Betfair Poker

Our Betfair Poker Review

Betfair Poker is owned and operated by Flutter Entertainment, one of the biggest betting and gaming companies in the world. The original platform went live in 2001 and, after a stint on the Cryptologic Network, Betfair purchased PokerChamps in 2005. That facilitated a move to Playtech’s massively popular iPoker Network. With dependable software, massive promotions and access to an enormous sports exchange customer base, Betfair is now a major player in the European online poker market.

The current Betfair Poker software was developed by Playtech and utilizes the famed iPoker platform used by major UK poker sites, and more. The gameplay is very good overall with player notes, easy-to-use stats functions and a solid feel. More than anything, it's one of the more stable poker clients, which is obviously paramount.

Perhaps the best feature of Betfair is the loose play, which tends to come from sports bettors looking to try a hand of poker with new found cash. The downside is that there are no American players on Betfair and, subsequently, if it isn’t primetime in Europe, there's a serious lack of action. Having said that, traffic volume overall is in the upper segment of the industry. Real-money player statistics as of April 2021 show 2,150 players at peak hours. This includes an average of 500 ring-game players at any one time and more than 1,500 MTT players.

The quality this operator exudes in abundance is compliance. Betfair Poker complies with all the necessary gambling rules and regulations. It’s not only licenced in the UK by the Gambling Commission and internationally by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), it also had a US license at one point. Although its New Jersey poker room has since closed, Betfair’s parent company, Flutter Entertainment, is still active in the US. Therefore, this operator is a legal and licensed poker brand in the UK, Europe and Canada. 

This Betfair Poker review will explain all of this and more. In the following sections, you’ll learn about:

• Betfair bonuses and promotions
• Betfair Poker rake and rakeback
• Betfair Poker games and software
• Betfair Poker contact details and support

Quick Betfair Poker Preview

PokerListings offers an exclusive 200% match deposit bonus up to €200 at Betfair Poker along with two freeroll tickets. These are exclusive freerolls that take place on a Sunday and have €250 prizepools. This means our unique Betfair Poker welcome bonus will get you up to €200 free, as well as a shot at €500 in cash prizes!

• Betfair Poker Promo Code: None. To activate the sign-up bonus you don't need to enter the bonus code when creating your Betfair Poker account. Simply download the software via our PLAY HERE button.
• Betfair Poker Bonus Payout: Earn 1,250 player points to redeem €10. Bonus is open to new customers only. No Betfair Poker bonus code is required. Unredeemed bonus expires in 90 days.

The PokerListings exclusive Betfair Poker sign up bonus is designed to offer maximum accessibility. Even though there are online poker promotions that have more top-end value, this deal stands out because of its multiplier and wagering conditions. A 200% deposit boost is double the industry average. That means you can credit your account with less and get more. For example, if you’re a novice and only want to deposit €20, that’s fine because you’ll receive €40 in bonus cash. 

The Betfair new player bonus is also great with regards to its wagering terms and conditions. Firstly, you’ll have 90 days before your credits expire. That’s up from 45 days a few years ago and should give you plenty of time to unlock bonus cash. On top of this, you’ll unlock €10 for every 1,250 points you earn. 

At Betfair Poker, the bets-to-points conversion rate is 1:25. In other words, you’ll earn 25 loyalty points for every €1 you rake. That means you need to rake €50 to release €10 of your welcome bonus. That equates to a Betfair Poker rakeback rate of 20%. This is more than respectable and, once you throw two freeroll tickets into the mix, the Betfair sign up offer becomes extremely attractive, particularly for beginners. 

How to Get Your First Deposit Bonus

1. Create an account by clicking ‘PLAY HERE’ on this page.
2. Download the Betfair Poker app or log in via the instant-play platform.
3. Make a deposit of at least €10. *Note: you must do this within 30 days of creating an account. 
4. Collect your Betfair freeroll tickets.
5. Play any real-money games at Betfair Poker to release your bonus credits (1,250 points to release €10 of your bonus). You don’t need any Betfair Poker codes to unlock this offer.

