The Definitive Fairbot Review (2025): A UK Trader's Honest Verdict

As long-time traders on the Betfair exchange here in the UK, we’ve seen countless tools come and go. For years, one question has dominated trading forums: “Which software should I use?” Today, we’re going to give you the definitive answer.

This isn’t just a quick overview of the software; it’s a deep-dive Fairbot review from a professional trader’s perspective. We’ll cover its hidden strengths and its annoying weaknesses. Furthermore, we’ll examine how it stacks up against its fierce rivals, Geeks Toy and BF Bot Manager.

If you’re serious about making money on Betfair, this is the only Fairbot review you’ll need to read this year.

Your 5-Step Checklist Before You Start Trading

Before we dive in, let’s be clear: no software is a magic wand. On the contrary, success comes from discipline. For this reason, we’ve created a mandatory checklist for you to follow before spending a penny.

Download the Free Trial: All three top tools offer one. Therefore, you should use it to get a feel for the interface.
Spend 10+ Hours in Simulation Mode: First, trade with virtual money. Practice executing your chosen strategy until it’s second nature, because there is no excuse for losing real money while learning the buttons.
Define Your Strategy: Are you a scalper, a swing trader, or something else? Decide on your approach before you start instead of just clicking on moving odds.
Set Up a Dedicated Trading Bank: Only trade with money you can afford to lose. This bank should always be separate from your personal finances.
Start with Minimum Stakes: When you go live, use the lowest possible stakes (£2 on Betfair). Your goal for the first month isn’t to make a profit; instead, it’s to not lose your bank while you gain experience.

A Quick Note on UK Regulation and Tax-Free Winnings

One of the biggest advantages for those of us trading in the United Kingdom is the regulatory and tax environment. Specifically, the official UK Gambling Commission regulates all activity on the Betfair Exchange, which ensures a high level of fairness and security for your funds.

Crucially, as of 2025, any profits you make from sports trading are completely tax-free. According to official guidance from HMRC, they do not consider betting a taxable trade. Consequently, HMRC exempts your winnings from both income tax and capital gains tax. While this legislation could always change in the future, for now, it remains a significant incentive for UK-based traders.

A Real-World FairBot Case Study

To add real data to this Fairbot review, we conducted a real-world test. We took a £250 bank and used FairBot to trade pre-race UK horse racing markets for one week with a simple scalping strategy.

The Goal: Not to make a fortune, but to test the software’s stability and ease of use under live market conditions and see if we could grind out a small, realistic profit.

The Results:

Total P&L: +£47.85

Conclusion: Ultimately, the test yielded a modest but realistic profit. More importantly, the software performed flawlessly. It was fast, stable, and the one-click ladder was essential for getting in and out of the market quickly. This test proves that with a solid strategy and the right tool, you can achieve consistent results.

What Real Traders Are Saying in 2025

No Fairbot review would be complete without looking at what real traders are saying. To get a balanced view beyond our own testing, we’ve analysed discussions from reputable trading forums and communities. Three main themes consistently emerge.

1. Unmatched Stability and Reliability

This is, by far, the most common point of praise. While other tools chase marginal speed gains, FairBot is lauded for its rock-solid performance, especially when it matters most.

“I’ve used them all over the years, and I always come back to FairBot. Why? Because it just works. It has never crashed on me in the final minutes of a big horse race, which is more than I can say for others. It’s the definition of a workhorse.”

— Quote from a long-time trader on a major UK sports trading forum.

2. The “Dated but Functional” Interface

A recurring point of discussion is the software’s aesthetic. Few would call it modern, but most experienced users agree that its functionality outweighs its looks.

“For new users, the interface can look a bit ‘Windows XP’ and intimidating. But once you spend a couple of days in simulation mode, you realise everything is exactly where it needs to be for efficient trading. It’s functional rather than pretty, and that’s what matters.”

— Review from a popular sports trading blog.

3. The “All-Rounder” vs. The Specialist

Users are very clear about FairBot’s place in the market. It’s seen as the perfect tool for traders who engage in multiple strategies, rather than focusing purely on high-frequency scalping.

“If your entire strategy is scalping for one or two ticks 1000 times a day, maybe you’d want the extra 10ms you might get from Geeks Toy. But for anyone like me who does a bit of everything – swing trading on football, pre-race scalping, some in-play tennis – FairBot is simply the better, more complete package.”

— Comment from a user on a Betfair trading subreddit.

In summary, the community consensus is that FairBot is one of the most reliable and versatile tool available, perfect for the vast majority of traders who need a stable platform they can depend on.

A Deep Dive into FairBot’s Key Features

To truly understand its value, let’s break down the core features of the software and how they benefit you as a trader.

Ladder Interface

This is the heart of any professional trading software. Instead of the standard grid on the Betfair website, the ladder displays prices vertically, showing the amount of money waiting to be matched at each price tick. As a result, you get a real-time view of market depth.

