Betfred – Overview & Rating

Betfred, the rebranded name for Fred Done, has its roots in traditional British bookmaking. Betfred started out in the 1960s from a single bookie’s shop in Salford, near Manchester, and by the 2018–19 financial year, Betfred had grown to a turnover of over £10 billion. Individual punters have struck it rich as well, with a Betfred branch in Salford hitting the headlines in 2004 when it handed over the first £1million betting shop payout to a man known only as ‘Ken’ who picked six winners the totescoop6. So, can Betrred punters hope for the similar spectacular rise to riches with an account at this online bookmaker?

Betfred has shown an eye for garnering headlines in the past. Famously, in 1998, Betfred – which was set up by a Manchester United fan – paid out early on the Red Devils winning the Premier League. In the event, Arsenal battled back to win the league by a point and Fred ended up paying out twice. A blow for the books, but priceless publicity for the company, which suddenly found itself discussed away from the racecourses. In 2012, Betfred did the same thing and suffered a similar outcome when Sergio Aguero’s last–minute goal in the final game of the season sent the trophy across town to Manchester City.

It’s fair to say that the world of gambling has changed since Fred Done decided to invest his winnings from the 1966 World Cup in opening a shop in his hometown. Now Betfred does the bulk of its business online, although it still maintains a high street presence across the UK. The internet arm of Betfred is handled by Gibraltar–based Petfre. Betfred’s British operations are still licensed by the Gambling Commission (#39544) but users elsewhere are covered by the Gibraltar Government and the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner. However, at present Betfred can only be accessed by bettors in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar.

However, Betfred places great faith in its no–frills approach – to the point that it once hired England international footballer Stuart Pierce as its brand ambassador, promising a heart–on–sleeve, what–you–see–is–what–you–get approach to betting.

Layout

There are few surprises on the Betfred site. The usual betting site features are all there – left–hand sidebar to navigate through the markets, menu bars at the top of the page to access different areas of the site and a bet slip dropping down the right when needed. Settings – should you wish to alter the format for your odds, for example – can be found towards the foot of that left–hand sidebar, along with the contact box and assorted small print.

However, there are some odd glitches in Betfred. On the homepage, there’s a tendency not to update featured games when they turn in play – improbably, it offered odds of 2.45 about Fulham beating West Brom when the game was 75 minutes old and Fulham was leading 2–0. Clicking an apparently nailed–on win produced an error message; the true price was a miserly 1.02 for a near certainty.

Services

Betfred’s offering is heavily built around the classic British sports – football, cricket, horse racing, rugby and greyhound racing, with a commitment to darts and snooker as well. As a result, the overall range of markets is relatively small, and the list isn’t padded out with more obscure stuff like volleyball, bowls or winter sports. Stick to what you know is the underlying philosophy. No frills, like we just said.

However, it’s worth noting that the odds on Betfred are not usually at the top of the market. The bookmaker allows itself a wide margin on football (up to 8%) and horse racing (up to 15%), making it relatively uncompetitive on this crucial metric.

In–play offerings are one of Betfred’s strongest suits. Not so much because of the wide range of Betfred markets as the action unfurls – the bets that turn in–play tend to be the more commonplace ones – but for live tips as the game progresses. Under the banner ‘Racing Post Insight’, bettors can respond to handy facts about recent form. For example, in the Nov. 2 Premier League game between Fulham and West Brom, Fulham’s second goal was followed by a warning that the Baggies had failed to score in their last three away games after going 0–2 down – useful for ‘Both Teams to Score’ bettors. There was also advice that after opening a 2–0 lead, Fulham had finished 2–0 winner in five of its last 10 home games, good info for correct score backers. Where no stream is available – and the site offers around 50 streams a day at busy times – the stats are fairly comprehensive. Possession percentages for the football would be a nice addition, though.

One small niggle with Betfred live markets: if you take a bet before the event and plan to follow the action live, you’ll probably need to refresh when the game kicks off.

Betfred also offers Totepool betting – including that totescoop6 that made the modest ‘Ken of Salford’ a millionaire. For the uninitiated, this is a form of peer–to–peer betting on the horses. Select up to six horses (win or place) and your stake (minus tax and deductions) goes into a pool along with everyone else’s. If you win, you get that pool (divided among any other winners). If you lose, your money is shared among the winning gamblers. You can stake on a single race, or work your way through the card.