Betfair Poker Loyalty Program

Loyal players get access to a unique program called the VIP Club. As one of the best VIP programs on the iPoker network, players generate points by playing for cash. As we’ve said, you’ll earn 25 points for every €1 you rake. Those points can be spent in the reward store on various cash prizes and, as you’d expect, the more points you earn, the bigger the rewards become. Simple. 

The Betfair Poker VIP program consists of three tiers, each of which unlocks more Betfair rakeback and cash prizes. This means there’s something for everyone, regardless of whether you’re a low stakes grinder or an elite pro. To see how you can progress up the Betfair Poker loyalty ladder and earn up to 35% rakeback, check out the table below.

More Betfair Poker Promotions

The best online poker rooms offer plenty of promotions and Betfair is no exception…

Twister Races - Running every week from Monday to Sunday, these races are your chance to win a share of €12,500 worth of prizes. The aim of the game is simple: play Twister tournaments, earn points and finish within a payout spot on the leaderboard. Unlike similar promos that only give you points when you win a tournament, Betfair rewards everyone. 

For example, if you play a €1 Twister and win, you’ll earn 2 points. If you play and lose, you’ll get 1 point. This system is in place at all buy-ins. So, at the top level, you’ll earn 200 points for winning or 100 points just for taking part in a €100 Twister tournament. Everyone that ranks among the top 250 performers of the week will win Twister tickets worth between €15 and €1,000.

Daily Prize Spins - Every real-money player at Betfair Poker Online can win daily prizes. All you have to do is opt in and complete a simple mission to activate the prize wheel. You get one spin each day you complete a mission and the value of your prize will depend on your VIP status. The list of prizes ranges from Twister tickets to free slot spins and cash. 

So, if you’re a Bronze VIP and you win a Twister ticket, a cash prize could be worth €0.50. If you’re a Gold VIP and hit the same prize, it would be worth €2. Basically, it pays to have a higher VIP status because you’ve got the chance to win daily rewards worth up to €5,000!

Betfair Poker Software and Features

• Instant play and downloadable software
• Lottery-style SNGs 
• Casino side games
• Home Games

The software is provided by the iPoker platform, which is renowned for its reliability and ability to handle volume. The software continues to evolve over time with some great features added, such as a multi-table mini-view, improved graphics, enhanced search functions and the option to multi-table. It's not the most visually stimulating software but it has improved significantly over the last few years.

Table functions are easy to learn, well-oriented and it's easy to customize for preferred limits, table size, currency and game. Cash games, MTTs and sit-and-gos have their own sections in the software, which helps navigation. The site also offers jackpot-style Twister Poker, which can be a nice change of pace. Unfortunately the Betfair Poker iPoker software currently offers no support for Apple devices running OSX. This means Mac fans have to use emulators to play on the Windows version.

One thing that may appeal to some players is that Betfair’s poker betting terms don’t ban the use of tracking software. Although operators such as PokerStars and Partypoker have pushed back against third-party apps in recent years, we couldn’t find Betfair doing the same. This means you can use software to not only collect data on your own play but that of your opponents. 

Betfair Home Games

If you want to play poker with friends, you can send a request to the customer service team. Within the request you need to outline the type of game you want and they’ll do the rest. Although other sites allow you to create private poker rooms directly through the game client, Betfair’s system is still pretty slick. And, moreover, it ensures everything is created to your exact specifications. 

To create a private home game on Betfair Poker, all you need to do is email [email protected] and specify the following:

• Date and time
• Name of game
• Cash game or tournament
• Password (alphanumeric up to 8 characters)
• Min/Max entries
• Seats per table
• Game Type
• Buy-In
• Blind Levels
• Rebuys and Add-ons (if required)

The team will create your game and it should appear inside the Betfair Poker lobby within 48 hours. 

For a direct and free download, click this Betfair Poker download link.

Betfair Poker Tournaments and Freerolls

• MTTs - Multi-table Tournaments
• Freezeout (one chance) and Rebuy Tournaments
• Progressive Bounty (Knockout prizes)
• Satellites (qualify through another lower-buy-in tournament)

Betfair Poker hosts a wide variety of tournaments with buy-ins ranging from a couple of bucks to hundreds of dollars for larger tournaments. On any given day, Betfair Poker runs a number of tournaments with guaranteed prizepools. The biggest is the Sunday Sweat which has a €75,000 guarantee. However, there is a poker tournament for everyone at this site. For example, weekly Fists of Fury MTTs have guaranteed prizepools of €25,000 and €15,000 for buy-ins of just €20 and €10, respectively. 

