BetFred Review 2020 | Get £30 in Free Bets | BettingOnline


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BetFred Review

BetFred Review

www.betfred.com

BetFred Review logo

New Users Only | Promo code SPORTS60 | 1st sports bet of £10+ in one transaction at Odds of evens (2.0) or greater, settled in 60 days | £30 free bet paid within 48 hours of settlement | Payment restrictions apply | SMS validation may be required | 30 Free Spins on selected games | Max 60 Free Spins on Justice League Comics | 7 day expiry spins & bonus | Full T&Cs apply

T&C Apply

Review Summary:

Top Online bookmaker with great odds and generous welcome bonus. BetFred Bonus: New Sports customers only. Promo code BETFRED40a. 1st sports bet of £10+ in one transaction at Odds of evens (2.0) or greater. £30 free bet paid within 48 hours of settlement and valid for 7 days. Payment restrictions apply. SMS validation may be required. Full T&Cs apply.

www.betfred.com
Bonus Review:

4.5
Bookie Review:

4.3




Pros
Cons
  • Great Bonuses and Promotions
  • Top Footballing Odds
  • 24-hour Customer Service
  • No Search Function
  • Not Competitive for All Odds

About Betfred

Betfred, the top online sportsbook, has a pretty impressive history. It was founded back in 1967 by a guy named Fred Done and his brother Peter Done. The brothers opened one single betting shop in Salford and so it began. Since the first shop opened, it has expanded to become one of the biggest and most recognised bookmakers the world over. Additionally, it has developed its services even wider. What started off simply as a land-based bookmaker now offers punters an impressive online service that goes from sports betting and includes other areas such as poker, casino games, bingo and all sorts.

So, how does it compare with the rest? With so many online bookmakers how does it measure up? We’ll find out all about everything it does well – and not so well, in this in-depth Betfred sportsbook review.

Overview

  • Customer support
    4.0/5.0
  • Design & Usability
    4.5/5.0
  • Bonuses & Free bets
    4.5/5.0
  • Betting markets & Odds
    4.0/5.0
  • Sports coverage
    4.5/5.0

Market Offering

Betfred is such a large presence and well-established sportsbook that it couldn’t do anything but offer a large selection of sports and markets. You can bet on all of the major sporting events and tournaments alongside some of the lesser-known ones. There are well over 20 different sports to place your money on, with many offering hundreds of different markets. It offers all of the normal sports such as football and horse racing, as well as lesser-known sports. The most in-depth sports on offer definitely are those focussed around the UK market, which is great for us!

On some of its markets, such as the golf and football markets, you can take advantage of the cash-out feature as well, which is an added bonus. You can also do this on single and each-way bets on horse races as well. Here are all the sports on offer at Betfred.

Not only does it have great sports, but it also offers you the chance to bet on TV shows such as Britain’s Got Talent, as well as awards ceremonies including Sports Personality of the Year and even royal events including births and weddings. Also, you can place a plethora of bets on political events; UK events such as elections and political leaders; US politics such as Congressional elections and Donald Trump specials and you can even pick your own political punts should you wish.

In-Play Betting

Betfred does offer a live-stream option to its punters as a part of its impressive in-play product. It may not be inclusive of all sports, but it is focussed very much towards the UK and Ireland market, which is fine by us. Looking at the in-play products on offer, you can take your pick from football, horse racing, greyhounds, darts, tennis, cricket, snooker, basketball, baseball and American Football. Because of its focus on the UK market, if you happen to make a bet and you are on holiday outside of the country, then you will not be able to watch your chosen event.

However, on (another) positive note, BetFred has placed a special offer on its live-streaming product for horse racing. Should you place a wager of at least £1 on a race, then you will be able to stream the race live completely free. This enables you to get full use out of the in-play product.

Then, of course, there’s the cash-out option as well – on many in-play events you are able to cash-out your money at any time to avoid a loss and stay with whatever you have currently won.

Odds

When it comes to odds, we found that the odds on offer at Betfred have an average betting margin of around 4.9%; this is pretty decent and works out to be very close to average on most online comparison websites available. When it comes to comparing the margins on the Betfred site, the lowest available can be found on football, which has a profit margin of just 3.5% – which is highly impressive. The lower the margin on offer at a bookmaker the better, because that means you will get a bigger payout. So BetFred odds are fantastic for fans of football betting.

Further to this, Betfred also guarantees its odds on British and Irish horse racing, which gives you lots of options and means that you can be sure that you are getting the best deal available on the online sports betting market. This means you won’t have to worry about whether odds get higher or lower because you will be paid out for the very best odds for that horse.

All in all, the odds on offer really underline the fact that this is very much an online sportsbook aimed at the British market. If you want to place your money on those favourites such as footie and racing then you can’t really beat BetFred; however, if you want something a little different it would probably pay to have a look around.

