Betfair and PayPal agree on online payments deal

From Thoroughbred News International By Rob Burnet

European customers of UK based betting exchange Betfair will be able to make payments using PayPal, a global leader in online payments, following a deal between the two businesses Betfair reported in a statement on Monday. The arrangement will enable Betfair users living in the UK and the other European Union countries to use PayPal to make secure and simple payments to each other. The PayPal service will be fully integrated with the account management section of the Betfair site so its customers will be able to pay in and withdraw funds from their Betfair account in real time. By using PayPal to settle their peer-to-peer transactions, Betfair customers can use a variety of funding sources including credit and debit cards, their existing PayPal balance and, in the UK and Germany, transfers from their bank accounts. Betfair customers will also be able to withdraw winnings directly into their PayPal accounts. Betfair currently handles twice as many credit and debit card activities as any other European website and expects these transaction numbers to increase further thanks to PayPal. Betfair, launched in June 2000, at peak times matches up to 12,000 bets a minute and records 5 million transactions a day. Geoff Iddison, Chief Executive of PayPal UK, said, “PayPal may be best known as the preferred payment method for eBay customers, this is another example of the PayPal system being used by merchants to develop their online business. “Betfair is a popular, highly regarded, regulated and reputable online gaming site. By having PayPal available to Betfair’s customers, PayPal will enable European users to pay and receive funds safely and securely, without sharing any financial information from simply an email address.” PayPal, 100% owned by eBay, is a global online payment company that enables anyone with an e-mail address to make payments online, whether personal or business, within a secure online environment. The company was set up in the US in December 1998 and acquired by eBay in 2002. It reports that it has over 10 million accounts in the UK, more than 100 million accounts worldwide and can be used to make online payments in 55 markets around the world. PayPal prohibits the use of its service for gambling activities by anyone located in the United States. Betfair’s Mark Davies added, “It is a significant step for Betfair to be the first online gambling company approved by PayPal Europe. This will undoubtedly also give us access to a large and growing base of experienced online users.”