Betfair Automation: How to Automate Your Betfair Bets

Betfair automation means software placing your bets on the Exchange for you, using the Betfair API, from a set of selections or rules you've given it. Done right, you set it up once and the bets go on whether you're at work, asleep or on holiday.

There are four ways people do it. They all reach the same Betfair API in the end. The difference is where the software runs and how much of the setup lands on you.

1. A desktop bot on your own PC

This is the traditional route. You download a Windows program such as BF Bot Manager or Bet Angel, log it into Betfair, and set up your rules or import your selections. It then places bets while it's running.

The catch is in that last bit: while it's running. If the PC goes to sleep, restarts for a Windows update, loses its internet connection or gets switched off, the bot stops and the bets don't go on. For anything that needs to run every day, you're tied to a machine left on 24/7.

2. A desktop bot on a VPS

The usual fix for the "PC must stay on" problem is to rent a VPS: a Windows computer in a data centre that you log into remotely. You install the same desktop bot on it and leave it running there.

It works, but it's a second bill and a second thing to look after. Bet Angel, for example, sells its own VPS at £24.99 to £69.99 a month, and that doesn't include the Bet Angel licence. You're also still the one installing updates and checking the bot is actually running.

3. Writing your own bot

If you code, you can apply for your own Betfair API key and write a bot in Python or another language, using libraries like betfairlightweight or flumine. You get total control. You also get all the work: login handling, error handling, keeping it alive, and somewhere to host it. For most people who just want their bets placed, it's a lot of effort.

4. A cloud bot

A cloud bot runs on the provider's servers instead of your computer. You set it up in a web browser, and it carries on placing bets with your PC switched off. There's nothing to install and no VPS to rent. You can check it from your phone.

This is how xCloudBot works. It runs 24/7 on our servers and places bets on your own Betfair account.

What you can automate with xCloudBot

• Your own selections. Upload a CSV file of your picks on the Import Races page and the bot places them for you. It suits tipster followers and anyone with their own system who's tired of putting bets on by hand. More on uploading your own tips. Or let the bot choose by rule: the favourite, a price range, steamers or drifters.
• Tipster selections, copied automatically. Request access to a tipster profile and its selections download into your system every day (usually soon after 11:00 UK time), then go on with your own staking and rules.
• Back and lay bets, with win bets placed at Betfair Starting Price (BSP).
• Built-in systems. The £40 plan includes Andys Lays and the FormBreaker systems (still in testing). The £50 Premium plan adds 4 premium systems: Betty Lays, an AI lay system, and Gap 7, Gap 10 and Gap 12, all with their full results public on PuntHub.
• Your own staking and rules. Choose from 48 staking plans (26 back and 22 lay, from level stakes to Fibonacci, Labouchere, percentage of bank and fixed liability, plus a custom plan), set minimum and maximum odds, choose how many seconds before the off bets go on, and stop automatically at a profit or loss target.
• A simulation mode, so you can run a system on paper money before you go live.

It covers horse racing and greyhounds only. If you want football or tennis, a desktop bot will cover more sports.

Which route is right for you?

If you trade in-play by hand, or want every sport, a desktop tool is the better fit. If you want selections placed every day without a computer left on, a cloud bot is simpler. We've put together a side-by-side comparison of the main Betfair bots with their current prices.

Questions people ask