Betfair

Betfair was founded by two British entrepreneurs - Andrew Black and Edward Wray in 2000 and quickly became an alternative to traditional betting. The main idea behind Betfair is that the punters can bet against each other without the need for a bookmaker. This makes Betfair the first sports betting exchange in the world.

The company has run various innovative marketing campaigns over the years but the most remarkable and provocative one remains their first mass event – a mock funeral parade in London, which was called “Death to the Bookmaker."

In 2002, Betfair started sponsoring Fulham FC. The company bought offices in Hammersmith, London, which later became the company's headquarters.

Betfair invested in three new ventures - online poker, casino, and a platform for mobile devices over the period 2004-2006.

Softbank purchased 23% of Betfair in early April 2006 valuing the company at £1.5 billion. In 2010 Betfair floated on the London Stock Exchange with a stock symbol of BET at £13.

The company remains true to its’ core concept of sports betting exchange service and yet Betfair has also been offering traditional betting and fixed odds since 2012.

In September 2015 it was disclosed that Paddy Power and Betfair had agreed on terms for a merger. The merger of the two companies was complete on February 2, 2016 The new company is called Paddy Power Betfair and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

Pecheli rating: 10/10

BMR rating: 4

Company: TSE Development Limited, part of the Betfair Group (for the UK)

Jurisdiction: Gibraltar (for the UK) / Malta

Server Locations: Gibraltar (for the UK) / Malta

Аddress: Waterfront, Hammersmith Embankment, London, W6 9HP

Customer support: support@betfair.com

Phone: +44 203 059 8888 (UK)

Language versions: Bulgarian, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Greek, Turkish, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Czech

Currencies: AUD, CAD, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, NOK, SEK, SGD, USD

Payment options: Bank Wire, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Instadebit, Neteller, Ucash, Skrill (Moneybookers)

Inactivity fees: 5 EUR monthly fee for any deactivated account. Accounts become deactivated after 13 months of inactivity.

Other services: Games, Casino, Poker

Live betting: yes

Live streaming: yes

Mobile betting apps: Android, iOS, Windows Phone

Restricted countries: Belgium, Germany, Greenland, Greece, DRC, Eritrea, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Canada, China, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Libya, Lebanon, Mexico, Portugal, United States, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, France, and Japan.

Dispute resolution body: IBAS