Many people enjoy sports of one kind or another, whether just as a spectator or as a participant. A good number also like to bet on sports events, and if they have not yet been introduced to online sports betting exchanges then they ought to take a look because the exchanges offer significant advantages over the traditional bookmakers, both the high street and online types.
| Rank | Name | Notation | Details | Discover |
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The number one Betting Exchange. 5% fees on winning trades. The highest liquidity. | Visit | ||
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Access to Betfair liquidity with a 3% fees on winning trades. Not all markets. | Visit |
The big advantage that all exchanges have over bookies is the ability to place both back and lay bets, and often not only before a sporting event takes place, but also in play as well, and this opens up a world of new opportunities.
There are fewer exchanges available than online bookmakers and there are some differences between them which can be worth knowing about before putting up your hard earned money. The differences may be, for example, in the amount of liquidity available in general, the commission taken, relative ease of use, and customer service.
Bookmakers set their odds by viewing the market and the competition, and then deciding the odds they are prepared to take on risk, plus a margin which could be up to 10%, although is usually nearer 5%, and this is their profit. The exchanges have a system which many reckon to better reflect the true odds on an event since it is based on their large numbers of customers and the odds they will accept. In addition the exchanges do not put a margin on top but instead take their commission from winning bets. Many would regard this as much fairer. Most punters do not not mind giving away a small percentage of their winnings when they have made a good profit – and the losers do not have to pay out extra for commissions. When you take into account that the exchanges also offer better odds all round than traditional bookies then you can see the attraction.
So you are going to mostly bet at the Exchanges but which to choose?
Well there are only four main ones in the UK plus a few other smaller online operators, and a serious bettor will want to know which is best.
We will take the major exchanges and look at them one by one.
Betfair is certainly the most well known and most popular sports betting exchange by far. The company was founded by Andrew Black and Edward Wray in the summer of 2000 and has gradually built up a massive following worldwide. Betfair was innovative in coming up with the concept of peer-to-peer betting, allowing customers to set the odds depending on their relative conflicting opinions regarding the predicted outcome of an event. Betfair now has an annual revenue of well over £350 billion.
Betfair moved from the UK to Gibraltar to save on taxes, and then in 2015 merged with the well known bookmaker Paddy Power.
The Betfair website is attractively laid out and available to view in several different languages including German, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, and Swedish. In addition to the exchange there is also a sportsbook, similar to that offered by a traditional bookie, and this can be useful if you want to make multiple bets since these will not work on the exchange.
To sign up you need to enter your name, email, mobile telephone number, and then you can deposit in any one of several different ways, such as a credit or debit card, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, or bank transfer. You can also use any one of several different currencies for your deposit. There are varying charges for some deposits but withdrawals are generally free except for bank transfers. Deposits can be very speedy, but withdrawals may sometimes take a little longer. Betfair respects overall security though, and the transaction side of the website works well and reliably.
The exchange has a very wide range of sports available to bet on, including football, horse racing, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, motor racing, mixed martial arts, and several more. Apart from sports you can even bet on politics, celebrity events, and financial markets. There are also good sections within Betfair for those who enjoy the casino or like slot games. Football betting is especially well covered with many lesser known teams from across the world being offered, including womens matches and also youth games like under 21 matches.
Two of the main benefits are the good odds on offer, and the high liquidity. Most exchanges offer better odds than the bookmakers but Betfair is the “go to” site from which others may take a lead. Also, because Betfair has such a large customer base it is able to offer the best liquidity. There is more money placed than at any of the other exchanges by far; although the second best in this respect is probably Betdaq which has sufficient liquidity in sports markets for most of us ordinary bettors.
Betfair however, is able to accommodate even high rollers using large bets and does not penalize winners in any way, as a bookie well might, since it gets its revenue from winners. It even encourages winning bets, giving a discount on commissions for the high volume customer.
Most exchanges include a lot of different types of bet on any particular sport, and all the main exchanges covered here can manage this. For football by way of example, there are odds available for over/under goals scored, exact scorelines, handicaps like Asian, as well as in-play markets which are increasingly popular with those who like to trade.
Betfair is also top dog when it comes to the casino scene, offering the most extensive array of table games, including live croupiers, plus virtual games of all kinds, and many slots.
Betfair is not known for handing out many promotions like a lot of bookies do in order to promote business. Maybe that is because they do not need to since they offer the best all round odds on virtually everything and give a reliable and comprehensive service for serious bettors. There is, however, a welcome bonus on first signing up, and also occasional special deals available. Betfair also awards points for high volume bets which contribute towards lowered commissions, and also cash races sometimes.
Betdaq is the second largest online betting exchange and generally offers a good all round service very close to that of Betfair in terms of quality but perhaps on a slightly smaller scale.
One of the major attractions is a 2% commission fee charged as opposed to the 5% levied by Betfair. This can make a lot of difference to your wallet if you do a fair amount of online gambling. They also I believe, regularly offer cash back to customers that use their trading tools. Betdaq also has a sportsbook which is actually operated by Ladbrokes and seems to be competitive and reliable.
Betdaq offers most of what is on offer with Betfair but with a somewhat less comprehensive cover of all the many different sports and less variety of casino type games.
Betdaq does not implement an extra premium charge on long term successful bettors as Betfair now does, but Betfair says that the charge affects only a very small number of its customers and is only 0.5%.
