What is the Betfair Betting Exchange?

04 Dec, 2019

If you’re getting into matched betting, you’re probably coming across Betfair quite a lot. The question that’s probably on your mind is: What is the Betfair betting exchange? To find out the answer, keep on reading!

Recommended to Read Next: Betting Exchange Commissions Explained for Betfair

Top 3 Key Takeaways:

Betfair is the world’s first and most successful betting exchange.
Betfair betting exchange is your perfect choice for matched betting due to a high number of users.
Betfair have commissions between 2-7%. A 2% commission is quite reasonable. They can be used as your Cover Bookmaker inside Oddshero. You get some free bets when you sign up which is great. They also have a sportsbook, which has a good sign up bonus.

What Exactly is a Betting Exchange?

Betfair is the world’s oldest and largest betting exchange. That said, it’s only appropriate to start out Betfair talk by explaining what betting exchanges are.

Basically, betting exchanges are sites where bettors are wagering against each other rather than making bets against the bookmaker. One bettor is betting that an outcome is going to happen, while the other way is betting that such a scenario will not happen.

The player who is putting the money that an outcome will happen is called backer. That bettor is backing something to happen. On the opposite side stands the layer, who is the bettor believing that the outcome in question is not going to happen.

Sure, you could do the same with your friends. You could bet them that something will or will not happen. But, your friends are probably not going to accept every bet you make. That’s why you will need the help of a betting exchange.

The role of the exchange is to connect backers with layers, for which they will take a small fee. If you have a specific outcome you would like to bet against, your best shot at finding someone who will accept your challenge is at a betting exchange.

The more players play at an exchange, the more likely you are to find someone to bet against. And that exactly is the main reason why people love Betfair – it’s the betting exchange with the highest number of players.

It’s not surprising why this is the case, knowing that Betfair is the oldest exchange in the world. Actually, the entire history of betting exchanges starts with this company.

A Brief History of Betfair Betting Exchange

The year 2000 is the year zero when betting exchanges are concerned. It’s when the first two betting exchanges in history were launched, namely Flutter and Betfair. A year later, the two merged, keeping the name Betfair.

Thanks to its straightforward concept, Betfair quickly became a favorite amongst sports bettors. A big percentage of them decided to say goodbye to traditional bookmakers and switch to backing/laying at betting exchanges.

Over the years, many other online betting companies followed Betfair’s example by creating their own betting exchanges. But, Betfair still remains the most popular.

With a revenue of over €400M per year, Betfair is not only the most successful betting exchange but also one of the richest online gambling companies worldwide.

And it seems that its popularity is not going to drop anytime soon. Actually, this betting exchange is getting more and more popular every day. And Betfair has to thank matched betting for this.

Since the invention of matched betting, Betfair, as well as many other exchanges have experienced a large boom in their revenues. Bettors who don’t want to risk their money, but make profits based on maths are swarming to betting exchanges.

Matched betting lets players take advantage of bookmakers’ bonuses by pairing them with betting exchanges. If you don’t know how this method works, you have a thorough guide on our website.

But, if you’re looking for a quick explanation, here it is – with matched betting you’re supposed to bet the bonus funds at the bookmaker, while laying the same outcome at Betfair or some other betting exchange.

Whatever happens, you’re going to win. You can either clear the bonus at the bookmaker or get your winning at the betting exchange.

Because this is almost a completely foolproof method, an enormous number of players has decided to embrace it. The result is that the number of Betfair users has gone skywards.

Is Betfair Good for Matched Betting?

The short answer is: Yes! There are so many great things about Betfair, starting with the fact that this is the oldest betting exchange in the world.

It’s been around for two decades, during which the number of user complaints has been pretty low. Betfair’s user-friendly business philosophy makes it a perfect choice for people doing matched betting. Speaking of which, Betfair really doesn’t mind it if you use it to lay your bets.

And why would it? After all, you’re not laying your bets against betting exchange. You’re betting against other players. The only thing Betfair does care about is getting its commission.

If you can access a betting brokerage such as Sportmarket or BetInAsia, you can use those sites to access Betfair as well. It’s because having a brokerage account enables you to bet at 4 different exchanges and 6 bookmakers with a single account. Sounds good? You can read more about Spormarket here and about BetInAsia here.

