Betfair to introduce new commission system for 2025 as premium charge is dropped

Betfair have dropped their premium charge for exchange users that had levied a commission of up to 60 per cent on winnings with a new system coming into force next month that the firm claims will significantly reduce the amount customers pay.

From January 6, Betfair are introducing a new commission structure known as the Expert Fee which will focus on gross profit over a rolling 52-week period, rather than lifetime profitability, with a flexible rate of commission rather than a fixed level.

Exchange users with a 52-week gross profit of less than £25,000 will not pay the new fee, with rates of 20 per cent for those winning between £25,000-£100,000 and a top rate of 40 per cent for players winning more than £100,000 in the measured timeframe. Users can go up and down the fee structure depending on their level of success.

According to Betfair, the new system will be “paid by a very small number of the most profitable customers on the Betfair Exchange” and result in “80 per cent of players seeing a reduction in fees, with 50 per cent no longer paying any additional fees at all”.

Betfair managing director Richard Hayward said: “This change greatly reduces the number of customers who will pay any additional fees and is the first of many improvements coming for the exchange in 2025. We have more developments aimed at enhancing the experience for customers and building liquidity for all.”

The premium charge was introduced by Betfair in 2008, eight years after the launch of the revolutionary exchange, to ensure the biggest and most successful users paid a level of commission in step with the amount they were winning rather than just the flat rate paid by all. A further higher charge was brought in three years later with a fee of up to 60 per cent for some customers who had historically high levels of profitability and were frequent users of the product.

The incoming change in the fee structure comes at a time when liquidity levels – the amount of money being bet on events – have been falling. Data from the exchange shows the average traded in win markets on British horseracing has fallen every year since 2016, with a sharp fall between 2019-2022.

Affordability checks have been put forward as one reason for the drop in liquidity, with bigger layers on the exchange not prepared to disclose financial information to continue betting and leaving the site.

Speaking in August, professional gambler Neil Channing said: "If you're a professional layer on there [Betfair] you need a big balance as there will be volatility and swings. So if you're restricted in what you can deposit it makes it very hard to operate. It's a barrier to entry and it's hard for me to be a big layer on the exchange.”

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