Instead of betting against a bookmaker, members of a betting exchange will bet against each other. Customers can both bid and request odds from other bettors.
A betting exchange, unlike conventional bookmakers, takes no chance of going head-to-head with gamblers on markets. On the other hand, a betting exchange offers a forum for customers to match bets against one another and takes a small fee on winnings.
Betting exchanges are going to be a more important part of the global gambling environment, offering consumers better odds, more clarity, and a more intuitively fair experience in many cases.
How does Betting Exchange work?
- The main difference between exchanges and bookmakers is that exchanges allow laying betting. This entails betting on a team to lose rather than win.
- Every bet placed on a betting exchange is two bets: one for selecting to win and another for the same selection to lose.
- So, if I want to bet £10 on a horse to win at 10/1 and make a £100 profit, I’ll need someone else to bet £100 at 1/10 to win £10.
- Customers will find it much easier to guarantee a return if the odds shorten after they’ve put their bet using this option to lay a bet.
- Whereas backing a horse with a bookmaker will enable you to back each further horse in the race to “green up,” By backing your selection to lose after the price has shortened on a betting market, you will lock in a profit by backing your selection to lose after the price has shortened.
What are the benefits of using a Betting Exchange?
- There are several advantages of using an exchange rather than a bookmaker.
- A betting exchange gives gamblers more options. You couldn’t have your bet before if a bookie wasn’t willing to risk the odds or stake you wanted. For an exchange, all you have to do is find another participant who is willing to take the gamble or lay your bet. Users may use betting exchanges to find the odds and markets they want.
- Second, on an exchange, bettors can usually get better value. To make a profit, bookmakers do not sell the “real” odds on a selection but instead take a fraction of the chances of an occurrence occurring to make money.
- In exchange, the market isn’t priced by a single individual but by hundreds or thousands of other people’s bets, putting more pressure on layers to provide more competitive rates or risk not having their bets matched.
- Bettors can also swap their bets on markets more easily on exchanges than they can with conventional bookmakers.
- A bet’s value will rise or fall, just like the stock market. Assume the team you’ve bet on is winning, but one of their players has just been sent off. Are you as confident in them now as you were at the start?
- You can lay them on an exchange to get your stake back and potentially benefit.