Unfortunately, not everyone can use these brokerages. For instance, if you are from the UK, you cannot use them. If that is the case, you have to sign up with either Matchbook or Betfair. Our advice is to start out with Matchbook, the reason being they have a better commission structure. Of course, this doesn't mean Betfair’s commission is horrible. It definitely isn’t, which makes using both exchanges at the same time, a really good idea.

Betfair Betting Exchange Commission

Every betting exchange charges a fee for the bets made through their sites. That’s the way exchanges make their money. Still, although all of them do it, some have smaller fees than others.

A great thing about Betfair is that it charges a commission only on winning bets. This means that you are not going to be charged anything if you lose your bet.

At the beginning, your commission could be as high as 7% but over time it can get to as low as 2%. The fee reduction is possible when the Betfair discount rate is taken into account. To get your discount, you need to collect enough Betfair points.

The good news is that collecting them is not that hard. You just need to keep on backing/laying bets on the exchange – for every win, as well as for every loss, you’re rewarded points.

Betfair Bonus

At the moment, the deal Betfair exchange has for its new customer is a €20 risk-free bet. If you lose your first bet at Betfair exchange, you’re going to receive the same amount within the following three days since the bet was settled. Basically, you’re getting another chance to win.

And you can take this to your advantage if you’re doing matched betting. Considering that matched betting is a mathematics-based method, getting this bonus means more money on your account.

Although it’s not millions we’re talking about here, the extra 20-Euro you can get will take your matched betting adventure get off to a flying start.

Note that this bonus offer might not last forever as Betfair Exchange often changes its promos. Still, you do have every right to get some kind of reward from this betting exchange if you decide to register an account, whenever you decide to do it.

Betfair Exchange Offer

Being the most popular betting exchange on the planet, Betfair is used by millions of users on a regular basis. Therefore, the chance that you will find backers for your layed bets is pretty high.

Of course, it all depends on how popular the event is that you’ve chosen. But, if you stick to popular sports, such as football, you’re going to be fine.

Apart from offering football events, Betfair also works with many other sports. We’re talking sports like basketball, tennis, rugby, American football, baseball, hockey, and so on.

There are also plenty of markets to choose from, including not only those with two possible outcomes, such as Goals Over/Under, Moneyline, or Asian Handicap. Betfair lets you lay bets on 3-way markets like the Match Winner, Half-Time Betting, and others.

Big Selection of Banking Methods + Fast Payout Times

The fees on bet winnings are the only fees you will have to pay to Betfair. There is no commission for making deposits or withdrawals.

Speaking of which, there are plenty of banking options that this exchange allows. And most of them are pretty fast when it comes to withdrawal processing.

To give you a better idea on what to expect from Betfair and its banking methods, here’s a list of the most popular ones, together with their processing times:

Credit/Debit Card (e.g. Visa, MasterCard, etc.) – Up to 72 hours
E-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, etc.) – Maximum one day
Bank transfers – Up to five working days

When it comes to deposits, they’re processed instantly, regardless of which method you’re using.

Using Betfair Sportsbook as a Cover Bookmaker

In the premium version of Oddshero, you get to use betting exchanges as well, Betfair included. That’s a standard deal with matched betting tools. But, there’s one thing that makes Oddshero special. This app also comes with a free version, in which you’re supposed to use two bookmakers.

How it works is that you combine the bonus sportsbook with a Cover Bookmaker in a way that regardless of the outcome, you’re going to be on the winning end. Instead of letting you waste your time searching for profitable odds, our software will do it for you, taking no fees along the way.

At the moment, there are more than 65 different bookmakers you can choose as your cover bookies. And one of those is Betfair Sportsbook.

Although it’s famous for its betting exchange, Betfair also has its own sportsbook. And this sportsbook offers pretty competitive odds sometimes. That makes it a perfect choice for use as a Cover Bookmaker.

As you can see in the example above, Betfair is giving the best odds on Over 3.5 Goals in a football match. You can find hundreds of examples like this one every day. Actually, you don’t have to find anything – you can let Oddshero do the search for you!

Just pick Betfair Sportsbook as one of your Cover Bookmakers and our matched betting tool will find suitable bets for you.

3 Key Takeaways

Betfair is probably your best choice as a betting exchange.
There are many reasons for that, starting with the fact that millions of players already use it. And that means that you will be able to find backers for your lay bets.
Other reasons include a big offer of events to bet on, a large selection of banking methods, bonus deals, and so on.