- Betfair
- Numerous Welcome Bonuses
- Generous Game Selection
- Easy to Use Mobile App
- UK Gambling Licence
- Play Now!
Betfair, The Betting ‘Revolution’
Betfair, a ‘Revolution’ founded way back in 1999 by Andrew Black & Edward Wray, it has now become one of the top casinos where all the action is. With claims of around 4 million members, over 1 million active daily, I have reviewed this casino from top to bottom to provide you with the assurances of whether it lives up to this reputation or not. This review will include, amongst others, a choice of the best games available which, some would say, is the most important point to note. It will be, without a doubt, an in-depth, reliable & accurate account of its strengths & weaknesses.
- Game Selection:Nearly 400 Casino Games
- Jackpots:111
- RTP:91.3–100%
- Gambling Licence:UK Gambling Commission
Within this casino review, I’ll provide you with a detailed overview of items such as their available bonuses & payment options to their Terms & Conditions. Also via this thorough evaluation, you’ll be able to determine its capabilities when it comes to the live games and mobile app.
A Generous Selection of the Best Games9
As mentioned above, a choice of the best games available is the most important point to note when it comes to reviewing a casino. This will include the availability, quantity and variety of games, whether they be accessed via the main website, Live Casino, the Downloadable PC or Mobile App. I’ll also include a review of the various jackpots and betting limits available.
Availabilty and Quantity of Games
With over five hundred games to play across the whole Betfair casino, the quantity of games is satisfyingly rich enough to keep you hooked for some time. As with a lot of casinos, there is a wide choice of table games, scratch cards and video poker, but the lion’s share is made up of slots. Under the “Casino” tab, there are around 150 slots from the Playtech group of companies.
You’ll find plenty of these Playtech games based on Marvel characters, like The Avengers and The X-Men. These Marvel games feature the Marvel Progressive Jackpot, which is a combination of four individual Jackpots, aptly named “The Power Jackpot”, “The Super Power Jackpot”, “The Extra Power Jackpot” and “The Ultimate Power Jackpot”. A certain percentage of every bet goes into one these progressive jackpots. To have a chance of winning one of these four jackpots, you must access, completely at random, a bonus round where you must match three identical tiles, which are linked to one of the aforementioned jackpots. Now don’t worry, from this point on you’ve already won one of these jackpots, just by getting to this random bonus game. And once you’ve played the bonus game and collected your jackpot, the game is over and you’re returned to the slot you were initially playing.
Also included under the “Casino” tab are a few sport and TV-themed games based on Top Trumps, Deal or No Deal and the official Britain’s Got Talent. Additionally, within the “Arcade” and “Vegas Slots” tabs, there are over 200 more slots from other major game providers. This amount of choice gives players the option of playing an assortment of top quality slots from a variety of providers.
The Most Popular Games at Betfair Casino | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Slots (377) | Roulette (27) | Blackjack (18) | Table Games (15) | Video Poker (21) |
King Kong | NewAR Roulette | Perfect Blackjack | Caribbean Stud Poker | Aces and Faces |
Jackpot Giant | Premium French Roulette | Blackjack Surrender | Baccarat | Deuces Wild |
Rocky | Multi-wheel Roulette | Blackjack Switch | Craps | Tens or Better |
Top Trumps Celeb | Marvel Roulette | Half Double Blackjack | Sic Bo | 2 Ways Royal |
Captain America | Mini Roulette | Zero Blackjack | Casino Hold’Em | Zero Jacks or Better |
Little Britain | 3D Roulette Premium | Progressive Blackjack | Red Dog | Megajacks |
If variety is the spice of your life, then you’re in luck because in addition to the numerous slots, there are over 80 other games to choose from. Popular table games such as blackjack and roulette are to be found at this casino with standard versions and interesting variants abound from 3D Roulette, Mini Roulette and NewAR Roulette to 21 Duel Blackjack, Perfect Blackjack and Lucky Blackjack. Amongst the other available games are another 36 ranging from various versions of Poker, Baccarat, Craps and Sic Bo to video poker games such as Aces & Faces, Deuces Wild and Zero Jacks or Better. Another benefit found within Betfair casino is the option to play the bulk of the games in demo mode. As a consequence, this means you can experience any of the games before depositing anything. However, there is one thing to remember and that is, live games are only available in play money mode along with a few other games here and there.
Quality Live Games from a Software Giant7
With live casino games from the iGaming Software Giant Playtech, you can expect the quality and quantity to be the best of the best and nothing less. They don’t disappoint as there is a wide range of top quality games and tables from Roulette and Blackjack to Baccarat, Casino Hold’em and Sic Bo. See our live casino review for all the details regarding all the games, dealers and betting limits.
