Betfair Review 2023 – Is it worth your esports bets?

BONUS OFFER

£100 in extra bets for new customers

Betfair have given new customers a great reason to sign up to the website, as the brand promise to give you up to £100 in extra bets. All you need to do is sign up and place five bets of £10 or more to get £20 in extra bets, and you can do this five times to get the full £100 allowance.

There are some wagering conditions to be aware of however. In particular, you can only make qualifying bets on events with odds of 1.5 or over, and exchange bets are excluded from the Betfair bonus offer. In addition to this, you get just 30 days to use your extra bets after opening your account otherwise they will be declared void.

This welcome offer isn’t open to anybody who uses Skrill or Neteller to make their first deposits. But on the whole it should give punters a pretty good reason to sign up to the Betfair esports service. Check out how the brand’s welcome bonus offer compares to some of the best CSGO bonus offers around at the moment.

Terms and Conditions apply:

New Customer offer. Place 5 x €10 or more bets to receive €20 in free bets. Repeat up to 5 times to receive maximum €100 bonus. Min odds 1/2 (1.5). Exchange bets excluded. 

BETTING MARKETS

Lack of CSGO options currently

Many sports betting websites who have introduced esports odds like Betway have provided punters with a broad selection of CSGO markets to wager on. Unfortunately, when we carried out this review, we found that Betfair had little in the way of CSGO betting opportunities.

Whilst the brand had a good selection of betting markets on other iconic esports titles like League of Legends and Dota 2, we found nothing for CSGO here. So if you want to try some esports betting at Betfair, you might be disappointed with the lack of options at the moment.

However, it’s worth remembering that this could be because of the fact that there aren’t many major esports tournaments like the ESL Pro League or the ELeague Boston Major taking place at the moment. And the brand does mention how it could be including odds for the Starladder CSGO tournaments in the upcoming months. So be sure to check back to see whether Counterstrike betting at Betfair becomes a bigger feature in the future.

CUSTOMER CARE

Live chat and telephone but no email

Whether you need to ask Betfair about CSGO betting, or just want some help in setting up your account, then you’ll need to get in touch with a Betfair customer representative.

The easiest way to do this is to use the handy live chat feature where Betfair pledge to get back in touch with you in under 30 seconds. Alternatively, you can also use the telephone hotline where you can also expect to get a response in half a minute.

Unfortunately, there is no dedicated email address for the brand’s customer service. However, the brand does have an active Twitter account that can be used for getting in touch. And don’t forget to use the Betfair FAQ for answers to some of the most common queries about the Betfair esports service.

PAYMENT METHODS

Most common payment brands available

If you want to bet on the Betfair esports service, then you’ll need to make a deposit via the brand’s preferred range of payment options. You can use respected credit and debit cards like MasterCard, Visa, and Visa Electron to do this.

You can also use some of the more popular e-wallets like Neteller, Skrill, Clickandbuy, and also PayPal to make your first steps towards enjoying some Counterstrike betting at Betfair’s exchange.

However, it should be stated that Betfair do apply some transaction fees to some of the withdrawals, and they also don’t make any provision for using Bitcoin to make your deposits. But on the whole, Betfair give us a good selection of payment methods that equals most other CSGO betting sites.

SECURITY AND SAFETY

Licensed and regulated by UK Gambling Commission

Online security is hugely important for when you are making deposits at esports betting sites as there are plenty of shady operators who deal in skin gambling out there. Thankfully you won’t have to worry about this if you go to Betfair’s CS:GO esports betting service.

This is because the brand are fully licensed and regulated by both the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority. Both of these organisations aim to ensure that all online betting operators provide their customers with a service that is safe, fair and transparent.

In addition to this, the brand’s website is secured by Norton Technologies to ensure that your deposits and personal details are kept out of reach from any potential hacking attempts. And with a water-tight 2-step authentication method, it seems that the Betfair esports service is more secure than many CSGO betting sites.

