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Betfred Review

Betfred Review UK December 2024 – up to £50 Free Bet for Newbies
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Peter Addison

Betfred Review UK December 2024 – up to £50 Free Bet for Newbies

Overview

Betfred is a very well-known UK bookmaker with an impressive presence both on UK high streets and online. Known for offering betting on major sporting markets such as football, horse racing, greyhounds, darts, and snooker, Betfred attracts a wide range of enthusiastic sports bettors. This review provides an in-depth look at Betfred’s sports betting online site, its brand reputation and its overall levels of service for UK punters.

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New customers only. Register with SUMMER50 between 31/05/24 – 14/07/24. First bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply.

Betfred: An Overview

logo betfred1Founded in 1967 by Fred Done and his brother Peter, Betfred is an extremely well-known UK sports betting brand. Originally operating betting shops across Britain, Betfred eventually expanded online in 2004 to compete with other leading bookmakers on the emerging world wide wagering web.

Now run by the Gibraltar-based company Petfre (named after PETer and FREd), Betfred has grown into an internationally successful business under Fred Done’s leadership. Though Fred briefly tried opening a second site called OddsKing, it did not succeed and closed in 2023. With an estimated personal fortune of £1.87 billion in 2023, Fred Done remains one of Britain’s leading entrepreneurs and taxpayers despite Betfred’s move to Gibraltar.

Date founded: 1967.
Ownership: Petre (Gibraltar) Limited.
Headquarters: Gibraltar.
Address: 5.2 Waterport Place, 2 Europort Avenue,
Gibraltar, GX11 1AA, Gibraltar.
Licence No.: 39544.

The site has sponsored countless horse races, darts and snooker tournaments over the years, and the Betfred Super League is the current highest level of pro rugby league in the UK.

Safety and Security at Betfred

Betfred marked its 50th anniversary in 2017, so it’s been earning the trust of customers for over half a century. While the UK Gambling Commission issued Betfred a warning and £3.25 million penalty for regulatory violations from 2019 to 2020, the company has since complied with UKGC expectations.

The betting site Betfred prominently displays many reputable organisations that offer assistance with problem gambling, including Take Time to Think, BeGambleAware, the National Gambling Helpline, and GAMSTOP. Betfred is also a member of the International Betting Integrity Association and provides its own Safer Gambling resources.

Betfred encrypts all data sent to and from its site, going as far as to undergo annual PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) audits, which verify that its security processes meet industry standards in terms of customer data safety. These rigorous audits and encryption measures demonstrate Betfred’s strong commitment to safety and security. We can confidently conclude that Betfred uses industry ‘best practices’ to protect user data.

Betfred new customer offer

Betfred offers a generous welcome bonus for new customers: Sign up through the link below and enter the Betfred promo code ‘WELCOME50’ to receive a £50 Betfred free bet bonus when you place your first £10 bet. This exclusive offer is only available via the link provided in this review, not directly through the Betfred site, so be sure to claim it via this review only.

To claim the Betfred sign-up offer all you need to do is click the button below and then click ‘Claim Here’ on the page that will pop up. This will take you through to the Betfred sign-up process. Be sure that you remember to enter the Betfred promo code ‘WELCOME50’ when prompted during your sign-up, or else you won’t receive your bonus.

This Betfred new customer offer comes with a multitude of terms and conditions, which comes as no surprise given our experience of the types of welcome bonuses offered by sports betting sites. We suggest reading the full T&Cs on their site, but we will summarise the major requirements here.

To get this offer, first deposit at least £10 using a debit card within seven days of signing up at Betfred. Then place a qualifying bet of £10 or more with minimum odds of 1/1 (Evens) that settles within seven days. Bets on the Totepool, virtual markets, or cashed-out bets do not qualify. Once your bet has settled, you will receive a £20 in-play Betfred free bet, a £20 acca Betfred free bet, and £10 of free spins on the slot ‘Fishin’ Frenzy’.

Betfred Offer Description Min. Deposit Min. Odds
Betfred Welcome Bonus Bet £10 & get £50 in bonuses £10 Evens (2.00)

Significant Terms: New customers only. Register (excl. 13/04/24) with WELCOME50. First bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get Free Bets: £20 In-Play, £20 Acca & 50 x £0.20 (£10) Free Spins on Fishin’ Frenzy within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply.

