Pros & Cons
- Over 50 years of experience
- Large selection of markets
- Plenty of promotions
- Wide variety of payments
- Great for horse racing bets
- Doesn’t accept US players
Betfred employ the strictest anti-hacking security standards so you can deposit and withdraw your money with absolute confidence.
*We only list Sports Betting Sites with established industry-standard banking options and 100% regulated licenses
Betfred is one of the leading brands in the sports betting industry. The company was founded by brothers Peter and Fred Done in 1967, when they opened a betting shop in Ordsall, Salford, under the name Done Bookmakers. In the following decades, the Done brothers turned their business into a franchise, opening shops all over Britain.
In 2004, the company changed its name to Betfred. The same year, Betfred launched a website where they started offering sports betting and casino gambling. For the last 15 years, Betfred grew to be one of the most trusted bookmakers in the UK and beyond. They are the proud sponsors of prestigious football, horse racing, rugby, and snooker competitions.
Hundreds of thousands of punters regularly visit Betfred and enjoy their services every day. If you haven’t heard about this bookmaker before, you’re truly missing out, as I think it is one of the better sports betting operators out there.
I went through the ins and outs of the Betfred website to give my readers a complete guide on this bookie and its services. By reading the following review, you will get information on some of the most important features of Betfred sportsbook, such as:
So, if you’re seriously considering choosing Betfred as your next bookmaker site, read the following review carefully and feel free to ask me any questions in the comment section below.
There are many things that make Betfred stand out from the crowd. Below are some of the most notable ones.
This is one of the rare sportsbooks that has its roots set in the pre-internet era. Before going online in 2004, Betfred had one of the largest chains of bookie shops spread all over the United Kingdom.
Betfred is a proud sponsor of several high-end sporting events, such as the British Masters (golf), Snooker World Championship, the Scottish Football League Cup, Rugby Super League, and World Matchplay (darts).
Betfred likes keeping things simple, so even a beginner punter can find its way to make a bet online. As soon as you enter the website, you will see betting odds and the option to bet on some live matches.
Thanks to BetFred making some huge investment in regards to their mobile gaming and mobile betting platforms, should you wish to place a wager when you are not at home in front of your computer or laptop then you are able to do just that
You will find there are now several unique betting Apps on offer at the BetFred betting website and these will let you place a wager on absolutely anything that BetFred offer odds on!
The operator has more than 25 sports betting markets that cover all the most popular fixtures. Soccer and horse racing have the most extensive offers out of all markets.
The BetFred betting site has recently launched their very own stand along Lottery betting site, and as such you are now instantly able to place a wager on absolutely any worldwide lottery draw that is about to take place.
You can pick as little as one number that you think will be drawn out of any lottery machine and one thing that BetFred will always guarantee to you is that their Lottery betting odds are the highest in the industry!
One of the main reasons a lot of new players come to Betfred is because of their bonuses and promotions. As a first-time customer, you will get a nice free bet bonus upon your first settled bet, but many other promotions await you along the way.
The terms and conditions by the way of this free bet offer are very straight forward and more importantly very fair and they can of course be found on the BetFred betting website so do take a look!
Make sure that you never are forced to make any compromises when you are looking to bet online, for many betting sites have become famous for tightening up the actual odds on a lot of their betting markets!
One thing that is going to be instantly noticeable when you take a look at any of the daily special betting opportunities listed on the BetFred betting site is that a lot of the payout odds have been boosted in value, and as such the over rounds on many of the BetFred available betting markets is very low indeed!
Betfred is oriented mostly to British and Irish customers. Therefore, you will find that sports like soccer, tennis, snooker, cricket, rugby, and horse racing have more fixtures than the rest. Nevertheless, Betfred understands that in order to run a successful online betting platform, you must cater to players from all over the world. That’s why this bookie also covers basketball, football, hockey, and even some special markets like politics and TV novelty betting.
Here is a list of all betting markets from A to Z currently available on Betfred:
If you like betting on American sports and you’re worried about the fact that you’re on a British sportsbook site, you really shouldn’t. For example, the basketball market includes both the NBA and the NCAA, alongside popular European league and other worldwide competitions.
Betting on NFL is also pretty extensive, and there are even some special promotions for this market. The same goes for ice hockey and baseball.
Just like many other modern sportsbooks out there, Betfred includes a lot of new sports and markets like eSports, virtual sports, politics, and television show betting.
No matter which part of the world you are from and what you like to bet on, Betfred is likely to have something to offer you.
Let us take you through the many unique betting opportunities that are only ever going to be found at the BetFred betting site, be aware this listing is in no way, shape or form exhaustive, and as such you need to checkout their website yourself for a complete listing of all of their value packed betting opportunities.
BetFred also have a range of other unique Soccer coupons and plenty of soccer related consolation bets,, and these can often guarantee that even if your bet loses, if the consolation rule is successful then you get your money back!
If you take an early price on any runner in any of these best odds guaranteed races and the odds on your selected horse increases in value, the BetFred will give you those higher odds!