BETTING ODDS

Is Betfair the best CSGO betting site for odds?

As Betfair is a famous betting exchange, it’s clear that it treats odds a little differently from most of the other CSGO gambling sites out there. This is because the brand allows punters to trade odds on all kinds of esports bets.

Unfortunately, when we made our checks, there weren’t any CSGO bets on offer. But historically Betfair’s CS:GO esports betting service managed to give punters competitive and fair odds to make a handy profit on.

So be sure to check back with Betfair to see whether the popular betting exchange can match CSGO gambling sites like Pinnacle who have traditionally excelled at giving punters something a little extra on their CSGO bets.

INTERFACE AND DESIGN

Intuitive website and user-friendly app

Unlike some gambling sites that can often be hard to navigate, Betfair’s website is remarkably simple to get around. Whether you are looking to find the latest selection of esports in-play bets, or are looking for information on the brand’s signing up procedure, you can perform most tasks in the bare minimum of clicks.

We should also pay special attention to the brand’s range of apps. You can download a sports betting app and a betting exchange app to your iOS and Android smartphones and tablets and get the full Betfair esports experience whilst out and about.

So if you are looking for a simple and easy way to make your first esports bets, then be sure to check out Betfair’s great website and apps.

LIVE BETTING

Limited selection of CSGO in-play bets

All esports betting fans will know that there’s nothing like taking a last-minute bet to really add some adrenaline to the experience.

Some CSGO gambling sites like Arcanebet have really taken this to heart as they even include a live streaming facility where you can watch the action unfolding in real-time to guide your esports betting strategies.

Unfortunately, Betfair have yet to meet the standard set by Arcanebet. This is because they not only fail to include any live streaming of their esports, but when we checked, we didn’t find any in-play bets for current esporting events. However, the brand have a very impressive selection of live betting facilities for their other sporting options, so it’s surely just a matter of time before they introduce this feature to their esports bets.

LIMITS

Acceptable limit of £10,000 on winnings

If you’re placing an esports bet at Betfair, then you are going to want to know exactly how much you stand to win. Thankfully the brand’s terms and conditions clearly state that they have set a betting limit of £10,000 on all markets for esports.

This is a little underwhelming when you consider that Betfair have a betting limit of up to £1 million for certain football markets. But as the brand continues to improve its esports betting service, we can hope that they will raise the ceiling on their betting limits in the future.

Whilst the £10,000 betting limit on esports bets is still a significant sum, it’s less than you would get at 10Bet, so click here to see how much you could win at this popular CSGO betting website.

OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES

Sportsbook, exchange, casino games and more

It’s obvious that Betfair’s esports betting service is only just getting going. So if you were looking for more wagering entertainments beyond their limited selection of League of Legends and Dota 2 bets, then you can look forward to plenty of gambling fun.

The Betfair sportsbook is truly huge and gives everyone a chance to bet on anything from horse racing to football, tennis, cricket and golf. But most people will probably want to check out the brand’s famous exchange to see how they can trade their bets for a great way to make a decent profit.

Don’t forget that Betfair also have plenty of great casino gaming sections like Macau and Vegas slots. We particularly enjoyed the live casino options at Betfair with roulette and blackjack games being particularly impressive.

And with many other gambling entertainments such as football jackpots, bingo and virtual sports, it showed us that Betfair wasn’t short of ideas.

CONCLUSION

Our final verdict on CS:GO betting at Betfair

It’s clear that Betfair have some way to go before they can truly compete with the best CSGO betting sites. Although the brand makes plenty of indications that they cater to Counter-strike betting fans, when we checked, there simply weren’t any markets that featured the iconic first-person shooter.

However, the brand seem to be getting started in their esports betting ambitions. So it’s hopefully just a matter of time before they start to include some CSGO betting options.

But on the whole, the brand’s welcome bonus, great customer support, and easy-to-use website means that we should keep our eyes on this popular betting exchange in the future.

How do you rate Betfair’s esports betting service?