What Is A Betting Exchange?

A betting exchange allows punters to bet against each other directly instead of betting against a traditional bookmaker. You may wish to bet on a specific horse at 2/1 and someone else may want to offer or “lay” that same horse at 2/1. In a betting exchange environment every bet requires a backer and layer in order for that bet to take place; this is known as a ‘matched’ bet. This approach to betting means that a punter will always win.

There are many advantages to using a betting exchange over a traditional bookmaker. First, because there is no bookmaker, there is no bookie’s commission to be paid, which is usually included in their odds. Although small fees are incurred on your net winnings the margins are much better for you. Typically the odds offered on a betting exchange will be 20% better than in a high street bookmaker.

On betting exchanges players are in complete control of the prices. It is possible to get better odds than are currently available; you can place an order in the market for a better price. For example if a horse is available at 2/1 but you only want to back it at 3/1 then you can specify those odds for your chosen stake. That order will stay in the market until it is either filled, you cancel or change it or the event starts.

Sometimes it can be difficult to pick the winner of a horse race but a lot easier to pick a loser. This is known as ‘laying’. Unlike a traditional horse racing bet where you ‘back’ a horse to win, on a betting exchange you can ‘lay’ a horse which means you’re betting for it to lose. You effectively become a bookmaker and bookmakers, as we all know, make their money from losers especially a losing favourite.

Another feature of a betting exchange is ‘in-play’ trading which enables punters to place bets during a sports fixture, although not all events will be available ‘in-play’ usually just the televised events. The ability to trade ‘in-play’ means it is possible to ‘lock in’ a profit in a variety of ways. For example, imagine having a £10 bet on a horse at 10/1. If the horse’s odds shorten to 2/1 during the race, you would then have the opportunity to lay that horse to create a win-win situation.

Whilst there are many betting exchanges out there, many of them suffer from a lack of liquidity or volume in the market which means your bets are often left unmatched or the prices you request unfulfilled.

Betfair is the largest online betting exchange in the world with over 25 million bets traded every single day. This means bets are usually matched within a few seconds for the best possible price available. Betfair is easy to use with an intuitive interface and detailed tutorials and help are readily available. From a personal perspective I have found Betfair’s customer service to be friendly and informative with phone and e-mail support available.