There are hundreds of different ways in which you can make a bet on Betfred for any given fixture. Again, I must stress out that this is a UK-based bookmaker, so the most versatile betting can be found in markets like soccer and horse racing.
For example, one English Premier League soccer game will let you wager on the game’s outcome, half-time result, half-time/full-time outcome, the number of goals (over/under), number of goals for each team, correct score, individual goalscorers, handicap, draw-no-bet, clean sheet, win both halves, to win to nil, and many more.
Outright bets include the winner of a given competition, top goalscorer, relegation, top 10 finish, bottom half finish, and others. Basically, anything you can come up with when it comes to soccer betting will be available at Betfred.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the betting options on other less popular British sports are necessarily slim. A typical NFL game will have money line, handicap, first touchdown scorer, winning margin, overtime (yes or no), and other bets.
This bookmaker is ideal for horse racing fans, as it covers all the major and minor events, and posts odds quicker than most of its competition.
Finding a fixture to bet on is relatively easy. Just click on the sport and then find the competition that you’re interested in. From there, you will have outright bets and individual match bets separated into two different sections. Select the match of your interest and explore the wide variety of betting options.
Betfred has one of the best live betting sections among online sportsbooks. As soon as you enter the website, you will be able to see all the most popular live fixtures going on at the moment. To see the full live betting section, click on the IN PLAY button in the top left corner of the screen.
At the top of the live betting page, you will notice several icons that indicate how many matches are currently live for each sport. There is also a “favourites” page on which you can select your favourite teams and get notified when they are about to play. By clicking on the “upcoming” icon, you’ll be shown all the games that are about to begin in the next 24 hours.
Each live fixture will have detailed stats, while some have live commentary of the game. The betting options are vast, and they include all the same bets that you can take pre-match, on top of some other interesting live wagers like “first team to score next”, “time of the next goal”, and more.
There will also be a graphic that shows which team is in possession of the ball and where. Some of the matches will also have HD live streaming available. The only condition to watch the live streams directly on the site is to place a bet on that fixture.
You can easily navigate between the matches and add them to your betting slip that is positioned in the top right corner of the screen. This is also where you can use the cash-out option, and cut your losses at any time during the game and guarantee yourself a profit.
Betfred is a favorite sportsbook website to many because of its large selection of markets, competitive odds, and rewarding and frequent promotions. But another one of their strongpoints (in my opinion at least) is their mobile platform.
The mobile site is easily accessible via any modern smartphone or tablet. All you need to do is type in betfred.com into your mobile browser and log in from there. If you want better functionality and user experience, I suggest that you try downloading the Betfred mobile app. The app is available to both Android and iOS users in their respective app stores. It takes around 16MB of space and it’s free to download.
Both the app and the mobile site offer the same in terms of markets, betting options, bonuses, and special features like cash-out and live streaming.
As for the reviews, many claim to have problems with the Betfred app, such as the app crashing, being unresponsive, and other operational issues. Of course, user reviews can’t be taken as gospel, but they should not be ignored either. Some of those negative reviews might have come from people whose internet connection is too slow, or their mobile device is not working properly, so we can’t know.
In any case, the best way to check whether the Betfred app is any good or not is to download it yourself. It’s free, so you won’t be taking any risks. I used the app myself for a while and it worked fine. I was even able to lay down a few bets and everything went smoothly.
Betfred truly impressed me with its selection of bonuses and promotions. They have over a dozen of different promotions, some of which relate only to specific sports. There’s a nice welcome bonus for first-time customers, but other promotions can be used throughout the year.
The current welcome bonus on Betfred includes a £30 free bet on your first deposit. In order to unlock it, you just need to deposit and wager £10. Once that first bet is settled, you need to respond to an SMS validation message, and you will get your £30 bonus within the next 24 hours.
In order to be eligible for the bonus, that first bet must be made on odds 2.0 or greater, and it must be settled 60 days upon registration. You may deposit more than £10, but the qualifying bet must be made with a minimum of £10. Regardless of how much money you deposit and bet, the free bet bonus will always be £30.
After the free bet has been issued to you, it will be valid only for the next seven days, so make sure to use it within that first week. Although Betfred also offers casino games, the welcome offer relates only to sports betting and includes all the markets. Unfortunately, this welcome bonus is only available to customers from the United Kingdom. The minimum age limit is 18. You can only get one welcome offer per account, IP address, household, or a device (PC/smartphone/tablet).
Welcome bonuses on websites such as Betfred are subject to change. However, this exact promotion has been active on Betfred since 2014, and there are no signs that the bookie might change it anytime soon. Nevertheless, you should check the website yourself and see whether the new welcome bonus has been set in place since the writing of this review.
Apart from the generous welcome bonus, Betfred has an abundance of other promotions for its recurring customers.
One interesting promotion that caught my eye is called PickYourPunt, and it’s very popular among British bettors. With PickYourPunt, you can build your own special bet. For example, you can pick Arsenal to win with a particular player scoring the goal and the opponent receiving two or more yellow cards. Once the operator processes your request, they will calculate the odds and allow you to bet on it.