Betfred Existing Customer Offers

Betfred regularly rotates fresh promotional offers to keep things interesting. To find their best Betfred deals, use the link above and check the ‘Betfred Promotions’ tab on their site menu. Watch for special promotions around major events like Betfred Grand National betting offers, for the FIFA World Cup, The Open in golf or Wimbledon. We’ve summarised some of the best Betfred promotions we found at this sports betting site when conducting our Betfred review below.

Betfred Extra Places

Betfred offers enhanced each-way terms for selected horse races. For certain daily races in the UK and Irish markets, Betfred provides additional places on each-way bets. This can include getting 2 places instead of win-only, 4 places instead of 3, 5 places instead of 3, or even 6 places instead of 4. The ‘super’ Betfred extra places apply to singles and multiples on race day bets, but not ante-post bets. Best Odds Guaranteed does not apply to the extra places. Check Betfred’s site for full details and terms.

ACCA Flex – Up to 50% on Winning Betfred Football Accas

This promotion applies to all pre-game acca bets with five or more selections on chosen markets with minimum odds of 1/2 (1.50) per selection. You will receive a bonus from 2.5 per cent to 50 per cent based on the number of selections in your acca – the more selections the higher the bonus. If one of your selections fails, you can also get a full cash refund up to £10. Betfred pays out all bonuses within 24 hours of settling your bet. Bets on live markets or cashed out early do not qualify. Other terms and conditions apply.

Double Delight & Hat Trick Heaven

This Betfred promotion offers enhanced payouts for correctly predicting the first goalscorer in a football match. If your chosen player scores multiple goals (a brace or hat trick), you receive double or triple odds. This deal applies only to pre-match single bets on specified first goalscorer markets for selected games. Winners are paid in cash once the match finishes, excluding any goals in extra time. Other terms and conditions may apply, as they do for all Betfred deals.

Betfred Key Features

So far in our Betfred review, we have covered the ownership, history, and promotions of this large UK betting site. Next, we will dive into the details of Betfred’s sportsbook itself.

Betfred Sports Betting Markets

The Betfred online betting site’s layout may not appeal to all users, as it can feel a bit clumsy. The in-play, Betfred horse racing, and football sections are easy enough to find, but everything else gets lumped into the catch-all ‘All Sports’ category, requiring more searching. What makes this a little bit annoying is that you can access Betfred’s other offerings – such as the casino, live casino, lotto, virtual sports betting, bingo, poker, and Totepool – with just one click, while the sports betting section requires a few more tentative steps in terms of navigation.

Betfred offers sports betting on a wide range of sports, including Betfred football, horse racing, golf, tennis, rugby, Betfred cricket, boxing … just see the full list below.

  • American football
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Cricket
  • Cycling
  • Darts
  • Football
  • Futsal
  • Gaelic Games
  • Golf
  • Greyhounds
  • Horse Racing
  • Ice Hockey
  • Motor Sports
  • Rugby League
  • Rugby Union
  • Snooker
  • Specials
  • Tennis
  • UFC /MMA
  • Virtual Sports

It’s a decent list, but to be honest we’ve seen bigger lists at other UK betting sites. Some misses: Aussie rules, futsal, table tennis and volleyball, plus eSports seems a pretty egregious absentee.

Betfred In Play Betting

Though decent, Betfred’s live betting section has room for improvement compared to some competitors. You can access the latest live action by clicking the ‘In Play’ button in the menu bar. Betfred football, tennis, snooker, basketball, and ice hockey are the primary sports offered for live wagering, but most ongoing events in Betfred’s covered sports can also be bet on live. Use the ‘Upcoming’ button to view events that will soon have live betting available.

Betfred Live Streaming and Commentary

Betfred offers live streaming for in-play betting on select events. Tennis matches make up most of the live-streaming offerings, with some snooker, darts, and Bundesliga football matches also available. As expected, UK football is not included. However, all UK and Ireland horse races can be live-streamed through Betfred as long as you are logged into your Betfred account, and the same goes for UK greyhound meets.

Betfred Betting Odds

Upon reviewing Betfred’s odds and comparing them to the best odds available from other top-class UK bookmakers, we found Betfred’s odds to be competitive enough. On numerous occasions, Betfred offered the top odds or odds very close to the most generous. This suggests that Betfred delivers on its promise of extremely competitive odds (see our betting odds guide if you find calculating odds gives you headaches).

