New UK customers only. Register using the promo code BETFRED60, deposit and place first bet of £10+ on Sports (cumulative Evens+) within 7 days of registration. First bet must be on Sports. £20 in Free Bets to be used on Sports, £10 in Free Bets to be used on Lotto and 50 Free Spins (20p per spin) credited within 48 hours of bet settlement. Further £20 in Free Bets credited 5 days after settlement. Bonuses have a 7-day expiry. Payment restrictions apply. SMS verification and/or Proof of I.D and address may be required. Full T&Cs apply. Terms & Conditions Apply
Betfred is similar to Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral in that they maintain an estate of betting offices in towns and cities in the United Kingdom. They are independent bookmakers that have expanded their offline presence over the last 20 years. The retail division has a reputation for providing bonuses and that business model has been taken online. Betfred made a high profile purchase of the Tote which was the state pool bookmaker.
The licence is up for renewal and it seems that Betfred will end their involvement. The operator will be affected by the reduction in stakes on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals from £100 to £2. Betfred have a history of innovative products so the online sportsbook and other gaming products are in safe hands.
New customers at Betfred can claim £60 in free bets, including 50 free spins, upon signing up with the bookmaker. A qualifying bet of just £10 is required, with minimum odds of EVS (2.0) or greater having to be met. The promo code “SPORTS60” must be entered at the time of depositing, with qualifying bets having to be on a sports market. Qualifying bets must be settled within 7 days of registering, with free bets being valid for the same amount of time. Free spins are available to use on the Blue Wizard slot only, with each being worth £0.10. Payment restrictions are in play, meaning that only certain deposit methods will qualify.
In terms of additional terms and conditions surrounding the Betfred welcome bonus, the following are among the most important:
In addition to the new customer offer the Betfred online brand has a range of promotions for existing customers in the areas of sports, games, casino, live casino, lotto, virtual, poker and retails. The review will focus on offers related to sports betting and Betfred numerically provides existing customers with one of the best ranges of offers.
Competitors will always be looking to attract customers from other operators so it is important to reward loyalty and Betfred action this desire with their sports promotions. These promotions change on a daily basis and cover the main upcoming sporting events. Here is a full list of sports promotions that applied when this review was undertaken:
Double Delight is a promotion that is featured across a number of sports, including football, rugby union and NFL. The general rules for each offer are similar and the specifics are related to each sport. The promotion gives customers double the odds if a player they back scores the first goal, try or touchdown and then scores again during the remainder of the match.
The offer applies in football for pre-match and in-play bets. Betfred select the matches in football, rugby union and NFL that qualify for the promotion. The events are usually high profile fixtures that are shown live on television. In essence you get double the odds if a backed player scores first and then goes on to score again before the end of the match.
Double Delight is extended in selected football marches if the first scorer then completes a hat-trick. Backers of the player to score the first goal in a football match will get treble the odds if the backed player does score first and then scores two more goals in 90 minutes to go on to score a hat-trick. This offer does not apply to rugby union and NFL in which the odds are only doubled for the second goal scored by the player backed to score first. Odds of 4/1 become 8/1 for Double Delight and 12/1 for Hat-Trick heaven. There are no odds and staking restrictions for these promotions.
Several bookmakers provide Acca Insurance against one selection spoiling a potentially winning bet. In Betfred’s version customers who place an accumulator with five selections or more will get the stake returned in the form of a free bet if one of the selections does not win. The maximum free bet is £10 and customers have a window of seven days to use the free bet or it will be lost. Each element of the accumulator must be at odds of 1/3 or bigger. This offer does not apply to cashed out or in-play bets and only bets placed in pre-match markets.
Ante post betting is popular for the major races at the Cheltenham Festival, Grand National, Royal Ascot features and the five British Classics on the Flat. The odds on offer can be bigger than on the day of the race but the downside is that if the horse is withdrawn all bets are lost. Betfred offer non-runner/no bet for these major races as an incentive for customers to place ante post bets. The Cheltenham Festival takes place in March and Betfred introduced non-runner/no bet at the end of January for the four biggest races. The offer is extended to all 28 races at the Festival during February.
Horse racing is one of Betfred’s core sports, both in retail and online. Shop customers enjoy many odds boosts and bonuses and backers of a horse that finishes second to the Starting Price favourite receive a free bet. The offer applies to selected meetings and the refund is for a maximum of £10 in the form of a free bet. The offer applies when five or more runners start the specified race. The offer is valid for win singles and the win element of each way bets. Generally one meeting each day is selected for this promotion and small runner fields are avoided.
Bookmakers apply industry standard place terms to each way bets but they have the discretion to improve place terms if they wish. The proportion of the win odds and the number of places depends on the number of runners and type of bets. On a daily basis Betfred offer extra places on two selected races.
For example, a race for which the place terms are one fifth the odds for three places Betfred offers one fifth the odds for four places. Standard place terms will apply if the number of runners does not reach the threshold for required places in each type of race. The offer applies to single and multiple bets but not to any ante post bets.
