Betfair Exchange Games have implemented a web service that provides an Application Programming Interface (Exchange Games API), allowing developers to write their own applications that integrate with the Betfair Games system. The scope of the functionality available is unlimited and could be anything from a new client front end system as an alternative to the existing website, to an automated betting application.
The implementation of the web service uses a framework known as Representational State Transfer (or REST). This enables developers to interact with the Betfair Games system using URLs (or resources) and the standard HTTP methods GET (reading state) and POST (modifying state).
Supported API requests and responses are published in the form of an XML Schema and therefore state is represented and transferred between client developers and the API as XML.
To use the API you require a valid Betfair username and password. REST services are stateless by nature requiring the username to appear as a parameter in every request and the password in the header of each request.
Due to the sensitive information available in each request, all communication with the Exchange Games API must be made over HTTPS.
The Exchange Games API is independent of the Betfair Games web interface; therefore you can build stable, custom functionality and interfaces to suit your betting methodology. Changes in the web interface will not affect the operation of your program.