Why it’s essential: It facilitates one-click betting, cancelling, and amending of trades. This speed is non-negotiable for strategies like scalping. In addition, it helps you visualise “weight of money” to predict short-term price movements.

Automation – Your Trading Co-Pilot

Building on its speed, FairBot allows you to set up rules that automatically manage your trades, which is crucial for discipline and risk management. Some of its key functions include:

Greening Up (Hedging): With a single click, the software automatically places the required bet to lock in an equal profit across all possible outcomes, no matter who wins.
Stop Loss: This is your most important safety net. You can set a rule to automatically exit your trade if the market moves against you by a predefined number of ticks. This function actively protects your bankroll from significant losses in a volatile market.
Tick Offset: Another powerful feature for scalpers, it automatically places an opposing bet a set number of ticks in your favour as soon as your initial bet is matched, thereby helping to automate profit-taking.

Advanced Charting Tools

While the Betfair website offers basic charts, FairBot provides more advanced options essential for technical analysis. Specifically, this includes candlestick charts, volume indicators, and moving averages.

Why it’s useful: These tools help you identify price trends, patterns, and potential momentum shifts, thus allowing you to make more informed decisions on when to enter or exit a swing trade.

Simulation Mode (Training Mode)

This feature allows you to use the full functionality of the software with virtual funds. The simulation runs on real-time market data and therefore provides a completely realistic trading experience without you having to risk any of your own money.

Why it’s a must-have: For beginners, it is the perfect risk-free environment to learn the software and practice strategies. For experienced traders, it’s an invaluable tool for testing new, complex strategies before deploying them with real capital.

Multi-Market Trading (“Watch List”)

Instead of having multiple browser tabs open, FairBot allows you to monitor and trade on several different markets simultaneously from a single screen. You can create a “Watch List” of events you’re interested in and then jump between them instantly.

Why it’s efficient: It ensures you never miss an opportunity and provides a much broader overview of market activity. This is especially useful on busy Saturday afternoons with multiple horse races or football matches running at the same time.

Price and Feature Showdown: FairBot vs The Competition (2025)

Each tool excels in a specific area. For this reason, the “best” one is a matter of trading style.

Feature / Subscription	FairBot	Geeks Toy	BF Bot Manager
1 Year Price	$99	£60 (~$75)	£149.95 (~$188)
Our Verdict	Best All-Rounder	Best for Manual Scalpers	Best for Automation Experts

You can also read our complete review of Geeks Toy and Bf Bot Manager in our Betfair bots section.

Our Final Verdict in this Fairbot Review: Which Software Should You Choose?

After years of using all three, we believe the right choice depends entirely on your goals and personality. In short, there are three clear paths you can take:

For the Aspiring Professional: If you value raw speed and customisation above all else, Geeks Toy is the choice of serious scalpers for a reason. Its interface is built for high-frequency trading where milliseconds matter. Consequently, if you’re serious about performance, you owe it to yourself to experience its speed with the free trial.
For the Systems Thinker & Automator: If the idea of building automated systems that can trade for you 24/7 appeals to you, then BF Bot Manager is in a league of its own. It unlocks the potential for ‘hands-off’ trading based on rules you create. Therefore, if you’re analytical and time-poor, explore its powerful bot-building features to see what’s possible.
For the Balanced Trader: If you want a supremely reliable, stable, and user-friendly platform that expertly handles all common trading styles, then FairBot is an outstanding choice. It’s the perfect blend of powerful features and ease of use, making it a trusted workhorse. For these reasons, you should see why it’s so popular and download the trial here.

Ultimately, all three are excellent tools. The best way to find your fit is to try them.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does using FairBot guarantee I will make a profit? Absolutely not. Let us be clear: this is a powerful tool, not a magic button. Profitability depends 100% on your strategy and discipline.

2. Is using trading software legal in the UK? Yes, it is 100% legal. These are officially licensed tools designed to interact with Betfair’s API.

3. Is FairBot approved by Betfair and safe? Yes, it’s an officially approved Betfair API vendor and is completely safe.

4. Does FairBot work with other exchanges like Smarkets? No, it is exclusively for the Betfair Exchange.

5. Will Betfair charge me extra for using the API? For 99% of users, no. Only extremely high-volume traders are subject to Betfair’s “Premium Charge,” which is based on your overall account, not your software.

6. Can I use my license on my desktop and laptop? Typically, you can only use a single license on one PC. You may need a second discounted license for another machine, so check their site for the current policy.

7. Can I use FairBot on a Mac? It’s a Windows application. To run it on a Mac, you need to use Parallels or Boot Camp.

If you have a question that wasn’t answered in this Fairbot review, drop it in the comments below!

Please note: This content is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. All forms of trading involve a high risk of losing money. Please trade responsibly. This article may contain affiliate links.