The Australian licence granted to Betfair is a great opportunity for both Betfair and its customers to take advantage of the new innovations that betting exchanges provides. However, there are some important changes occuring that Betfair customers need to be aware of.

Betfair was granted an Australian licence in February 2006. Under the terms of this licence, money wagered on Australian markets must be held by Betfair in Australia. As of August 2006, Betfair has introduced “wallets”, which are separate pools of money that you use to bet on either Australian or non-Australian markets. By creating wallets, Betfair is able to hold funds in Australia with which you can bet on Australian markets. Click here

When you register with Betfair, you are automatically set up with two wallets - an Australian wallet and a UK wallet. Funds to cover a bet placed on an Australian market come from your Australian wallet, and bets on all other markets are funded from your UK wallet.

These are the key things to know about wallets:

• When you deposit funds into to your Betfair account, the funds are automatically assigned to your UK wallet. Once the funds are in your UK wallet, you are ready to bet on all markets except Australian markets.

• In order to bet on Australian markets, you first need to transfer funds to your Australian wallet. To transfer funds to your Australian wallet, go to My Account, then click on the ‘Transfer Funds’ button. Enter the amount you wish to transfer, specify which wallet should receive the funds (in this case, your Australian wallet) and click the Make Transfer button. Funds are transferred without delay and are immediately available to bet with.

• Funds assigned to either the UK or Australia wallet are persistent, which means they will remain in the specified wallet until you transfer them to another wallet or withdraw them from your Betfair account.

• Winnings are paid into, and commission is deducted from the same wallet that was used to fund a bet.

• When withdrawing funds from your Betfair account, you can only withdraw funds in your UK wallet. To withdraw funds from your Australian wallet, you must first transfer the desired amount (up to and including your total Australia wallet balance) to your UK wallet. You can then withdraw the funds from your Betfair account via your UK wallet.

• When viewing a market, it is easy to see the balance of the applicable wallet that you may use to fund bets on this market. In the top right section of the site navigation, near your username, you will see two figures. ‘This Market’ is the amount you currently have in the wallet that applies to this market (e.g. if you are viewing an Australian market, the balance will reflect your Australian wallet). ‘Total’ is the sum of funds in both your UK and Australian wallets.

How do I transfer money between wallets?

There are two ways to transfer funds between your UK and Australian wallets:

• Go to ‘My Account’, then click on the ‘Transfer Funds’ button. Enter the amount you wish to transfer, specify which wallet should receive the funds, and click the ‘Make Transfer’ button.

• From the top right section of the site navigation (in the same area where ‘Available Funds’ is displayed) click on the ‘Transfer’ button. Enter the amount you wish to transfer, specify which wallet should receive the funds, and click the ‘Make Transfer’ button.

Using either of these transfer methods, funds are transferred without delay and are immediately available to bet with.

How do I withdraw funds that are in my Australian wallet?

Only funds in your UK wallet may be withdrawn from your Betfair account. To withdraw funds in your Australian wallet, you must first transfer the desired amount (up to and including your total Australia wallet balance) to your UK wallet. You can then withdraw the funds from your Betfair account via your UK wallet.

PLEASE NOTE: In order to withdraw any funds from your Australian wallet, you will need to have passed our customer validation requirements. For more information on this, please visit the Betfair website. 

BETFAIR PRESS RELEASE 17/08/2006