Pro Gambler: Andrew Black Co-founder of Betfair

Do you know the name Andrew Black? 

The title kind of gives it away, the co-found of Betfair. 

For reference, his business partner is Edward Wray. Together they transformed the betting industry creating the first online betting exchange. 

Think back to the year 2000, and the whisper of Joe Public being backer and layer alike. The bookmaking industry turned upside down by a platform which poked fun at William Hill et al declaring the death of the bookmaking industry. 

The betting exchange turned into a billion-pound business when floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2010. The company was valued at 1.4bn. Black's 15% shares worth £200M. The share price would rise substantially from £13 - £44, de-listed in 2016 when purchased by Paddy Power.    

Black was worth well over half a billion pounds. 

I remember reading one of Dave Nevison's books: A Bloody Good Winner, and him saying he wished he had come up with the idea himself. 

Everything seems easy after the event. 

But, thinking about it, the betting exchange was of its time. 

It marked the biggest change in bookmaking history and there had been plenty of them over the years. 

I didn't realise Andrew Black had been a professional gambler. It seems he dropped out of Exeter University to punt his skills in the casinos and especially enjoyed horse racing. That introduction and passion for the sport of kings manifested into a betting revolution. 

I've had a Betfair account since those early years and still have one to this day. 

Black was born in 1963, the son of a property developer and grandchild of Sir Cyril Black, a Tory MP for Wimbledon. 

Strangely, his grandfather campaigned against gambling. 

Black worked in the City of London for a derivatives business, while becoming an increasingly successful gambler. He gave up working in the city to gamble full-time. However, it wasn't lucrative enough. This led to him setting up a software business. In fact, such was its success, he gained a contract for Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). 

In this period, Black worked every evening on the concept of a betting exchange. 

Black's love for playing bridge led him to meet his business partner and Betfair co-founder Eward Wray who was impressed with the prototype he had programmed and invested. 

An addition £1M funds were secured from family and friends, as venture capitalists declined the offer. Betfair was launched in 2000. Its success was very much down to a similar format to financial exchanges, where larger bets could be made up of smaller transactions. 

Horse racing has always been a passion for Black and in 2009 he announced his partnership with Michael Owen and Manor House Stables. Punters will remember the magnificent Brown Panther who went on to win the St Leger (2014). 

From 2007 - 2016 he has his own horse racing blog - Bert's Blog.

To this day, he is still a professional bridge player.  

Picture: JC 2025