Non-Interactive (bot) login

Getting Started

The non-interactive login method for the Betfair Exchange API requires that you create and upload a self-signed certificate which will be used, alongside your username and password to authenticate your credentials and generate a session token.

For the purposes of this guide, we have used OpenSSL to generate this client, details of which can be found at http://www.openssl.org/

2 Step Authentication With Non Interactive Login

Using 2 Step Authentication to secure your account for website logins will have no impact on your use of the non-interactive login method and vice versa.

There are a couple of steps required before we can actually log in:

  1. Create a self-signed certificate

  2. Link the certificate to your Betfair account

Creating a Self Signed Certificate

The Betfair Exchange API requires that a 1024-bit or 2048-bit RSA certificate be used.   We are using OpenSSL in the below example but there are other ways of doing this, including using a UI-based interface such as XCA as covered in the Certificate Generation With XCA tutorial.

Create a public/private RSA key pair using openssl

openssl genrsa -out client-2048.key 2048

Update or Create the openssl configuration file (openssl.cnf) for OpenSSL to override some of the default settings: 

[ ssl_client ]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
nsCertType = client
keyUsage = digitalSignature, keyEncipherment
extendedKeyUsage = clientAuth

In Windows, the config file is located in the installation directory of OpenSSL

In Linux distributions, the config file is located at /usr/lib/ssl/openssl.cnf or /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf

Create a certificate signing request (CSR).

openssl req -new -config openssl.cnf -key client-2048.key -out client-2048.csr


Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:GB
State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:London
Locality Name (eg, city) []:London
Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:yourcompany.com
Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:Security Team
Common Name (e.g. server FQDN or YOUR name) []:Test API-NG Certificate
Email Address []:my.name@mydomain.com

Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
to be sent with your certificate request
A challenge password []:
An optional company name []:

Self-sign the certificate request to create a certificate

openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in client-2048.csr -signkey client-2048.key -out client-2048.crt -extfile openssl.cnf -extensions ssl_client 

In Windows, using any text editor, copy the contents of the .crt file and the .key file into a new file. Save this new file as client-2048.pem.

Linking the Certificate to Your Betfair Account

The previous steps should have created the following files:

File name

Description

client-2048.key

The private key. This file is needed in order to use the certificate and should be protected and shouldn’t be shared with anyone.

client-2048.csr

A certificate signing request. This file is no longer needed and can be deleted.

client-2048.crt

The certificate. This file is not sensitive in security terms and can be shared with anyone.

Before you login using the certificate, it must be attached to your Betfair account, as follows:

  1. Log in to your Betfair account through betfair.com.  Paste the following URL into the address bar of your browser

  2. Navigate to https://myaccount.betfair.com/accountdetails/mysecurity?showAPI=1  -  Note:  Please use https://myaccount.betfair.it/accountdetails/mysecurity?showAPI=1 for the Italian Exchange or the endpoint relevant to your own jurisdiction.  See the URL Definition section for more details

  3. Scroll to the section titled “Automated Betting Program Access” and click 'Edit'

  4. Click on “Browse” and then locate and select the file client-2048.crt created above.

  5. Click on the “Upload Certificate” button.

Scroll down to the “Automated Betting Program Access” section if required and the certificate details should be shown.  You should now be able to log in to your Betfair account using the Betfair API endpoint.

Note on File Formats

Some systems require that client certificates are in a different format to the ones we’ve created.  The two most common formats are (a) PEM format key and certificate in a single file and (b) PKCS#12 format file.  .NET applications require a PKCS#12 format file.

To create a PEM format file that contains both the private key and the certificate you can use the following command:

Linux
cat client-2048.crt client-2048.key > client-2048.pem

Create the PKCS#12 format using crt and key

openssl pkcs12 -export -in client-2048.crt -inkey client-2048.key -out client-2048.p12

Don't circulate the key, PEM file or PCKS#12 format files as these files are security sensitive

Details of a Login Request

A login request can now be made as follows:

  1. Submit a HTTP “POST” request to: https://identitysso-cert.betfair.com/api/certlogin

  2. As part of the SSL connection, the certificate created previously must be supplied.

  3. Include a custom Header called “X-Application” with a value that identifies your application.  The value is not validated and is only used to help with troubleshooting and diagnosing any problems.