Bonuses & Offers

T&Cs Apply

Welcome Bonus

Now, with sign-up offers being so competitive, it’s always interesting to see how much a sportsbook is pushing the boat out to compete with others. The Betfred welcome bonus is rather decent and compares well with many on the market. When you sign-up, you’ll get £30 in free bets when you make your first £10 bet. This is pretty standard for a lot of betting promotions, but how do the terms and conditions compare?

Well, your first bet must be on an evens bet or greater and what’s more, any bet type will qualify so long as it’s a total stake of at least £10. This is great compared to many others who specify different types of bets. Your bet must be one single £10 bet and cannot be split down into several smaller bets. You will also need to confirm your participation by responding to a text and you must settle your bet within 60 days and it must be validated within 60 days of the bet being settled.

One area that is particularly interesting is that with the free bets, there is only a 1-time wagering requirement, which is fantastic compared to many others. However, your free bets are valid for just 7 days from issue, so you need to hurry up and use them.

In all, although the actual value looks similar to many others on the market, the terms and conditions attached are much better than many, with less wagering requirements, more freedom in your bets and lots of time to claim your bonus. Overall we’re very impressed with this Betfred bonus.

Pick Your Punt

This is a promotion that leaves you in control. BetFred simply prices up the markets that you want to bet on. BetFred has taken the view that as it can’t cater to every single market in every sport it will make up for it by allowing you to create your own scenarios and combine markets. You then send it to BetFred via Twitter using #PickYourPunt and then the traders should pick it up and price it up. Every week there are qualifying events for you to choose from.

Double Delight and Hat-Trick Heaven

If your winning first goalscorer scores a second then BetFred will double the odds. Should they manage to bag a third goal then they will treble the odds. This comes with attached T&Cs to check out.

They also have an in-play version of this promotion where you bet in-play on the next goalscorer and if he scores two or three, they’ll pay out at double and treble the original odds.

Cash Out

This allows you to cash out your bet early if you are feeling uncertain and want to cut and run. It is available on a huge range of football, golf and horse racing markets, so be sure to keep an eye out for the cash out symbol when you make your bet.

Acca Insurance

If you place a 5 plus Fold Football Match Result accumulator (with odds per leg of 1/3 or more) on selected leagues, if one of your teams lets you down, BetFred will refund your stake and give you a free £10 bet to boot.

There are so many others on offer all the time that it is easy to understand why BetFred is known for its outstanding betting promotions. There are… free bets if you finish second; best odds guaranteed; all correct bonuses; one winner bonuses; greyhound weekend cashback and more. This doesn’t even include the offers you will get sent to your inbox as loyalty rewards or top-up bonuses. When it comes to staying power at an online sportsbook, lifetime bonuses are incredibly important and BetFred clearly understands this. When it comes to both the quality and quantity of bonuses and promotions available, it really cannot be beaten. Big, no huge, thumbs up from us over here!

Top Europa League betting with BetFred

Security and Regulations

BetFred is licensed and regulated by two of the biggest authorities within Europe. Firstly it is licensed by the Gibraltar Gambling Commission and secondly – and most importantly, but the UK Gambling Commission. The UKGC ensures that everything that happens on this online bookmaker is completely legitimate and fair. As a result of its licensing, it is safe to play in many European countries, including the UK. However, there are restricted countries such as Germany, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria, Austria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Portugal, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Denmark and some others. If you happen to be visiting these countries then you cannot use this site.

As well as licensing, it also has an eCOGRA certification, which means that you, as a player, are being completely looked after and treated fairly. Everything on the site is certified as completely fair and transparent. It also uses Verisign SSL encryption to make sure that any financial and personal data that you input is totally and completely safe from third parties.

Furthermore, it promotes responsible gambling. It has a page dedicated to what you should do if you feel you, or someone you know has a gambling problem and is linked to GamCare as well. All in all, BetFred is a very safe and legitimate online sports betting site.

Banking Options

As you can only imagine, Betfred banking options are suitable for all, offering a choice of card options such as Visa and MasterCard, and eWallets such as PayPal and Neteller as well. When it comes to all the different payment methods available, you can opt to use the following:

 

As you might expect, all the deposits you make are available immediately, so you can start your journey straight away. The minimum deposit allowed is lower than many others at just £5 for most of the payment methods. However, when it comes to withdrawals, the minimum you can withdraw is very much based on your withdrawal method. You need to bear this in mind when depositing as you need to withdraw via the same method you deposited. Fortunately, all withdrawals at Betfred are completely free, although it has set a limit of £20,000 at one time. If you manage to win more than this, then you may need to make several transactions.

If your preferred method is one of the eWallets, then you will find that the withdrawals are processed very quickly, and you can receive your money into your account in under 24-hours. However, if you use a credit or debit card then this can take anywhere between 2 to 5 days, depending on your bank.

