Betfred Review

Owners Fred and Peter Done claim Betfred to be the world’s largest privately owned betting company.

Betfred has its head office in Warrington in the North West of England where it manages the operation of over 850 betting shops in the UK. Betfred’s telephone betting, online gaming and internet betting interests are based in Gibraltar but the company remains very much focused on UK and Irish horse racing and sports betting markets.

In 1967 the Done brothers borrowed £4000 to open a betting shop in Salford, Manchester and gradually expanded to own three shops after five years. The brothers’ bookmaking business was branded as Done Bookmakers and remained within the Greater Manchester area until the mid nineties when they branched farther afield and bought a chain of nine shops in the north east of England.

While continuing to expand the shop estate, the company opened a telephone call centre in 2002 and 2 years later the business was re-branded Betfred and the internet betting site Betfred.com was launched.

Betfred takes a very unique approach to bookmaking epitomised by chairman Fred Done with his sobriquet the ‘Bonus King’ gained from the bold bonuses and concessions Betfred offers to its customers. Betfred currently offer one of the most straightforward free bet offers in the UK .

The Betfred name can be seen sponsoring a variety of horse races and sporting events.  At the time of writing Betfred is the official bookmaker at Wembley Stadium and official betting partner of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur.

OFFERS AND PROMOTIONS

Special offers and bonuses have long been at the heart of Betfred’s business model and the formula that was successfully applied throughout their betting shops has been continued in similar vein with many offers for telephone and internet customers.

Betfred claims to have invented the Lucky 15 bet and is the first bookmaker to extend the provision of early prices to all UK horse races. Betfred was also the first bookmaker to offer ‘best price guaranteed’ races.  The company has always offered big bonuses on multiple bets and has gained valuable publicity by paying out early on events that have still to be decided. Fred Done is a lifelong Manchester United supporter but the Company lost £500 000 in 1998 when he was the first ever bookie to pay out early on the Premier League title winner. Manchester United were 12 points clear of Arsenal when he paid out to delighted bettors in March but the Gunners amazingly bounced back to cost Betfred a small fortune. Betfred also refunded outright stakes on Manchester United to win the 2013/14 Premier League when the Red Devils were effectively out of the title race in early March.

Betfred update the website with interesting and innovative offers, bonuses and concessions every day. Betfred remain one of the few online bookies who offer treble odds for one winner on the Lucky 15 bet and now also offer four times the odds for one winner in a Lucky 31 and 5 times the odds for one winner in a Lucky 63. Currently an exclusive Bet £10 get £30 Free Bet offer is available to all new Betfred customers who register via the links at Freebets.com. Football punters can take advantage of Betfred’s Double Delight Hat-trick Heaven offer to earn a bonus on their First Goalscorer bets  and there are plenty of cash back and free bet refund offers across all sports to add an incentive to your bet.

Horse racing punters can utilise offers such as Fallers Insurance in selected National Hunt races and each-way bettors will benefit from Out Of The Frame Cashback which offers a free bet refund on horses which have finished just outside the places in selected events. On top of lucky enhancements, Betfred also promotes various cash back offers on selections which finish second, are beaten by the favourite or are beaten by a distance of a head or less.

BETTING OPPORTUNITIES

Betfred offer markets on a wide range of sports and the list is as exhaustive as most of its competitors.

Betfred has a unique console available for betting in-running with in-play markets on all major football, cricket and golf events.

UK horse racing at Betfred is particularly strong and all early prices are guaranteed with big bonuses available on multiple bets such as 100% bonus on an all correct Lucky 63 bet.

Overall, it is difficult to fault the depth of betting coverage as Betfred provides dozens of betting markets for mainstream football matches, sports events and race meetings.

DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Betfred’s website follows the traditional style adopted by many bookmakers and works on the reliable Finsoft betting platform. Presentation of the home page is uncluttered with major sports events to the fore and Betfred’s excellent special offers and promotions well publicised.

Live betting is dominant as one would expect with the live betting window very much ‘in your face’.

NAVIGATION

Browsing the Betfred website is quick and easy thanks to the familiar lay out and quick links to the next event due ‘off’ and popular sports events such as horseracing, football, greyhounds and golf makes for a trouble free experience.

With Betfred offering many enhanced odds and special bets, the company ensures it directs customers to the best value at all times.

Betfred accept payments in the following currencies; AUD, CAD, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, ISK, JPY, MYR, NOK, NZD, SEK, SGD, THB, USD, ZAR and the following deposit methods are available; Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Visa Electron, Delta, Laser, Bank Wire, Check, Neteller, Western Union, Moneybookers, Citadel.

At the time of writing Betfred’s website is available in just two languages, English and Spanish and it can display odds in three formats, decimal, fractions and American.

MOBILE BETTING

Betfred provide a Java application for download to compatible mobile handsets as well as a Goals Galore app, Lotto App and Mobile Games app available to downoald for iOS and Android devices. Full details of compatible devices are provided in the mobile and help sections.

Betfred also has a WAP betting service which can be accessed by any WAP enabled mobile phone. Free bets can of course be place using your mobile device and Betfred periodically run mobile exclusive offers and promotions for mobile bettors to enjoy.

CASH OUT

With CashOut you no longer have to wait for your bet to finish to pocket a profit at Betfred.

Just choose the bet you want to CashOut and you’ll be paid the amount regardless of the outcome of the event. This means you can now lock in profits and limit losses when using Betfred to place your bets.

CashOut is available only on selected Betfred markets and bets including the vast majority of in-play bets for football. It can even be used on accumulators, so you may be able to take a return even if not all of your selections are winning.

LIVE STREAMS

Horse racing and greyhound punters can tune into the race they have bet on via live stream on Betfred’s website, meaning there is no more waitning for results as you’ll experience the thrill of the action first-hand.

Broadcasted courtesy of Racing UK and At The Races, daily UK and Irish racing action can be viewed live on your PC with Betfred. Simply place a bet of £1 or more to qualify then visit the Media Hub to watch your race.

As an official partner of Racing Post Greyhound TV, Betfred is also able to screen all of the RPGTV action via live stream to your laptop or PC, so you’ll never need to miss another race.

AUDIO

Betfred provides live audio commentary for all UK and Irish horse racing and greyhound racing in addition to football and cricket matches. Betfred also has an audio news and video features in the Betting News section.

FORM AND STATS

Betfred provides an interactive racecard via the Statistics link with results, form, tips and trends available. There are also fairly basic stats available for football, golf and cricket.

VIP

Experience first class entertainment delivered with first class service in the Betfred VIP Club with a deposit and spend of just £100 in a single week required to start reaping the rewards.

As a VIP member at Betfred you’ll benefit from up to 15% cashback each week, dedicated VIP promotions and a personal account team with faster withdrawals on your bumper winnings. Betfred will remember your birthday and give you a surprise each year, plus you’ll receive invites to exclusive VIP events.

Betfred reserves the right to limit stakes on certain selections at their own discretion, but maximum payouts of £500,000 on UK & Irish horse racing suggest the for the most part they are happy to lay a hefty wager.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Betfred’s Help Centre is accessible from every page and offers a freephone telephone available from 7.00am to 11.00pm, guides FAQs and email contact.

UK Customers can get in touch on 0800 028 7747, while those calling from abroad are advised to call +44 (0) 01925 285032

There are four points of contact for sportsbook users wishing to ask a question by e-mail, dependant on the nature of your query:

Support: [email protected]