Betfair

In addition to their sportsbook, Betfair offers punters the chance to bet against other bettors on their world-famous betting exchange, a key factor that continues to set Betfair apart from any other bookie.

The opportunity for customers to back and lay bets on the Betfair Exchange, which has existed ever since the company first launched in 2000, transformed online betting at the time and remains an excellent option for seasoned punters seeking an alternative to traditional fixed-odds wagering.

That’s not to say Betfair is purely for intermediate or advanced bookies, far from it. The Betfair sportsbook, introduced in 2012, is just as popular with beginners or casual bettors.

Unsurprisingly, football and horse racing are the most prominent sports on Betfair. Tennis, greyhound racing, golf and Gaelic games are a big part of what’s on offer for Irish punters too.

There’s plenty of action available to watch on Betfair Live Video, in addition to a packed in-play betting menu.

Betting offers are plentiful too with the Betfair sign-up offer providing excellent value for new customers and daily odds boosts, enhanced acca prices and free bets to be earned once registered.

No Suspensions on Cash Out is undoubtedly a highlight with punters able to close a bet in-play even if a market is suspended, an option other betting sites do not offer (yet).

If the world’s leading betting exchange and first-class sportsbook wasn't enough, Betfair has a top-notch casino with live casino games and slots from leading providers including Netent, Playtech and IGT, plus bingo and poker.

One of a few betting sites that accommodates the needs of every type of bettor, it’s clear why Betfair is number one in the eyes of many an Irish punter.

Open a new account on the Betfair sportsbook today and you can earn yourself €30 in free bets. Not bad for 5 minutes work, huh?

How the Betfair Sign Up Offer Works

1. Register a new Betfair account using promo code ZBGC01
2. Verify your number by SMS
3. Make a deposit using a Debit card (€10 minimum)
4. Place a €10 bet on the sportsbook at minimum odds of 1/2 (1.5)
5. Get your €30 sportsbook free bet once qualifying bet has been settled.

In keeping with Betfair’s entire offering, the sports available on the Betfair sportsbook are wide-ranging.

In addition to football, horse racing and tennis, there’s American football, baseball, basketball, Gaelic games, tennis and rugby union to name a few.

Each sport is easy to locate from the top of the website menu with a simple click taking you to markets for upcoming and future matches and competitions.

Betfair has left no stone unturned in making sure punters have everything - and more - to bet on the horses.

Here are the top 10 things we liked most:

• Effective layout: The Betfair Horse Racing page is packed with race cards but the super clean layout which features no more than three races listed at a time, makes for an uncluttered, easy-to-view page.
• Great navigation: Whether it’s the UK and Irish meetings you’re after, or, the whole day’s schedule including international races taking place abroad, you can toggle between upcoming meetings quickly.
• Great variety of markets: In addition to many bet types (including win, each way, place, betting without, forecast & tricast) for every UK and Irish race, Betfair has specials and prices on a range of future races too.
• Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG): Betfair offers BOG on all UK and Irish racing bets from 8 am on the day of a race, guaranteeing you get paid out at bigger odds even if the Starting Price is bigger than your initial wager.
• Odds Boosts Offer: Irish punters can claim daily Odds Boosts tokens as a reward for placing a horse racing bet during the 30 days prior.
• Timeform Info & Analysis: You can get the lowdown for every UK and Irish race thanks to statistics and tips provided by Timeform, the sports data and content provider synonymous with racing and acquired by Betfair in 2006.
• Horse Finder: Using Timeform filters, you can customise your horse search based on what you think makes a winning horse. This saves time doing the research yourself and is widely used by punters of every level.
• Betfair Betting Podcast: Weighed-In and Racing Only Bettor featuring racing experts and pundits like Tony Calvin and Kevin Blake, provide previews, reviews, and tips on all the racing action.
• Free-to-play competitions: ‘Guess the Result’, run on the Betfair Racing Twitter account, gives customers the chance to win a €25 free bet by picking the winner of a day’s featured race.
• Live Video: No horse racing offering is complete without live streams and Betfair has exactly that for every UK and Irish race and selected international meetings in the USA and South Africa. A minimum €2 bet on the event is enough to watch a race.

As one of Ireland's top football betting sites, Betfair is the port of call for many a football bettor.

The Betfair Exchange is a draw with punters effectively able to set the odds and gain an edge on hundreds of football matches while wagering against other bettors.

But the Betfair sportsbook, on its own, offers more than enough to merit a place among the top football bookies.

GAA sports aren’t a major part of Betfair’s offering like football and horse racing are.

That said, you can still wager on every football and hurling game taking place.

