What is the Best Betting Exchange?

By adding the best betting exchange to the equation, you can take your Matched Betting exploits to a whole new level. Using an exchange such as Betfair, Matchbook or Smarkets can help you earn higher profits.

To be able to find the best betting exchange, first, you need to know what they actually are. By definition, betting exchanges are online platforms that allow the user to assume the role of the bookmaker.

Betting Exchanges Explained

With regular online sportsbooks, you’re betting against them. If you win, they lose and vice versa. With betting exchanges, it’s a whole different story. They don’t care if you win or not, as their earnings are based on the commission they collect on bets.

Instead of betting against the betting exchange, you get to bet against other bettors. These platforms allow you to bet against a certain outcome at the odds you’ve decided upon. Of course, this is only possible if your proposition is interesting enough for other bettors to wager their money on.

For example, you can bet that Manchester City is not going to beat Manchester United. If the Sky Blues lose or the game finishes in a draw, you will win. If they beat their city rival, you’re going to have to pay out the winnings to all the bettors who backed the Red Devils.

Advantages of Using Betting Exchanges With Matched Betting

Now that you know how betting exchanges work, it’s time to learn how to use them for the purpose of Matched Betting.

As the whole point of exchanges is to let a regular bettor bet against a certain outcome, you can cover your Bonus bets this way. Let’s say you’ve used the bonus to bet on Manchester City, you can ensure your profits by laying that outcome at an exchange. This way, whatever happens, you’re going to win.

Sure, you can do the same by betting at what we call ‘Cover Bookmakers’ on wagers like double chance, Asian handicap, or draw-no-bet. However, exchanges might be a better option for several reasons, including the following:

  1. Betting exchanges don’t care whether you win or not, which is why they aren’t going to restrict/suspend you.
  2. Betting exchanges allow you to offer the odds on your own, meaning that you might be able to make more money with Matched Betting. With regular bookmakers, odds are fixed.
  3. Best betting exchanges come without any fees on losses. Furthermore, their commission on winnings is more than reasonable.

Best Betting Exchanges for Matched Betting

There are literally thousands of online bookmakers out there. The same, however, is not the case with betting exchanges. There are only a couple of them on the internet, but most of them are really awesome.

The three we recommend wholeheartedly are Betfair, Matchbook, or Smarkets. Let’s discuss each one of those in more detail.

Betfair Betting Exchange

Betfair is the world’s oldest betting exchange, having started its journey back in 2000. It’s also the most successful betting exchange on the planet, with a yearly revenue somewhere in the ballpark of €400 million.

Betfair is also the favourite betting exchange of Matched Bettors, the main reason being that it has plenty of users ready to bet. What this practically means is that your lay bet propositions are likely to be accepted by someone at Betfair.

Another reason why Betfair is an excellent choice for Matched Bettors is that its commission structure is pretty favourable from the players’ point of view.

Matchbook Betting Exchange

Matchbook is Betfair’s main competitor. Although Matchbook is still trailing far behind in terms of popularity, this exchange definitely has the potential to take over the throne in the future.

Its main selling point is its commission structure, with fees being between 2% and 4%. If you live in the United Kingdom, you’re going to pay only 2% commission on your back/lay bets made at Matchbook. Players located in other countries have to pay 4%, which is also very reasonable.

In comparison, Betfair players based in countries like Serbia or Croatia have to pay a commission fee of 7%. For them, Matchbook is a way better alternative.

Smarkets Betting Exchange

Where commissions are concerned, there’s no better option in the betting exchange world than Smarkets. The fee this exchange charges for each bet is only 2%.

The best thing is that it can get even lower. You can reduce the betting exchange commission to 1% if you back/lay bets frequently.

Can You Do Matched Betting Without Exchanges?

Best betting exchanges like Betfair, Matchbook, and Smarkets can help you a lot with Matched Betting. You can increase your profits by adding one (or more of them) to the equation. This, of course, does not mean that betting exchanges are an absolute must for Matched Betting.

Instead of using them to cover your bonus bets, you can use Cover Bookmakers for that purpose. There are more than 100 such bookmakers that Oddshero works with, so you have a pretty nice selection before you. The best thing is that some of those offer really attractive odds, especially on underdogs.

Furthermore, instead of focusing on betting exchanges, you can go with the world’s best betting brokerages like BetInAsia and SportMarket. These brokerages are free to use, and after you sign-up, you will get access to several top-rated Asian bookmakers and the above betting exchanges.

Note: We are not affiliated with any of these betting exchanges.

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