Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+ installed
• Basic familiarity with the command line
• An editor (VS Code, PyCharm) and optional git
• A Betfair developer/sandbox account (we use sandbox endpoints in examples)

Download software & tools (links)

Download the recommended tools below. Each link opens the official download page in a new tab.

Create sandbox / developer credentials

Sign up for Betfair developer/sandbox access and obtain your API key and any test tokens. Official docs and signup pages:

• Betfair Developer Hub
• Betfair API Documentation

Keep credentials in environment variables or a .env file. Example .env (never commit):

Copy# .env (example — DO NOT COMMIT)
BETFAIR_API_URL=https://sandbox-api.example.com
BETFAIR_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
BETFAIR_USERNAME=test_user
BETFAIR_PASSWORD=test_pass

Free delayed/read‑only API: If you only need market data for experimentation (no order placement), Betfair offers a delayed/read‑only data feed useful for testing market lookups and UI work. Use a delayed key for read-only data and switch to sandbox/trading credentials when you need order placement. See the developer hub above for details.

Minimal authentication & request helper

Save this as auth.py. It demonstrates loading env vars and making a simple authenticated request to the sandbox. Replace API_URL and headers to match your provider’s docs.

Copyimport os
import requests
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

API_URL = os.getenv('BETFAIR_API_URL', 'https://sandbox-api.example.com')
API_KEY = os.getenv('BETFAIR_API_KEY', '')

def headers():
    return {
        'X-Application': API_KEY,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    }

def get_markets(search):
    params = {'filter': search}
    r = requests.get(f"{API_URL}/markets", headers=headers(), params=params, timeout=10)
    r.raise_for_status()
    return r.json()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    try:
        markets = get_markets('Match Odds')
        print('Markets response keys:', markets.keys() if isinstance(markets, dict) else type(markets))
    except Exception as e:
        print('API error:', e)

Run python auth.py to validate connectivity. Expect JSON or a clear HTTP error (401/403 if keys incorrect).

Quick market lookup example

This snippet calls the helper above to list markets and print the first market name and id.

Copyfrom auth import get_markets

markets = get_markets('Match Odds')
if markets:
    # provider responses vary — inspect structure
    first = markets[0] if isinstance(markets, list) and markets else markets
    print('Found market:', first.get('name') if isinstance(first, dict) else first)

Validation: If no markets are returned, verify API_URL, API_KEY, and network connectivity. If you see 401/403, double-check credentials and sandbox permissions.

Safety & next steps

• Always use sandbox/test credentials for development — never use production keys.
• Store secrets in environment variables or a secrets manager; rotate keys periodically.
• Be mindful of Betfair rules: stake increments, minimums, and market suspensions.

Security: Protect webhooks with HMAC or a shared secret; use HTTPS. Add idempotency tokens on order requests to avoid duplicate orders.

What you’ll build next

Lesson 2 will implement a full auth wrapper with token refresh and a resilient request function that retries on transient errors. After that we’ll look up markets and place test orders in Lesson 4.

Back to course hub