Overview
In 1967, a man called Fred Done took the plunge, along with his brother, into the world of betting. Their betting shop in Salford quickly became popular with the locals, allowing them to setup another, and grow their fledgling business. Today, that business is Betfred, represented in over 1650 physical locations on high streets up and down the country. With the overwhelming popularity of their betting arm, Betfred has since grown to become the UK’s fourth largest bookmaker, and one of the most well-known gambling brands in the country. So it seems only natural that they should also offer up an online casino, and that’s exactly what they’ve done with Betfred Casino.With competitive bonuses and promotions, a good selection of games, and the Betfred reputation for integrity and fair dealing behind them, it looks like Betfred Casino is starting from a strong position.
Safety and Trustworthiness
With a pedigree extending back over 50 years, Betfred starts from a position of trust. No business can survive that long without doing something right by its customers, and that’s reflected in the good reputation Betfred has developed over the years.
Their online casino was founded in 2005, and in its own right now has well over a decade-long track record to speak of. For anyone concerned about the trustworthiness of these betting giants, just take moment to think of the sheer number of gamblers who have passed through their virtual doors, and the raw numbers of previous players who felt they got a fair deal – whatever the outcome.
Betfred has a number of high profile sponsorships, reflecting the sheer scale of their business. Sponsorships of the Super League, the World Snooker Championships, and the illustrious Betfred Cup don’t come cheap, and are yet more confirmation of Betfred’s role as one of the UK’s biggest names in gambling,
Betfred casino is dual licensed, with the UK Gambling Commission overseeing matters as far as UK players are concerned. For those gambling from elsewhere, Betfred holds a licence in Gibraltar. Between these two independent licensing bodies, you can be certain there are eyes on Betfred, making sure they comply with their obligations to their customers. While Betfred have a solid reputation and track-record for trustworthiness anyway, that’s always good to know.
Their online platform is entirely secure, thanks to state-of-the-art encryption designed to protect your personal details from hackers and thieves. When it comes to making a payment or withdrawing your money, your personal financial details are secured independently by the third-party payment processor, for a double layer of protection. In terms of security, you couldn’t really hope for a site more solid than Betfred.
If you research any online casino, you’ll more than likely find streams of complaints from unhappy players. This is, in most cases, the vocal minority, and includes those who have had problems verifying their account, or adhering to the bonus conditions. In most cases, you can disregard the bulk of these criticisms, but for Betfred Casino, there aren’t nearly the same number as you’d expect from a company of this size. That’s good news, and an indication that more players than usual probably feel they’re getting a fair deal from Betfred. Short of finding a casino that pays money for nothing, it doesn’t really come much better than that.
Deposits & Withdrawals
Betfred Casino supports a decent selection of payment methods for deposit and withdrawal, including PayPal, which many players will find more convenient than other forms of payment. Pending time is at the median of 24-48 hours, which means that there’s a 24-48hr delay between the request for payment and Betfred processing it, and there are no limits on the amount of withdrawals. In addition, the minimum deposit limits are as low as 5 pounds which makes it a very accessible casino for new players (for more low deposit casinos, see our minimum deposit online casinos list).
Bonuses
Betfred’s welcome bonus is a little different to what you’ll see elsewhere. There’s no deposit match element to their welcome offer, which instead offers new players 50 free spins on eligible slots games. All you have to do to be eligible is to open your account and deposit £10, and then bet £10 over five rounds on eligible slots, in order to qualify.
You have to accept the free spins offer from the popup that presents as you sign up for your account, in order to claim the bonus offer. Crucially however, Betfred have done away with wagering requirements on these free spins. Ordinarily, a bonus of this type might come with a 35x wagering requirement, where you need to bet the bonus amount 35 times before you can be eligible for a withdrawal. That’s not the case with the Betfred welcome promotion, and anything you land on your free spins, you can withdraw.
Once they’ve been credited, players have 3 days to use up their free spins. The free spins are applicable on a decent range of slots games, which are specifically listed in the bonus terms and conditions.
Those who are familiar with casino bonuses might see this as a pretty lame offer, given that there’s only 50 free spins. Usually, you’d expect a hefty deposit match as well as the free spins, and in this regard, Betfred is outshone by some of its competitors. But the devil here is in the detail, and without any of the hassle of wagering requirements and contribution, this bonus is actually worth a lot more in reality than it sounds on paper.
