Betfred

Owners Fred and Peter Done claim Betfred to be the world's largest privately owned betting company.

Betfred has its head office in Warrington in the North West of England where it manages the operation of over 850 betting shops in the UK. Betfred's telephone betting, online gaming and internet betting interests are based in Gibraltar but the company remains very much focused on UK and Irish horse racing and sports betting markets.

BACKGROUND

In 1967 the Done brothers borrowed £4000 to open a betting shop in Salford, Manchester and gradually expanded to own three shops after five years. The brothers' bookmaking business was branded as Done Bookmakers and remained within the Greater Manchester area until the mid nineties when they branched farther afield and bought a chain of nine shops in the north east of England.

While continuing to expand the shop estate, the company opened a telephone call centre in 2002 and 2 years later the business was re-branded Betfred and the internet betting site Betfred.com was launched.

Betfred takes a very unique approach to bookmaking epitomised by chairman Fred Done with his sobriquet the 'Bonus King' gained from the bold bonuses and concessions Betfred offers to its customers. Betfred currently offer one of the most straightforward free bet offers in the UK .

The Betfred name can be seen sponsoring a variety of horse races and sporting events, at the time if writing Betfred is the main sponsor of the World Snooker Championship and is the official bookmaker at Wembley Stadium.

OFFERS AND PROMOTIONS

Special offers and bonuses have long been at the heart of Betfred's business model and the formula that was successfully applied throughout their betting shops has been continued in similar vein with many offers for telephone and internet customers.

Betfred claims to have invented the Lucky 15 bet and is the first bookmaker to extend the provision of early prices to all UK horse races. Betfred was also the first bookmaker to offer 'best price guaranteed' races, the company has always offered big bonuses on multiple bets and has gained valuable publicity by paying out early on events that have still to be decided. Fred Done is a lifelong Manchester United supporter but the Company lost £500 000 in 1998 when he was the first ever bookie to pay out early on the Premier League title winners . Manchester United were 12 points clear of Arsenal when he paid out to delighted in March but the Gunners amazingly bounced back to cost Betfred a small fortune .

Betfred update the website with interesting and innovative offers , bonuses and concessions every day. Betfred remain one of the few online bookies who offer treble odds for one winner on the Lucky 15 bet. Currently a FREE £50 bet is available to all new customers who register on the Betfred.com internet site .

BETTING OPPORTUNITIES

Betfred offer markets on a wide range of sports and the list is as exhaustive as most of its competitors.

Betfred has a unique console available for betting in-running with in-play markets on all major football, cricket and golf events.

UK horse racing at Betfred is particularly strong and all early prices are guaranteed with big bonuses available on multiple bets such as 100% bonus on an all correct Lucky 63 bet.

Overall, it is difficult to fault the depth of betting coverage as Betfred provides dozens of betting markets for mainstream football matches, sports events and race meetings.

DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Betfred's website follows the traditional style adopted by many bookmakers and works on the reliable Finsoft betting platform. Presentation of the home page is uncluttered with major sports events to the fore and Betfred's excellent special offers and promotions well publicised.

Live betting is dominant as one would expect with the live betting window very much 'in your face'.

NAVIGATION

Browsing the Betfred website is quick and easy thanks to the familiar lay out and quick links to the next event due 'off' and popular sports events such as horseracing, football, greyhounds and golf makes for a trouble free experience.

With Betfred offering many enhanced odds and special bets, the company ensures it directs customers to the best value at all times.

Betfred accept payments in the following currencies; AUD, CAD, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, ISK, JPY, MYR, NOK, NZD, SEK, SGD, THB, USD, ZAR and the following deposit methods are available; Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Visa Electron, Delta, Laser, Bank Wire, Check, Neteller, Western Union, Moneybookers, Citadel.

At the time of writing Betfred's website is available in just two languages, English and Spanish and it can display odds in three formats, decimal, fractions and American.

MOBILE BETTING

Betfred provide a Java application for download to compatible mobile handsets, full details of compatible devices are provided in the mobile and help sections.

Betfred also has a WAP betting service which can be accessed by any WAP enabled mobile phone. Free bets can of course be place using your mobile device .

LIVE STREAMS

At the time of writing, Betfred does not offer a live video streaming service.

AUDIO

Betfred provides live audio commentary for all UK and Irish horse racing and greyhound racing in addition to football and cricket matches. Betfred also has an audio news and video features in the Betting News section.

FORM AND STATS

Betfred provides an interactive racecard via the Statistics link with results, form, tips and trends available. There are also fairly basic stats available for football, golf and cricket.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Betfred's Help Centre is accessible from every page and offers a freephone telephone available form 7.00am to 11.00pm, guides FAQs and email contact.

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