JANUARY 1998
Andrew (Bert) Black develops his idea of a betting exchange.
JULY 1998
Bert meets Edward Wray to discuss his idea and the two agree to work together.
AUGUST 1999
The parent company, The Sporting Exchange Limited, is formed to develop the betting exchange platform.
JUNE 2000
The Sporting Exchange launches Betfair. Betfair's first market is on The Oaks, won by Love Divine.
OCTOBER 2000
Betfair places its first advertisement.
MAY 2001
Betfair manages its first in-running soccer market - Alaves v Liverpool in the UEFA Cup Final.
JUNE 2001
Betfair becomes the exclusive betting exchange provider for the Racing Post's website.
OCTOBER 2001
Betfair launches its telephone betting service.
DECEMBER 2001
Betfair merges with Flutter.com.
JULY 2002
Betfair becomes the shirt sponsor of Fulham Football Club.
SEPTEMBER 2002
Betfair moves to its new offices in Hammersmith, London.
OCTOBER 2002
The co-founders of Betfair, Andrew Black and Edward Wray, are named Ernst and Young Emerging Entrepreneurs of the Year.
APRIL 2003
Betfair wins Queen's Award for Enterprise, in the Innovation category, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and following a full assessment by the Department of Trade and Industry.
JUNE 2003
Betfair signs landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UK Jockey Club, aimed at protecting and maintaining the integrity of horseracing.
OCTOBER 2003
Betfair signs MoU with Association of Tennis Professionals.
NOVEMBER 2003
Betfair signs training initiative with GamCare, the charity which promotes responsible attitudes to gambling.
Betfair launches site translations in German, Danish, Greek, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and Chinese.
JANUARY 2004
Betfair signs MoU with International Cricket Council.
MARCH 2004
Betfair signs MoU with the English Football Association.
APRIL 2004
Betfair signs MoU with Cricket Australia.
MAY 2004
Betfair launches its poker site as a licensee of Cryptologic.
JULY 2004
Betfair signs joint venture with Australia's Publishing and Broadcasting Limited.
SEPTEMBER 2004
Betfair successfully migrates 300,000 customers to Betex, its new platform.
Betfair sponsors the St Leger, the world's oldest Classic horserace.
Betfair signs MoU with the National Horseracing Authority of South Africa.
OCTOBER 2004
Betfair hosts its first online poker tournament with £100,000 prize money.
NOVEMBER 2004
Betfair launches a rescue package for Sporting Options' customers who have lost money as a result of Sporting Options, a betting exchange company, going into administration.
Betfair opens second office in the UK in Stevenage.
DECEMBER 2004
Betfair wins 'Company of the Year' in the Confederation of British Industry's Growing Business Awards.
JANUARY 2005
Betfair signs an exclusive deal with Yahoo! UK and Ireland to launch a simplified co-branded betting exchange.
Betfair signs MoUs with UEFA and the National Greyhound Racing Club.
Betfair launches its first 'Charity of the Year' partnership with Racing Welfare.
FEBRUARY 2005
Betfair signs MoU with the US Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau.
MARCH 2005
Betfair named as the 'Best Place to work in IT' in the entertainment and leisure category at the 2005 Computer Weekly award.
APRIL 2005
Betfair becomes the Official Betting Partner of the John Smith's Grand National meeting, the world's most famous race and watched by 600 million people worldwide, in an exclusive three-year deal.
Betfair announces the sponsorship of a new race at Haydock Park in November, one of only three Grade One Chases in the country (the others being The King George and The Cheltenham Gold Cup) with prize money of £150,000.
Betfair welcomes the Gambling Act 2005, which for the first time provides a regulatory framework for remote gambling operators in the UK.
Betfair is granted a licence in Austria, its first outside the UK.
MAY 2005
Betfair announces £1m bonus for any horse winning the inaugural Grade One Betfair Chase at Haydock in November, the King George and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Betfair obtains a licence to operate in Malta.
JUNE 2005
Betfair launches Spanish and Turkish language websites.
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2005
Betfair sponsors The Ashes on Channel 4, its first broadcast sponsorship.
SEPTEMBER 2005
Betfair is named the UK's seventh fastest-growing technology company in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100.
OCTOBER 2005
Betfair acquires the Danish-based poker platform, PokerChamps.
Betfair hosts the inaugural 'Pride of Racing' Awards, in aid of Racing Welfare, to salute the unsung heroes of the horseracing industry.
Betfair signs MoUs with the Sony Erickson WTA Tour, the International Tennis Federation, the Grand Slam Committee, the Lawn Tennis Association and Australian Football League.
NOVEMBER 2005
Betfair wins for the second year running 'Company of the Year' at the CBI Growing Business Awards. It is the first company to successfully retain its title.
Betfair is named 'Socially Responsible Operator of the Year' at the inaugural eGaming Industry Awards.
JANUARY 2006
Betfair is awarded a licence to operate in Australia by the Tasmanian Gaming Commission.
The Brooke Hospital for Animals is announced as Betfair's 'Charity of the Year'
FEBRUARY 2006
Betfair signs a deal with PayPal to allow its European customers to make payments using PayPal.
Betfair signs MoUs with the Belgian FA, the British Darts Organisation and the Rugby Football League.
Betfair launches a new Express View which displays the current back prices only on all Betfair's markets.
MARCH 2006
Betfair wins the 'Hollis Media Sponsorship of the Year' for its sponsorship of Channel 4's coverage of the Ashes in 2005.
APRIL 2006
Betfair signs an agreement with Post Office Ltd to streamline the identity verification of customers.
MAY 2006
Betfair signs MoU ahead of the World Cup with FIFA Early Warning Systems Ltd.
Betfair launches its World Cup Betting Zone.
JUNE 2006
Betfair handles a record number of bets during the World Cup.
Betfair wins the 'Most Effective Enterprise-Wide Infrastructure' award at the Effective IT Awards.
Betfair Mobile launches in time for the World Cup.
The third of Betfair's exchange-enabled games products, Exchange Baccarat, is launched.
JULY 2006
French, Bulgarian and Czech language sites are added, taking the total to 18 worldwide.
Betfair signs MoUs with Racing Services Tasmania and Racing Victoria Limited.
AUGUST 2006
Betfair's Australian office in Hobart, Tasmania becomes fully operational with the launch of the Australian exchange.
Betfair agrees to pay 10 per cent of its revenue on Irish horseracing directly to Horse Racing Ireland (HRI). The voluntary agreement guarantees revenues to HRI in excess of £1 million a year, for the first three years.
Betfair agrees MoUs with the Irish Turf Club and the Irish Football Association.
OCTOBER 2006
Betfair launches its online casino, featuring the revolutionary Zero Lounge.
Betfair Poker re-launches on Betfair's own platform, developed since the PokerChamps acquisition in 2005.
Betfair hosts the second 'Pride of Racing' Awards which raises £35,000 for Racing Welfare.
Betfair wins Socially Responsible Operator of the Year for the second year running at the eGaming Awards.
Betfair wins the first annual Citrix Customer Innovation Award.
NOVEMBER 2006
Betfair acquires Timeform, the world-renowned brand publishing horseracing ratings, form guides and analysis.
Betfair hosts the Betfair Asian Poker Tour in Singapore.
Betfair signs a MoU with The PGA Tour of Australasia.
DECEMBER 2006
Betfair becomes the first online gaming organisation to gain the internationally recognised ISO/IEC 27001:2005 Information Security Management System Certification.