The Best Betting Exchanges You Must Know About

A while back, we did a guide article that explained what betting exchanges are and how they work. For pragmatic purposes, we shall repeat some of the content run through there, again here, so that readers of this guide who have not come across the concept of betting exchanges get a quick grasp of what we will be talking about below.

Betting Exchanges Intro

In short, these are marketplaces for bets. They let gamblers sell and buy wagers. The latter is the traditional bet one makes with a bookmaker, gambling on something happening. The former is betting on something not occurring. These sites appeared online at the start of the 2000s, with Betfair, Matchbook, and Flutter.com representing the trio that ushered in a new era of betting on the go. They revolutionized the dynamics of wagering by facilitating peer-to-peer sports gambling. In other words, they allowed users to engage with each other. The model requires at least two users, and these individuals get the flexibility to offer odds and stakes for others to accept.

As noted above, their distinguishing feature is supplying both back and lay betting options. This functionality enhances the strategic depth, permitting them to deliver user flexibility in building gambling strategies. For many, this user-driven approach results in more competitive/accurate odds. Of course, for offering this service, exchanges have commission fees. These are their chief revenue stream. And they customarily get deducted from winning bets. Despite the advantages listed, exchanges boast a level of complexity that some beginners struggle with. They also have liquidity constraints for niche markets. On top of this, their fees may exceed the margins imposed by famed bookmakers.

Here, we will give you a quick rundown of what many believe to be the best four exchanges on the Web. We shall do this in no particular ranking order. Plus, please be advised we are not promoting these platforms. We are only informing you of their existence and features. It is entirely up to you to decide if you want to use any of them or if you should dive into exchanges altogether on your sports gambling adventure.

It is vital to note that these hubs do not accept cryptos. They are for fiat sports betting. Still, read until the end, where we shall rattle off a few quality crypto betting exchanges for you to try.

Betfair

It goes without saying that Betfair is the most known betting exchange around the globe. It is also one of the most-used betting sites in the UK. It has over two decades of sphere experience, and in 2016, this brand merged with Paddy Power. Therefore, it now operates under the Flutter umbrella, along with Pokerstars and Skybet. Over the years, Betfair has grown its brand recognition via various partnership agreements such as teaming up with Paul Nichollas, a renowned racing expert, and ex-Man United striker Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov.

Customarily, Betfair has offered a 5% commission for British and Irish gamblers. This fee goes up to 7% for bettors from other countries. There is no way for platform users to avoid paying this site’s base commission. That said, methods exist that may help you reduce it. These usually involve collection points and using the platform’s rewards scheme. If you want to go with a battle-tested option, Betfair is a reasonable choice for bettors who do not wish to experiment.

BETDAQ

BETDAQ is a business entity registered in Ireland, founded in 2000 by Dermot Desmond. It often gets named the prime Betfair alternative for casual lay bettors. According to some sites, this Dublin-based company with offices in Gibraltar is likely the second-most used exchange on the market. And in 2013, founder Dermot Desmond sold it to Ladbrokes for €30 million, holding a 7% market share at that time. Yet, eight years later, Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes, chose to sell back BETDAQ to its creator, allegedly for a price tag significantly less than the original selling price.

Concerning sponsorships, BETDAQ has worked with former EPL team Sunderland A.F.C. and the London Irish Rugby Club. The exchange bases its fees on winning wagers. It uses a flat rate. The standard BETDAQ 2% commission applies for UK, Ireland, Gibraltar, and New Jersey website users. Its fees can also vary for distinct customer categories. There are three main groups to note. They are commercial, profitable, or heavy-usage customers. Points earned based on the amount won or lost across exchange markets do not influence fee calculation. Still, they may get used in marketing or loyalty programs, and customers from other territories get hit with a higher general fee, a 5% one. We must state that this platform reserves the right to have boosted rates on different sports.

Matchbook

Established in 2004 from Le Val, Alderney, Matchbook markets itself as a revolutionary wagering exchange designed for savvy bettors. It claims that it has the most substantial pool of US sports liquidity and that, for a while, it supplied the best CL and EPL odds. In 2011, it got acquired by a group of UK investors with experience in the banking and betting sectors, and this brand has not looked back since. It primarily aims its services towards British, Irish, Indian, and Scandinavian gamblers but accepts users from almost fifty nations.

Matchbook notes that its goal is to maximize value to bettors worldwide, and its commission-based system charges a fee only on net profit, with no commission payable on losing bets. The rates here differ depending on a user’s location. For customers in the UK, ROI, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, the rate is 2% for net winnings and 5% for Enhanced Specials. The rest of the world’s customers get hit with a flat 4% commission rate on net winnings.

Smarkets

Operating mainly out of St. Julians, Malta, from an office located at The Hedge, Ir-Rampa ta’ San Giljan Street, Smarkets is a UK company founded in 2008. It has handled more than £3 billion in trades, featuring a slick and modern interface and a three-step registration process. Some of our readers have noted to us that it has some of the most streamlined peer-to-peer trading they have seen.

There is a commission structure here. The tiers on hand are Standard, Pro, and Select. The Standard one has a 2% rate, applied by default. The Pro one has a 1% fee valid for users who have made over 1,500 bets or staked over £1 million in a calendar month. Lastly, the Select Tier features a 3% fee for users who exceed £25,000 in net profit over the previous year.

Crypto Exchanges

As noted in the intro, the listed sites are fiat exchanges. Yet, do not fret. There are somewhat comparable crypto ones that are far less known than the brands discussed above. We used to like OneHash, a platform specializing in mutual eSports and sports wagering. However, that site has long died. Thankfully, you still got Fairlay, a super active and pretty decent choice. If it does not meet your expectations, you may want to explore BetDex, a brand taking only 3% of your net profits, powered by The Monaco Protocol. The Curacao-based – SX.BET is another option worth considering. It has staking and may be the right pick for ERC20 blockchain advocates.

Top Bitcoin Betting Sites