Betfair Free Bet & Review

Anyone who is familiar with the world of virtual sports betting will known that Betfair is known as the world's largest exchange. Founded back in 2000 with a view to giving sports fans and aspiring bookmakers the ability to set their own lines, the site has since become a major hit with punters around the world.

However, to remain a one trick pony in the online betting world is professional suicide, so to ensure it didn't fall behind the chasing pack and become an also ran, Betfair decided to open its own sportsbook. Using its internal expertise to create a diverse platform capable of giving players exactly what they want, Betfair's online sportsbook now offers wagers on everything from football and horse racing, to the possible winner of the next general election.

Best Bets: Breaking Down Betfair Sportsbook

Anyone familiar with the Betfair brand will instantly feel at home inside the site's sportsbook. Simple headings, clearly delineate betting sections and generous offers abound when you visit the site.

To give you a bit more of an insight into Betfair's betting product, come with us now for a textual tour of its main highlights.

The Interface

Painted in its now customary yellow (or is it orange?) and black colour scheme, Betfair Casino's main interface is one of the more pleasant platforms to look at. Indeed, unlike some operators that take the "more is more" approach to colours and graphics, the designers at Betfair Sports have decided to take a more subtle approach and let the site's betting options do the talking.

To find the betting options you're looking for, Betfair utilises a dropdown toolbar that lists the most popular betting markets. One of the neater ways to display the site's range of sporting options, this menu has now become something of a trademark for Betfair.

Once inside a particular discipline, a series of wagers are broken down into featured, current and future categories. In addition to this overall breakdown, Betfair's software allows punters to find all the latest in-play bets with a single click. By navigating to the "In-Play" button, users can call up a comprehensive list of all the ongoing sporting encounters and the respective markets for each. Taking this access to live betting a step further, Betfair has a fully optimised mobile betting app that gives both Android and iPhone users full access to their betting account.

By anyone's standards, Betfair Sports is a simple platform to navigate through. However, it's not only easy to read in English. Because Betfair is available in a number of European countries, it would be remiss of the designers not to make the system accessible for everyone. So, to this end, Betfair's online sportsbook is now available 17 different languages, including Bulgarian, Chinese, English, French and German.

Moreover, to complement this polyglottal system, Betfair has utilised a range of payment options which also support a variety of currencies. Indeed, by using processors such as Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Skrill, Betfair gives all its account holders the ability to hold balances in one of ten major currencies (AUD, CAD, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, NOK, SEK, SGD and USD).

As well as making people feel more at home, this system is also beneficial for a customer’s bankroll as it removes the impact of currency conversion charges. Indeed, it's sometimes the case that exchange rates can shift between the time a punter makes a deposit and then collects their winnings (when people are forced to use a single currency on site). Fortunately, by giving customers the ability to play in their own currency, it negates this issue and allows customers to get the most value possible.

The Sports Betting Menu

In-play betting plays a major part in Betfair Sports' overall offering and once you're inside the betting floor you can take advantage of many generous markets. In fact, in terms of overall variety, Betfair has one of the largest market menus in the industry.

As you'd expected, fans of major sports such as football, horse racing, cricket, tennis and golf are all well catered for. However, if your preferences lie elsewhere, then there are plenty of additional betting options.

Just as one example, fans of American sports, such as basketball and American football, can enjoy hundreds of annual markets on events such as the playoff finals and the Super Bowl. Of course, if you're not a fan of transatlantic sports and prefer something more traditionally European, then Betfair Sportsbook also offers markets for Gaelic games such as hurling and senior football.

The Tech Wizardry

Like many major online sportsbooks, betting starts from as little as £0.10 and punters can ante-up in a number of weird and wonderful ways. Indeed, if straight win bets don't offer enough of an adrenaline rush then you can take advantage of accumulators, quinellas, tricasts, scorecasts and just about any other cast you can think of.

Basically, if you can string a series of bets together in a logical way then Betfair will offer you some odds on it. Of course, by increasing your odds you increase your risk, but this is where Betfair comes into its own.

To ensure customers don't take on too much and get out of their depth, Betfair Sports often offers "Acca Insurance" on various sporting events. Designed to help players reduce their risk when making an accumulator bet (one of the most popular forms of football bets), this deal gives customers a refund if one of their selections let them down.

Naturally, anything you can do on Betfair's sports betting floor via your computer you can do via your phone or tablet. Thanks to fully optimised Android and iOS apps you can now access a global sports betting market at any time and in any place.

Added Extra: Betfair Sportsbook Bonuses and Bargains

To get your online sports betting career off to a flying start, Betfair has a welcome offer worth £30 for all new players. Available when you make your first deposit, the mechanics behind this deal are simple: deposit a minimum of £10, use that money to stake £10 in the sportsbook and wait for Betfair to credit your account with three free bets worth £10 each.

Once you've exhausted these bets (and hopefully won some cash), the other Betfair benefit you need to look out for is the price rush. Designed to boost your odds on selected singles bets, this feature basically scans the Betfair Exchange for the best singles prices and if there's a better deal out there the system will boost the price in the sportsbook.

This means your returns could more than double simply by the virtue of Betfair's Exchange offering a superior price. Basically, if you want the best singles odds in the industry, Betfair's price rush system is designed to get you them.

View from the Betting Floor

Although Betfair's sports betting exchange is its largest assets, its in-house bookmaking service still puts up a strong fight against the industry's major players. Indeed, while it may not have the same notoriety as William Hill or Ladbrokes when it comes to being a traditional sportsbook, Betfair has made an effort to fulfil every wish an experienced gambler could have. Although the site's provisions for daily news, expert tips and betting strategies is somewhat lacking in comparison to its rivals, this operator is still able to offer just as much betting action.

Betfair Sportsbook's Highlights:

Stake £10 and receive £30 in free bets.
Generous promotions, including Acca Insurance and Price Rush.
Standard and novelty betting markets.
Mobile and in-play betting.
Multiple currencies and deposit options available.
To join Betfair's online sportsbook and benefit from all these deals, simply follow our sign-up link and create your first account today.