Best Betting Exchange Sites in the UK
The main differences between them lie in the way they operate and the opportunities they offer players. In this way, layers take on the role of a traditional bookmaker, but without the risk for the exchange, as it is not directly involved in the payment of winnings. If the outcome is in favor of backer, the layer loses the amount of their bet.
With back bets at a normal bookmakers, the bookie takes on the liability of a customer’s bet winning. When placing a back bet at an exchange, you are doing the same as you would at a normal bookies. With standard bookmakers you’re limited to the odds the bookies offer and can only place back bets. These users want to take advantage of knowing the outcome of a market and betting before the bookies/exchange users could change the odds. Exchange suitability depends on factors such as liquidity, commission rates, available markets, and user interface preferences.
We present the basic commission rates for UK Betting Exchanges in the table above, and then in subsequent sections go on to explain them in further detail, exchange by exchange. We thought it would be helpful to find a full commission rate comparison for betting exchange sites in one place, as when we were researching for this article we couldn’t find one online. The low commission rates make it an excellent option, and they even do a brilliant and influential podcast that is well worth a listen. In the past, Matchbook has been the most generous of all the exchanges with regular 0% commission welcome offers which plays well against Betfair being the highest commission rate at 5%. They have low commission rates and offer a brilliant alternative to the others, mainly thanks to how slick the app is.
Betting against other players isn’t a pass to place reckless wagers. Check if you’re dealing with value odds from a statistics point of view by considering past results for the teams. Before you decide to back or lay on a betting exchange, verify if the odds for the chosen market are favorable.
The top betting exchanges in the betting sites not on gamstop UK have very good liquidity and odds on straight bets, and the bigger ones have well-placed and outside bet categories. Betting on non-traditional markets is only possible if there is significant demand from market makers and those prepared to lay bets. Online betting exchanges offer some of the broadest ranges of markets to bet on.
Traders can make money by betting exclusively with betting exchanges or bookmakers, or by combining the two. If the team wins, the layer will pay the sponsor the winnings according to the agreed odds. Some exchanges such as BETDAQ also offer multiples but the exchanges act in the same manner as traditional bookmakers in doing so (i.e. they themselves and not a customer act as the layer of such bets). Because exchanges seek to concentrate their liquidity in as few markets as possible, they are not currently suited to unrestricted multiple parlay betting. The odds available on a betting exchange are usually better than those offered by bookmakers, in spite of the commission charged, because there are smaller overrounds. BETDAQ (which also traded as the ‘Ladbrokes Exchange’) is believed to be the second largest betting exchange and it had an estimated 7% share of the betting exchange market in 2013.
Yes, betting exchanges are legal in the UK although they are banned in some other countries around the world. One party is known as the backer (they are backing a selection to win) and the other is known as the layer (they are betting on that one selection to lose). Liquidity on betting exchanges is often quite low on the morning of a race so it can be difficult to get your bet matched. The commission rate is just 2% for the majority of customers. In the name of fairness and objectivity, it’s worth pointing out that of the four exchanges featured in this article, Smarkets is the one with the poorest liquidity. What makes it even easier to use, especially for those who have trouble getting their heads around odds, is that prices are displayed as percentages rather than odds.
That’s why many betting exchanges and other similar gambling platforms decided to step up their game and make mobile betting available. An increasing number of players nowadays prefer placing bets by using their mobile devices rather than using desktop or laptop computers. The entire world is going mobile, and online betting exchanges are no exception to this rule.
Another significant advantage of betting on peer-to-peer markets is the opportunity to lay bets. The market-based approach of betting exchanges often results in more competitive odds. This odds difference comes from the way they are generated by the market/players. Exchange users may also enter and exit positions before event completion, depending on price movements and liquidity.