Betfred routinely have one of the best selections of both special offers and betting promotions around. It’s no surprise, therefore, to see that there’s also a Request a Bet tool in place. Betfred’s version is called #PickYourPunt, and you must tweet @Betfred using the hashtag, and including the details of your customised wager. The list of eligible events is constantly updated on the Pick Your Punt page, and you can get a hefty £5,000 maximum payout.
Betfred pays a bonus on all correct Lucky 15/31 and 63s. The offer also applies to Yankees, Canadians and Heinzs which have the same number of runners as the three special bets. .All the selections must run and win and the following bonuses apply:
• Lucky 15/Yankee – 10%
• Lucky 31/Canadain – 20%
• Lucky 63/Heinz – 25%
The bonus only apply to the win element of each way bets and the bonuses are paid in the form of betting funds and not free bets. The boosts apply for horse racing and greyhounds and virtual races in these sports.
Customers with Betfred receive enhanced odds if they have one winner in a Lucky 15.31 or 63. The bonus counts for all horse racing and greyhound races but virtual races do not count. The following odds boosts apply for one winner in each type of bet:
• Lucky 15 – 3 x odds
• Lucky 31 – 4 x odds
• Lucky 63 – 5 x odds
Odds boosts are paid in the form of betting funds and all selections must run. The bonus is added to the regular winnings and not paid as free bets.
Betfred offers a range of gaming products including a casino, live casino, bingo, poker and games but the core product is the sportsbook. Sport is the first option on the main menu on the Home Page. On clicking this option customers are taken to the main sports betting page which displays Quick Links to the most popular upcoming betting events.
The betting sports are shown in a menu which lists the main betting sports of horse racing, football and tennis followed by an alphabetical list of another 20 sports. The sports betting menu includes options for eSports, lottery specials, politics and specials.
Here is more information about the three sports that account for most bets and turnover in the UK market and elsewhere:
Betfred has its history in licensed betting offices in the UK where horse racing was the main betting sport. Shops now feature virtual racing, Fixed Odds Betting Terminals and numbers games but horse racing is still an important element of the product range. Therefore, horse racing is covered extensively by Betfred on the internet and mobile devices. Its position in the list of Quick Links and betting sports suggest horse racing generates more turnover than most other sports.
The operator covers every meeting in the UK and Ireland and international racing from Australia, India, United States and South America. Prices are published the night before racing in Britain and customers can place win and each way bets and Forecasts. Bets can be placed at the board price or Starting Price and are settled at the biggest price of the two. Customers can back the 1st or 2nd favourite at SP.
There are also betting options for virtual racing and ante post races. Customers can bet on upcoming races and the major racing festivals such as Cheltenham, the Grand National meeting and Royal Ascot as well as the five Classics on the Flat.
Football dominates online sports betting and across the industry more bets are placed on football than all the other sports combined. There is a vast amount of live televised football in the UK and other parts of Europe. Betfred offers an extensive range of football bets from England and 11 other European nations. By far the most popular betting league is the English Premier League followed by the Champions League. Customers with Betfred can also bet on many leagues from the rest of the world. Few bookmakers offer more football betting options.
The match odds are displayed for upcoming Premier League fixtures with a link to more bets, which total over 200. The betting options are displayed in the following categories:
• Match result
• Over/Under goals
• Correct score
• Handicaps
• Halves
• Goals
• Goalscorer
• Miscellaneous specials
The three-way match result is compiled with a profit margin of 5% which is about average for the main UK betting brands. Outright betting is available for many domestic leagues, the Champions League and Europa League and future international tournaments including the European Championships and World Cup.
Tennis has seen a massive increase in betting in recent years with more bets placed on in-play events than pre-match markets. The sport lends itself to live betting and Betfred provides daily in-play tennis events. Customers can bet on matches before they start on the ATP and WTA tours, Challenger events and ITF tournaments. At the time of writing the Australian Open was taking place. The two-way match odds are shown for each match with a link to more bets which total about 30 under the following headings:
• Match result
• Set betting
• Total sets
• Set correct score
• Handicap
• Total games
The two-way match winner market is compiled with an in built profit margin of 6% which is about average for UK betting brands. The more exotic markets have a bigger margin in line with most of the competition. Outright betting is available for the upcoming Grand Slam tournaments and team events such as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup. Match betting is available for both singles events and the three doubles events. Tennis is virtually a 12 month sport and Betfred caters well for their tennis bettors over the year long season.
The full range of Betfred’s gaming products can be downloaded from the App Store for access using mobile and tablet devices. The sportsbook app is also available on Google Play and offers a fully functional mobile version of the internet format. The Betfred sports betting app is one of the best in the industry.
Navigation is clear and the screen layout makes for an enjoyable mobile betting experience. One account gives customers access to Betfred’s sports promotions. Funds from one account can be used to bet on the desktop and mobile versions of Betfred’s sportsbook. Mobile betting works well with Betfred.