  4. Ensure the POST’s Content-Type is “application/x-www-form-urlencoded” rather than MIME attachment encoded.

  5. As part of the POST body include two parameters “username” and “password” which should have the relevant username/password for your account.

You should ensure that your username and password values are encoded before being sent to the API; if your password contains special characters and isn't encoded, the login request will fail with CERT_AUTH_REQUIRED/INVALID_PASSWORD

Certificate Login Interface Details

URL Definition

Certificate Endpoint
https://identitysso-cert.betfair.com/api/certlogin 

This endpoint is also available under the following jurisdictions

Please use the below if your country of residence is in one of the list jurisdictions.

Jurisdiction

Endpoint

Australian & New Zealand

https://identitysso-cert.betfair.com.au/api/certlogin

Italy

https://identitysso-cert.betfair.it/api/certlogin

Spain

https://identitysso-cert.betfair.es/api/certlogin

Romania

https://identitysso-cert.betfair.ro/api/certlogin

Sweden

https://identitysso-cert.betfair.se/api/certlogin

Please note: Danish residents cannot use the Non-Interactive (bot) login method due to the NEMID requirement which is only supported by the Interactive Login - Desktop Application method

Request headers

  • X-Application - You must set the X-Application header to your application key.

Request Parameters

  • username (mandatory) - The username of the user logging in.

  • password (mandatory) - The password of the user logging in.

Please note:  The username and password values should be encoded when making the login request. All method names are case sensitive, this includes login, keepAlive and logout.

Response

The response returned is a json string. If the response is successful then the loginStatus key will contain SUCCESS, for example: 

{
  sessionToken: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx;
  loginStatus: SUCCESS;
}

Should a failure or exception be returned, the response will be structured as below and loginStatus will contain a failure reason:

{
  loginStatus: INVALID_USERNAME_OR_PASSWORD;
}

The possible failure and exceptional return codes are:

error

Description

INVALID_USERNAME_OR_PASSWORD 

 the username or password are invalid

ACCOUNT_NOW_LOCKED 

 the account was just locked

ACCOUNT_ALREADY_LOCKED  

 the account is already locked

PENDING_AUTH 

 pending authentication

TELBET_TERMS_CONDITIONS_NA 

 Telbet terms and conditions rejected

DUPLICATE_CARDS 

 duplicate cards

SECURITY_QUESTION_WRONG_3X 

 the user has entered wrong the security answer 3 times

KYC_SUSPEND 

 KYC suspended

SUSPENDED 

 the account is suspended

CLOSED  

 the account is closed

SELF_EXCLUDED 

 the account has been self-excluded

INVALID_CONNECTIVITY_TO_REGULATOR_DK 

the DK regulator cannot be accessed due to some internal problems in the system behind or in at regulator; timeout cases included.

NOT_AUTHORIZED_BY_REGULATOR_DK 

 the user identified by the given credentials is not authorized in the DK's jurisdictions due to the regulators' policies. Ex: the user for which this session should be created is not allowed to act(play, bet) in the DK's jurisdiction.

INVALID_CONNECTIVITY_TO_REGULATOR_IT 

 the IT regulator cannot be accessed due to some internal problems in the system behind or in at regulator; timeout cases included.

NOT_AUTHORIZED_BY_REGULATOR_IT 

 the user identified by the given credentials is not authorized in the IT's jurisdictions due to the regulators' policies. Ex: the user for which this session should be created is not allowed to act(play, bet) in the IT's jurisdiction.

SECURITY_RESTRICTED_LOCATION 

 the account is restricted due to security concerns

BETTING_RESTRICTED_LOCATION 

 the account is accessed from a location where betting is restricted

TRADING_MASTER 

 Trading Master Account

TRADING_MASTER_SUSPENDED 

 Suspended Trading Master Account

AGENT_CLIENT_MASTER 

 Agent Client Master

AGENT_CLIENT_MASTER_SUSPENDED 

 Suspended Agent Client Master

DANISH_AUTHORIZATION_REQUIRED 

 Danish authorization required

SPAIN_MIGRATION_REQUIRED 

 Spain migration required

DENMARK_MIGRATION_REQUIRED 

 Denmark migration required

SPANISH_TERMS_ACCEPTANCE_REQUIRED 

 The latest Spanish terms and conditions version must be accepted. You must login to the website to accept the new conditions.

