All You Need to Know About Live Betting at Betfair

I really like the Betfair in-play betting options. In a similar style to William Hill, there are minute markets, where punters can bet whether or not certain events, such as a goal, card or penalty, will occur within set ten minute intervals. Larger fixtures also have a number of other in-play exclusive betting types, which makes a well-rounded, though not especially large, in-play betting selection.

The bets are supported by a fairly standard level of odds. With an average range of between 91.27 and 94.13%, our tests found that the odds here are roughly in the middle of the betting sites tested. Disappointingly though, the odds for football were on the lower end. With a high of 92.8%, leaving a bookmaker’s margin of almost 7%, the football odds are not bad, but ranked just eighth from the ten betting sites reviewed. Any in-play market worth its salt needs a good cash out system and Betfair have this nailed. Cash out is available for a wide selection of markets, while it is also adjustable, meaning you can leave some of your stake in-play, while cashing out the rest.

Betfair TV Live Video Streaming Service

Betfair has great live-streaming capabilities through its Betfair TV service. There’s over 3,500 sporting events a year across a wide range of sports available to be streamed. All live content on Betfair is currently free, except for UK, Irish and UAE horse racing. These require a bet of at least 50p to be placed upon a race to stream it. The conditions for free live-streaming can vary a lot between sports however. Football for example, requires an account funded with at least 50p, while US and South African horse racing can be live-streamed for free, but requires a bet of at least £2 on the event. This seems a little unnecessary and confusing, as it’s difficult to remember all these criteria should you want to live-stream different sports. Importantly though, there are free football and tennis streams that have small requirements.

The actual live-streaming system works really well. Events that are available to be streamed will have a small TV symbol next to them, which can simply be clicked to open the Betfair live video. There’s also the live video window, which can be opened to view the live streams and also contains a calendar of in-play and upcoming events that will be available to stream. The downside is, that outside of horse and greyhound racing, there aren’t too many fixtures here to watch.

Comprehensive Statistical Information

The in-play Betfair live scores and statistics are definitely up there with the best we’ve seen. The match statistics that accompany the infographic look slick and go into great detail. For football, the key stats tab contains total shots, shots on target, blocked shots, number of attacks, corners, free kicks and offsides. But it’s also possible to get head to head data, form, a running commentary and the team line-ups for some fixtures. Another great fixture that few other betting sites replicate is the reviewing of winning bets at half and full time. Betfair give a review of the number of key events, so you can see what bets would have won or lost for each category. This information is automatically displayed on the match infographic. One small disadvantage is that the match infographic and the stats cannot be viewed at the same time, as they are displayed in the same box which is changed via a tab, but this is not really an issue.

If you bet on the horses, then the results service at Betfair will be perfect for you. If you don’t, then not so much. In 2006, Betfair acquired the horse racing publishing company Timeform and it is on this platform that their results and form guides are published. Obviously since it is on a specialised third party website, the service is very good, with results, tips and previews of all major events. It’s a great service that matches any other betting site’s horse racing platform, but ultimately, cannot compete with our winner in this area, to William Hill, due to the lack of other sports catered for.

No In-Play Offer Available

At the time of writing, there were no dedicated in-play offers available. However, the Betfair bonuses are vast and wide-ranging. You can utilise them to your advantage.

Conclusion: Great platform that functions as good as it looks

It’s hard to find many faults with the Betfair live betting platform. Despite being fairly young as a sportsbook, Betfair have really thought things through and delivered a solid platform that has more than enough to satisfy any punter. There are around half the sports of the main platform available, which are supported by a good range of betting options, including many exclusive in-play options. There are also free streams, adjustable cash out and good odds on the whole. Combined with one of the best statistical systems we’ve seen, Betfair have definitely found a winning combination. There aren’t really any genuine weaknesses; the only real negative point of note is that the odds for football could be a little bit better, so if this is important to you, I can suggest finding the best football odds at BetVictor. But on the whole, this is an attractive platform that is as smooth to use as it looks.

FAQ

The information presented throughout this article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the Betfair live betting platform, if the content is unclear, or you have any further questions on this topic, please email us at info@bestbettingsites.com.

What is the difference between the sportsbook and the Betfair Exchange?

The Betfair sportsbook works in the same way as any of the other sites reviewed here. The exchange however allows punters to wager bets against one another, rather than involving a bookmaker. You can lay a bet at odds of your choosing and then this is matched by another punter. You can read all about exchange betting on our site.