The exchange has good security systems in place and they are also regularly reviewed. Customer funds are held by a trust company, and is regulated under the rules of both the British Gambling Commission and the Gibraltar Gambling Commission so there should be no worries.
You have a good choice of payment and withdrawal options with a high daily deposit limit and only £10 minimum deposit amount needed. There are no fees for withdrawals which is good news!
One area where Betdaq may be actually somewhat superior to Betfair is that of customer service. Some customers have expressed difficulty in getting help from the Betfair customer service team but I have to say I have never had a problem. Anyway Betdaq certainly provide good lines of communication with a helpful telephone service.
If you are out and about you may wish to use a smartphone with exchange betting, and this can be done on both Betfair and Betdaq.
Smarkets has been operating as a sports betting exchange since about 2010 and has offices in London. Financed apparently by a group of private investors, the company seems well run and has gradually claimed an increasing share of the market, although the total volume of business is much less than that of the aforementioned top two exchanges.
There is a bonus offer of a no risk bet for new customers for £10, and their standard commission rate is a low 2%. They even occasionally offer 0% for a period of time, or as preferential advantage for some customers referred by other sites like OddsMonkey.
The on screen display at Smarkets is especially good in my opinion, showing white on a black background. This makes the markets much more clear and easy to read than the ones at Betfair.
All the major sports markets are covered, and the liquidity is pretty good on major events, although somewhat on the small side with some of the less popular markets. They have, however, some useful football markets such as both teams to score, first goalscorer, as well as the Asian handicap type bet. Multiple betting has apparently recently been added to the website alongside the exchange. Smarkets seems to have a penchant for politics so there is good coverage on the subject. There is also a casino with a range of the more popular types of games like Blackjack and roulette.
An interesting, and so far unique feature of Smarkets is their live charts display for many events like football. This is a graphic display of how a match might progress along with percentage probabilities of the various outcomes, plus quite often a streamed animation of the actual play, similar to that offered by Bet365. Once people discover this feature I believe it will dramatically increase site use since it is very appealing to see in picture form the situation in a football match as it plays out.
There is an Smarkets mobile app which looks much like the desktop screen and works well.
Smarkets is constantly improving by adding new features, and with a modern interface and reliable service it looks to be able to gain more and more popularity.
Customer service is good with an instant message system as well as telephone, email, and post of course. Also the availability of live chat on the website during normal business hours is much appreciated by many.
Matchbook is one of the less well known sports betting exchanges but it does have some points to make it worth checking out. It has a low commission rate on winning bets, at present only 1.5% which is the best you can get, and in addition often offers 0% for new sign-ups for a limited time!
Matchbook has quite competitive odds on a whole variety of sports, and seems especially good on American sports like NFL with versatile markets offering handicaps and spreads, as well as straight odds.
Matchbook also has a casino with a pretty good welcome offer of 100% bonus up to £100 applicable to deposits of £20, £50, and £100. You also get some free spins without further wagering requirements.
Deposits and withdrawals are enabled via the usual ways such as credit or debit card, Neteller, or Skrill. Withdrawals have to be made via the same pathway as deposits, apparently something to do with possible money laundering. Bank withdrawals do involve a fee, but most others are free.
Compared to Betfair and Smarkets, the layout at Matchbook is somewhat less organised, but it is attractive in terms of display.
Odds at Matchbook can run to three decimal points unlike just the two normally used in most exchanges and bookies. This may mean slightly greater accuracy with calculating bets although many punters probably find it easier working with just two. It is not something to worry about.
It does not have the whole variety of features offered by the top exchanges, such as cash-out, and some technical issues have apparently occurred on the site from time to time, but overall there is everything required by the average betting Joe, with of course the better deal on commissions than Betfair.
Matchbook has a mobile app facility, but apparently needs your location services switched on when using in order to get good reception.
Matchbook has good customer service with a section for FAQ, plus live chat, as well as the usual telephone and email contact options.
There are a few other betting exchanges available online such as 9Wickets, but they are difficult to recommend because of lack of transparency. 9Wickets, for example has a good range of sports markets available, but does not appear to even give an address for their office. If you wish to contact them you have to go via a website form. The site layout is like a copy of Betfair, so easy enough to navigate but there is no cash-out option. Other less well known exchanges include BookiePro and cryptocurrency based sites like Fairlay and BetBTC.
Competition makes it difficult for new start-ups in the world of betting exchanges, as was all too apparent with the rapid failure of WBX (World Betting Exchange) a few years back. Unless the exchange can offer a wide range of sports markets plus good odds then simply cannot attract the volume of business quickly enough to make it pay. WBX also complained of the difficulty of doing business in the UK because of all the necessary compliance regulations and high tax rates.
Offering very low commissions is good for the punter of course, but it makes profit margins low too, and this can prevent new exchange firms from being able to spend much on advertising in order to attract new customers.
So if good liquidity and general good practice are high on your priorities then Betfair is probably your best choice as a betting exchange. Betdaq is a close second though, with almost as good liquidity in most areas and a lower commission rate. Smarkets is another excellent alternative for general betting, especially with its very low commissions.
Your choice of betting exchange probably depends on your priorities. The best deal is seemingly at Smarkets if it has all the features and markets you need and works well. The best all round exchange is still Betfair however, since it is well up to speed in all areas and offers peace of mind with regard to good practice. Having said that you might want to consider a separate account with Betdaq as a back-up on the odd occasion when Betfair goes down, or just for general betting at lower cost.
If you have more questions, contact me [email protected]
