5. Betfair
Betfair is renowned for its extensive live video streams and has a daily list of matches from around the world with commentary usually in English, although some games offer a range of language options including Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, and a ‘No Commentary’ selection.
There are many worldwide broadcasting restrictions published on Betfair’s site which give a flavour of the regulations faced by every bookmaker:
- Italian Serie A – Europe only (But not available in Italy, Middle East, North Africa, France, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Hong Kong and USA)
- Spanish La Liga – Europe only (But not available in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom)
- German Bundesliga – Europe only (But not available in Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland)
- Internationals/ European World Cup Qualifier/ South American World Cup Qualifier – Europe only (excl. playing nations)
- UEFA Champions League Qualifiers/ Europa League Qualifier – Europe Only (excl. Participating Countries, USA)
- English Championship – Europe Only (But not available in UK, Ireland, China, Israel, Middle East, Nigeria, South Africa, Sub Saharan Africa and USA)
- Portuguese Superliga – Only available in UK, Eire, Norway, Denmark, Sweden
- Belgian Jupiler League – Global (excl. Belgium and USA)
- Finnish League – Global (excl. Finland and USA)
- Danish League – Global (excl. Denmark and USA)
- Polish League – Global (excl. Poland and USA)
- Japanese J League – Europe only (But not available in Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Australia and USA)
- Russian League – Europe only (excl. Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Puerto Rico, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Israel and USA)
- Brazilian Paulista – Only available in Europe excluding Spain, Italy Turkey, Greece and Cyprus
- Latin Internationals – Global (excl. playing nations)
- Major League Soccer – Global (excl. Canada, USA)
- UEFA Europa League – Global (excl. playing nations)
- Other Cups – Global (excl. Australia, Asia, Middle East and North America
Access to live streamed matches is available to registered Betfair customers and relies on the account being in credit. The minimum deposit is currently £10 GBP, but the quality, availability of games and options are, in my opinion, worth more than double Bet365’s minimum entry price.
The ‘Live Video’ link on Betfair’s menu ribbon tab is easy to spot (beneath the ‘horse racing’ tab) and clicking on this produces a pop-up menu from where you can select your sport and view a programme of events to be streamed. Click on the image below to enlarge it in a new tab:
Betfair Exchange Live Streaming Service
There is also a facility to watch numerous matches at the same time, so long as your internet connection is fast enough.
The following operating system requirements apply: minimum of Windows 2000 or XP (Windows 98SE might work but is not recommended); Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher with cookies enabled (default setting); Windows Media Player 9 or higher; Broadband connection (Speed of 500 kbps or higher). Videos are available in a choice of 300k or 600k bit rate and Betfair has extensive troubleshooting advice in its Betfair Live Video FAQ’s (the third tab in the pop-up).
