Betfair Racebook Review
Betfair is not the usual betting site, it is a betting exchange. All bets on Betfair are placed by users who either want to bet for a selection or outcome in the normal way ("back"), or bet against a selection or outcome ("lay"). Bets are matched between these people who "back" or "lay".
When you "back" a horse or greyhound, you are betting that it will win. This is just like betting with a conventional racebook.
When you "lay" it, you are betting against it winning. For example, if you're betting in a horseracing market on Horse A to lose the race, you lay Horse A. This means you are offering odds to other punters who wish to back Horse A. If Horse A doesn't win, then you pick up the layer's stake. If Horse A wins, then you pay out. This is what racebooks traditionally do.
Another advantage of a betting exchange like Betfair is that you can ask for better odds than what are currently available. However, you must be realistic because there has to be somebody prepared to lay the bet at those odds, and vice versa.
The betting exchange concept may be confusing at first, but you'll surely get the hang of it!
Betfair was launched in June 2000 by co-founders Andrew Black and Edward Wray. Generally regarded as one of Britain's most successful and innovative companies, Betfair now employ over 600 people and has won a host of awards since its launch, including the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise.
A Queen's Award (as its name suggests) is given by the Queen, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, and following a full assessment by the Department of Trade and Industry. The Queen's Awards for Enterprise are the UK's most prestigious awards for business performance.
Betfair is a licensed bookmaker in the UK. It also has licenses in Australia, Malta, Austria and Germany.
Betfair has a nice, clean layout with its white and blue color scheme. The site is easy to navigate and it's easy to get to the horseracing market.
Betfair offers a lot of information to help punters make an informed bet. There's a comprehensive race card for the day's races. Plus you can also search for horses, jockeys and trainers and see their past performances. Betfair also has comprehensive racecourse information which includes top course jockeys and trainers.
Betfair also offers Betfair Radio, live daily racing which you can access online or through your phone. Betfair Radio begins its broadcast 20 minutes before the first race of each day. You can hear race commentaries, guest pundits and sports news right through to the last race of the day.
In addition, there is a forum which everyone can access, subject to the site's terms and conditions. In the forum you'll find different punters exchanging their opinions, strategies and sometimes insults about a wide range of racing topics.
And now, Betfair offers Betfair Mobile, a way for you to bet wherever you are through your mobile phone. Sign up online and you'll receive an SMS text message with the download instructions. Download the application to your mobile phone or PDA. Login on your mobile and start betting! It's that easy. You get all the benefits of Betfair including in-play betting, better odds, back and lay wherever you are.
The only drawback is that there are no show, trifecta or superfecta bets. As of this writing, you can only "back" or "lay" horses or greyhounds to either win or place.
But, despite of this, Betfair offers an exciting new way of betting.