specification: API Commons Rate Limits
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/RateLimits
provider: Betfair
providerId: betfair
created: '2026-07-03'
modified: '2026-07-03'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Betting Exchange
- Market Data
- Rate Limiting
- Quotas
- Streaming
description: >-
  Betfair governs Exchange API usage through a combination of per-operation
  transaction limits, market-data request weighting, session lifecycle rules,
  and stream-connection limits rather than a single global requests-per-second
  quota. Market data requests (listMarketBook / listRunnerBook) are weighted,
  and a single request has a maximum weighting of 200 (the weighting grows with
  the number of markets/runners and the price data requested). Bet-placement
  operations are subject to transaction limits and Betfair monitors accounts
  whose weighted data usage is disproportionate to their betting activity
  (Data Request Charges). Session tokens expire after an inactivity period and
  must be refreshed with keepAlive. On the Exchange Stream API, a client must
  send a message within 15 seconds of connecting or the server returns a
  TIMEOUT; the number of concurrent stream connections is capped per account
  (reported to the client as connectionsAvailable), and exceeding subscription
  or connection limits returns SUBSCRIPTION_LIMIT_EXCEEDED /
  MAX_CONNECTION_LIMIT_EXCEEDED.
notes: >-
  Betfair does not publish a single fixed numeric requests-per-second cap for
  the Betting/Accounts REST and JSON-RPC surfaces; limits are expressed as data
  weighting, transaction counts, and error codes (TOO_MANY_REQUESTS,
  TOO_MUCH_DATA, SERVICE_BUSY). Exact per-account transaction ceilings, session
  timeouts (which vary by jurisdiction), and stream connection counts should be
  confirmed against Betfair's current documentation during reconciliation.
sources:
- https://docs.developer.betfair.com/display/1smk3cen4v3lu3yomq5qye0ni/Betting+API
- https://docs.developer.betfair.com/display/1smk3cen4v3lu3yomq5qye0ni/Exchange+Stream+API
- https://github.com/betfair/stream-api-sample-code
- https://developer.betfair.com/en/exchange-api/faq/
responseCodes:
  throttled: 429
  errorCodes:
  - TOO_MANY_REQUESTS
  - TOO_MUCH_DATA
  - SERVICE_BUSY
  - TIMEOUT_ERROR
limits:
- name: Market Data Request Weighting
  scope: request
  metric: weight
  limit: 200 max per request
  notes: listMarketBook/listRunnerBook requests are weighted; a single request may not exceed a weighting of 200. Weighting grows with market/runner count and price data requested.
- name: Betting REST/JSON-RPC Requests
  scope: account
  metric: requests
  limit: not published (monitored)
  notes: No fixed numeric per-second cap is published; excessive use returns TOO_MANY_REQUESTS / SERVICE_BUSY. Betfair applies Data Request Charges when weighted data usage is high relative to betting activity.
- name: placeOrders Instructions
  scope: request
  metric: instructions
  limit: bounded per request
  notes: A single placeOrders call carries a bounded number of instructions per market; batch bets rather than issuing many single-bet calls.
- name: Session Token Lifetime
  scope: session
  metric: inactivity
  limit: jurisdiction-dependent
  notes: Session tokens expire after an inactivity period (shorter for Italian/Spanish exchanges); call keepAlive to refresh before expiry.
- name: Stream Connect Timeout
  scope: connection
  metric: seconds
  limit: 15
  notes: On the Exchange Stream API a message must be sent within 15 seconds of connecting or the server returns a TIMEOUT status.
- name: Stream Concurrent Connections
  scope: account
  metric: connections
  limit: capped (connectionsAvailable)
  notes: Concurrent stream connections are capped per account; the remaining allowance is reported as connectionsAvailable, and exceeding it returns MAX_CONNECTION_LIMIT_EXCEEDED.
- name: Stream Subscriptions
  scope: connection
  metric: subscriptions
  limit: capped
  notes: Exceeding the per-connection subscription limit returns SUBSCRIPTION_LIMIT_EXCEEDED.
policies:
- name: Data Request Charges
  description: Betfair may charge accounts whose weighted API data usage is disproportionately high relative to their betting turnover, incentivizing efficient use of the Stream API over aggressive polling.
- name: Prefer Streaming Over Polling
  description: For low-latency needs Betfair directs clients to the Exchange Stream API (subscription push) instead of repeatedly polling listMarketBook, reducing data weighting.
- name: Session Keep-Alive
  description: Refresh the session token with keepAlive before its inactivity timeout; a new login is required once a token has expired.
- name: Backoff on Errors
  description: On TOO_MANY_REQUESTS / SERVICE_BUSY / TIMEOUT_ERROR, back off with jitter and retry; do not hammer the endpoint.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com