BetFred Sportsbook Review
BetFred was originally established in 1967 as a single betting shop in Ordsall, Salford which is outside of Manchester, England. The shop was named after one of its co-founders, Fred Done, the brother of Peter Done. BetFred is one of the few large gaming giants in the United Kingdom that is privately owned. Their offices are in Birchwood, Warrington and their managing director is John Haddock, who began at the company as a regional manager.
BetFred made British bookmaking history by being the first bookmaker to pay out early. Something that they and many other bookies have done since then. In 1998, they paid out punters who bet Manchester United to win the league before the season ended in March. However, BetFred did end up paying out too early when Arsenal edged United by a single point to win the league.
This happened once again during the 2011-12 season. Paying out early was fairly common by this point. The bookie with Manchester origins once again paid out early for those backing United to win the league. They once again were edged out slightly, this time by a crosstown rival, Manchester City, on goal differential.
Best Betting Site Alternatives To BetFred Sportsbook
While BetFred’s main offices are in the United Kingdom, their business is registered in Gibraltar under the name Petfre Ltd. This is a typical move by UK bookmakers, which is done to save money on taxes. They are licensed by the Gibraltar government’s Remote Gambling Commission but also hold a license by the UK Gambling Commission.
BetFred provides players with plenty of other gambling options aside from sports betting. An online casino, racebook, bingo, lottery, virtual sports, and poker options are all available from the same account. BetFred has pulled out of more than a dozen countries in the past few years due to regulatory concerns in grey markets. These include Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Poland, and several others. They left Canada for similar reasons and have never operated nor accepted bets from U.S. residents due to UIGEA laws against online gambling.
A Personal Opinion on BetFred Sportsbook
What We Like About BetFred
BetFred has long gone by the moniker that they are the “bonus king” in Irish and UK betting markets. The high-street bookmaker’s reputation is impeccable, and their promotions are some of the best online. Aside from promotions, BetFred’s odds are some of the best online and are easily above average compared to the vast majority of bookmakers. Their margins are smallest when it comes to football markets at just 4.3%, with excellent pricing on Asian handicap markets.
Their support staff and withdrawal processing speeds are some of the best online. BetFred has done an excellent job from bringing their land based shops into the 21st century of sports betting. They’re still easily one of the best bookies around (online and offline) in what is a highly competitive market.
They now offer a “Cash Out” feature which allows punters to cash out your wager for a fixed amount before the even ends. Cash out is becoming more and more common in the industry but is still not available at most bookmakers.
What We Don’t Like About BetFred
Although their prices are excellent, the number of markets that BetFred has available, both in pre-match and in-play betting formats is a bit lower than other betting sites, such as Betway. Most punters should be fine with the offerings, but there are competitors with two or three times the markets for larger events.
BetFred’s focus is Irish and English markets. When it comes to Eastern European or some Western European contests and leagues, they fall a little bit short compared to other bookmakers. Keep in mind, most of their clients resides in the UK and Ireland, so this isn’t necessarily a negative, but something to consider if you’re looking to bet more international sports or markets.
From the feedback that we have received from players, BetFred is one of the bookmakers that is quick to limit winning bettors. If you’ve shown to be a profitable player, you likely won’t be able to win at BetFred for long.
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BetFred Review – Deposits and Withdrawals
BetFred has an extensive list of deposit and withdrawals options for players. Their payout speeds are also among the fastest online.
Deposit Options
There is a minimum deposit amount of £5.00 for all methods. All credit and debit cards are accepted, along with other options, including Ukash, bank wire, and bank draft. All of the top e-wallets can be used. They accept PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller. There is no charge for depositing or withdrawing at BetFred, regardless of your method. However, only one free deposit is allowed per day using Neteller or Skrill. Additional deposits may be subject to a 3% fee.
Quick Payouts
All withdrawals will be processed back to the method players used to deposit if possible. Credit and debit card payouts are processed in 3-5 days, which is among the fastest online. E-wallets are the quickest method, with BetFred processing payouts back to e-wallets (Skrill, PayPal, and Neteller) within just a few hours.