The Betfair Poker Network also runs a selection of exclusive MTTs, including in-house events. Additionally, the site taps into the iPoker Network’s major tournament festivals, including the Royal Series and the Bounty Hunter Series, both of which offer multiple MTTs and €1 million guarantees.

Finally, Betfair usually runs satellites to almost every big live poker event, including the WSOP, WPT and the EPT. Exclusive Irish Open satellites are also popular and you can often win tickets to the annual event for less than €1. 

• Betfair Poker Freerolls: Betfair Poker also offers over 30 free tournaments every week. Winning a freeroll can earn a seat at one of the biggest tournaments at Betfair, including the large weekly guaranteed tournaments and even live tournaments around the globe.

More Poker Games

It doesn’t matter if you use the Betfair Poker instant play platform or download the poker app (desktop and mobile), there are plenty of games to choose from. We’ve already talked about the tournaments and freerolls you can play but that’s not the end of the story. 

This operator has cash games aplenty, single table tournaments and 6+ Hold’em. And, on top of this, there are play-money games. These are for anyone that wants to have some fun, enjoy the game and make the switch from live poker without risking their bankroll. So, regardless of whether you use the play in browser software or download the Betfair app, there’s something for everyone. 

Cash Games

The bulk of Betfair’s action occurs in the cash game lobby and, from our tests, we determined that this site is best suited to newbies and mid-stakes players. We say this because there are only two variants available: Hold’em and Omaha. Moreover, the table limits start at €0.01/€0.02 and go up to €5/€10 NLH/PLO and €20/€40 Fixed Limit Hold’em. 

That’s a solid selection of games as it covers all the main bases. However, the absence of Stud, Draw and Mixed Games does mean the site is lacking a few things high stakes players desire. Moreover, the table limits aren’t high enough to attract pros. But, and this is important, this is great news for novices. Because the cash game lobby is aimed at casual players,you’ll find plenty of action and not too many skilled grinders. 

• Brush up on your Cash Game Strategy Here

6+ Hold’em

The one facet of Betfair Poker that seasoned grinders will enjoy is 6+ Hold’em. Although the stakes may not be enough to pique the interest of pros, the game itself is one that’s favoured by experienced poker players. This variant is almost identical to Hold’em in terms of its betting structure. However, the twist is that all cards lower than a six have been removed from the deck. 

This means equities run a lot closer (i.e. you’re rarely a huge favourite) and the hand rankings are slightly different (flushes are better than full houses). This is an action-packed variant and Betfair Poker 6+ Hold’em tables are all six-max and range from €4NL up to €200NL. 

Sit & Go

Sit & Go (SNG) tournaments at Betfair are all about Hold’em. Would we like to see other variants added to the mix? Of course. However, we know that almost everyone chooses to play Hold’em SNGs, so it’s not really an issue. 

Buy-ins start at just €0.10, which we love. We also love the fact you can play full-ring, six-max and heads-up SNGs up to €100 buy-ins. Finally, if you’re a fan of action, the hyper turbo tournaments will see you race through games in a matter of minutes. 

Speed Poker (Fast-Fold)

You're instantly dealt a new hand at a new table whenever you fold -- it's basically Fast-fold Poker and you can find it at stakes ranging from €0.02/€0.05 to €1/€2. One point to note is that iPoker changed up its fast-fold poker tables in 2020 and renamed them Football Stars. 

The dynamic of moving players to a new table each time they fold remains in place. However, the number of players per table is now capped at five. Additionally, games now have a football theme and progressive jackpots have been added to the mix. *Note: At the time of writing this Betfair Poker review, Football Stars wasn’t available. 

