Betfair Sportsbook

Betfair Sportsbook Review

Betfair is one of the biggest betting brands in the world and one that I know very well. I have been a member for over 15 years. For the first half of that, it was my main site and the one I would recommend above all others. I used the exchange every day and also dabbled in the old Betfair poker room and arcade.

I don’t use it much anymore (more on that later), but I still respect it.

For the following Betfair Sportsbook review, I returned to the site to see what it had to offer.

Sportsbook vs Exchange

In the early days of Betfair, it was all about the exchange, a concept whereby bettors were pitted against one another. By “laying” a bet, you were essentially assuming the role of a bookmaker.

But then Betfair launched a traditional sportsbook and it’s now one of the biggest sections on the site. You can still use your Betfair account to place exchange bets if you want, but if you can’t find what you need there, the sportsbook will cover you.

Of course, you’ll nearly always find the best odds in the exchange, as it creates a lot of competition. But the sportsbook has more bonuses, lower bet minimums, and more prop bets and accumulator options.

Welcome Bonuses

Betfair offers all new players the chance to collect £30 in free bets when they deposit and wager at least £10.

Just sign up using the right link (see the links on this page), verify your account by confirming your mobile number, and then deposit £10. From there, you will need to place a bet of £10 or more on odds of at least 1.50 (1/2).

Once the bet has settled, you’ll get £30 in free bet credits.

Just don’t make the same mistake that I nearly always make, which is to deposit well above the minimum of £10 and then bet less than £10 with my first wager. I have done it more times than I care to count. I have a habit of preparing my small prop bets, bet builder wagers, and accumulators before I place my biggest wagers, so it’s instinctual.

As these bonuses only count your first wager, it means I often miss out on the bonus.

It’s also worth noting that a number of multiplier bets are excluded. Doubles and Trebles seem to be okay, but any kind of special bet (Heinz, Super Heinz, Canadian, etc) will void the bonus.

Experiences with Betfair Customer Support

At the outset of this review, I noted that I first joined Betfair over 15 years ago and used it religiously, only to stop about 7 years ago. So, what happened?

Well, the site never stopped being great, but the customer support was some of the worst I have encountered.

I won’t get into it here, but basically, I won a giveaway that they refused to honour. They had recorded the result of a football match wrong, and as a result, they refused to pay me.

After all, if you bet on the first goal being scored in the 3rd minute and the site claims it was scored in the 4th, they can also claim that you’re wrong, you lose, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

In the end, they realised their mistake and corrected the result. But by that time, they had been very difficult to deal with and one of their managers was borderline insulting. Furthermore, rather than apologising, admitting their mistake, and settling the giveaway correctly, they offered me a sum of money that they framed as a “goodwill gesture” and then pretended they hadn’t seen the correction.

That way, they could see themselves as heroes of customer support, instead of idiots who made a massive mistake.

This is just one issue, and I would have been happy to overlook it, but the truth is that I had several poor experiences in the run-up to this. They never struck me as a company that cared as much as they should.

In my bet365 review, I noted a time when a bet was settled incorrectly and I proceeded to lose the funds without realising. My account went into the negative, and as a—genuine—goodwill gesture, they corrected it to 0. This actually happened 3 times, totalling around £150.

It was their way of saying, “It was our mistake. You shouldn’t pay for it” while acknowledging my continued loyalty.

It also happened once on Betfair. It was only £20 and I had actually been a member for much longer than bet365.

Did they reset my balance immediately and apologise for their mistake?

Of course not. Instead, they told me that the next time I deposited, I would lose £20 of that deposit.

There are levels to this customer support game, and while sites like bet365 and 32Red are chilling in the penthouse suite, Betfair is hiding in a cupboard and silently cursing to itself in the basement.

Maybe I’m being harsh. But I can only relate my personal experiences, and they haven’t been great in this department.

Deposits and Withdrawals

The payment options have always been very good on Betfair. I frequently switched between debit and PayPal and never had issues with either. Neteller and Skrill are also accepted here.

The minimum deposit varies between £5 and £10 depending on the method you choose. You need to be verified before depositing, but this often happens automatically during the signup process.

Verdict: Betfair Review

If you had asked me what I thought of Betfair 10 years ago, I would have told you it was by far the best site online. I might have even said it was the only one you needed.

I was a true Betfair fanboy.

Ask me 7 years ago, around the time of my last frustrating experience with them, and I would have told you to stay clear. In fact, I was so mad I probably would have called them the devil and rated them as the worst site on the web.

These days, I obviously no longer think Betfair is best, but I have also calmed down and can adopt a more impartial stance.

I honestly think that Betfair is one of the most complete gambling sites on the web. It has everything, and while the same could be said for many top UK sites these days, none have the Betfair Exchange, and that truly sets it apart.

But if we’re just focusing on Betfair Sportsbook, it’s lacking. It doesn’t have as many bonuses as other sites and lacks the live streams and loyalty offers you’ll find on bet365. It’s good, and it deserves to be listed as one of the UK’s best, but for me, there are many better sites out there.

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