BetFred Sportsbook Bonuses
Bet £10, Get £30 for New Accounts
Other Promotions
BetFred’s promotions are regularly updated. Their list of offers for each sport is some of the best online. Most of the promos center around football or horse racing. The “Double Delight” promotion centers on the first goal scorer of a match. BetFred will double your winnings if they happen to score another goal in the match. They also offer this promotion for Rugby (tries) and American Football (touchdowns).
“Goals Galore” is one of their most notable promos. The bookie provides a list of matches and punters can muster an accumulator of their choosing made up from the list. The odds on this promotion beat just about any other accumulator odds in the industry. Their horse racing promotions are probably their best attribute. For betting the ponies, there are few shops better than BetFred. They provide a best price guarantee on all UK and Irish racing.
If a punter places a bet and the starting price is better than your BetFred price, the bookmaker will payout the extra increased odds. This is one of many promotions available for BetFred racing. BetFred is extremely active on social media. Most of their promotions are announced there, along with odds on prominent events. Following them should assure you that you won’t miss promo for either sport or horse racing.
BetFred Review Highlights
Betting Interface
BetFred provides a no-nonsense interface with a layout that is similar to most other online bookies. The left side of the menu is has the top markets of the day and a full list of sports offered. Players can choose their odds types and place bets all from the same page.
As far as pre-match markets, their interfaces are one of the best. In-play betting deserves high marks as well, but as we will discuss below, their number of markets, especially where it comes to live betting isn’t quite up to par.
Betting Markets Access
BetFred has nearly every sport under the sun available for betting, but the largest portion of their markets will be centered around English and Irish sports. However, they are increasingly offering more markets worldwide, including American sports, with excellent prices to boot. BetFred is a bit of an old timer’s bookie. Their overall margins are good, but they are probably the best bookmaker online for sports like darts, snooker, and both horse and dog racing. There is no bookmaker online that offers better odds or more markets than BetFred when it comes to these above markets.
Their full list of markets extends to many sports worldwide, but their markets other than the top flight football leagues and international contests isn’t all encompassing. If you’re looking for great prices on top flight leagues – BetFred is excellent. If you’re looking for a nearly unlimited number of markets, you should look elsewhere. In-play betting recently saw an upgrade at BetFred. The upgrade is a nice improvement over their previous in-play betting software. As far as function and look, the new client is considerably better.
However, it’s still not quite on par with the best the live betting software on the market today. Live streaming is available for most sports, but in match updates, commentary, and other aspects aren’t seamlessly available through BetFred’s platform.
Maximum Payouts at BedFred
As far as maximum payouts, BetFred’s limits are generous, which makes sense for a bookmaker that has been in the industry since the 1960s. In fact, they are perfect for punters large and small, with a minimum bet amount of just £0.01.
BetFred may identify the maximum payout when players are in the process of placing their bet. If available, this will be displayed on the bet slip. For top flight leagues, such as the English Premier League, the maximum payout is £1 million. This includes internationals, Champions League, and other first division leagues, such La Liga and Serie A. Horse racing and greyhounds also share £1 million max payout.
The drop-off is considerable for other sports, but still up there for among the highest max payouts online. Both tennis and golf are capped at £500k. Smaller market sports, and those in other markets are usually around £100k. When it comes to team and player propositions and other exotics, the max payout is £10,000. This may seem low, but isn’t bad considering that many other bookies have extremely low maximum payouts on these markets.
BedFred Elite Support
Customer support, aside from their strong pricing, might be BetFred’s best attribute. Due to their client base, their support team is only available in English, but it might be the number one rated team according to punters.
Support is available 24/7, 365 days a year through phone, live chat, and email. BetFred also has several Twitter accounts, which are available during at least business hours for support. Their FAQ is also one of the most extensive online and should help most players solve their issues without having to contact support.
Responses from their team, across all mediums, is exceptionally fast.
Storied Bookmaker – BedFred Review Summary
BetFred is a bookmaker you can’t help but support. We know you can place your bets anywhere, but there are few betting sites that treat you as well as BetFred that also have elite pricing. Their payouts are among the fastest in the industry, and their endless promotions should keep you coming back for quite some time.
100% Up To £30 Bonus
- Lots of promotions throughout the year.
- Betway Plus rewards program for players.
