Betfred Mobile Sportsbook Review
Betfred mobile sportsbook review
9/10Introduction to Betfred
Fred Done is the co-founder of Betfred and self-styled Bonus King, but when self-styling is true, we don’t mind it. Betfred are right up there with the best on pretty much all fronts and are consistently one of our most popular gambling companies.
Site usability and style –
Range of sports/markets –
Odds –
Customer service –
Betfred started life as a bricks and mortar bookie in Salford in 1967 and now has around 1300 betting shops as well as a formidable online presence. They do the basics right – nice website, good odds, excellent free bets and bonuses – and also have a superb mobile site.
They have a very good reputation within the industry and aren’t afraid to take a few chances with their odds – meaning extra value for you. On two occasions they even paid out early on Man United winning the Premier League, only to have to pay out again when Fred Done’s beloved side were pipped to the post, first by Arsenal and then in 2012 by Man City.
They bought Tote in 2011 and that will help their continued and rapid growth. With nearly 50 years’ experience Betfred are a British institution and come highly recommended.
Betfred overview
Free bet: £25 matched free bet
Devices: iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and mobile site via others
Best feature: Very strong odds for football fans and great welcome bonus!
Worst feature: Mobile version not as slick or user friendly as the very best
Betfred free bets and bonuses
The Bonus King doesn’t disappoint with a great £25 free bet as a 100% match of your first real money bet. This is a no-nonsense free bet, and doesn’t have any annoying terms and conditions or rollover requirements designed to catch you out.
Betfred also have loads of ongoing and event-specific offers and promotions such as their ongoing Double Delight and Hat-Trick Heaven promotion for first goalscorer fans. This promotion means that if your selection (in a given football match) scores first and then scores two or three goals your odds are doubled or trebled respectively – a substantial bonus.
Football fans can also get double odds in Betfred’s “Correct Score Crazy” offer if a goal in added time makes the bet a winner.
They have best odds guaranteed on all UK and Irish horse races, regular promotions on the dogs and plenty of enhanced odds bonuses too. The only very slight downside is no dedicated free bet for mobile users in addition to the opening account offer.
As well as the great odds, massive range of markets and fine array of offers and promotions for existing customers, the £25 matched free bet presents a welcome bonus which is better than many these days, and it is, of course, available to mobile users.
So how good is the Betfred mobile site?
It’s good. You can use it by just going to the site on your phone or there are dedicated apps for most major devices, however, the difference is hardly noticeable.
Downloading the app makes future access that bit quicker, as does the handy PIN log-in method, whereby after first using the mobile site you simply use a four digit number to gain access. Useful when you get a last minute betting tip!
The site itself is not quite as easy to navigate as the likes of Bet365, with some of the text and buttons appearing a little small on some phones. However, overall, it’s a very good mobile sports betting experience, with Betfred’s usual strong odds and good freebies.
Betfred odds and markets
Betfred are big, bold and brave and this is shown in their odds and range of markets. Their margins are very tight meaning extra value for you and, as demonstrated by Fred’s willingness to pay out before a market has settled, they’re not afraid to take the odd risk.
This can mean that on really big Premier League and Champions League matches you can get outstanding odds at times.
As with many of the traditional British giants of the bookmaking world, there is a clear UK focus to the markets, with football, horse racing, dog racing, snooker and darts all very well looked after.
They do cover plenty of US sports and some primarily European events but the range of markets within these sports is not always great.
Betfred customer service
Betfred offer strong customer service with contact options clearly accessible on the mobile site. You can easily send an email from your mobile, bring up the customer service phone number or receive a callback by texting “help” to 89660. On the main site you also have the option of live chat which, like the other methods is available 24/7.
In tests their live chat was quick to respond, friendly and helpful, but not necessarily as knowledgeable as we would have liked, with some questions requiring checking. The same was found in phone queries, although emails were very well handled.
After 11pm (UK time), enquiries are handled by the team in Gibraltar who are not sports experts but they can still help and this is only a very minor negative.
Betfred overall verdict
Betfred are one of our very favourite bookmakers and score highly in the areas that matter most to us – free bets, ongoing promotions and odds.
There are a few tiny improvements that could be made to make Betfred contenders for the number one spot but they are still a must-have account, especially now they’ve introduced one of the best welcome bonuses in the business!
