4 Ways to Reduce Betfair Commissions

What’s the Betfair  Exchange Commission?

Are you aware of how much you pay commission to Betfair (actually suggest the use of Betfair Alternatives)? Learn 4 Methods to reduce the Betfair Exchange Commission, which can save a lot of money. 

How does the Betfair commission work?

Betfair Exchange makes profits by charging the customers fees in the form of commissions. Betfair Sportsbook is a bookmaker and thus doesn’t impose any fee (in case, you’re not familiar with Betfair and How a betting exchange works, suggest taking a look at How to make money on a betting exchange & How Lay Betting Works – Minimize Exchange Commission & Liability). 

Bear in mind that the commission we are talking about is for Betfair EXCHANGE. Betfair Sportsbook is the same as a traditional bookmaker, thus there is NO Betfair Sportsbook Commission. 

When does Betfair take a commission?

The commission is only charged when you win, which means on the net winnings of bets. Losing bets aren’t subject to any charges.

How is the Betfair commission calculated?

Betfair commission is calculated based on the below formula;

Commission = Net Winnings x Commission % x (1 – Discount Rate)

The below example is based on the market base rate of 5% commission & 40% discount rate, which will be explained in the next section.

Now, we are sharing 4 ways how to reduce Betfair’s commission.

1) Betfair Commission Reduced by Discount Rate

As the above Betfair commission calculation formula shows the discount rate reduces the amount of commission. 

Betfair Discount Rate

Betfair discount rate is shown in the below table;

How to calculate Betfair point

The Betfair discount rate is based on how many Betfair points you’ve earned. Betfair gives you points every time you bet on a Betfair Exchange market regardless of the outcome.

You earn 1 point for every 10 pence of commission you paid (means when you win) or would have paid (implied commission if you lose). Betfair updates Betfair Points every Sunday at Midnight (GMT). 

So, in order to get a 40% discount rate, you need to earn 49,000 points. Assuming you pay 5% commission, you need to stake 49,000 / 10 pence / 5% = £9.8 Mio.

This is based on the net loss basis, since the points are also earned from the winning implied commission which is most likely to help decrease the required stake though, still a pretty hefty requirement. Unless you do Betfair Trading professionally, looks difficult to reach. 

2) Betfair Commission Reduced by Reward Plan

Betfair 3 Reward Plans

Then, a much easier way to reduce the commission is to select the Betfair introduced 3 rewards plans. You will see the plans by;

Login to Betfair.com > My Account > Promotions & Rewards > My Betfair Rewards

You will see the below 3 plans;

A simple summary of the differences are;

You can choose whichever package you like. If you’re the Sharp punter, then your Betfair Sportsbook account is most likely to have been gubbed (a promotion restriction which is commonly imposed by Betfair Sportsbook for Advantage Players).

You may Opt-In only BASIC package in the above and you get Betfair Commission Discount Rate at 2%, which is equivalent to Smarkets Commission. 

Betfair Basic

You will usually find a lengthy T&C like below (this example is a rather old one, but it’s a typical T&C of this type of offer), which is boring stuff but very important. Therefore, strongly suggest going through it carefully to avoid any unpleasant surprises in the future.

Terms and Conditions

No Access to Cash Race: You will no longer be eligible for Cash Race promotions. you will still be allowed to complete any existing promotions you have already commenced wagering towards, and you will still receive the benefits of any promotion you have started qualifying for or already qualified for prior to joining the Basic package.

No Best Odds Guaranteed on Sportsbook: You will no longer be eligible for Best Odds Guaranteed on the Sportsbook.

No Access to Promos: You will no longer be eligible for any Exchange or Sportsbook promotions, e.g. “3/1+ Free Bet” and “Bet 10 get 5”. You will still be allowed to complete any existing promotions you have already commenced wagering towards, and you will still receive the benefits of any promotion you have started qualifying for or already qualified for prior to joining the Basic package.

2% Commission: You will pay 2% commission on net winnings in Exchange markets.

You will receive the same package, each month, until further notice. You can change to a different package at any time. Package changes take effect on the 1st day of the following month. Requesting a change does not impact any benefits you are due to receive in the current month. If you prefer to change your package with immediate effect, you must contact Customer Services. You will forfeit any benefits you are currently wagering towards if you choose this option. You will also reset your wagering progress towards your new package. If you choose to forfeit your benefits in this way, your progress bar may not align with your current position. You should consult My Bets to check on your progress toward the minimum market requirement. You are only allowed to change your package once in a calendar month.