Betfred offers an extensive range of promotions across their gaming products which compliment the sign up offer of £60 in the form of free bets. The operator also features a number of betting facilities which enhance the betting markets and promotions. All the main betting sports are covered. Here are three of the bookmaker features that add to the betting experience for customers with Betfred:
This feature is Betfred’s personalised betting product which allows customers more control over their bets. Traditionally bettors could place bets on markets of the choice of the operator but there has been a growth in customised betting and Pick You Punt is Betfred’s version. Customers can combine markets to create their own multiple bets.
The bets are sent to Betfred using Twitter and traders respond to personalised requests by offering odds on the scenarios. At the time of writing Pick Your Punt is only available on football and specific matches in the main European leagues, including the English Premier League, the Bundesliga in Germany, Italy’s Serie and La Liga in Spain. More sports and leagues could be added at a later date.
In the past bets placed online with Betfred had to run until expiry and the event had ended. The cash out facility allows customers to close a bet at any stage to guarantee a profit or limit a loss regardless of the outcome. For example, a customer may have got the first two results correct in a treble and the third team are winning.
This is an advantageous position but a late goal could make the bet a loser. The bettor does not have to wait until the conclusion of the match and can choose to cash out the bet. The odds are adjusted accordingly which is the cost of taking out insurance against a late event. Betfred’s cash out option is available for football, racing, tennis and golf and selected markets which may increase in time to include more sports.
Betfred guarantees the best odds on horse racing in the UK and Ireland. Traditionally in the pre-internet era Betfred offered excellent value with their odds on horse racing. The same value now exists online and part of the service is Best Odds Guaranteed. When customers take an early price on a selection and the Starting Price is bigger Betfred settle bets at the bigger price. Conversely if the SP is smaller the early bigger price will apply. The guarantee comes into play at 07:00 on the day of the race but the offer does not apply to selections for Lucky15s, 31s and 63s. Ante post and Tote bets do not carry this guarantee but daily racing carries the promise of best odds.
Betfred adopts an identification process whereby potential new customers must provide proof of identity before making a deposit. The minimum deposit is £5 using payment methods registered to the individual who is making the deposit. The most that can be withdrawn in one transaction is £20,000.
The general minimum withdrawal is £5 but less can be withdrawn at the discretion of Betfred’s Customer Support team. Withdrawals are paid back using the method by which deposits were made. The banking methods include credit and debit cards, several e-wallets and bank transfer. Standard fees and delays apply when depositing and withdrawing funds.
Existing customers with Betfred login to their account by entering a unique combination of a Username and Password. These details can be forwarded by email if they have been forgotten. Potential new customers click the Register button on the Home Page. Registrations on the UK site are only allowed from residents of the UK, Ireland and Gibraltar. New customers must enter personal, contact and account details which include a Username and Password. New customers have the option to opt-in to receive betting and marketing material. Once the required fields have been populated customers must click the Register button to complete the process.
Once the registration has been confirmed new customers must deposit funds before betting can begin. When the Deposit option is selected the range of banking methods is displayed. The account holder selects the required method and specifies the amount of the deposit. The minimum deposit is £5 which appears on the Account Balance once the funds have been accepted which is immediate. Betfred has a welcome offer which credits £60 in the form of free bets after an initial deposit of £10. When the funds are credited new customers can place their first bet in any market.
Navigation to a specific market is easy and intuitive and most markets can be displayed with three clicks. There is a tick box against each price and when that is clicked the market appears in the Bet Slip. As more options are added the available markets are displayed. Depending on the number of selections customers specify the bet type which can be singles, multiples and system bets. The required stake is added which leads to the potential return from each bet being displayed. Bettors then click Place Bets and once they have been confirmed the Account Balance is updated.
Customers with Betfred have access to Live Help on a 24/7 basis. This facility is the quickest way of getting a response to a question. The site also features a detailed FAQ section which address the most asked questions. If there is not an adequate answer in this section customers can contact the support team by email, telephone and address. A betting glossary defines the most common betting related words and phrases.
Betfred is committed to responsible gambling. The site displays banner links to support organisations. Betting and banking take place in line with guidelines set by the UK Gambling Commission which monitors practice with regards free bets. Customers can provide Feedback through a survey which examines the betting experience. There is also an option to send Feedback using a generic email address.
Betfred is owned by the Done family whose background lies in retail betting. The brothers have purchased outlets to expand their estate of betting offices. Betfred are known as the Bonus Kings due to the number of bonuses on offer to retail and online customers. For an independent bookmaker Betfred have developed a decent online and mobile betting experience based on the values of the shop division.
The review has revealed an online sportsbook that provides a good range of sports, leagues and markets. Other bookmakers offer more sports but the range is adequate for bettors based in the UK. All the most popular betting sports are covered both pre-match and in-play. As befitting the Bonus Kings the range of promotions for existing customers cannot be surpassed. The welcome offer is transparent and achievable. Banking and customer support processes are efficient and easy to implement. Betfred offers an excellent betting experience in a competitive market. The site combines existing values with modern betting on desktops and mobiles.