Betfair review
Australia's only licensed betting exchange
Betfair is the only betting exchange licensed to operate in Australia, which makes it structurally different from every bookmaker it sits alongside. You bet against other customers rather than against the house, and Betfair takes a commission on net winnings instead of building a margin into the odds. That suits punters who want to lay outcomes, trade a racing position in running, or simply avoid the account restrictions bookmakers apply to consistent winners. The trade-off is a learning curve: the exchange interface, matched-bet mechanics and commission model all take time to read fluently.
How the rating breaks down
Our methodologySix criteria, each scored out of ten. The headline 9.0 is their mean — nothing is weighted behind the scenes.
What works, what doesn't
Our editorial view after working through the exchange, its pricing model and its account controls.
- The only betting exchange licensed in Australia — back and lay any listed outcome
- Commission on net winnings instead of a margin built into the odds
- Licensed by the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission under the Racing and Wagering Act 2024
- Deep racing and sport markets, with in-play trading on racing — which is exempt from Australia's online in-play ban
- Native apps for iOS and Android alongside the desktop exchange
- Winning accounts are not restricted the way bookmaker accounts commonly are
- Exchange mechanics — matched bets, lay liability, commission — take time to learn
- Liquidity is thin outside major racing and sport markets, so some bets go unmatched
- Commission on winnings means the headline odds are not the final return
- No bookmaker-style promotions programme to compare against rival operators
Accounts, money and support
What to expect when you actually use the account. Operational details change without notice, so treat the operator's own pages as authoritative.
- Visa debit
- Mastercard debit
- PayPal
- POLi
- BPAY
- Bank transfer
Confirm the current list on the operator's own banking page.
- Paid to a method in your own name
- Released after identity verification
Withdrawals are released once identity verification is complete, and settle in roughly one to three business days depending on the rail. Licensed operators must pay withdrawals back to a method in your own name.
- Live chat
- Phone
- Native app for iOS and Android
- Full exchange on mobile web
Australian law prohibits licensed online wagering operators from accepting credit cards, credit-related products such as buy-now-pay-later, and digital currencies. You bet with your own money or not at all. ACMA guidance on the credit ban.
Licence and regulation
How we verifyEvery fact below is a matter of public record. Follow the links and check them — that is the point of publishing them.
- Licensee
- Betfair Pty Limited
- ABN
- 30 110 084 985
- Regulator
- Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission
- Legislation
- Racing and Wagering Act 2024 (NT)
- Instrument
- Betting exchange licence
- Licensed in Australia since
- 2006
- Official site
- betfair.com.au
Set your deposit limit first
Decide what you are willing to lose before you sign up, and set the limit during registration rather than after. It is the single most effective control the account gives you.
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Betting can be addictive
Set a deposit limit before you start, never bet money you need, and stop chasing a loss the moment you notice you are. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day from Gambling Help Online on 1800 858 858. To block yourself from every licensed Australian operator at once, register with BetStop.
Help resourcesBetfair, answered
The questions Australian punters ask most about the exchange, its licence and its rules.
Yes. Betfair Pty Limited (ABN 30 110 084 985) holds a betting exchange licence issued by the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission under the Racing and Wagering Act 2024 (NT), which permits it to take bets from customers across Australia. You can check the licensee against the ABN Register yourself — we link to the record on our licence verification page.
A bookmaker sets a price and takes the other side of your bet, with a margin built into the odds. On Betfair you are matched against another customer: you can back an outcome or lay it — betting that it will not happen — and Betfair charges a commission on your net winnings on a market instead of shading the odds. The practical effect is that headline prices are usually better, but your return is reduced by commission when you win.
Laying is betting that something will not happen — effectively acting as the bookmaker for that outcome. If you lay a horse at odds of 5.0 for $10, you collect the $10 stake if it loses and pay out $40 if it wins. That $40 is your liability, and the exchange holds it from your balance while the bet is open. Understand liability before you lay anything: it can be far larger than the stake.
On racing, yes — racing is exempt from Australia's in-play restriction, and the exchange keeps trading until the race jumps. On sport, no: once a sporting event has started, the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 prohibits taking bets online, so an in-play sports bet has to be placed by telephone. The 2017 amendment to the Act closed the "click-to-call" workaround some operators used.
No — and not with any licensed Australian operator. Since 11 June 2024, credit cards, credit-related products such as buy-now-pay-later, and digital currencies are prohibited for online wagering. Deposits must come from your own funds.
The exchange model removes the main reason bookmakers restrict customers: Betfair is not taking the other side of your bet, so a consistently profitable account does not cost it money. It earns commission either way. Some jurisdictions apply a higher commission rate to very high-volume customers, which is the exchange equivalent of a limit.