Online Betting

[Blue Punter]

They don't but they will increase commission charges if you are very successful

Betfair Exchange don't give a shit unless you start getting into Premium Charge territory. They'll happily take their commission on every bet matched (back or lay).

However their Sportsbook operation are really quick to restrict - which is piss poor when you consider how they "profit" on every single exchange bet.

I'd still take betfair over any high street bookie,or any online one.

The High Street bookie (particularly online) have the odd advantage over Betfair. Reverting Pricewise the next morning, priceboosts, moneyback refunds, best odds guaranteed, place a bet - receive same stake bet in running

It's only a small minority of markets though, usually at the big meetings or major sporting events. In the long run I don't see how many people can make a decent profit without using Betfair. Even it's just trading out from a winning/favourable position.

 

[tidyman]

What have Betfair got to gain by limiting your bets?

They don't but they will increase commission charges if you are very successful

Betfair Exchange don't give a shit unless you start getting into Premium Charge territory. They'll happily take their commission on every bet matched (back or lay).

However their Sportsbook operation are really quick to restrict - which is piss poor when you consider how they "profit" on every single exchange bet.

I misread your post and edited mine when I noticed you were talking about their sports book not exchange.

 

[Blue Punter]

They don't but they will increase commission charges if you are very successful

Betfair Exchange don't give a shit unless you start getting into Premium Charge territory. They'll happily take their commission on every bet matched (back or lay).

However their Sportsbook operation are really quick to restrict - which is piss poor when you consider how they "profit" on every single exchange bet.

I misread your post and edited mine when I noticed you were talking about their sports book not exchange.

No worries.

There's a bit of a dispute brewing between on course and off course bookies at the moment regarding SP's.
On course claim they're at the sharp end and their odds reflect weight of money on course. Off course are not happy their prices are being dictated to by a handful of bookies on the track.

I was at Redcar (course enclosure) last year and the on course odds were shocking. There was 3 bookies of which one was only taking bets on Royal Ascot. The other pair of shysters made no secret that they were brothers. Almost every horse in every race they gave identical odds. I took my tablet up with Betfair open and compared every horse with their prices. They were significantly shorter on every single horse. Whenever someone struck a bet with them, they just backed it themselves on Betfair using automated software.

I often wonder if there's any bookies left (on or off course) who take a view on a market and stand by their convictions.