There are certain restrictions placed onto withdrawals and deposits that are applied by your bank or eWallet provider, so also make sure you check with them first.

The Betfred accepted currencies are currently: GBP, USD, EUR, JPY, HKD, CHF, AUD, SEK, DEK, NOK and SGD.

Customer Service

As one of the biggest bookmakers available in the UK, Betfred customer support has to stand out. Fortunately, it does and this online bookie gives you plenty of options in which you can make contact.

First is the live chat, which is available 24-hours a day. Simply click on the tab at the bottom left of the screen (no matter what page you are on) and you will able to talk to an agent straight away.

If you would prefer to talk to someone, then simply click on the help button at the top right of the screen and there is an option for ‘contact us’. Click on there and you will get access to two available BetFred contact numbers: a UK Freephone number – 0800 028 7747 and a Rest of the World number – +44 1925 907500. Agents answer the phones very quickly and this is ideal for an urgent situation.

Then, if you don’t have a query that is too urgent, you can use email. The BetFred email address is [email protected]. However, there are others available as well, depending on the nature of your query: for web and mobile enquiries you can use [email protected]; for accounts assistance use [email protected] and for Free Bets use [email protected]. In general, agents answer emails from anywhere between four hours to a day, depending on how busy they are.

Finally, if you’re feeling a little old school then you can write to them via good old fashioned pigeon post.

FAQs

There is also a pretty decent FAQ section that you can use if you want to avoid contacting customer service. Here you will be able to find answers to questions about depositing and withdrawing; placing bets; lost details; opening an account; complaints procedure and policy and privacy issues. This is a very comprehensive section, so it’s always a good idea to check it out first.



Bookmaker Support Details:
BetFred customer support is available via live chat, telephone, email and mail and is accessible 24-hours-a-day

Customer Service Languages:
  • Country Flag
  • Country Flag
  • Country Flag



Open Hours: 24 hours

User Experience

The Betfred bookmaker website is definitely a blue experience. The website is all dark blue, alongside its white font and its red and blue logo in the corner. It definitely holds its branding very well. So, it looks the part, but how easy is it to use? What is the BetFred user experience really like?

Simply put, it’s very easy and user-friendly. At the very top in the right, you have the help button, messages tab, sign-up tab and log-on tab. Below this there is a menu of all the different options you have – including sports, in-play, totepool, watch live to other areas such as poker, casino and bingo. You can also access the promotions from here.

When you’re in the sports section, along the left-hand side you have access to all quick links – incorporating all the current popular areas to be on, such as FIFA World Cup 2018 and the NBA Play-Offs. Underneath that list is another list of all the different sports and events on offer. Click on your chosen sport and choose your market and bet. You can also choose whether to see your odds in fractions, decimals on Moneyline odds. Down the centre of the homepage are the games that are currently live and along the right-hand side you can see special bets and offers alongside what’s coming up next. It really is very simple to navigate your way around. However, it doesn’t have a search function which would make it even better. We can forgive them that though, as it’s pretty hard to get lost on the site!

Betting Odds

Android App

Betting Odds

Desktop

Betting Odds

Instant Play

Betting Odds

iOS App

Betting Odds

Mobile

Betting Odds

Tablet

Mobile Experience

The Betfred mobile betting app is pretty great to be fair. It really does offer you everything you need to access all of your betting needs on different sports and events wherever you are. If you are using an iOS device then simply head to the App Store and download the app; if you are an Android user then check out the Google Play store. Once you have got the app, simply log in and get playing. However, if you wish to play on your browser without downloading the app, you can do this too.

The actual BetFred mobile offering is good. It gives you access to as many sports, events and markets as the desktop site does and all in a very easy to understand and navigate layout. It also has a very easy to use in-play area, which is perfect for when you want to bet on the move. Furthermore, other areas are simple to find and use, including the cashier and customer support.

It looks smart, offers everything you need all in one go and is every bit as good as the desktop experience.

Conclusion:
Well, we always had high hopes for BetFred when we reviewed it. Fortunately, it didn't let us down at all. The variety of sports and markets available was impressive and up there with the very biggest and best around; then there’s the in-play betting and live streaming which is also highly impressive. The odds, bonuses and promotions were particularly impressive in UK focussed areas such as football and horse racing. Furthermore the banking was quick easy and free; the customer service was quick and impressive; plus it offers a great user experience on desktop and mobile. A small improvement would be adding a search bar to the website; also making it more competitive on odds in other areas. All in all, this is a perfectly designed sportsbook for the UK market and is definitely worth a look.
Best Values:
  • Betting Odds
    Support

    Fast and 24/7 support

  • Betting Odds
    Mobile

    Great mobile product

  • Betting Odds
    Odds

    Best odds on many sports

  • Betting Odds
    Live

    Live streaming