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Betting Exchanges
If you’ve been involved in sports betting for any length of time you will have come across references to betting exchanges like Betfair, BetDaq and WBX. Even experienced punters can find these betting exchanges intimidating and confusing as the betting interface and process tends to differ from that offered by traditional fixed-odds bookmakers.
However, any sports fan serious about using their knowledge of their favourite sports to generate profits will, at some point, need to master the use of betting exchanges.
What is a betting exchange?
A betting exchange is an online betting portal that differs from traditional bookmaking in one important way: rather than setting odds for events, a betting exchange allows its users to set their own odds for various sports events. All fixed odds offered by a betting exchange are therefore a reflection of odds offered by registered users of the exchange placing lay or back bets.
Whereas a traditional fixed odds bookmaker makes money by collecting on losing bets, a betting exchange simply allows sports bettors to bet against one another, deducting a small commission from these exchanges. Its main function therefore, is to display odds generated by its users, collect bets from both parties, and ensure fair payouts according to the results of relevant sports events.
Why use a betting exchange?
There are a number of reasons why betting exchanges are the fastest growing sports betting portals:
- Higher Odds: Betting exchanges consistently offer higher odds than traditional fixed-odds sportsbooks. This is due to the fact that bettors using an exchange will often drive up prices by seeking to have their bets matched by offering attractive odds that will be prominently displayed on the exchange.
- Lay Betting: Betting exchanges allow site users to bet against a specific outcome in a sports event. While a back bet only covers a single outcome in a sports event (the selection winning), a lay bet covers all outcomes other than a bet winning, and therefore offers more opportunities to generate a return from a bet.
- Trading: Betting exchanges allow sports bettors to participate in trading, using fluctuating odds and the live betting opportunities facilitated by this betting format to generate a profit from any of the possible outcomes in a sports contest, by both backing and laying a single selection in a sports event.
For more information on betting exchanges, check out our guide to how betting exchanges work, lay betting and our introduction to using betting exchanges to generate profits from trading.
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