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Betfair Esports Review - How does Betfair rate for its esports betting options?
Betfair was founded in 2000 as a sport betting exchange. In 2016, Betfair merged with Paddy Power, with the combined Betfair Paddy Power now offering services to over four million customers worldwide. Where Betfair distinguishes itself mainly from other odd betting sites is that it offers an odds exchange where players bet against odds from other players, rather than set by a bookmaker. This results in higher odds with the potential for bigger wins. Besides betting on esports, Betfair offers a traditional sportsbook, casino and live casino. For this review, we have specifically looked at how players can bet on esports, and made a comparison of the odds on esports with the best esports betting sites. Players can try out their esports betting strategies on Counter-Strike, Defense of The Ancients 2, and League of Legends. While not the greatest offering of esports markets, it’s great that one of the biggest names in online betting has embraced esports, even if they aren’t clearly promoted on the site. Read on as our Betfair esports review takes you through Betfair’s esports offering across eight key categories, including odds and security. We start our review by looking at the website’s accessibility and user-friendliness.
Interface & DesignBetfair: straightforward betting and a well-designed site
We start our Betfair esports betting site review by looking at how easy the site is to navigate and use. At first glance, the site is quite busy, with a distinctive yellow and black colour scheme. The first things that hit you are the current site promotions; unlike some other sites that feature their betting markets on the homepage. The second thing to note is the lack of information on esports. The menus at the top of the screen advertise the sportsbook, exchange, and virtual sports betting, etc. However, to find esports, you have to click on either the exchange tab or the sportsbook and scroll down the list of sports. Once you’ve found your way to the esports section, things get easier! You simply click on the odds for the event you want to bet on and fill in the wager in the box that appears in the top-right corner. You can keep adding wagers to the betslip until you’re ready to check out. If you’re new to the site, you can click on the grey ‘register’ button to sign up. You’ll be greeted with a pop-up box that, again, promotes the latest sign-up offer. Betfair also offers a mobile app that can be used for esports betting. You can find out more about this by clicking the ‘mobile icon’ at the top of the main site. Essentially, there are two Betfair esports betting apps: one for the sportsbook and one for the exchange (where you’ll find esports options). Both are available for Android and Apple. All in all, we like the Betfair interface and found it easy to use. However, we’d have liked to have seen esports given a more prominent position to help newbies, as you do have to hunt around to find the option in the exchange section of the site.
Bonus Offers & Free BetsBetfair offers a welcome bonus for exchange players
We move on the Betfair bonuses. There are no specific esports promotions but certain Betfair sports and exchange bonuses can be used for esports betting. For example, currently, the site is offering the Betfair Sports £100 Bet Bundle as a New Customer offer. Place 5 x €10 or more bets to receive €20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum €100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5); Exchange bets excluded (T&Cs apply).
Betfair Exchange £20 Free Bet – New customers only, bet at least €20 on the Exchange and if your first bet loses, we’ll refund you €20 in Cash. Bet must be placed in first 7 days of account opening (Full T&Cs Apply). As we mentioned earlier in our Betfair esports review, esports can be found on the exchange, as well as the traditional sportsbook, so there seems to be no restriction on using the bonus funds to wager on esports events.
Some bonuses are only valid for players from certain countries and some require specific payment methods. Players are advised to always read the terms and conditions and make sure they are clearly understood to prevent disappointments when conditions are not met and therefore bonus money is not paid out.
PaymentsA good selection of payment methods make it easy to deposit and withdraw funds
Betfair generally accepts all payments methods that are commonly used in the country of the player. This can be debit or credit cards, bank transfers or e-wallets, with Visa, MasterCard and PayPal betting being the most commonly accepted. You should check which payment methods are available in your country, as they can vary. It is also important to note that if you want to take advantage of certain bonuses, check the terms and conditions to see if there are any requirements concerning payment method used. For example, for the £20 free bet on the exchange, you need to deposit using a credit/debit card or through PayPal. If you want to withdraw funds from your account, be aware that payment times vary, from 12 hours to two or three working days. As with many sports and Counter-Strike betting sites, there are fees attached to some payment methods. Be aware that Betfair requires you to withdraw funds to the same method you used to deposit. For example, if you deposited money using a debit card, you cannot request a withdrawal to your PayPal account. All deposits and withdrawal requests should be made via the ‘my account’ tab. When it comes to payments, things are about what we’d expect for an operator of this size. There is a good selection of payment methods available, reasonable withdrawal processing times, and some reasonable restrictions in place.
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Esports MarketsA decent esports offering for League of Legends and CS:GO
Our Betfair esports review has specifically investigated the CS:GO gambling opportunities and League of Legends betting. We must say that Betfair does not belong on the list of top esports betting sites, as our Betfair esports review learned that Betfair currently only offers odds betting for two League of Legends championships. To bet on esports, players first need to navigate to the top bar and click on ‘Sportsbook’. The next page shows all current games and highlights games and odds. But if you are looking for CS:GO gambling or League of Legends betting, you need to browse through the list on the top-left of the page that says ‘all sports’. A dropdown menu appears and here you can find ‘esports’. Our Betfair esports rating is quite good for this site’s offering, as, in addition to League of Legends betting, you can use Betfair as an esports gambling site.
