Australia’s largest sports betting site offers unique opportunities for bettors, and especially horse racing fans. Read our review to find out more.
Basic Information
Betfair is one of the most famous and oldest online sports betting companies. It started its operations in the UK in 2000, making it one of the pioneers in this field. In 2005, Betfair expanded its operations by obtaining a licence to operate in Australia, this allowed it to officially provide its services to the Australian market.
Betfair – Betting Exchange
Betfair operates as a betting exchange where punters bet against each other rather than against the site.
Here users can bet in favour of (favouring a certain result) or against (against a certain result). The odds on the exchange change depending on what other punters are betting. Betfair does not take the risk of paying out winnings as traditional sites do, but instead makes money by charging a 5% commission to the player who wins.
As bets are determined by player opinion, Betfair often offers more favourable odds than fixed odds sites. Another advantage of the betting exchange is that users have the option to ‘close’ a bet before the event ends, locking in a profit or minimising a loss, similar to the cashout function of traditional sites.
Advantages
Betfair offers several unique benefits that make it popular with punters:
- Betfair allows you to bet not only on winning, but also “against” the outcome, which is a unique feature of the site.
- The site offers live streaming of horse racing, allowing punters to watch live events and make more informed betting decisions.
- At Betfair, you can set your own odds by offering them to other punters. If someone accepts your bet, you get to bet on your terms.
Disadvantages
Betfair has a few flaws that were worth improving:
- In some cases, you can’t find another player who is willing to bet against you.
- Betfair charges a commission on every win, unlike traditional sites that include their margin in the odds.
- Betfair can seem complicated for newbies because of its specific exchange model.
Betfair – the Horse Racing Betting Site with the Best Odds
Betfair Australia is one of the leading horse racing betting providers in the country, offering some of the best odds on both sporting events and horse racing. When it comes to horse betting, Betfair is deservedly considered one of the favourites among professional punters. Both exchange betting and traditional betting are available on the site. With exchange betting, you can see what other market participants are betting and wait for more favourable odds before placing your bet.
In addition, Betfair offers a ‘best of’ feature that provides punters with the best payout on horse racing bets. This feature allows you to select the most favourable odds between the main TAB markets (S-TAB, NSW, TATTS) and Betfair’s starting prices, providing the best possible payout.
Banking Opportunities
Betfair offers a variety of banking options for the convenience of users. Methods available for making a deposit include Visa, MasterCard, bank transfer, BPAY, POLi, Skrill, Neteller and PayPal. The minimum deposit is only $5 USD, making it affordable for most players. Available currencies include AUD, GBP, USD, EUR and HKD, which is convenient for international users.
See the article about Sportsbet.
For withdrawals Betfair offers wire transfer, Skrill, Neteller, as well as Visa and Mastercard. As for the maximum payout, there are no limits – the amount depends only on the volume of each bet, giving users more flexibility.
Multi-Betting
At Betfair, users can multi-bet like traditional betting sites by combining multiple bets into one. This allows you to include complex bets on a variety of Australian sports, as well as adding bets from the UK and other markets. In this way, a multi-stage bet can be created that covers events in both local and international markets, increasing potential payouts and adding flexibility to your bets.
Exposure on Betfair
At Betfair, when users place bets, the site reserves a certain amount of money in the account to cover potential losses if your bet loses. This reserved amount is called ‘exposure’. Whilst this money remains in the bettor’s account and you can see it, it is not available for new bets until it is clear that it is no longer needed to cover your potential losses. In this way, Betfair protects itself and you by ensuring that you have sufficient funds to meet your betting obligations.
Betfair’s Hub
Betfair’s hub is a special educational section on the Betfair website that is designed to help punters learn how to use the betting exchange as an alternative to traditional sites. This section contains information to help beginners understand the basics of betting on the exchange, as well as advanced strategies for more experienced punters.
In addition, hub provides weekly tips from experts and a variety of models and tools that can support your betting decision-making process.
Lay Back with Betfair
“Lay Back with Betfair” is a fresh show format from Betfair that focuses on horse racing betting and the use of the Betfair exchange. The show is hosted by Tom Haylock and Dave Strehlau, well-known punters and members of the Betfair team. Each week the programme provides an overview of the top stories in the world of horse racing and offers valuable betting tips and secrets on how to make the most of the Betfair Exchange.
In addition, Lay Back includes educational episodes that explore different aspects of betting and how the exchange works. These episodes are a great resource for those who want to further their knowledge, as they feature experts and professional punters sharing their practical tips and strategies.