Plenty of Games for your Mobile Device6
For those players who are always on the move and really enjoy their casino games, Betfair deliver the goods when it comes down to a choice of games for your mobile device. Plenty of them are slots, including a few progressive jackpots with roulette and blackjack amongst others thrown into the mix. There are also a few live dealer games available to be played. Check out our dedicated app review for more details regarding the available mobile games, compatible devices and where you can download the app from.
Accommodating Table Limits Reviewed
Betting limits vary between the type of game being played as well as between the games themselves. This couldn’t be more evident than with the slots, they can be found easily within each game with the maximum clearly mentioned. There are quite a few which allow you to bet from just 1p per pay-line to those which allow you to bet a minimum of £2.40 per spin. On the flip side of the coin, regarding maximum bets, these vary from £4 to a £1000 per spin. So as you can clearly see, the limits vary but all expenditures are accommodated.
With roulette, the same can also be found as there are likewise a variety of betting limits to appeal to a variety of players. Minimum bets vary from 1p to £5 per stake. Whereas the maximum vary from £2000 to the top-drawer £10000 per stake. Blackjack betting limits is the game for the high rollers as they allow bets up to a favourable £20000 per stake. They also allow bets to suit low-stake players with minimum limits ranging from 10p to £5 per stake.
RTP Percentages, What to Expect10
The RTP, meaning The Return to Player percentage or theoretical pay-out percentage, is what a player can expect to receive back over a certain time. It can be found within each games “Help” file contained within “Options” at the top of the individual games window. It is frequently misinterpreted or missed by the majority of players but it is good way of determining how well one casino compares to another. Betfair’s RTP has been tested and approved by Gaming Associates (GA) Ltd., an independent testing facility that has been accredited and approved to test compliance against the technical standards and equipment requirements of the United Kingdom Gaming Commission. All this means, without a shadow of a doubt, that you choose whether this casino is for you or not as you’ll have all the facts and figures in front of you.
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- Classic Slots
- Video Slots
- Roulette
- Blackjack
- Table Games
- Video Poker
- Scratch Cards
- Arcade Games
- ..
- .....
- RTP(%)
As you can see from the table above, the theoretical payout percentage for slots ranges from 92% to 97% which presents a casino that is worthy of the respect it deserves. The theoretical RTP, for all games, will depend upon the rules of the game being played. With some versions of Baccarat, Blackjack and a video poker game called “Zero Jacks or Better”, there is in theory, an RTP of 100%. This means that for these card and table games, there is no house edge making Betfair the first and only casino that currently offers this to its customers. Other card and table versions range from 94% upwards. Roulette pays out between 94% and 97% due to the various versions of the classic spin-the-wheel game. With American, European and French versions, there is plenty of choice for the roulette connoisseur.
Hassle Free Website and Impressive Software10
My first impressions of the Betfair website were that it is bright and informative along with an easy and fast game selection which I would say is down to the very good software in use. You can, without too much hassle, experience a number of games within a matter of minutes. This software is provided by Playtech along with the majority of the games. I consider this to be one of the leading benefits for this casino as they’re one of the best casino game and software suppliers in the industry. Playtech has won a number of respected awards recently with the titles of Platform of the Year and RNG Casino Supplier of the Year at the 2015 EGR awards amongst them. There are other game suppliers and these range from IGT, Microgaming and NetEnt to NextGen, Endemol and Barcrest. Across the top of the homepage, you’ll find links to the various casino products and game variations that will be discussed later on in this review. All these positives allow players to quickly embark on an adventure with their much-loved game.
Software Provider | Playtech |
Website | www.playtech.com |
Game Developer(s) | Playtech, IGT, Odobo, Barcrest, Williams Interactive, NextGen Gaming, Endemol Games, Electracade |
Languages | English, Danish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Greek |
Download-Size | 941KB/3.01MB |
Hardware Requirements | 1.6GHz CPU (Pentium 4), 512 MB RAM, 16MB Video Card, 512Kbit network connection, at least 1GB of free disk space, Adobe Flash Player 11.3 or newer |
Software Requirements | Windows 2000 or more recent |
Instant Play Requirements | Downloadable version of Flash Player and supported browser such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. |
There are two ways to play the games, one is via the casinos website in instant play mode using Adobe Flash Player and your chosen browser. The other is a software download that can be downloaded within a couple of minutes, its free of charge and works with Windows XP and above. There are a few differences between the two layouts, one being, the downloadable version allows its games selection to be modified by allowing you the option of saving your favourite games thus giving you an immediate and pleasing access to them. Another difference being, there are few more games on the website version as oppose to the downloadable software but no more than a handful of difference. With the software download, I found it that bit slicker with the games loading and playing a bit faster than online. One thing that is the same is they’re both displayed in a fresh, easy to navigate way.
