2007/01/04 - Ira Nanson on the road

While driving around the towns of Manchester, England I was quite surprised by the number of high street shops belonging to BetFred, they are everywhere!! And seemingly they out number the competitor land based shops belonging to Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral. I know there are some die hard punters out there who prefer to put a betting slip in at the local bookies but I can't help wondering if the online gaming industry will eventually do what cellular phones did to the public telephone box.

2006/12/05 - Review by Ira Nanson

BetFred was established in 1967 by two brothers Fred and Peter Done who, over the years have amassed 600 land based shops throughout the United Kingdom and employ more that 5000 persons, they also gain recognition for being the official bookmaker and gaming partner for Wembley Stadium and Manchester United.

Fred Done himself a gambling man who once wagered more that £1 million in favor of Manchester United finishing ahead of Chelsea in the 2004/5 football season. He lost the wager but I guess it was placed at BetFred so as Chairman and Founder it wasn't a total loss and a great marketing tactic.

Website features include live commentary radio for sports and racing events, live scores / results and live betting plus live racing shows

Using proprietary owned software the pages are sometimes slow to load especially during busy periods. But the interface is clean and the menu system clearly categorizes the sports that are available, which incidentally is substantial with great coverage on English and Scottish football. Odds are also available on horse and greyhound racing, golf, bowls, boxing, cricket, darts, US sports and lots more.

Minimum stake online is £0.20 and £5 for telephone wagering.

Lots of bet types are available including single, each way single, place only, placepot which is a UK tote bet plus double, treble, accumulator, round robin, yankee and many others.

For full details and a comprehensive guide to their bet types you can view the Rules section of the website.

Payment methods include InstaDebit, NETeller, Moneybookers, Western Union, Bank Wire, Citadel and Debit / Credit Cards. For most options the minimum deposit value is £5 or equivalent.

Withdrawal requests are processed within 48 hours but some customers have complained that non UK residents need to jump through hoops to get their money out.

The self proclaimed bonus king is renowned for generous bonus awards and concessions and quite possibly they offer more than any other UK book, once they even gave a free bet to every member called Fred.

Due to the changes in US legislation residents of the United States and citizens are no longer allowed to register as account, deposit funds or place wagers with BetFred.

Perhaps one of the most negative aspects of BetFred is the fact that they are too UK central and need to stretch their legs and step in to the international markets. But essentially it's a good solid book with a sound financial structure and reporting a yearly turnover of £1.5 billion your investment would be safe with them.

SGR Sports Gambling Review rate BetFred :

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