From March 25th, 2025, Betfair is increasing their commission rates for customers in Australia and New Zealand — while it’s not great news, it’s also not the end of the world.
What’s Changing?
Here’s a quick breakdown of the new Market Base Rates (MBRs):
These are the standard commission rates that most users pay. High-volume customers may qualify for discounts, but for the majority of matched bettors, these are the numbers that matter.
What Does This Mean for Matched Bettors?
In short: lower profits, but matched betting is still very much alive.
Yes, a 1% increase in commission means a larger chunk of your lay bet winnings goes to Betfair — but if you are doing things right you will still have healthy profits.
Matched betting has been around for over two decades, and it’s evolved through all kinds of changes. As long as there’s easy money on the table, smart punters will continue finding ways to take their share.
If you’re already using Betfair to lay bets, the simplest option is to keep doing what you’re doing. Your margins will shrink slightly, but a steady, risk-free side income is still well within reach.
However, if you’re willing to put in a bit more effort, there are ways to avoid paying commission altogether…
Dutching Bonus Bets
Instead of laying your bonus bets at Betfair, you can hedge them at another bookmaker — a strategy known as dutching.
The Bonusbank Dutching software makes this easy: just sort by SNR to find the best matchups for turning bonus bets into real cash — no Betfair required.
Additional perks:
- You get a mug bet at the second bookie, helping keep your account healthy.
- You avoid Betfair’s rising fees entirely.
Caveats:
- You’ll often need to place a large hedge bet, sometimes at short notice.
- Because you don’t know which bookies will have the best odds, you’ll need to keep balances across multiple accounts.
This method is more suited to intermediate or advanced users with a decent bankroll and some flexibility. If you are a beginner you may be better sticking with Betfair.
The ‘No Lay’ Approach
Another way to avoid paying commission is just to skip the lay or hedge bet entirely.
At first glance, this feels like gambling — and in a sense, it is. But statistically, this is the approach with the highest expected value.
Here’s why:
- The edge in matched betting comes from the bonus, not the lay bet.
- The lay bet exists to remove risk — but it’s actually negative EV on its own (especially after commission).
- By removing the lay bet, you reintroduce risk — but keep the edge.
Over a large sample size, you’ll come out ahead. And because you’re not paying commission, you’ll actually make more in the long run.
However, this approach comes with variance. You could go weeks or months without seeing a profit. It requires:
- A big bankroll
- A strong mindset
- Patience to play the long game
If you want to dig deeper, this video explains the approach in detail:
Why Have Betfair Increased Commissions?
Although this change is bad news for matched bettors, we actually have some sympathy for Betfair here.
Over the last few years, state governments have ramped up Point of Consumption Taxes (POCT) on gambling. Bookies can offset this by offering worse odds — but Betfair doesn’t set odds, so they’ve had to absorb these costs.
On top of that, product fees for racing and sports have also climbed. For example, the commission on NRL and NSW racing was already at 10% due to high product fees in those markets.
These fees are often based on turnover — which hits Betfair harder than fixed-odds bookies. That’s because on an exchange, one trader backing and laying the same horse multiple times can generate huge turnover… without generating any profit for Betfair. The fees still apply, though.
Between rising costs and a lack of mainstream traction, Betfair has found it tough to turn a profit in Australia. It’s no wonder competitors like Smarkets and Matchbook haven’t even tried.
Final Thoughts
The existence of Betfair is crucial to matched betting in Australia. So, although we may not love these increases, we hope that it turns out to be a smart business decision that allows them to keep operating for a long time.
Betfair is still a much more honourable institution than the average bookie, so if you have any degen friends please tell them to open a Betfair account (and also to stop being degens and join Bonusbank, obviously).