Betfred Betting Limits

Betfred’s minimum bet is £0.50, which is high compared to some UK betting sites that allow penny stakes. There is no maximum stake, but maximum payouts apply. Betfred’s £1,000,000 maximum payout for UK football and Betfred horse racing is exceeded by only one other UK site. Other sports have separate limits, but all are generous. Full maximum payout details are on Betfred’s site.

The minimum deposit on Betfred’s website is £5, but it is £10 if deposited in-person at a betting shop and £85 via bank transfer. There is no minimum withdrawal amount. However, withdrawals under £5 must be requested separately as they cannot be processed through the website’s cashier system.

Betfred Customer Service

The help section on the Betfred website lacks sufficient detail and guidance for many users. For more comprehensive assistance, customers can access the following support channels:

  • Betfred live chat: available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when logged in.
  • Betfred email: [email protected].
  • Betfred contact phone number: 0800 028 7747, 8 am to 8 pm.

Other Notable Features at Betfred

We’ve gone through most things you need to know about the Betfred sports betting site, but there are a couple more aspects you might be interested in:

Betfred Totepool – Betfred offered pool betting on horse racing through their ownership of The Tote from 2011 until 2019 when they sold it at a £150 million loss, but now they offer it independent of the Tote. Unlike fixed odds betting, pool betting combines all stakes in a pool, takes out a percentage for the operator, and divides the remainder among winners. Totepool betting on Betfred resembles lottery-style gambling more than skilled horse race wagering. However, picking six consecutive Totepool winners could yield you a jackpot over £1 million.

Betfred Virtual Sports – Betfred offers a wide selection of virtual sports betting options, including realistic betting simulations of horse racing, greyhounds, football, motorsports, speedway, darts, cycling, tennis, and even (for some reason) Betfred bingo. The graphics are truly excellent, and if you squint a bit, you’d swear you’re watching the real thing. There’s a new contest to wager on every three or so minutes.

PYP Builder – PYP, which stands for ‘PickYourPunt’, is Betfred’s bet builder available for most of their football matches. With PYP, you can combine betting outcomes from the same game to boost your odds and potential winnings if your selections are successful.

Daily Price Boosts – Fred enjoys handing out boosted odds, which Betfred offers daily under their ‘Price Boosts’ tab. These boosted bets tend to be combos or event-specific, like Cole Palmer scoring a Chelsea goal in the first half of their latest EPL fixture.

How to Start Betting at Betfred

Opening a Betfred account is very easy to do, but just in case sports betting online is new to you, we’re going to go through how you obtain your own Betfred sports betting account. (You might also want to take a look at our How to Bet Online guide.)

  1. Visit the Betfred site. You can this so by clicking the button below, which you will need to do to claim the exclusive Betfred new customer offer:
  2. On the screen that pops open, click on the ‘Register’ button.
    betfred sports betting
  3. Choose a username and password and then click on the ‘Continue’ button. There will be further screens in which you will need to divulge plenty of personal details, plus choose a security question. When it comes to ‘Add a Promo Code?’ make sure ‘WELCOME50’ has been pre-filled in.
  4. Once you have rolled through all the registration screens you will find that your Betfred account has been created! Head to the cashier and make your first deposit at the site using a debit card. It has to be for at least £10 if you want the welcome bonus.
  5. Place your bet – choose any market that you are interested in but make sure the odds are at least Evens, or 2.00 if you speak decimal odds. Don’t bet on the Totepool or any virtual sports market, and don’t cash out your bet. Once that bet has settled, you should receive your £50 in Betfred online betting bonuses!

Betfred app review

The Betfred app offers an easy mobile betting experience, as it mirrors the design of Betfred’s sportsbook website and can be downloaded on iOS and Android devices, both smartphones and tablets. This consistency across desktop and mobile platforms allows for intuitive navigation when browsing markets and using features through conveniently placed menus and tabs.

Like many leading betting apps, Betfred provides a seamless user experience, although our issues with the site design remain a slight problem. The betting experience on the Betfred mobile app is ideal for punters ‘on the go’ with its extensive features including live streaming, cash out, live betting, bet builder and bet finder. The app also provides the usual levels of support to users with 24/7 customer service through Betfred live chat.