Betfair Poker Twister

Twisters are a tournament variation of the ultra-popular 3-player Jackpot Turbo SnGs - are also super popular and have buy-ins from €1 - €100. The maximum jackpot is 1,000 times the buy-in! In fact, such is the popularity of these games that Betfair now offers progressive jackpot Twisters. These games have exactly the same format but, in addition to fixed prizes, they’re linked to the Age of the Gods jackpot network. This means you could win prizes worth upwards of €400,000 from a buy-in of just €1. 

Competition and Traffic

Competition ranges from loose at the micro and low limits to relatively loose at higher stakes. In general, the competition is loose and passive, making the site a great place for skilled poker players to clean up. Part of the reason for this is the games on offer. Because Betfair only offers Hold’em and Omaha, the action is appealing to casual players. Why? Well, because novices don’t often play variants such as Razz or 8-Game Mix. 

Betfair Poker is also ideal for beginners and mid-stakes players because it’s linked to one of the world’s best-known sportsbooks. The Betfair Exchange and sportsbook are just a click away. And, because Betfair has a universal wallet system, an account with one automatically means you have an account with the other. 

Therefore, the poker side of Betfair is often frequented by sports bettors and casino players that are looking for some action. And, because poker isn’t their main game, they’re often less experienced which, potentially, makes them soft targets.

Making Deposits and Withdrawals

Betfair is one of the biggest brands in betting and part of the powerhouse that is Flutter Entertainment. As such, it’s fully licensed, extremely secure and highly reputable. From a payment processing perspective, we can say for certain that your money will always be safe. 

Everyone has to verify their identity using photo ID before their first withdrawal is authorised. Additionally, all player funds are stored in something known as a “formal trust account”. This means your money is safe, even if Betfair runs into financial difficulties. One a practical level, the minimum deposit at Betfair Poker is €5. There’s a minimum cashout of €10 and withdrawals are processed within 1 to 24 hours. This means you should receive your winnings within 2 to 5 days under normal circumstances when you use the following payment methods:

Betfair Poker Support

The Betfair Poker FAQ is packed with information. In fact, it’s one of the best FAQs we’ve seen. The only issue is that it’s not always easy to find what you’re looking for. The database isn’t organised in a particularly accessible way, so you may have to do some digging to find the answers you need. 

If you need a more direct form of support, the Betfair Poker customer service team is available 24/7. The operators aim to respond to emails within 4 hours which is excellent. Additionally, we spoke to a member of the live chat team and had to wait just a few minutes for help. So, overall, you can expect a slick service when you use these Betfair Poker help tools:

• Betfair Poker FAQ
• Betfair Live Chat
• Betfair Poker Email: [email protected]
• Betfair Phone Number: 0844 871 7000

Betfair Poker Download Steps

This operator offers an instant play client for those that don’t want to download any software. However, if you want the best overall experience, you can install the Betfair Poker client on your PC, Mac, iPhone or Android mobile by following these steps:

1. Click here to register for an account and start the Betfair Poker app download process. 
2. Create your personal Betfair Poker login and verify your details when promoted. 
3. Hit the “download” button to install Betfair on your computer. Alternatively, use the onsite links to visit your native app store and get the Betfair Poker mobile application.
4. Load up the software, enter your account details and open the site. 
5. Head to the cashier page to make a deposit of at least €5 and start playing. 

Our Betfair Poker Rating

Betfair Poker UK might not be the biggest brand in the business but it's got all the markings of a high-quality site. Indeed, under the banner of Flutter Entertainment, this site shares a stable with the likes of Stars and that means it has a highly-experienced team calling the shots. Therefore, even though Betfair is better known as a sports betting company, its poker site is far from a lame duck. 

During our Betfair review, we were pleasantly surprised by the welcome bonus and selection of exclusive freerolls. We were also impressed by the amount of low and mid-stakes action, as well as the inclusion of 6+ Hold’em games. 

Naturally, we’d like to see more provisions for non-Hold’em fans and high stakes players. However, with rakeback up to 35%, soft players and solid software, we think there’s plenty of value for newbies, novices and rising stars. So, if you want to get Betfair Poker on your iPad, iPhone, Android or desktop device, make sure you use the secure registration links on this page.

Sign up, create poker nickname and click through displayed free spin message. Deposit/transfer minimum of £10 into the Poker wallet & opt in to unlock missions. See full T&Cs below (on Betfair Poker).