Any Exchange discount rate you would normally receive due to your Betfair (suggest use of Betfair Alternatives) Points will not apply while you are opted in to a package. Betfair (suggest use of Betfair Alternatives) points will continue to accrue as normal. Your commission rate on Australasian markets will continue to be calculated using MBR (Market Base Rate) and Betfair (suggest use of Betfair Alternatives) Points.

Betfair (suggest use of Betfair Alternatives) reserves the right to: Change the benefits listed in any package. Customers will be notified in advance of any changes to their package, and will be given a period of not less than 7 days’ notice. After being notified of the changes, these changes will take effect on the 1st day of the following month.

Stop offering packages upon giving customers not less than 7 days’ notice. At the end of the notice period, the relevant package(s) will automatically end on the last day of the then current month;

Exclude certain customers from the Rewards+ or Rewards packages, or to move a customer from a higher package to a lower package (e.g. from Rewards+ to Basic) upon giving the customer not less than 7 days’ notice. At the end of the notice period, the relevant changes will take effect on the 1st day of the following month. Please note that any such exclusion will not affect any free bet, bonus or other promotional offer you have already placed a qualifying bet towards. You will still receive the benefits of any promotion you have started qualifying for or already qualified for prior to the exclusion;

Close your Betfair (suggest use of Betfair Alternatives) account if it considers there is sufficient evidence of abuse of this promotion, for example, if you are using more than one username to take part, or you are engaging in any fraudulent or illegal activity (including participation that would be in breach of the law in your local jurisdiction). In such cases Betfair (suggest use of Betfair Alternatives) will not credit any free bets or rewards.

BTW, you can change the reward plan basically at any time;

just FYI.

Betfair Contact Preference

Betfair Reduced Commission E-mail

Betfair originally started the 2% commission option in January 2019 by informing it by e-mail like below;

, which was 7 months before they made it a permanent offer. So, it’s important that you need to get informed of every critical news. 

Contact Preference

In order to do that, just open the Account Tab, go to Contact Preferences, and set up Marketing Preferences as what you want;

If You Miss E-mail Notice;

Alternatively, you regularly check the Betfair Promotion section like below;

3) Offset Commissions

Remember Betfair charges the commission Only To Net Winnings, which means if you make multiple bets on the same markets, your commission will be against (Total Winning – Total Loss).

These tactics can be used together with the topic of Minimize Lay Betting Liability. For full details, go How Lay Betting Works – Minimize Exchange Commission & Liability.

4) Opportunistic Approach

If you do matched betting (in case you haven’t started, strongly suggest you do), you may have used matched betting package service.

The most reputable service operators are Profit Maximiser (our review), Oddsmonkey (our review) & Profit Maximiser (our review).

They regularly partner with major betting exchanges including and offer completely 0% commission like below;

• SMarkets – 0% Commission 
  
• Betdaq – 0% Commission
• Matchbook – 0% Commission

Betfair also used to participate and reduced to 2% from 5%;

So, Betfair’s no commission can’t be ruled out in the future. Suggest checking the latest partnership status in Matched Betting Software – 4 Best Offers & Deals.

BTW, many people imagine matched betting is for only UK & Ireland, wrong, by using this approach everybody in the world including US citizens can make decent profits from this risk-free betting technique.

If You Are Not Yet Betfair Account Holder

Cashback Offer

You may also want to check the Cashback Offer which allows you to get additional cashback while receiving Betfair Original welcome offer. Usually, you can find cashback like the below TopCashback one;

If You Reside Where Betfair Is Not Available

See Betfair Alternatives For People Who Can’t Access Or Seek Better Options, which includes Betfair White Label providing you with Betfair’s equivalent Price & Liquidity.

Finally, we encourage all of our members to start Offshore Sports Betting which will add to your solid earnings through the world’s best offshore sportsbooks, you can worry about any account restriction far & far less than the UK bookies, yes like Betfair Exchange (not Betfair Sportsbook that will limit your account quickly), just FYI. 

Hope these will help you save a lot of money from Betfair commissions. If you need any further assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us. 

Joshua Walker (bio) 

Editor – Global Extra Money (GEM)