Keeping your free spin winnings, without wagering requirements, means that the Betfred welcome bonus is like money in the bank – you cannot lose with this bonus, so it ranks pretty highly against similar offers from rival online casinos.
Game Selection
Betfred Casino has a decent collection of games, with well over 200 to choose from. The bulk of their games are slots titles, but there are also options for fans of classic casino table games, including live dealer versions for the most realistic experience possible.
Betfred Casino is powered by Playtech, so you’ll find games like their hugely popular Age of the Gods slot series – a selection of slots games that are eligible for play with your free spins welcome bonus. The Incredible Hulk slot, Elektra and Pink Panther also get honourable mentions, and you’ll find them all at Betfred Casino.
But it’s not just Playtech games at Betfred Casino – you’ll also find titles from IGT, Ash Gaming, Blueprint Gaming and Realistic Games, all making their way onto the games screen. The Betfred website is easy to navigate, too, so you won’t have any difficulties in finding your way to a specific game, or filtering games by genre using the options at the top menu on the main games grid. When compared to other betting sites like William Hill, Sky Casino and Bet365 which are locked into ‘Playtech only’ agreements Betfred is a smarter casino choice.
Fans of table games shouldn’t feel left out, either. While Betfred Casino goes particularly big on slots, table games are still well catered to, with numerous variations of blackjack, roulette and other casino classics. There’s also a strong video poker section, with a decent selection of video poker games and variations. Betfred also recently launched its first dedicated Betfred live gaming tables (for now just on live roulette and blackjack) – meaning that you’ll be greeted by a Betfred branded live dealer table instead of playing on the wider network.
The Betfred Casino games selection is by no means the biggest or the most diverse, and there are casinos out there who do more, in terms of the slots and table games they make available. However, there is quality in the Betfred games collection, and still more than enough to satisfy even the most avid casino gamer. Whether you’re into slots, classic table games, or live gaming, Betfred Casino has you covered.
Mobile App
There are plenty of options for players who want to get involved on mobile. Betfred has casino apps available for iOS users, with distinct apps for Betfred Casino and Betfred Live Casino available from the App Store. These are designed in the same style as the Betfred website, so you should feel right at home using them on your mobile or tablet device. There’s also the option to play in browser. The Betfred website is fully responsive, so you can login to your account and start playing on any device, simply by heading to the Betfred website on your device’s browser.
One limitation here is the lack of apps for Android users, and it would be good if Betfred could look to create these as quickly as possible, for the benefit of their no-doubt numerous Android players. While it’s not the end of the world, with in-browser play available, it would be good to have this in place.
Promotions
Another area where Betfred could probably improve their offering is with their promotions. Accessible under the ‘Promotions’ tab on the main screen menu, you’ll find the full collection of promos and offers available at any one time. At the time of writing this review, there were only 3, including the welcome bonus – Game of the Week, and Comp Points Mean Cash, which is effectively the loyalty programme.
Most online casinos have a better selection of promotions and offers, but arguably with a reputation as big as Betfred, they don’t need to try as hard as others to find or retain new players. Still, this is another limitation for what is otherwise a very good casino.
Support
Review Summary
Betfred didn’t get to where they are today by offering a shoddy service. In fact, if you’ve been to any of their betting shops, or if you play with their online offering, you’ll see that Betfred offer a fair, honest chance at winning some money. Their website looks and feels good on both desktop and mobile, although Android players will find it frustrating that they don’t have an app they can turn to.
The selection of games is decent, but by no means the largest you’ll find. They cover all the bases well, but don’t have any particular specialisation. While there are more slots here than other games, and plenty to keep you busy, there are other casinos out there that offer up a much more appetising selection.
The bonus offer is decent, although it doesn’t look it at first glance, with just 50 free spins up for grabs. However, with lenient terms and conditions compared to some other welcome bonuses, it’s actually not a bad start to life at Betfred casino.
On balance, Betfred is a good place to play, but a couple of limitations do drag its score down compared to some other sites. On that basis, it’s fair to award Betfred Casino an 8 out of 10, in recognition of the generally good and trustworthy experience they offer their players.