IMG 4448.jpeg

The Betfred app makes logging in, placing bets, and withdrawing funds simple tasks. Users can log in via Touch or Face ID, while payouts are processed quickly. The app accepts all of Betfred’s payment methods (see below), enabling instant deposits as well.

Betfred review: Deposits & Withdrawals

Betfred offers all the major payment options seen at sports betting sites in the UK such as debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, Paysafecard, and bank transfers. However, beyond these common methods, there are very few other choices. The minimum deposit is £5 with no set minimum withdrawal although you will need to contact support to withdraw less than a fiver. The Betfred withdrawal time is two to three days for Visa debit cards and two to five days for everything else.

Full information about Betfred’s available payment methods is presented below:

Payment Method Min. Deposit Fees Min. Withdrawal Withdrawal Time
Visa debit £5 Free No minimum 2 – 3 days
MasterCard debit £5 Free No minimum 2 – 5 days
PayPal £10 Free No minimum 2 – 5 days
Neteller £10 Free No minimum 2 – 5 days
Skrill £10 Free No minimum 2 – 5 days
Paysafecard £10 Free Not available Not applicable
Bank Transfer £10 Free Not available Not applicable

Betfred Casino Review

We have already stated that we do not prefer betting sites that combine sports betting with slots and casino games – we prefer it if the two entities are kept reasonably separate. However, we will still humbly provide a Betfred casino review for those who enjoy slots and casino games as much as sports betting.

The online casino at Betfred offers a wide selection of slots and popular games, though its structure is somewhat all over the place. Specifically, Betfred divides its casino into three sections – the main ‘casino’ featuring Playtech’s games like the ‘Age of the Gods’ slots series, additional Playtech casino titles, and Betfred’s own live dealer roulette and blackjack offerings.

betfred casino 1.jpg

The ‘live casino’ offers real-time table games like roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and game shows including Mega Lucky Ball and Adventures Beyond Wonderland, all hosted by live dealers. The ‘Vegas’ section features mostly slots from various providers like Playtech, Pragmatic Play, and Microgaming, along with some additional casino games. The site also provides sections for Betfred bingo with side slots, poker with game varieties like speed poker, tournaments, cash games, and sit and go’s, but no slots.

Betfred Pros & Cons

In summary, our review of Betfred revealed both positives and negatives. On the plus side, we appreciated the user-friendly betting site and array of markets. However, some areas left room for improvement, such as the outdated design of the site and the somewhat paucity of live streaming. Overall, Betfred offers a solid sportsbook but has some limitations compared to other top UK sports betting sites. We’ve summed up the main pros and cons below.

What We Like:
  • Friendly Fred – Betfred have been around for half a century, so they must be doing something right to survive and become a trusted name.
  • Promotions – promotions are key at Betfred, from the £50 Betfred sign up offer to ongoing promotions for their regulars.
  • Multi-Tasking – usually we are not fond of all-in-one gambling sites, but we’re going to make an exception here at Betfred does it well enough.
  • Fred’s a Supporter – Betfred gives back, sponsoring top sporting tournaments and supporting at the grassroots level too.
Room for improvement:
  • Needs a Paint Job – The site is starting to look really old-fashioned and other Betfred reviews seem to agree with us.
  • Support – FAQs should be better, then you would not need to dive deeper into the customer support depths.
  • No eSports – this is a significant one – why no eSports betting?

Betfred review – Final Thoughts

Betfred has endured for over fifty years, and we would confidently wager that this reputable bookmaker will survive to receive a telegram from King William. Fred and Peter Done have constructed a well-respected betting business that we feel you can trust for all your sports betting needs. We hope this insightful Betfred review assists your decision of whether their secure, excellent site suits you. Check them out risk-free and claim their welcome bonus!

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Peter Addison
Peter Addison

Peter is one of the most well-known and well-respected names working in the field of online sports betting today. Having a Bachelor of Arts degree, Peter has worked for many high-profile publications in the industry, both online and in the real world. He joined the SafestBettingSites team in 2021 and has provided millions of words ever since. When not writing, Peter enjoys performing and writing music, gaming, reading and he is a massive movie buff, with a particular love of Japanese cinema and anime.