BR-DGE, an independent payment orchestration provider headquartered in Scotland, has entered into a partnership with Betfred, a leading UK and Ireland betting operator. This collaboration aims to serve as BR-DGE’s payment orchestration layer for both deposits and withdrawals through a single integration.

The solution is currently operational in the UK and will expand to additional markets soon. The partnership was put to its first significant test during the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup, where BR-DGE processed more than one million transactions as part of Betfred’s payment infrastructure across a four-day period. This achievement was seen by Betfred as the most successful Cheltenham event in recent years.

Key capabilities and operational benefits

The orchestration layer offers Betfred enhanced connectivity to various payment service providers and methods, such as credit cards, bank-to-bank payments, and digital wallets. It also integrates a specialist partner for pre- and post-authorisation real-time fraud and identity decisioning. This setup enables Betfred to independently apply custom routing logic across deposit and withdrawal flows, supporting cost management, approval rate optimisation, and operational resilience without needing direct management of multiple payment service provider relationships.

The deployment of BR-DGE Vault significantly reduces the PCI-DSS scope by storing sensitive card data entirely outside Betfred’s environment. This move simplifies compliance requirements and allows for routing network tokens across multiple providers with built-in failover protection, which contributes to higher approval rates and a smoother checkout experience.

With major sporting events often leading to sharp and unpredictable increases in transaction volumes, the orchestration layer is designed to scale effectively without compromising payment performance or introducing delays at checkout. This feature is particularly critical for betting operators given the time-sensitive nature of transactions around live events.

Commenting on this partnership, Jacob Spencer, Chief Revenue Officer at BR-DGE, stated that it empowers Betfred to manage volume spikes without slowing down or restricting transactions and provides the flexibility needed for future growth. Nick Cockerill, Group Chief Product Officer at Betfred, noted that working with BR-DGE gives his business confidence that its payments infrastructure will perform reliably during peak times.