With both League of Legends betting and CS2 betting odds, wagers can currently be placed on either LOL Tencent Pro League, LOL EU LCS Spring Split and Dota 2 Asia Championship. Not the best esports betting offers that can be found, but definitely not the worst. Betfair offers many other aspects that compensate for what other esports betting sites don’t necessarily offer.
Live StreamingBetfair has good in-play for esports
Players can place their bets long before a game starts, but also when a game has commenced. To find the in-play options for esports, head to the esports section of the site. You’ll see five options, including future games and in-play. Click on the ‘in-play’ tab and it will bring up a list of games that are in progress or starting shortly. The available odds will also be displayed. You can click on the odds and make your choice. If you’re unclear about in-play betting, click on the ‘!’ symbol and a pop-up box appears that gives you some help. Remember that when you bet via an exchange, you bet against other users, rather than the bookie, which will impact on the available odds. In-play is also available via the traditional sportsbook.
The in-play betting consists of regular updates on scores. However, Betfair does offer a live video option for certain games. This is available for users with a funded account (i.e., a valid account with a positive balance). Our rating for Betfair for its in-play esports offering is quite high, as there are multiple options available for LoL, CS:GO and DOTA 2 games, depending of course on what games and championships are in progress on a given day.
Top 3 Bookmakers with Live Betting
Odds and LimitsCompetitive odds
After an esports odds comparison, we can confirm Betfair offers very competitive betting odds because the betting exchange format. With betting exchanges, players make bets against other players instead of against a bookmaker. In reality, the player acts as the bookie. This results in bets that bookmakers would not make because they would not be willing to take the risk. Betting exchanges also offer the option of ‘lay betting’, where players bet on the chance of something not happening. Have a look at the website of Betfair where this is explained in more detail.
Bets are not limited at Betfair; however, the maximum payout is. Different markets have different event limits. The highest limit is £1m. If in doubt, read the rules and regulations and inform themselves concerning the event limits that are clearly specified per event and sport. Our Betfair esports rating is high for the odds available on esports.
Customer ServicePlenty of customer support options at Betfair
Betfair offers a good selection of support options for those who can’t find the answer to their query in the frequently asked questions section. Customer support is available via email, phone, chat, and social media. At Betfair, you can bet 24/7, either via their website or by telephone. The website promises players a response to their enquiries within 30 seconds, using either the phone or chat option, or between two and four hours when contacting via email. Getting a personalised response is often not even necessary as the answer to most common questions can be found on the website’s help page.
As with many sites, Betfair would prefer you to check the FAQs before contacting the support team in person. Just as other site features, the help section is not front and centre on the site, but there are small ‘help’ buttons located at the top and bottom of each page. When it comes to support, we have no trouble giving Betfair a good rating, as we’d expect with a site of this size.
Live Chat Available
0844 871 5000SecurityBetfair takes security very seriously
One of the most important questions to ask before gambling with this operator is: ‘is Betfair safe?’ We have not found any reason to doubt that Betfair is a safe place to gamble. Betfair operates internationally under Gibraltar and Malta licences, holds a license issued by the UK Gambling Commission, and is under local licence in Bulgaria, Italy, Spain and Australia. The company is ISO27001-certified and uses two-way authentications that reduce the chance of accounts being compromised. So, players can be sure that all regular and esports betting is legal. Betfair pays out its winnings and applies two-way authentications for user log-in. According to the site, Betfair regular audits make sure that it is compliant with all regulations.
So, is Betfair safe? We’d have to say ‘yes’. Of course, users have a responsibility when it comes to security, so make sure you choose a secure password and keep your PC and mobile device protected with the latest software. Overall, on the issue of security, we’d have to give Betfair a solid rating. We believe they have all the right measures in place to offer users a secure online gaming experience; something which we should all expect from every online operator that takes our money.
ConclusionWhat’s our overall verdict on Betfair?
In this Betfair esports betting site review, we looked at which Betfair esports betting bonuses are available and how the site compares to other esports betting sites. Following our review, we can say that Betfair offers a great comparison of betting games in 2017 with a good-looking website and excellent customer service. Betfair stands out when it comes to betting odds as they offer an exchange betting platform that means the odds can be better than traditional booking sites.
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. Crucially, when it comes to what we’re all about, namely esports, Betfair’s offering could be improved, as they are not the best, when compared to other esports betting sites, such as 10Bet esports. Betfair does offer legal esports betting on League of Legends and Dota. But at the time of writing this Betfair esports review they do not offer odds on other esports, which impacts on their overall rating. Given that Betfair is an established and trusted name in the industry, if you do want to take a punt on esports, this is certainly a good site to consider. However, for all you serious esports bettors out there, it might be worth checking out some other bookmaking site that offer a full range of markets, for example check our Midnite esports review or bet-at-home review.
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