ITALIAN_CONTRACT_ACCEPTANCE_REQUIRED 

The latest Italian contract version must be accepted. You must login to the website to accept the new conditions.

CERT_AUTH_REQUIRED 

Certificate required or certificate present but could not authenticate with it.  Please check that the correct file path is specified and ensure you are entering the correct password. 

Please note: You should ensure that your username and password values are encoded before being sent to the API; if your password contains special characters and isn't encoded, the login request will fail

CHANGE_PASSWORD_REQUIRED 

 Change password required

PERSONAL_MESSAGE_REQUIRED 

 Personal message required for the user

INTERNATIONAL_TERMS_ACCEPTANCE_REQUIRED

The latest international terms and conditions must be accepted prior to logging in.

EMAIL_LOGIN_NOT_ALLOWED 

This account has not opted in to log in with the email

MULTIPLE_USERS_WITH_SAME_CREDENTIAL 

There is more than one account with the same credential

ACCOUNT_PENDING_PASSWORD_CHANGE 

The account must undergo password recovery to reactivate via https://identitysso.betfair.com/view/recoverpassword

TEMPORARY_BAN_TOO_MANY_REQUESTS

The limit for successful login requests per minute has been exceeded. New login attempts will be banned for 20 minutes

ITALIAN_PROFILING_ACCEPTANCE_REQUIRED

You must login to the website to accept the new conditions

AUTHORIZED_ONLY_FOR_DOMAIN_RO

You are attempting to login to the Betfair Romania domain with a non .ro account.

AUTHORIZED_ONLY_FOR_DOMAIN_SE

You are attempting to login to the Betfair Swedish domain with a non .se account.

SWEDEN_NATIONAL_IDENTIFIER_REQUIRED

You must provided your Swedish National identifier via Betfair.se before proceeding.

SWEDEN_BANK_ID_VERIFICATION_REQUIRED

You must provided your Swedish bank id via Betfair.se before proceeding.

ACTIONS_REQUIRED

You must login to https://www.betfair.com to provide the missing information.

INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR 

There is a problem with the data validity contained within the request.   Please check that the request (including headers) is in the correct format,

MIGRATION_REQUIRED

Brazil customers only - you must login to betfair.bet.br to migrate your account (from 1st January 2025).

TERMS_AND_CONDITIONS

Brazil customers only - you must login to betfair.bet.br to accept the new terms and conditions (from 1st January 2025).

Sample curl command to test the non-interactive login

Using the below curl command, you should insert your own Betfair username and password.  Please note:  You must also specify the full file path that contains your client certificate and key.

curl -v -q -k --cert client-2048.crt --key client-2048.key 'https://identitysso-cert.betfair.com/api/certlogin' -H 'X-Application:{{appId}}' --data-urlencode 'username={{username}}' --data-urlencode 'password={{password}}'

Response should be

{"sessionToken":"Zx8i4oigut5nc+l4L8qFb0DSxG+mwLn2t0AMGFxjrMJI=","loginStatus":"SUCCESS"}

Note on Using Curl with Windows

Since curl is not native to Windows, the curl command may return an error. If that happens, try using the Invoke-RestMethod by creating a .pfx file:

openssl pkcs12 -export -out client.pfx -inkey client-2048.key -in client-2048.crt

You will be prompted to enter a password. Enter it below in the place of {{pfxPassword}}. You’ll also need to replace {{appId}}, {{username}}, and {{accountPassword}} with yourApplication Key (appid), the username for your Betfair account, and the password to your Betfair account accordingly.

Powershell Request

$headers = New-Object "System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary[[String],[String]]"

$headers.Add("X-Application", "{{appId}}")

$headers.Add("Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded")

$userName = [uri]::EscapeDataString("{{username}}")

$password = [uri]::EscapeDataString("{{accountPassword}}")

$body = "username=" + $userName + "&password=" + $password

$pfxPath = ".\client.pfx"

$cert = New-Object System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509Certificate2($pfxPath, "{{pfxPassword}}")

$response = Invoke-RestMethod "https://identitysso-cert.betfair.com/api/certlogin" -Certificate $cert -Method "POST" -Headers $headers -Body $body

