Online bookmaker Betfair has launched “App Cloud”, opening up its API to allow developers to create their own betting apps and online widgets by hooking in to its lucrative Betfair sports exchange platform.

Iconic soccer club Manchester United has been the first to go live with the system, offering visitors to its website the opportunity to register with Betfair and place bets seamlessly from within the site.

Currently, third party interfaces operating off Betfair’s API contribute approximately 20% of Betfair’s sports exchange revenues. The company expects this figure to grow as the process of building these external applications is made easier for developers and more accessible for their customers.

Developers have the option to monetise their creations via the Betfair Affiliate programme, whereby they earn money for each customer who signs up thorugh their app, or by charging their users a subscription fee.

“Our App Cloud will further enhance the dynamism and productivity of Betfair’s developer community and in turn make more Betfair products accessible to more customers,” said Carel Vosloo, Betfair’s App Cloud Director. “Having a vibrant developer community enables Betfair to outsource ingenuity and facilitate further innovation in its product range.”

A full list of third-party applications built off of Betfair’s API can be viewed in the Betfair App Directory.