Read on for our full Betfair Exchange review.
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Contents
Betfair Exchange Review: Sports and markets available
For those that don’t already know, the Betfair Exchange works a bit differently to any regular Australian sportsbook. At the Betfair Exchange, you are wagering against other sports betting enthusiasts rather than the bookmaker, and you can always bet for an outcome or against an outcome. With that being said, the selection of sports and markets still works similarly to a mainstream sportsbook.
When you open up the Exchange, you will see a list of available sports on the left-hand side of the page. Some of the major sports that they cover are soccer, Aussie rules, American football, baseball, basketball, horse racing, and tennis. Usually, when you choose from any of these sports, you’ll find a bunch of different betting markets too.
Many of these markets include over/under, spread, moneyline, tournament outright, handicap, and several others. Since you are using an Exchange, however, rather than a bookmaker, you can choose to bet for an event or against it – the choice is yours!
Odds & Limits
It’s quite an interesting concept to address odds on a betting exchange since the amount of money that players wager on various markets can make the odds fluctuate quite drastically. While that is true concerning how the odds change once they have actually been released, the odds that Betfair provides initially are generally quite appealing. For you as the end sports bettor, this means that you are actually getting great value for your betting markets.
Another good feature of the exchange is that you can bet as little or as much as you like – there just needs to be enough money in the market for your bet to be accepted. Basically, when you make a bet on the exchange there needs to be somebody on the other side of the equation ready to accept your bet. This is why we say that there must be enough money in the market, and your winnings are potentially uncapped.
FAQ
How can I be sure that Betfair is a legal site?
Betfair holds a valid license from the Northern Territory Government of Australia, showing that they are a reputable and legal betting exchange.
What sports can I bet on at the Exchange?
Much like a major sportsbook, the Betfair Exchange has many sports for you to bet on including Aussie rules, rugby, cricket, tennis, soccer, American football, and plenty more.
How does the Exchange differ from a sportsbook?
Rather than betting against a bookmaker, when you place your wagers on an exchange you are betting against another player, and this is done through the use of back and lay bets.
Where can I actually see the odds for the lay/back bet?
You can see the odds for any back bet displayed in blue, and the lay bets are presented in a pink box. These will always be available regardless of the market that you choose.
Are there plenty of payment options available?
Some of the major payment methods you can use to fund your Betfair Exchange account include Visa/Mastercard, PayPal, and popular e-wallets including Skrill and Neteller.
What must I do to open an account at Betfair Exchange?
Simply head across to the homepage and follow the registration process to open your account – you must be 18 years of age and be a resident of Australia to do this.
Is there a good customer support setup?
There are several phone numbers that you may call to reach customer support, as well as a couple of designated email addresses. The best part is that these are both monitored 24/7.
Is there a maximum for how much I can bet?
As long as there is enough liquidity in the market, there is effectively no limit to how much you can bet on the exchange, although we always encourage you to stay in control and never bet more than you can afford to lose.
Betfair Exchange Review: Additional Features
User Experience
Considering that the Betfair Exchange has so much going on, and so many features that you can access, we actually felt that the site was somewhat simple to use. There are quick links to practically every section that the site has, and we feel that the sports and markets are presented in an extremely accessible way.
We particularly enjoyed the color scheme that has been used to present both the lay and back odds, and this also helps to avoid any confusion when you first start using the exchange. On top of this, it is super easy to see what markets are available for any particular sporting event. All you need to do is click the event itself, and this will open up the full scope of markers that you can bet on.
In-play betting
How to place in-play bets
When you want to place an in-play sports bet on the exchange, there are two things that you must do. Initially, you have to make sure that you have opened up your account with the Betfair Exchange. Secondly, you have to make sure that you have funded your account and that there is enough money in there to place the bet that you were trying to make.
Once you have these two bases covered, you are more than ready to get into the world of Betfair Exchange live betting. To see what markets you can access at any given time, you must navigate to the in-play section that can be seen in the top left corner. Simply click this link, and whatever sporting events are currently taking place will be shown to you.
Then you may proceed as normal, by just selecting your desired market, entering your preferred stake, and then placing the bet.
Live streaming
When you want to start watching your favorite sports on the Betfair Exchange, you need to click the ‘Betfair Live’ link at the top of the homepage. This is where you will see what sporting events are readily available for you to watch, although the live streaming isn’t entirely free.
You do need to make sure that you have some money in your account, and if you don’t, you must have made a bet within the last 24-hours to have access to the stream. Providing that you meet these conditions, you can live stream a variety of sports including horse racing, tennis, soccer, and several others.
The live stream is typically around 5 seconds behind the event, so do keep this in mind if you are thinking of streaming the game and making any in-play bets.
Mobile App
If you use an Apple or Android device, you are in luck, as the Betfair Exchange has a professional mobile app that can be downloaded for both of these operating systems. You can actually run through the entire registration process from the app if you wanted to, and there is not a single sport that has been left out from the exchange.
The design is actually very similar to the desktop, with the blue and pink color scheme to show the odds, and sports being displayed as a dropdown format on the left of the app. In our experience, we found the app to be highly responsive with very little lag time between placing your bet and it actually going through.
Best Features
- In-play betting
Having the option to place in-play bets is always a positive thing, as you can lock-in more attractive odds than you may have seen before the event began.
- Availability of statistics
If you need a little extra assistance in deciding on your bets, Betfair has statistics readily available for you to examine.
- Presentation of markets
We enjoyed that the markets are presented in a concise way and that you can open up all of them with one click for any single event.
- Live streaming
It’s always enjoyable to be able to watch an event and place bets from the same platform, which is exactly what the Betfair Exchange provides.
- Quick links for specific events
If you don’t want to miss a sporting event that is coming up, you can simply create a quick link to this event so that you can access it the next time that you login.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
Live streaming available | Low money in the market for less popular events |
24/7 customer support | Can be hard to navigate at first |
Great range of sports | Cash-out not available for all bets |
Visually appealing website | The live stream is 5 seconds behind the actual event |
Betfair Exchange Review – An Exciting Sports Betting Platform
With more than 30 different sports listed on the exchange, combined with streaming services and in-play betting, the Betfair Exchange serves up plenty of entertainment. We like the presentation of the exchange, with lay bets in pink and back bets in blue, and we also enjoyed that you can toggle the odds from fractional to decimal and vice versa. Looking out for Betfair promo codes is always exciting too.
While exchange betting is still somewhat new in the Australian market, we feel that this is a platform that puts a nice spin on just regular sports betting. By having the chance to compete with other players and bet on your favorite sports at the same time, we think the Betfair Exchange is a site that everybody should at least try out!