SBR rates BetFair A+, what do you rate them:

rolemand · 08-13-06, 08:16 PM

Well considering they are biased against Americans "F" but I'll abstain from the poll.

ourbet · 08-13-06, 08:42 PM

I gave them an “A-” because I think their commission is a little too high and they’re not that generous with their bonuses. I know it’s kind of ‘nit picking’, bearing in mind they do have so much choice and invariably some of the most competitive lines – but FWIW that’s my reasoning.

althelegend · 08-13-06, 09:01 PM

They have to rate an 'A' despite the high commission rate.
They act impeccably and scrupulously, are highly respected in the business, Co-operate fully with the various sports authorities and have won the Queen's award to industry.

Doug · 08-13-06, 09:01 PM

they don't exist as far as I'm concerned. It's like asking a Canadian to rate Bodog.

tacomax · 08-13-06, 09:03 PM

A+ for me. Although the commission is high, they generally have the best prices out there from a European point of view. And they're safe as houses.

rolemand · 08-13-06, 09:11 PM

Originally posted by tacomax

And they're safe as houses.

I hope you're not referring to Dorothy's house.

Santo · 08-13-06, 10:04 PM

Originally posted by rolemand

Well considering they are biased against Americans "F" but I'll abstain from the poll.

They're not "biased", they just follow the wishes of your government. They're the ones to blame for you not being able to use BF.

BF's position (as with Australia) is that if they follow the letter of the law they'll be the first in line to take advantage when it's regulated. It's worked in Aus so you won't dissuade them from it.

ourbet · 08-14-06, 01:43 AM

Originally posted by Santo

They're not "biased", they just follow the wishes of your government.

An excellent point Santo. After all it's not Betfair's fault that the American people chose George W.'s gang to govern - not once but TWICE!

Ortho · 08-14-06, 04:39 AM

Betfair is like the definition of an A+ book. The prices, while not always the best, are almost always the best, your money is perfectly safe there, in spite of recent posts, I've always had excellent customer service, and I could have every cent that I own in there and sleep comfortably every night.

Things I don't like about them: The 5% commission and their terrible poker software. But the 5% commission is merely an artifact of the lack of anyone to compete with them, and until other exchanges can compete with them specifically in UK horseracing, they will have no incentive to compete on commission.

Really, if you aren't willing to play here, I can't see how you'd be willing to play anywhere else but Pinnacle.

pjesnik24 · 08-14-06, 06:16 AM

well, the only thing which bothers me is the high commission they take. None other exchange I can think of takes so much commission. I just hope that they will start losing customers to Mansion ASAP so that they change that for better!

L1amCasey · 08-14-06, 08:53 AM

Juice high. But compared to the bulk of US sportsbooks - their ownership, SOP's, terms and company policies are very transparent.

isetcap · 08-14-06, 11:51 AM

They're awesome. I like how they won't discuss player complaints, even with the player!

jjgold · 08-14-06, 02:40 PM

You really cannot rate them in USA

American volume is poor also

Great for Euro sports only but most Americans cannot play there and even if they were allowed there would not be much interest. Exchange betting is a flop for Americans

JoshW · 08-14-06, 03:17 PM

I voted B+, I think considering everything that is a fair rating.

SBR_John · 08-14-06, 07:42 PM

Good stuff!

mad · 08-14-06, 07:47 PM

Excellent out, a must have for me.

hobby punter · 08-15-06, 10:47 AM

In the end they payout that's the positive thing.
But their are so many negative thinks:
- they always make problems with withdrawel
Example 1: I had the problem that I could not withdraw because if I want withdraw to moneybookers they tell me I have first to withdraw to neteller and if I want to withdraw to neteller they tell me I have first to withdraw to moneybookers. It took them nearly 1 week to solve this problem.
Example 2: They always tell me that I have withdraw to paypal but all withdraw request they just book back to my account.
- they don't count Betfair points after their rules. In their rules stands that the weekly reduction is at Monday 0:00 o'clock GMT but they calculate games startet after this time for sunday and games ended Sunday afternoon (f.e. 14:45 GMT sunday) for monday.
- they just take away money from every retired team in long term market if you have layed this team, because they calculate an provision also when the risk is higher than the winnings. When the market is settled down you get back the money, but it happens to me that they just took an credit without interest in this way from nearly 300 Euro for more than 1 month.
- the customer service don't know how the Betfair system work
- they often don't respond to emails or it took days to answer.
So when I see all this I can say only D and not more.