Oh I forgot, there is one other minor, maybe major difference between the download and the instant play casinos, and that is, only Playtech games are available to be played in the download version. So, the various other game providers that are found in the Arcade, Vegas and Macau tabs can only be played in the casinos online version. Another difference worth mentioning, is that all the games in the downloaded software have a small summary with details like the acceptable betting limits and other key features, such as free spins, cash or bonus rounds. All these details can be viewed before you attempt to try your luck with your choice of game.
The Betting ‘Revolution’ in More Detail
With a reported annual active customer base over 950,000 in less than 20 years, you can say it has been a busy few years for The Betting ‘Revolution’. With this amount of success comes plenty of players which means player protection has to be taken seriously and this is certainly the case with Betfair as they make it their Number 1 priority. They utilise the best encryption software around when it comes to keeping their players safe. They also encourage responsible gambling, so you know without a shadow of a doubt that they are committed to you when you’re playing one of their many interesting games.
Some Fascinating Facts about the company behind Betfair
Betfair Casino Limited and Betfair Entertainment Limited, the divisions responsible for the casino parts of Betfair PLC, are headquartered in Santa Venera, Malta. It also has operations in the UK, Ireland, Australia and America. There are also three other major parts to the Betfair PLC group and they are: Betfair Sportsbook (Fixed Odds Sports Betting), Betfair Exchange (Lay Betting) and Betfair USA (Their North American operation). In addition to these, the company also provides bingo, poker, football pools and virtual sports betting. The company currently has a turnover of over £393 million a year. Betfair PLC sponsors five English Premier League teams by advertising on their stadium perimeter boards. The company which was started back in 1999 became listed on the London Stock Exchanges FTSE 250 in October 2010.
More Information about Betfair Casino | |||
---|---|---|---|
Company | Support | Security | Player Protection |
Name:Betfair Casino Limited | Live Chat:24/7 | Encryption128-bit SSL Verisign | Deposit Limits:Available |
Head Office:Triq II Kappillan, Santa Venera, SVR 1851, Malta | Phone:0344 871 0000 | Licence:39435 | Activity Limitations:Deposit & loss limits |
Parent Company:Betfair | Email:[email protected] | IT-SecurityNorton Secured | Self Exclusion:Available / Time out |
CEO:Breon Corcoran | Contact Form:available | RTP AnalysisGaming Associates (GA) | Protection of Minors:Available |
Customers:1.7 million | Other: Twitter helpdesk | Money Laundering Prevention:ID-Check after prior to first withdrawal | Problem Gambling Organisations:Gamcare, Gambling Therapy, Gamblers Anonymous, Gamble Aware |
Accommodating, Courteous and Informative Customer Support8
These days you can find many ways to communicate with the various casinos customer support teams and with Betfair it is no different as within the help section, there is the option to live chat, speak via telephone or e-mail the customer service team. The typical email response times is published online and is set at 2-4 hours. I submitted a couple of e-mail queries to test this theory out and received a message back stating that I’d be contacted “as soon as possible”. This wasn’t far of the mark as that each and every time I sent an email, I had a response back within the hour, top drawer customer support, I’d say. When calling with a query, I found the customer service agent to be accommodating, courteous and informative. The two downsides to making this call was the cost which is up to 45p per minute depending on whether you’re calling form a landline or mobile. Also the availability of the support team is limited to 17 hours a day. With live chat being the quickest way of communicating, I would suggest this option as they’re available 24 hours a day/7 days a week and its free. All this says to me, is that a players’ needs are somewhat paramount to this casino.
Licence, Security and Responsible Gambling all Prioritised 10
To operate legally within the law, all online casinos need to hold a valid and up-to-date gambling licence. For customers of Great Britain, Betfair is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (Licensee number 39435). For customers of other countries: Betfair is licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority (Licensee number MGA/CL1/294/2006). Both the commission and the authority are trusted associations who approve and govern all commercial gambling within the online gambling and gaming sector. Both licenses demonstrate that the casino operates within a decent manner with strict codes of practice clearly observed in respect of its customers’ protection.
