Oddschecker three-month special: Betfair cements top spot

Betfair has held off the challenge of bet365 across the summer months to reach the milestone of more than six months at the head of the Oddschecker Top 10.

Since taking top spot in March the operator is yet to relinquish pole position, and has recorded more than 20% of market clicks on several occasions.

This run is at odds with the predictions of eGaming Review readers, who said in a poll in March that Betfair’s lead would last no longer than two months.

The London-listed company dipped just below the 20% threshold in June before bouncing back in July to open up a gap of 2.4% over bet365, and while the Stoke-based business gained an extra 1% market share in August, Betfair remained on top with 20.2% of market clicks to bet365’s 18.8%.

Betfair’s July dominance was down in no small part to the Open golf and Wimbledon tennis championships, while it also dominated the international football market while bet365 suffered a poor Euro 2012.

Earlier this week the exchange operator revealed in its first-quarter interim management statement that UK revenues were up 23% year-on-year and sports revenues were up 21%, with the boost beginning even before it launched its fixed-odds sportsbook in the United Kingdom in late May.

Paddy Power came close to claiming second spot for the Euro 2012 market, however August saw the Irish operator lose ground on the top two after dipping below 10% of market clicks.

The only fluctuation further down the Top 10 came in the battle for fifth and sixth spot, with Betfred overtaking Stan James in July before slipping back in the following month.