---
id: betfairlightweight
version: "2.23.2"
license: MIT License Copyright (c) 2026, Liam Pauling Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal… (full text in the JSON record)
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# betfairlightweight — Lightweight python wrapper for Betfair API-NG

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 74.0K/mo

## What it is and what it does

betfairlightweight is a client library that bridges Python code to the Betfair exchange API, handling authentication, market queries, order placement, and real-time streaming of market and order data. It wraps the Betfair API-NG endpoints and provides pythonic abstractions for betting operations (listing events, placing bets, managing orders) and account operations (checking balances, viewing statements). The library can optionally use C and Rust libraries for faster parsing and serialization when installed with the [speed] extra.

Typically used by traders and bots that need to connect to Betfair programmatically—either for one-off queries via the REST endpoints or for continuous market monitoring and order management via streaming listeners. It handles session management (login, keep-alive, logout), caches market and order state, and can push updates through a queue for asynchronous processing. Historical data can also be parsed and replayed using the same streaming infrastructure.

Use it for:

- Build a trading bot that subscribes to live market streams, processes price updates, and places orders based on custom logic.
- Backtest a betting strategy by replaying historical market data through the same streaming listeners used for live trading.
- Query account balances, statement history, and available funds programmatically for portfolio management or reporting.
- Monitor in-play events and race status in real time to trigger conditional bets or risk management actions.
- Aggregate market data across multiple event types or regions and export to CSV or a database for analysis.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

A Python wrapper for the Betfair API-NG that handles betting operations, market and order streaming, and account management with optional C and Rust acceleration.

Yes. The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no security vulnerabilities, and is licensed permissively. Install it if you need a programmatic Betfair client; the only real prerequisite is having valid Betfair credentials and understanding the API authentication model (app key, SSL certs, or interactive login).

## Install

pip install betfairlightweight
uv add betfairlightweight
poetry add betfairlightweight

## Installing betfairlightweight

Before you install: Low friction install with a single runtime dependency (requests). The project is actively maintained with recent commits and has been stable since 2016, tested on Python 3.9 through 3.14.

License in practice: MIT License permits commercial and private use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—standard permissive terms that impose no meaningful constraint on adoption.

Quickstart:

pip install betfairlightweight

import betfairlightweight

trading = betfairlightweight.APIClient('username', 'password', app_key='app_key', certs='/certs')
trading.login()
event_types = trading.betting.list_event_types()

Requires Betfair account credentials (username, password, app key) and SSL certificates for non-interactive login; interactive login available without certs but less secure.

Verify before relying:

- Whether C/Rust acceleration via the [speed] extra meaningfully improves latency for typical streaming or order-placement workloads.
- Performance characteristics under high-frequency order updates or large market subscriptions.
- Stability and completeness of support for all Betfair API endpoints across different market types and regions.

## Package facts

- License: MIT License Copyright (c) 2026, Liam Pauling Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal… (full text in the JSON record) (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 74.0K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

betfair api wrapper, betting exchange client, market streaming python, order streaming betfair, betfair trading api, exchange stream listener, betfair account management, betting-exchange, streaming-api, trading-bot

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