario for your total wagers, meaning you can see these funds but you cannot bet with them again until the money is no longer needed to cover your potential liability |
| Betfair Hub | Betfair’s hub is an educational section of their website that’s designed to help punters learn the basics of using a betting exchange vs a traditional bookmaker. It also educates punters on advanced betting strategies, weekly expert tips and a whole host of sports and racing models and tools – to support wagering. Whether you bet with Betfair or not, it really is a fantastic resource for budding punters and enthusiasts! |
Betfair Review: Summary
Betfair is the world’s largest online betting exchange – and the only one available to Australian punters! In some ways it exists as a big betting marketplace. And given Betfair currently boasts over 4 million customers, it’s a thriving one at that!
Betfair offers Australian punters a unique opportunity to take the bets of other punters instead of simply betting against the bookmaker; on a huge range of events across horse racing and sport.
The advantage of wagering through Betfair is the ability to BACK and LAY different outcomes, which effectively translates to backing something to either win or lose. The only requirement is finding another punter that’s prepared to match the bet. This unique system offers up prices that aren’t restricted by pool-driven market forces, which can lead to significant value for astute punters!
With lay bets on the exchange users are taking the back bets of other punters, acting as bookmaker (and odds-setter) which allows for more favourable odds. Betting on the exchange opens up a world of wagering possibilities not available with traditional fixed odds bookmakers and responsible bettors will find great value at Betfair.
With lay bets on the exchange users are taking the back bets of other punters, acting as bookmaker (and odds-setter) which allows for more favourable odds. Betting on the exchange opens up a world of wagering possibilities not available with traditional fixed odds bookmakers and responsible bettors will find great value at Betfair.
Betfair’s core business model is simple: they make money by skimming a small commission off punters’ winnings. Unlike other online bookies, Betfair’s unique position as a facilitator means that if you win, they don’t lose – they just pocket a small percentage. They really are one of the only wagering operators that can honestly claim that ‘winners are wanted’.
Betfair Review Roundup
Betfair has carved out a strong share of the Australian sports betting market by offering a compelling and innovative betting platform. You will often find far more attractive odds on this exchange than you can ever hope to see at a fixed odds bookmaker, and this has to be its main advantage.
Low margins across the Exchange provide punters with better odds on a wide range of markets around the globe. And Betfair punters don’t have to take the odds available to them within the market, they can throw their desired odds into the mix and wait to see if another punter is prepared to take them on.
It is also easy to use, if unspectacular on the visual stakes, and you can find a huge range of markets from across the globe covered, so it is easy to see why it is so popular. Through the course of our Betfair review we concluded that it is definitely a worthwhile addition to the list of sites you bet with, particularly as it frequently beats its fixed odds counterparts in terms of winning margins. Take a look at our bookmaker comparison for all the very latest information.
