What is a betting exchange?

This text is based on our personal experiences and represents our opinions.
A betting exchange differs from a regular online bookmaker, as there is not actually the middle man in place. With a betting exchange you are not betting against a bookmaker, you are essentially betting against other avid punters. Just as an online bookmaker will set a price, a punter on the exchange could set a price on an event not happening, and all it takes for that bet to become active, is for someone to match it, and say that the event in question will happen. A punter on a betting exchange can even offer their own odds, and again, as long as someone is willing to make that bet active, then you are in business. When you visit a betting exchange, then you can browse around it just as you would any regular bookmaker. You can find a vast sports book, full of market prices and you can manage your finances with a betting account. As a basic user, you may not even notice too much difference, but one may stand out for you, and that is the value of the prices set on sporting events.

Because there is no middle man trying to make a profit, it means that odds are going to be a little bit better for you. A betting exchange can be a valuable tool in your betting arsenal, and they are well worth taking some time out to go and explore. You should still be able to pick up good promotions and bonuses, and go about your betting in a general way. There is just the knowledge that you can make a bet if you can find it on your regular online bookmaker which gives the betting exchange a big appeal. It also means that if you enjoy betting on what could be classed as minor sports, then you will probably be able to find more bets on those markets, say smaller golf or tennis tournaments, for example, than you would at an online bookmaker. The big difference is that you can “lay” bets, which is what bookmakers, by tradition do in setting their odds. Where, at a regular online bookmaker you can only bet directly on what outcome you think will happen, at a betting exchange you can bet that an event won’t happen.

A betting exchange, looks, feels and operates just like a regular betting site, but without the middle man taking their cut of things. The argument against this, is that you won’t be able to get as many services, because if there is no bookmaker making a profit, those profits can’t be put back into making a good service. Check out highly recommended betting exchanges like BetFair for example, and you will see that you can still get your live in play betting, you can still get your live sports streams, customer service and everything you would expect, possibly more. Betting exchanges have a community feel where you can interact with other punters on a forum, and there may be more jargon to pick up than you would need at regular online bookmaker, but the experience can be just as rewarding. While there is no middle man as such setting the odds on a betting exchange, they still make their money, just in a different way. A betting exchange will take a percentage commission from winnings, which could add up to more or less than the difference in odds which you may have found at a regular online bookmaker.





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Top Betting Sites in the UK (in our experience)

Bookmaker	Review	Website
	Bet365 Review	www.bet365.com
	William Hill Review	www.williamhill.com
	Paddy Power Review	www.paddypower.com
	Sportingbet Review	www.sportingbet.com
	Betvictor Review	www.betvictor.com