Away from sports betting, Betfred offers a casino (live and computerised), a big choice of slots, bingo and poker. Then we have the Lotto options, where Betfred is seen as a market leader, winning the 2020 Lotto Betting Operator of the Year award from www.comparethelotto.com. One highlight is Betfred’s own ‘Nifty Fifty’ draw, three times a day, while there are also many draws from all over the world to prick punters’ interest.

Betfred offers 2 main apps: Betfred Sports betting and Betfred Casino. Both apps are available for Android and iOS platforms. There are separate Betfred Lotto, Betfred Live Casino, Betfred Bingo apps. Only Betfred Bingo is not available for iOS devices while the rest are available for both Android and iOS.

Bonuses

Betfred likes to call itself ‘the Bonus King’ and it’s easy to see why. The Betfred welcome bonus is a good one. Sign up, stake £10 at even money or better, and you’ll get £30 of free bets credited to your account. It’s almost literally a ‘can’t lose’ offer and one well worth considering.

Once into the Betfred website, there are more good calls to explore. Big football matches attract a bet £10, get a £5 free offer (minimum odds of 1.5, a qualifying bet must be made in live). Bet building options are available under the #pickyourpunt tag and there are boosts if you win the first goalscorer bet and he goes on to score more goals in the game. Acca insurance covers football 5–folds.

On the horses, there are also some bonuses. If your horse is pipped to the post, selected races offer a free bet for runners–up. There are also extra place races available and boosts for large multiples. Betfred has the best odds guaranteed scheme in place on the horses, and also promises the best price on first try–scorers in Rugby League’s Superleague. There are high–value customer and loyalty schemes in place for regular Betfred users and high rollers, although details of these are limited to players who have yet to become eligible. However, it all adds up to a strong package of sports bonuses.

Customer support

Betfred promises 24/7 access to its helpdesk via the online chat facility. There is also a freephone number – 0800 028 7747 – for customers in the UK and a hotline for overseas clients on +44 (0)1925 878269. In addition, there’s e–mail.

For any queries, though, the Betfred in–house FAQs will be enough. This section, found from the left–hand sidebar, is fairly easy to negotiate. However, adding a keyword search might help users get access to information a bit quicker.

Registration in Betfred

Bedfred’s registration process doesn’t throw up any surprises. New Betfred users are asked for the standard personal details, given a choice between operating their account in Euros or Sterling, and invited to set a security question to confirm their identity when talking to customer support. There is no automatic prompt to establish deposit limits during the registration process.

Financial information

Funds in Betfred can be deposited in several ways: debit card, Visa checkout, Skrill, Neteller, PayPal and Paysafecard. The minimum deposit is £5 and accounts can be set up in Sterling or Euros. Minimum stake is 10p and the max payout is up to £1 million for top–tier sports such as Premier League football or big horse races. That’s among the best in the marketplace, but the picture is less attractive for sports like boxing, tennis or cricket. These are all rated as ‘lower–tier’ sports and capped at £100,000. Many competitors will allow wins of up to £250,000 here.

Reliability

However, although account holders at Betfred have their funds segregated, that money remains part of the bookmaker company’s assets in the event of insolvency. Therefore, bettors are not protected if Betfred goes bust. This is within the Gambling Commission’s permitted rules, but means funds are rated ‘not protected’.

The fact that Betfred is licensed in Britain and Gibraltar gives players confidence in receiving a fair deal. However, the precise details are not always easy to find. 128–bit SSL encryption is provided by Trustwave, and the e–COGRA testing agency ensures that the gameplay is fair. However, that hasn’t prevented some bad publicity in October 2020, when a Lincolnshire man took Betfred to court in a dispute over a £1.7 million blackjack payout. Betfred claims that the man was the victim of a technical glitch that invalidates his win and the case is on–going.

What’s missing in Betfred?

With good bonuses in place and a solid reputation as one of Britain’s biggest bookies, Betfred is a worthwhile option for any bettor. However, the site layout could do with a refresh – if only to lose the outdated odds sometimes on display – and adding a wider range of sports markets might be no bad thing. Most importantly, though, the odds need to be a touch more competitive to make Betfred a real market leader here.