- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Betfair is not a bookmaker it is a betting exchange – and every serious punter should have a Betfair account. Read on to find out why.
When Betfair launched it was a revolutionary addition to the betting industry.
Betfair definitely has it’s pros and cons, the upside being that it can provide punters with a lot more value as well as a lot more control – the downside is that most people who bet recreationally for fun often don’t take the time to learn how to use an exchange, or even know what one is.
This review aims to fix all that, and in addition to providing a detailed review on Betfair, it will provide you with all the basics you need to start betting on a betting exchange.
What is a betting exchange and what’s different about them compared to bookmakers?
Betting with a betting exchange isn’t like betting with a bookmaker – you’re actually betting against other punters
You can set your own prices and when someone else matches you, the bet is on!
You can ‘back’ a bet – bet on a winner, or you can ‘lay’ a bet – bet on a horse, player or team - not to win. For example, If you think Liverpool might stumble at home to West Ham, place a lay bet on Liverpool and if they LOSE or DRAW, your bet wins
Those 3 points can be hard to get your head around at first, so let that sink in for a minute.
Laying bets is one of the unique things about Betfair and is probably the hardest part for new exchange punters to come to grips with.
Basically, you’re taking on the role of the bookmaker when you lay a bet. If someone wants to bet $100 on a favourite at $1.10 odds, you only pay out their profit on the bet if it wins. So it only costs you $10 to lay their $100 stake (meaning if the favourite loses, you win the other punter’s $100. If the favourite wins, you lose $10 to that other punter).
So, you may be asking, if you’re betting against other punters, how does Betfair make any money out of this? Well, they take a commission from winning bets, usually 5% depending on the market you’re betting on.
So in that example above, you’d actually be winning $95 from their $100 stake, and Betfair would take their $5 cut.
Ok, so I can back and lay – why should I care?
Laying bets opens up a lot of betting possibilities for you that you can’t get with a bookmaker.
Let’s say you’ve got a 5-leg premier league multi, the first 4 legs have all hit and you’re waiting patiently for the last game to start.
Your $100 bet @30-1 will pay out $3K if this last game wins. But now you’re starting to second guess yourself and the bookie you bet it with doesn’t offer a cash out option.
What are your options?
Well, you can get out a calculator and bet on the other team to win as well as the draw. In a 3-outcome bet like soccer Win-Draw-Win it’s possible to do it this way but still an inconvenience. What about if your last leg is on the golf where there can be dozens of entrants? Or a horse race that can have up to 20 runners?
With Betfair, you can lay whatever you backed in your multi. Simple! Because when you lay a bet, it means that if any other result comes up, you get paid.
In terms of customer service, Betfair is a big beast. You may need to email them your question and may not hear back until the following day.
Sometimes the answer may be generic but it is adequate most of the time.
Betfair offers customer service through the following:
Helpline: 1300 BETFAIR (1300 238 324)
Phone betting line: 132 BET (132 238)
Support email: service@betfair.com.au
If you’re keen on sports betting, Betfair covers the popular markets across a large range of sports including major codes AFL, NRL, NBA, tennis and soccer.
For the main popular markets, you’ll find that there is plenty of market liquidity (the amount available for you to bet). For example, head-to-head NBA, or the line, or total – these are all fine.
If your betting tastes venture away from that, you may struggle to find good odds, or to get a decent sized bet on. For example, player performance bets, or alternate lines and things of that nature – you may be better off going with a traditional bookmaker.
Same game multis – or any multis for that matter, are not as easy for Betfair to offer punters. Recently they have launched a limited offering for AFL. For a wider range of multi’s, you will want to use a normal bookmaker. If you enjoy putting on exotic bets (for example a trifecta on the horse racing) – Many of these are now available on Betfair as well. While not as wide a range as with a standard bookmaker, like other markets, you may find better value on these with Betfair.
If you want to bet on alternate lines for sport, these can be limited as well. Even venturing 1 point away can have limited liquidity on medium popularity sports like NBL.
Betfair might be the ideal option for some betting markets, however you need to always factor in that Betfair's commission will come off your winnings. However, regardless of commission, Betfair is well known for delivering the truest odds on many markets because the market is set by your fellow punters. You can often find standout odds on Betfair - one famous example of this was Verry Elleegant having a 59% better price vs TAB when she won the Melbourne Cup in 2021.
The other thing to remember, is that the odds can be out of whack the further it is until the start time for a race or for a match to begin.
When a market goes up, you may only see $1.01 odds on every option, until the market takes shape.
The site is intuitive, once you get the hang of exchange betting it is very easy to back and lay, with the greyhound and horse racing showing the races in order of race time.
It can take quite a few clicks to get to specific sports markets, particularly futures bets. If you want to find the NBA MVP betting market for example, it takes a bit of a journey to get there at times, and when you do, not every player necessarily has odds available to bet.
Apps for Android and iOS devices are available through Google Play and the App Store respectively.
The app is very similar to the desktop site and has all the main functions you need to deposit and bet.
Due to strict regulations, bookmakers are no longer allowed to promote any special deposit bonuses or deposit matches as these are considered an ‘inducement’ to open an account. You must create an account and log in to see their latest offers.
Better odds on roughies!
Backing and Laying
Don’t have to worry about being limited as a winning punter – if you’re sharp you can always get on for whatever stake you want, depending on market liquidity
Like all reputable betting providers, Betfair offers responsible gambling help. If your gambling is getting out of hand or to be more than you can afford, you can set limits to how much you deposit, and have the option to temporarily or permanently self-exclude.
Aside from the issues mentioned earlier, because Betfair runs entirely on small commissions from your winning bets, they’re unable to offer the same level of promotions as standard bookmakers. So you won’t get the extra value on top that you can get with some of the more generous bookies out there.
Also, Betfair occasionally has unplanned maintenance. With a normal bookmaker this can be a nuisance when it happens, but with Betfair if you’re trading trying to green up on an event, you may be left with your pants down if your bets are exposed and you have no way to lay them off. This is particularly bad for arbers if they’ve backed a bet somewhere else, and Betfair is down before they get a chance to lay.
It used to be that the minimum bet size was $5, which could be annoying if you have $4.79 remaining in your balance and want to have a sneaky bet on a roughie. The minimum bet has now been changed to $1.
Betfair is a must have for any punter willing to put in a little bit of time to learn the basics. It is so different to the average bookmaker and often provides exceptional value for racing and sport even after Betfair takes their commission off your winnings.
If after reading all of above you’re interested in giving them a try, join now and our advice is to start with a few small bets while you learn the ropes.
Betting Variety
Betting Experience
Mobile Experience
Payment Options
Support
Contact Details
Support1300 BETFAIR (1300 238 324)
Emailservice@betfair.com.au
Phone betting132 BET (132 238)