Double Delight and Hat Trick Heaven are also unique promotions that you should look into. Namely, if a player you bet on to score a goal in a certain match scores twice, you will get paid at double odds. If they happen to score the third goal, your odds will be tripled. Apart from soccer, Double Delight promotion works for some American football games as well.
As I mentioned before, Betfred is one of the best sportsbooks for horse racing fans, which is reflected in the fact that they offer several different promotions exclusively for horse racing. For example, if the horse you bet on finishes second to the SP favorite, you will get a free bet of up to £10. Horse racing promotions are popular throughout the year, but they’re especially useful during popular events such as Cheltenham Festival or the Grand National.
Betfred includes all the familiar and popular payment methods like credit cards, prepaid cards, and e-wallets. The process of depositing and withdrawing is easy and it doesn’t include any fees in most cases.
To deposit, simply go to My Account and click on Deposit. Fill out the required fields and provide any authorization documents if necessary. Each payment method has its own rules regarding deposit and withdrawal limits, which I stated below.
Here are all the deposit methods that will be at your disposal:
Deposit method | Minimum deposit |
Credit and debit cards (Maestro, Visa, Visa Electron) | £5 |
Neteller | £5.50 |
PayPal | £5.50 |
Skrill | £5 |
Paysafecard | £5 |
Bank wire | £85 |
Minimum deposit limits are stated in GBP, but you can count them as the equivalent of other currencies as well. Accepted currencies on Betfred include British Pound, US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Danish Krone, Norwegian Krone, Swedish Krona, Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen, and the Singaporean Dollar. The maximum deposit limits are not stated by the Betfred website.
To withdraw, navigate to your account’s page and click on Withdrawal. Select your payment method of choice and type in the amount you wish to cash out.
Here are all the available withdrawal methods on Betfred:
Withdrawal method | Minimum withdrawal | Maximum withdrawal |
Debit card (Maestro, Visa, Visa Electron) | £5 | £9,999.99 |
Credit card (MasterCard and Visa) | £5 | £9,999.99 |
Neteller | £5 | £4,000 |
PayPal | £5 | £5,000 |
Skrill | £5 | £6,500 |
Bank wire | £25 | £25,000 per day |
Withdrawal requests can take up to 48 hours to process. Once they are processed, the money will be in your account in several hours, depending on the payment method. Credit and debit cards usually take the longest (2 to 3 days).
Bank wire withdrawals can be requested once every 28 days. For more frequent withdrawals, Betfred will charge a fee of £12 per request and £25 for an urgent withdrawal.
Betfred has been in the sports betting business for over half a century and they have been operating online for more than 15 years. If that doesn’t make a bookmaker trustworthy, I don’t know what does.
On a serious note, Betfred is one of the safest websites on which you can place a bet because it is operating under two reputable regulatory bodies. It is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (license number 039544-R-319290-006) for customers residing in Great Britain, and by the Gibraltar Government for all other customers.
On top of that, the Betfred website has the Trustwave seal of approval, as well as the approval of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA). The site also uses modern encryption technology that minimizes the risk of cyber attacks so you can rest assured that all your personal details and money are always kept safe.
Betfred has friendly and professional customer support that you can talk to any time of the day or night. The 24/7 live chat is the best way in which you can contact them, but you can also send an email to support@betfred.com. The phone number for UK residents is 0800-028-7747, while all non-UK players can call +44 (0)1925-878269.
I tried contacting the Betfred customer support via live chat and they answered relatively quickly. They were very helpful and answered all of my questions correctly.
Betfred deserves being called one of the best online bookies in the world. A welcome bonus in the form of a free bet gives you a nice kick-start, and other promotions are there to follow you along the way. The betting options are vast, and the odds are above average. If you like betting on mobile, you’ll be happy to know that Betfred has a great mobile app that works flawlessly on both iOS and Android devices.
One thing that does present a downside is that Betfred is not exactly an international bookmaker, as it mostly caters to UK players. The welcome bonus is only available to UK residents, and US players are not even allowed to make an account. Also, the website can only be browsed in English.
Have you played on Betfred before? What are your thoughts about this bookie? I would love to hear your comments, so feel free to write them to me below.
There are of course huge numbers of online sports betting sites all of which will shower you with bonus offers and free bets, however once you take a close look at the actual value attached to many of these promotional offers you will realise they offer no value and if anything will simply tie up your deposits by high play through type requirements.
However, should you be on the lookout for an online sports betting site that is going to offer you a very constant stream of bonus betting opportunities, free bets and plenty of consolation type bets then you need to be checking out the BetFred betting site.
BetFred has rightly got the nick name “The Bonus King” and this has been earned over many decades of actual land based betting shop operating, where BetFred have always offered better bonuses than any other land based betting operation.
Having turned their attention to the online betting environment a number of years ago they have carried forward their reputation for giving their customer more than any other online Sportsbook, and as such if you really are seeking the ultimate betting experience coupled with a huge number of ongoing bonuses then do keep on reading for the BetFred betting site is the site for you, as this review of them will reveal!
Can Betfred be trusted?