Betfair announces £500 racing minimum bet liability
New sportsbook guarantee to kick in at 10am this morning ahead of Royal Ascot
Betfair has announced a new minimum bet liability (MBL) promise, pledging to lay all bets to win £500 on its sportsbook for all UK & Irish Class 1 and 2 races.
The guarantee kicks in this morning ahead of Royal Ascot, and starts from 10am each day.
“Royal Ascot has some of the most competitive racing on the planet, so we thought it was an ideal time to launch our new online £500 guarantee, which will in future apply to all Class 1 and 2 races,” said Betfair spokesperson Kevin Harrington.
The MBL brings Betfair in line with William Hill which was the first of the ‘Big 7’ bookmakers to announce a similar measure earlier this year.
Betfair said the guarantee would also cover already-restricted customers.
The Horse Bettors Forum, which has campaigned for MBLs across the industry as part of its Betting Charter, welcomed the news, calling it a “step forward” for the industry.
HBF chairman Matt Bisogno added: “Whilst we had hoped that the guarantee might have covered a broader range of races, this still represents a step forward for online bettors who have been unfairly caught in the restrictions dragnet.
“Moreover, we hope that it lays down a challenge to other operators to offer a guaranteed liability for their customers.”
https://t.co/5PpedwfHC9 Today's @EGRIntel opinion piece becomes more relevant today with Betfair Sportsbook announcing a very limited MBL online. The latter is a start, hopefully it's not a seedling that the 'slugs' soon eat and kill.
— Jimmy Justice (@gondorffhenry) June 18, 2018
The announcement was not universally well received by punters with some criticising the level of the guarantee on the restrictions on races.
What do the gamblers of Twitter make of this then? pic.twitter.com/rsscxdyxP7
— Brad Allen (@BradAllenNFL) June 18, 2018