PLEASE NOTE: The standard Betfair Poker bonus is only worth $600. In order to achieve the $1,000 welcome bonus, you must use the code BEST1K when registering.

Betfair is one of the largest and most innovative gaming sites on the net. Having been founded in 1999 as an one-of-a-kind sports betting exchange, Betfair launched their poker room shortly afterward and have rapidly turned it into one of the fastest growing poker rooms in Europe.

It offers players reliable software, a completely unique welcome bonus and some of the best customer support in the industry.

Software:

Betfair Poker runs off completely independent software. It is developed privately and offers great functionality and stability. The software runs on its own network and having been upgraded in 2007, players can now play at 15 tables simultaneously. Other nice touches include player notes, a statistics function and and an excellent “player buddy” program whereby players can replay hands and analyze hand histories.

Games Available:

I was a little disappointed to find that the range of games available at Betfair is limited to just Texas Hold’em and Omaha. Players looking to indulge in other poker variants should probably look elsewhere.

Betfair Poker Bonus:

The standard welcome bonus at Betfair poker is worth $600. However, new players using the bonus code BEST1K will be awarded a bonus worth $1,000. There is no matching requirement, meaning that your initial deposit only needs to be $20, and you can still eligible for the full bonus amount.

For full details of how the bonus works, have a read through our Betfair Poker bonus page.

Tournaments/Promotions

Betfair pays out over $4m in prizes every month and offers its members 70 guaranteed tournaments a day. The largest of these is the $55k Guaranteed which runs every Sunday. Regular satellites send players to the world’s largest poker tournaments including the WSOP, WPT, and APT. Betfair is also the main sponsor of the World Series of Poker Europe meaning that they offer the largest number of qualifiers to the WSOPE on the net.

When it comes to Freerolls, the Betfair offering is certainly competitive too. With over 30 freerolls every week, there are plenty of opportunities to gain tickets to Betfair’s biggest tournaments or alternatively pick up some free cash.

Deposit and Withdrawal Options:

Deposit Options: Visa, Mastercard, Delta, Solo/Maestro, Neteller, Moneybookers, bank transfer and cheque.

Withdrawal Options: Debit card, Credit card, Neteller, MoneyBookers, bank transfer and cheque.

Competition and Traffic

Traffic levels are currently rated in the middle tier of the online poker industry. At the beginning of April 2009, statistics showed 1,200 Ring Game players and 4,000 tournament players at peak times. These figures are growing rapidly too as a large player base is becoming more and more active.

Games on Betfair tend to be quick and loose with solid players at lower levels being able to improve their bankroll without too much effort.

Support

With such excellent software and tournament options, it’s good to know that Betfair’s support doesn’t let the overall package down. Far from it. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that the support Betfair offers its players is arguably the best in Europe.

Any questions are dealt with accurately by writing to Betfair support on pokerinfo@betfair.com.