Betting Exchanges

The introduction of the betting exchanges caused something of a stir in the betting world especially among the traditional high street bookmakers. Betting exchanges have increased in popularity and the volume of matched bets has increased to billions a month. Betting exchange trading has blossomed thanks to increased liquidity, no transaction charges and the ability to profit without any knowledge or risk on the sports event. The main advantages of the betting exchanges are as follows;

Better odds The odds on the betting exchanges are up to 20% higher than those of a traditional bookmaker. This is because there is no bookies margin built in and the odds are determined by other users. You can also ask for better odds than those that are currently on offer.

Laying With the betting exchanges came the option of 'laying'. When you place a lay bet you are betting against that outcome happening.

In-play betting The betting exchanges gave us the opportunity to place bets while an event is actually taking place. This is known as an in-play or in-running market.

No penalties With a traditional bookmaker, consistently winning would lead to your account being closed. This will never happen with the betting exchanges as they will continue to make money regardless of how often you win.

Betting exchange trading By placing a combination of a back bet and a lay bet on the same event we can lock in a guaranteed risk free profit regardless of the eventual result. This is known as trading as we are trading the odds on the betting exchange much in the same way that someone might trade the stock exchange.

Betfair - Launched in 2000, Betfair is recognized as the largest of the betting exchanges and has the most liquidity. It is the betting exchange of choice for most exchange traders.

Betdaq - Launched in 2001, Betdaq is the 2nd largest betting exchange. It does not have quite as much liquidity as Betfair but continues to grow.

Mansion - Launched in September 2004, Mansion is a relative newcomer to the industry but provides good liquidity.

iBetX - An international betting exchange (particularly useful for US residents) established since March 2003. It has swiftly built up a reputation of being a major player within the industry.