Originally Posted by
2birdies
Been using Betfair (I am European) for 10 years now. Short recap of my experiences and what I heard from friends who are pro punters with the Betfair Exchange.
Pro's - Unbeatable if you are a trader in any sport. Unbeatable for the big leagues when it comes to volume on the big markets. Also good for recreational punters since you know you will get 1 tic 'worse off odds' at the very worst case scenario.
Con's - List is longer than I got time for. The insane Premium Charge is perhaps ok to hit the Horse Racing and Tennis Traders that 'Are the market', I can argue for that. But anyone who is a bit better than average will hit the Premium Charge sooner or later (yes, exceptions are there). It only takes a net profit of around $30k to be in for a 20% Betfair extra charge per week. Yes, calculations are blablabla so in reality those 20% ain't 20%, but still. And if you hit around $200k up on the account for a lifetime, its 50% charge on net winnings.... You better find a friend who you can trust, and start all over.
Betfair's IT-personnel is below market average. Way below... The site is too often untrustable and D-Dos attacks today for 6 hours kept the site down for most people (not all for some reason, so some shrewd people could easily pick up free money and nothing you can do about it). If it is a big horse racing day, site has for sure be treated with extreme caution'.
Still, Betfair is a must for anyone who can access it, after all the money is 100% safe, you got the volumes, the markets, everything 'happens there'.