Exchange Betting Guide
With the emergence of betting exchanges over the last few years we have seen something of a paradigm shift in the gambling industry. Betting exchanges have opened up a world of drastically improved odds for punters, predominantly because bookies have had to slash their odds to remain competitive.
Commission that betting exchange is taking from the players is far less than the one with traditional bookmaker, hence some profit cuts have been made to punters favour. Bookmakers have always enjoyed the luxury of “taxing” punters by 7-10% with their odds as we explained in our How bookies create the odds guide article.
Betting exchanges remove that “tax” because you are betting against another punter and betting exchange will only take a commission on your winnings of around 2% for the service provided.
The bet will only go ahead if you are both happy with the odds, which are almost always “fair” due to the supply and demand nature of the system.
Let’s take a look at some of the perks of using a betting exchange.
No limit bets
Because betting exchanges allow you to place bets with other punters as opposed to a company that are concerned with profit margins and “getting ripped off”, there are no limits on the amount that you can bet.
If you wish to bet £10,000,000 on Manchester United to win against Arsenal then that is fine, so long as there are people out there who (between them) are willing to match it.
Winners are welcome
Bookmakers don’t like losing, same as every punter. Every time you win a bet you took a little more off of their profits for the year and it’s not uncommon for highly successful punters to be banned from bookies entirely.
Betting exchanges don’t really care who wins the bet, they get their commission regardless of the result.
So, no matter how much money you win you will never get banned from an betting exchange — as long as everything is above the board!
Sure bets allowed
Sure bets, also known as “Greening Up” or “Trading”, are a combination of bets that guarantee you a profit regardless of the outcome of an event.
This is achieved by backing a player or team when you feel the odds of an outcome are at their peak.
When the odds fall and are lower than the price you placed your bet at you lay the same player or team.
Let’s say that we backed Gabashvili early on at odds of 3.5 for £100. When he broke the service and his odds fell to 2.8 we layed him for £125, giving us a £25 profit — regardless of the outcome of the match.
Lowest Commission
Earlier on we mentioned the “tax” that Bookmakers place on their odds to make sure they profit from an event, no matter what the outcome.
This is typically between 7 and 10 percent lower than the “true probability” of the outcome actually happening.
Betting exchanges will take a commission on your winnings of around 2%.
That may not seem like a great deal more but when you take into consideration that the odds you receive in the first place are vastly greater than those on offer at bookies, it just becomes common sense.
Another popular Betting Exchange from the UK – Matchbook
Effective from the 7th of August 2019 Matchbook’s standard commission rate will be changed to 2% flat commission on all sports. Commission will no longer be paid on losing bets, only on the profit made on a market. Matchbook also offers welcome bonus for UK, Visit here.