$response | ConvertTo-Json

Postman request to test the Non-Interactive login

To test the non-interactive login using Postman, you must first download Postman via https://www.postman.com/

The following instructions show you add to add the certificate and key file before making the login request:

1.Add certificate: Settings -> Certificates tab -> insert Host, upload .crt and .key file and click  the Add button


2.  Insert the endpoint URL (e.g. https://identitysso-cert.betfair.com/api/certlogin) and the request headers

3. Insert the request body as shown below:

4. Perform the call by clicking Send button.

Sample Code for Non-Interactive Login

Sample C# code using PKCS#12 key store 

Please see code sample via https://github.com/betfair/API-NG-sample-code/tree/master/loginCode/Non-interactive-cSharp

Sample Java code using Apache http client library and  PKCS#12 key store 

Java API-NG login
package com.test.aping.client;



import org.apache.http.HttpEntity;
import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
import org.apache.http.NameValuePair;
import org.apache.http.client.entity.UrlEncodedFormEntity;
import org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpPost;
import org.apache.http.conn.ClientConnectionManager;
import org.apache.http.conn.scheme.Scheme;
import org.apache.http.conn.ssl.SSLSocketFactory;
import org.apache.http.conn.ssl.StrictHostnameVerifier;
import org.apache.http.impl.client.DefaultHttpClient;
import org.apache.http.message.BasicNameValuePair;
import org.apache.http.util.EntityUtils;

import javax.net.ssl.KeyManager;
import javax.net.ssl.KeyManagerFactory;
import javax.net.ssl.SSLContext;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.security.KeyStore;
import java.security.SecureRandom;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;


public class HttpClientSSO {

    private static int port = 443;

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {

        DefaultHttpClient httpClient = new DefaultHttpClient();

        try {
            SSLContext ctx = SSLContext.getInstance("TLS");
            KeyManager[] keyManagers = getKeyManagers("pkcs12", new FileInputStream(new File("C:\\sslcerts\\client-2048.p12")), "password");
            ctx.init(keyManagers, null, new SecureRandom());
            SSLSocketFactory factory = new SSLSocketFactory(ctx, new StrictHostnameVerifier());

            ClientConnectionManager manager = httpClient.getConnectionManager();
            manager.getSchemeRegistry().register(new Scheme("https", port, factory));
            HttpPost httpPost = new HttpPost("https://identitysso-cert.betfair.com/api/certlogin");
            List<NameValuePair> nvps = new ArrayList<NameValuePair>();
            nvps.add(new BasicNameValuePair("username", "testuser"));
            nvps.add(new BasicNameValuePair("password", "testpassword"));

            httpPost.setEntity(new UrlEncodedFormEntity(nvps));



            httpPost.setHeader("X-Application","appkey");


            System.out.println("executing request" + httpPost.getRequestLine());

            HttpResponse response = httpClient.execute(httpPost);
            HttpEntity entity = response.getEntity();

            System.out.println("----------------------------------------");
            System.out.println(response.getStatusLine());
            if (entity != null) {
                String responseString = EntityUtils.toString(entity);
				//extract the session token from responsestring
				System.out.println("responseString" + responseString);
            }

        } finally {
            httpClient.getConnectionManager().shutdown();
        }
    }



    private static KeyManager[] getKeyManagers(String keyStoreType, InputStream keyStoreFile, String keyStorePassword) throws Exception {
        KeyStore keyStore = KeyStore.getInstance(keyStoreType);
        keyStore.load(keyStoreFile, keyStorePassword.toCharArray());
        KeyManagerFactory kmf = KeyManagerFactory.getInstance(KeyManagerFactory.getDefaultAlgorithm());
        kmf.init(keyStore, keyStorePassword.toCharArray());
        return kmf.getKeyManagers();
    }
}

Sample Python code 

#!/usr/bin/env python

import requests

#openssl x509 -x509toreq -in certificate.crt -out CSR.csr -signkey privateKey.key


payload = 'username=myusername&password=password'
headers = {'X-Application': 'SomeKey', 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'}

resp = requests.post('https://identitysso-cert.betfair.com/api/certlogin', data=payload, cert=('client-2048.crt', 'client-2048.key'), headers=headers)

if resp.status_code == 200:
  resp_json = resp.json()
  print resp_json['loginStatus']
  print resp_json['sessionToken']
else:
  print "Request failed."