Betfred, the rebranded name for Fred Done, has its roots in traditional British bookmaking. Betfred started out in the 1960s from a single bookie’s shop in Salford, near Manchester, and by the 2018–19 financial year, Betfred had grown to a turnover of over £10 billion. Individual punters have struck it rich as well, with a Betfred branch in Salford hitting the headlines in 2004 when it handed over the first £1million betting shop payout to a man known only as ‘Ken’ who picked six winners the totescoop6. So, can Betrred punters hope for the similar spectacular rise to riches with an account at this online bookmaker?

Betfred has shown an eye for garnering headlines in the past. Famously, in 1998, Betfred – which was set up by a Manchester United fan – paid out early on the Red Devils winning the Premier League. In the event, Arsenal battled back to win the league by a point and Fred ended up paying out twice. A blow for the books, but priceless publicity for the company, which suddenly found itself discussed away from the racecourses. In 2012, Betfred did the same thing and suffered a similar outcome when Sergio Aguero’s last–minute goal in the final game of the season sent the trophy across town to Manchester City.

It’s fair to say that the world of gambling has changed since Fred Done decided to invest his winnings from the 1966 World Cup in opening a shop in his hometown. Now Betfred does the bulk of its business online, although it still maintains a high street presence across the UK. The internet arm of Betfred is handled by Gibraltar–based Petfre. Betfred’s British operations are still licensed by the Gambling Commission (#39544) but users elsewhere are covered by the Gibraltar Government and the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner. However, at present Betfred can only be accessed by bettors in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar.

However, Betfred places great faith in its no–frills approach – to the point that it once hired England international footballer Stuart Pierce as its brand ambassador, promising a heart–on–sleeve, what–you–see–is–what–you–get approach to betting.