You don’t have to dig deep into the subject of matched betting to come across Smarkets. In fact, this name keeps popping up very often in betting exchange conversation. The obvious question is what is the Smarkets Exchange?

The short answer is that this is one of the most ambitious betting exchange projects in the world. If you’re looking for a more elaborate answer to this question, you ought to keep on reading!

Top 3 Key Takeaways:

1. Smarkets Exchange is an ambitious project by UK entrepreneurs.
2. Smarkets Exchange covers a wide range of betting markets, including those popular in the UK, US, and continental Europe.
3. Thanks to its low commission, a good betting offer, and a decent welcome bonus, Smarkets Exchange is slowly becoming a favourite of matched bettors.

Smarkets History – How it All Started?

The year 2000 was when Betfair, the world’s oldest betting exchange was launched. Inspired by the success of Betfair, Matchbook was launched a few years later, bringing another betting exchange to existence.

The idea for launching Betfair Exchange was born in 2008 when two UK software developers, Hunter Morris and Jason Trost, started programming the exchange platform. It took them more than a year before the initial version of the betting exchange was finished. That version, however, was an invite-only platform and it took Smarkets another year to become widely spread.

But since 2010, everything went upstream for Smarkets. This betting exchange quickly conquered the UK market, before spreading all over the continent. The next step was to spread the business worldwide, including the United States, the country that only in 2018, lifted the federal ban on sports betting, leaving the final decision to individual states.

Speaking of which, Smarkets was one of the first sports betting companies to apply for operating licenses in the states where sports betting was made legal and regulated.

How Smarkets Betting Exchange Works?

Smarkets Exchange works the same as any other betting exchange, e.g. Betfair or Matchbook. This is a platform where players get to bet against each other rather than betting against the bookmaker.

Smarkets lets you back an outcome, which is basically the same as if you bet on it at a sportsbook. What makes it different from regular sportsbooks is that this is a platform where you can also lay bets, that is, bet that the outcome will not happen.

Smarkets Exchange also lets you pick the amount you wish to win, as well as your liability, that is, the amount you will have to pay if you lose. Moreover, this exchange even lets you adjust the odds.

You can increase the odds while laying a bet so that your liability is lower. Of course, increasing the odds is something that reduces the chance of actually finding a player who will match your bet.

The good news is that there’s a large number of players who are using Smarkets Exchange. Although it’s not the most popular betting exchange on the planet, the title of which goes to Betfair, Smarkets Exchange definitely has pretty decent liquidity.

So, what does all this mean for those who are doing matched betting? Well, if you plan to use Smarkets Exchange to lay bets, you will probably be able to get your bets matched. Especially if you’re betting on popular events.

What Can You Bet On at Smarkets?

Smarkets is a UK-based betting exchange that’s been very popular in continental Europe. One of the reasons is that its betting offer is focused on that market.

This is an exchange where you can find events from all the most popular sports in the world. We’re talking about sports like Football, Tennis, Basketball, Rugby and so on.

In addition to those, Smarkets also deals with sports popular in North America. As the United States is the next market they want to conquer, this betting exchange also deals with markets such as American Football, Baseball, Ice Hockey and so on.

Apart from sports, this betting exchange also offers Politics trades. This is where you can back Trump to win the 2020 election or do the opposite – lay that bet. You can also back/lay Brexit markets, EU politics and so on.

How High is the Smarkets Commission?

The people behind Smarkets Exchange make their living by charging a small fee on every winning bet. Currently, Smarkets commission is 2%, which is pretty low. But, it can get even lower!

Smarkets Exchange has a deal for high-rollers and frequent bettors – those players can get a reduction in commission. If you make more than 1,500 bets in a month or your total stakes go over a million, your commission will be 1%.

Wagering a million Euros doesn’t seem like a viable scenario, but making over 1,500 bets might not be mission impossible. The thing is that bettors who do matched betting often end up making a really large number of bets per month.

There is a huge number of bookmakers that give away bonuses. For example, Oddshero works with more than 65 bonus bookmakers. To clear those bonuses via the matched betting method, you will have to lay bets at a betting exchange.

And this is only for sign-up bonuses. There are plenty of other bonuses bookmakers are giving away, e.g. deposit reload bonus. And if you get your family members and friends involved, you can multiply the number of bonuses you’re going to get by several times.

Add to that, so-called Dutching bets, which are basically each-way bets that don’t bring you profit, but actually create a tiny loss. Players do Dutching as a way of ensuring that they won’t get gubbed by the bookmaker.

With all of this in mind, it doesn’t seem too crazy that a matched bettor could be able to make over 1,500 bets in one month.

Smarkets Compared to Other Betting Exchanges

Smarkets Exchange is believed to be the fourth-biggest betting exchange in the world. Betfair is the most successful exchange, followed by BETDAQ and Matchbook.

So, why is this the case? The main reason is that Smarkets is still a new kid on the block. Starting out as a start-up company, Smarkets needed time to reach a bigger customer base. But, when it did, its popularity grew rapidly.

The best thing is that everyone’s expecting Smarkets to get even bigger in the near future. Players love how this betting company goes about its business, which means that if they keep it up, Smarkets will grow even further.

Reasons Why Players Love Smarkets Exchange

Smarkets is already a favorite of thousands of bettors and the reasons for that are the following:

• Welcome Bonus – Smarkets Exchange is one of not-too-many betting exchanges that give away bonuses to new players. At the moment, the sign-up bonus is €10, which you will get after making your first deposit of a minimum of €20.
• Variety of Markets – Bettors can choose from a variety of different betting markets at the Smarkets Exchange, including sports, horse racing, and even politics.
• Low Commission – With a 2% fee on winning bets, Smarkets is one of the betting exchanges with the lowest commission. In comparison, Betfair’s commission can be as high as 7% depending on the location of the player.
• Decent Betting Volume – Although Betfair and Matchbook have more players, Smarkets is a platform where a lot of money can be wagered by a large number of bettors. This means that you should have no problems finding players who are going to match your bets.

All these things make Smarkets a pretty decent choice for matched betting. Right now, this exchange is not included in the Oddshero Matched Betting Software, but that should change in the near future. In the meantime, you can still use other betting exchanges, including Betfair and Matchbook.

3 Key Takeaways

1. Smarkets started much later than some other betting exchanges like Betfair and Matchbook. That might be the main reason why it’s having problems catching up with them. But, Smarkets Exchange is on a path to the top!
2. Players seem to love Smarkets and the main reason for that is the exchange’s low fees.
3. Players love Smarkets because of the big selection of events you can bet on, attractive bonus deals and more!