And as with other sports, there are plenty of odds boosts and promotions to claim around big events, such as the All Ireland Finals.

Knowing if a bookie offers anything different from the competition, or, has added a small twist to a feature, for example, can have a large bearing on whether a punter decides to sign up.

Betfair differentiates itself in quite a few ways.

Betfair originally invented the idea of Cash Out, giving punters more freedom over their bets, initially on the exchange.

The introduction of Auto Cash Out and Partial Cash Out has enhanced the feature further still and its popularity has seen every online bookmaker adopt Cash Out in some form.

But you can always rely on Betfair for innovation and as they have proven once again with their No Suspensions on Cash Out Promo. Betfair, we salute you.

Betfair has now re-invented Cash Out and done away with one of the biggest issues faced by bettors…

Even after you have claimed the Betfair Sign Up Offer, there are still promos for you to cash in on as a regular punter.

• My Odds Boosts: For every major sport Betfair covers, you can boost up to three bets and get a bigger payout if you win.
• Betfair Free Bets: In addition to offering money back as a free bet for big races or big games, Betfair gives lots of free bets on multiple bets. For instance, if you place €20 on multiples or Bet Builders during one day, Betfair will credit your account with a free bet (sometimes €5, sometimes €10) eligible to use on multiples on Bet Builders for any sport.
• Refer and Earn: Get $10 for every friend who you refer to the Betfair sportsbook, exchange, or casino. Each friend needs to make a deposit of €10 or more for you to get your bonus.

We reckon Betfair’s version of acca insurance - available on all sports - is the best around.

That’s because not only does ‘Acca Edge’ ensure you get your stake back as cash if one selection of your accumulator (inevitably) lets you down, but the insurance even applies to a multiple with three selections, which is kinda unheard of (the industry standard normally requires you to have at least a 4-fold, sometimes, even 5-fold acca before any form of insurance kicks in).

What’s more, a mixture of sports can make up your Acca plus you are guaranteed to get paid as soon as the last leg is settled, allowing you to move on and create yet another acca safe in the knowledge Betfair will look after you should it lose.

Note: Your bet will have slightly reduced odds when using Acca Edge.

Betfair allows you to change the terms of your each-way bet before you place it. You can add extra places, or, choose fewer places depending on how confident you are about your selection.

For instance, let’s say, you believe your pick has a good chance of finishing outside the places. Each Way Edge allows you to add extra places to improve the chances of your bet coming in (for a small reduction in the odds).

It works the other way too; if you are fairly certain your horse will finish in the first one or two places, you can opt to take away places from your wager and see a slight increase in the odds of your bet.

As mentioned, football and horse racing are a big part of Betfair's live streaming platform. Punters of both sports are catered to.

Top European leagues, including Serie A and the MLS, and all horse races at home and in the UK and some international meetings are available to watch on Betfair Live Video. Greyhound racing is another sport well covered.

Betfair’s live video features a host of other sports too. They include tennis, basketball (including the NBA), cricket and all major ranking snooker tournaments.

Waiting for your winnings to land in your bank account is a gripe felt by every bettor. Betfair appreciates this more than most bookies.

Hence Fast Funds, the guarantee of instant withdrawals for Irish punters using a Visa debit card or Prepaid card.

Most of the time, your withdrawal will take seconds, but, on rare occasions, it may take up to 2 hours. Either way, Betfair is one of the only bookies offering withdrawals as quickly as this!

It can be frustrating when there’s nobody to speak with when an issue needs resolving.

With Betfair Live Chat, you have a Betfair assistant just a click away.

Betfair is renowned for great customer service and the support we’ve received from Betfair down the years has been nothing short of superb.

While Matchbook and Betdaq offer decent enough betting exchanges for punters to bet against each other, no gambling company comes close to Betfair's world-leading Exchange platform.

Advanced bettors, or, ‘traders’, as they’re also known, are frequent users of betting exchanges for the simple fact that there’s no middle man (i.e the bookmaker) setting the odds.

The Exchange provides the option to lay (bet on something not to happen), in addition to being able to ‘back’ (bet on something to happen) an outcome.

By cutting out the bookmaker and allowing punters to set the bet, so to speak, punters are given more control and, crucially, a better chance of winning more money.

All the promos and features you will find on the Betfair sportsbook website can be found on Betfair’s quick and easy-to-use app.

From Live Streaming and Same Game Multis to Each Way Edge and Acca Edge, all of your favourite features are just a swipe away.

The Betfair sportsbook app is available to download from the App Store for iPhone users and from Google Play for customers with Android devices.