Betfair is the world's largest Internet betting exchange. The company is based in Hammersmith in West London, England.
Since Betfair was launched in June 2000 it has become the largest online betting company in the UK and the largest bet exchange in the world. Betfair currently has over 2,000,000 clients and a turnover in excess of £50m/week.
A betting exchange allows punters (gamblers) to bet at odds set and requested by other punters rather than by a bookmaker. Members can make both 'Back' bets (normal bets on a selection to win) and 'Lay' bets (bets on the opposite side of the Back, against the selection), thereby eliminating the traditional bookmaker.
Betfair uses decimal odds, which are easier to calculate with than fractional odds. Its bookmaking model brings together two counterparties with opposing views, and thus removes the need for a bookmaker's mark-up or overround. At the more fancied end of the market the odds offered on Betfair might be closer to the bookmakers' odds, whereas for a more speculative bet the odds available may be over 50% higher on Betfair, more accurately reflecting the bet's true chances of success. On average the odds found on Betfair are 20% better than those offered by a fixed-odds bookmaker.
Betfair punters are able to offer odds based on their own opinion rather than on a set bookmakers' margin. Betfair charges a commission on all winning bets, which is set at 5% of the net winnings for most markets, although according to how much a client wagers on the site, it is possible to reduce the amount of commission paid to as low as 2%. On the 8th of September Betfair announced that it will introduce an extra "Premium Charge" for a small number of winning gamblers - who over the preceding 60 weeks have reached a certain threshold - which attempts to ensure that they pay 20% of their profits in commission or other charges.
The Betfair interface can be seen as bearing a strong similarity to that of the Stock Exchange, with the 'bet' and 'lay' options comparing to the buying and selling of derivatives. Indeed there are many professionals who play the Betfair market for profit, using purpose-designed software 'robots', in much the same way as a Stock market trader.
The company has attracted much comment in the British and Australian press.
References
- 2003 Innovation award winners, retrieved on Oct 30, 2007.
- The Guardian: Chief of Betfair steps down as float is cancelled
- Betfair Issues High Court Challenge
- Betfair wins in High Court on gaming
- High Court of Australia - Betfair Pty Limited v Western Australia 2008 HCA 11 (27 March 2008)]
- Sunday Metro: Betfair suspends betting on tennis clash
- Betfair Press release: Independence Day for Betfair Poker
- Team Betfair Pros
Links
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
Video: BETFAIR ATG EXPO 2007
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