Is Betfair Down? How To Deal With Exchange Crashes…

Is Betfair Down? While I hope it never is, Betfair’s Exchange is prone to crashing during peak activity.

If it should happen whilst you’re betting – it’s wise to have alternatives to limit your risk.

It’s a very serious topic, especially if you’re trading with real money…

Why does Betfair go down?

Unfortunately, it’s extremely rare that we get a formal explanation. However, you can do is sharpen up your game to be ready…

Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail

Whilst it embarrasses me to say it, I was once in that boat. I didn’t make the correct provisions for exchange crashes…

And it bloody hurt.

If this post can save just one person that pain, it’ll be worth it.

3 Precautions to take:

1. Get a backup connection (just encase it’s not directly Betfair).
2. Speed dial prep’d to the phone betting desk (complete with telephone account number).
3. Alternative exchange accounts at the ready (logged in and funded).
4. Software ready on alternate exchanges (more below in a sec).

Having a back-up is always a good idea. Even if it’s via Bluetooth on your phone or dongle.

With higher stakes, comes greater consequence. Should things go wrong, having no alternative is a disaster. Especially if you could have prevented it. Some time ago, I ended up in a real flap with my connection. It came back to life just in time to watch the last of £1,000 slip away.

I can feel the nausea now… I sincerely hope you’re not here because Betfair is down, and it’s just happened to you.

The quickest method is to react is using the telephone betting service. However, if you get a dippy operator that doesn’t understand the art of hedging, things can get heated fast. Having a separate window open in a browser, already logged in is advisable too. Just encase it’s the Betfair API that goes down, but not the website.

A no-fail option is to have alternative backup accounts. Betdaq, SMarkets and Matchbook are all options.

I appreciate, this might not seem ideal for part-time users (keeping money in each). But what’s more important, preventing a train-wreck or having a bigger balance?

To be slightly more optimistic; it’s a chance to dip your toes in elsewhere too…

Brand New Opportunities?

Back when I first began, options were limited. Now, that’s all changed though!

You’ve now got the option for 3 other exchanges. Two of them even have trading tools that mirror that of Betfair. Geeks Toy supports both Betdaq and Matchbook, for example.

This isn’t the place to delve into all their pro’s and con’s though. We’ve got independent reviews for that via the links below, check them out…

• SMarkets Review
• Betdaq Review
• Matchbook Review

You can see how similar the software’s are below. Quite literally, it’s a colour change:

Betfair Problems: Has it Crashed?

If this is the first time you’ve experienced this, it’s best to know the facts.

If you think Betfair has crashed, the first place to check is here: https://status.developer.betfair.com/

If everything’s loading properly, you should see the following message:

Note: it’s not ideal though. Many times I have checked this myself, after suspecting exchange problems – only to find that page is faulty too.

I guess you can’t blame them too much though, if they aren’t aware the exchange is having problems. They can’t update it.

If you’re experiencing loading problems, lock-ups or an overall crash the next stop is Twitter.

Betfair Help-Desk:

For some reason Betfair have moved their customer help-desk over to the social networking tool. You don’t need a twitter account to check, although it’s preferred.

Usually within seconds there are multiple people complaining and asking the same questions. To find these click ‘Tweets and replies’ on their profile.

The chances are, if it’s a serious problem – you won’t be the only one things aren’t loading properly for.

Related Links: Top Trading Accounts (+ Free Bets)