Bet365 extends Oddschecker lead as Betfair falters

Bet365 extended its advantage at the top of Oddschecker’s monthly bet slip click rankings in October after growth in key markets was coupled with a faltering performance from main rival Betfair.

The Stoke-headquartered firm saw its overall Oddschecker market share increase from 20.52% in September to 21.3% last month, boosted by a greater share of horseracing and football bet referrals, the odds comparison site’s two most popular sports.

The bookmaker’s share of horseracing slip clicks jumped from 23.8% in September to 25.86% in October while its UK football share edged up slightly from 15.58% to 15.72%.

Bet365’s improved performance was in stark contrast to closest challenger Betfair which, despite seeing its overall market share decline from 14.26% to 12.11%, still managed to hold on to second place.

Betfair’s decline was in most part due to a fall away in exchange slip clicks, down from 9.3% in September to 7.63% last month, however, its fixed-odds sportsbook also suffered a dip, albeit a more modest reduction from 4.5% to 4.48%.

Third-placed BetVictor closed the gap to Betfair after an improved performance saw the bookmaker grow its overall market share from 10.23% to 10.9%, while fourth-placed Paddy Power remained relatively static on 10.06%.

William Hill strengthened its hold on fifth spot with a slightly improved 9.19% return as nearest challenger Sky Bet recorded a market share of 7.7% – a figure identical to its September total.

The next four sports also remained unchanged with Coral posting an improved share of 6.92%, Ladbrokes on a reduced 5.32%, Betfred down slightly on 2.71% with Betway just behind on 2.67%.

The biggest sporting event of the month was the Rugby World Cup and in a close battle for supremacy Paddy Power topped the table with 13.94% of bet referrals followed by Ladbrokes (12.17%), Sky Bet (11.96%), Betfair (11.87%) and bet365 (10.67%).