Betfair is the world's largest internet betting exchange. The company is based in West London, England. Since Betfair was launched in June 2000 it has become the largest online betting company in the UK and the largest betting exchange in the world. Betfair claim to have over 3 million customers and a turnover in excess of £50 million a week. The company employs about 1200 people in the UK.

A betting exchange allows punters to bet at odds set and requested by other punters rather than by a bookmaker. Members can make both 'back' bets, basically betting on something to happen, result or outcome, and 'lay' bets,which means betting on the opposite side of the Back, against the selection), thereby eliminating the traditional bookmaker.

Betfair offers on average 20 percent better odds than those offered by a traditional bookmaker. Betfair charges a commission  on all winning bets, which is set at 5 percent of the net winnings for most markets, although according to how much a client wagers on the site, it is possible to reduce the amount of commission paid to as low as 2 percent, as there are different levels set for those who use the site more frequently.

The Betfair interface can be seen as bearing a strong similarity to that of the stock exchange, with the 'back' and 'lay' options comparing to the buying and selling of derivatives. Indeed there are many professionals who play the Betfair market for profit, using purpose-designed software 'robots', in much the same way as a stock trader.

Betfair quite literally covers all sports including, American Football, Australian Rules, Bandy, Basketball, Bowls,  Boxing, Cricket, Cycling, Darts,Football, Golf, Greyhound Racing, Handball, Horse Racing, Ice Hockey, International Rules, Mixed Martial Arts, Motor Sport, Olympics 2012, Pelota, Poker, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Snooker, Special Bets, Tennis, Volleyball, Winter Sports and much more.
With so many different specials on sports whether you wish to back or lay a bet, there is nothing you wont find, betfair covers everything. Most events will go live so you can bet IN-PLAY which is very popular amongst all their users. There are many tips to tell you where the money is going, and the help offered from betfair is excellent, if your struggling with something they are always there to help.
With so many different way's to bet on a sport, you are offered to bet on exactly what you want, number of bookings in football, qualifying in motor sport, 180's in darts, correct score in snooker, theres just so much to choose from, one of the most popular markets with betting professionals is the "handicap market" where a weaker side may be offered a certain number of points head start in say, a basketball match, so you can get so many different odds for different outcomes.

Betfair offers many other markets than sport, one of the biggest is the financial market, although you would really have to get to know the financial market and how it works before even attempting to try, a full guide to how to use the financial markets is offered by betfair, with training videos, charts, ideas and a Q&A page.

The betfair community is massive, with so many users getting involved, having their say or just learning from other members experiences, 148,950 members are chatting amongst each other about all the sports betfair covers, there are 4,472 blog posts to date, with so many conversations ranging from the rugby league season, premiership, snooker premier league just everything, the community is a great place to be, and once you are a member you will gain the insight of sports betting from so many different angles.