Betfred Casino Review

Betfred is a real Cinderella story. The company was founded back in 1967 by two brothers, Fred and Peter Done. They worked together to open up a little booking shop in the UK. Well after years of hard work and dedication, that one small shop has grown in 550 land based bookmakers touting over 2,000 employees. The brothers have made good, and now they have set their sites on a new playing field, the World Wide Web. In 2004 Betfred made it online debut, this was a bit later than most expected, but the company put forth a strong showing. Then in 2005 they expanded the online offerings to include the Betfred online casino. With all that this firm has to offer, we are very excited to see what they came up with. One thing that players are always assured of at Betfred is a reputable secure playing environment. This is not some back alley shop that’s looking to make a quick buck, but a well established company that is in this for the long haul.

The Betfred Casino has decided on a very powerful engine to run the show. They are using Playtech gaming software rather than one of the more usual suspects. Don’t let this fool you into thinking that this choice will move their games into the second class category. Playtech is a strong platform that can operate in downloading or non-downloading formats. Now you have to realize that the downloaded version of any package is always going to give you better overall quality, but neither choice is shabby in this case. The advantage to having both is that the non-downloading is available for more separate systems which opens the site up for a higher overall number of individual users. The only downside here is that the deluxe downloading version is only available for Windows users. If you are in a position to try this set-up then you will find a much more luxe overall deliver and the added benefit of more games on the casino floor. Try the live dealer options to really feel like you are in the middle of a real casino environment. With so many different options to choose from the existence of only one poker game stood out to us. It would be fun to have more choices than just Caribbean Stud.

When we do these reviews we realize that we have a tendency to get a bit picky, but it is for good reason. We want players to know all the pros and cons of exactly what they are getting into. Then they can decide for themselves if the weak areas are ones that they can personally live with. Now, with all that being said, its time for the bad news, and there is a lot. Our first problem was with the look and feel of the site. Betfred needs a face lift to keep from looking like the flea market version of their real world stores. Also the navigation system is not at all clear to operate. It took a long time for us to get a good grasp on what exactly the site had to offer. We were able to find the “play Now,” link, but it didn’t do us any good. The only place that link took us was to a 404 Error, Page Not Found. Remember this is the actual path to the games, so this is a page that really needs to be found. While players do have 16 different currency options for their own account, there is no possible way to change the site’s content to match your choice. And finally the game rules left out two of Betfred’s gaming options, European Roulette and Surrender Blackjack. We are trying not to blow this out of proportion, just listing the problems that we found.

We really hate to be the bearers of bad news, so it makes us very happy to say that we did not run into any problems in the area of promotions. In fact we have to agree with Betfred’s self proclaimed title of “The Bonus King.” There are two specific promotions that we want to makes sure you are aware of. First players will get a cash back bonus award of 10% on all loses over $50 in a one month period. This is perk we have come across before, but not for the general population. A benefit like this is usually offered to only the biggest players in a casino. Second it was really fun to learn about Fred’s daily bonuses. Apparently everyday Fred drops by to leave some nice little presents in player’s accounts. You never have any clue as to where or when he will strike, much less what he might bring with him. We always love set-ups like this because they really keep things fresh and add a sense of anticipation to the whole thing.

Customer service is a real strength for this casino and we found no fault with either their phone or e-mail offerings. We took the time to sample a bit of each and found them to be fast and accurate on both fronts. Please don’t hesitate to look them up if you run into any problems.

With so many things to like about this casino we find that we are very pulled over all. The site does have a lot to offer in certain areas, but in others they leave a lot to be desired. Betfred needs to go back to the drawing board to bring the whole of their casino up to the standards we have come to expect from them as a company. New players will never make it through the woods to see the wonder on the other side. We would love to see them take this draft form and spin it into one very nice finished product.