Betfair places player protection and their security at the top of its list of priorities. Their commitment and determination to their players’ is exhibited through their dedicated privacy and security measures in addition to a good ethical code of business. The organisation utilises certain specifics to guarantee that their site is malware and virus protected. In addition to these numerous guarantees, all data between customer and casino is kept private and sensitively using a 128-piece SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption, which is certified by the Trusted Secure Certificate Authority 5. The impartiality and honesty of their games is sustained through Technical Systems Testing (TST), a sub-division of Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), an independent testing agency who review and screen the random number generator. They’re approved by all casino regulatory bodies.
Betfair recommends customers to gamble responsibly which is why it has implemented various measures devoted to their players’ protection. These measures, which apply to all games, allow a certain degree of customisation to their account by offering the option of session limits. This session limit option allows them to limit themselves on how much they can bet within a certain period of time. There are two other ways to limit yourself from the website. These can be easily set up by accessing your account online and following the instructions displayed to take advantage of one of the restrictions. Likewise, there is also valuable advice available on the website to assist players with identifying and counteracting habitual gambling. They supply direct links to expert associations such as Gamblers Anonymous, Gambling Therapy and GamCare for any player who needs further assistance and support with problematic gambling. Betfair has also undertaken several measures and guarantees that under-age gambling won’t happen upon their website, including identity checks to confirm a players’ age.
A Good Set of Bonus Points Achieved4
Betfair is obviously a cut above the rest casino operator but they haven’t won any industry awards for their services, as of late. On the plus side though, the majority of their games are provided by Playtech, one of the best gambling software development companies out there and they have won a number of respected awards for their games, online betting and casino software. The selection of games provided by Playtech at this casino features many slots based on famous characters such as the X-Men and Avengers series, Marilyn Monroe and Rocky, the 1976 American boxing film. This is why I’ve awarded them 2 bonus points, as Playtech have provided them with truly special games.
- Awards.0/3
- Promotions.1/3
- Special Games.2/2
- Loyalty Scheme.1/1
- Extras.0/1
- Bonus Points.4
There are a number of good choice bonuses and promotions on offer, which according to me, appeared to alter on a daily and weekly basis. They were found on their own page, offering a wide assortment of bonuses, slots, free spins, and cash match-ups to choose from. I have consequently awarded them another bonus point for this good selection of promotions. Their VIP Club, for those very important people out there, also earned them another bonus point as it provides some genuine and exclusive benefits.
My Evaluation of a Good Online Casino
When thinking about what to write for my general evaluation of this online casino, I decided to go with it’s not a badly designed website with plenty of games to choose from. There are some huge prizes, which is great for any player with a limited amount of money but big dreams. These dreams can sometimes come true, especially when there are jackpots of over £100,000 available on a regular basis with the odd occasion, prizes being beyond the £1 Million mark. The RTP across most all games, tops out at 100% which makes it a great casino for all those winners out there. The 24/7 availability of the customer service is definitely a good thing for me which I’m sure will be the same for the majority of customers out there as they’re more than accommodating whenever you need them. My view regarding the bonuses is also good as there are a variety of welcome bonuses to choose from as well as a dedicated live casino welcome bonus, it can’t get any better than that. A couple more things to mention are the extensive choice of mobile games for those that love a flutter when on the move. The live games also make it a worthwhile online casino to visit to play your favourite version of Blackjack or Roulette.
- Major Strengths
- Generous Game Selection
- Numerous Welcome Bonuses
- Easy to use mobile app
- Major Weaknesses
- None
- Minor Strengths
- Numerous payment methods
- 24/7 live chat available
- Minor Weaknesses
- Limited telephone customer support
So in any event, you require a casino where you have a good selection of games with an over and above RTP, then Betfair is for you as all online, mobile and download game versions are among some of the best games around. Betfair is also for you if you’re looking for rewarding bonuses in addition to some exclusive quality games from one of the top one of the leading software providers in the world.
One downside with such a good selection of games to choose from is that you might find it slightly difficult to find the slot or other casino game you’re looking for but I’m sure once you get the hang of the site, you’ll have no problems. Another is the various fees that apply to some of the popular depositing methods but I’m sure you can offset it against your numerous winnings that you’re bound to win if you give this casino a chance.
Questions and Answers
If you have any questions about anything covered in this review, or indeed any other queries you would like to raise, please feel free to email us at . Here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions from our readers.
What is Betfair Casino VIP and how do I benefit from it?
The Betfair Casino VIP club is a loyalty program with 5-star benefits. There are 3 VIP levels, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. Earn Casino Comp Points to reach a VIP status. For full details, see the Betfair Casino VIP Club page.