Betting Exchange or Bookmaker?
This text is based on our personal experiences and represents our opinions.
While the legions of online bookmakers have firmly made their presence felt for people to enjoy online betting, what followed was the advent of a betting exchange. At first glance, someone sat at home on their computer may not notice any difference between browsing around a betting exchange in comparison to their regular online bookmaker. You will still be supplied with a vast sports book which you can browse around, explore different sports and all of their markets, and add your bets to your betting slip and place your wagers just as you normally would do at a bookmaker. This is no difference, but it is more of what goes on behind the scenes, in terms of how the bets are selected and how the prices are set which is just a little different. An online bookmaker will set the odds for their markets, all with an eye on making a profit. A betting exchange however, uses odds that punters have set because on an exchange, punters bet against each other.
Say Punter A wants to lay a bet that Germany won’t beat England in the World Cup final. That punter can offer odds to that effect, and as long as Punter B comes along and says, yes, Germany will win and backs that bet, then the bet is active for all to enjoy. You may need to understand the lingo on a betting exchange, but it is not difficult and using them is quite an enjoyable experience. One of the biggest benefits of a betting exchange over a bookmaker is that of choice and price. Prices at a betting exchange are often regarded as being better value than at a bookmaker, because there is not the middle man in place who is looking to make a profit. For all intents and purposes you are betting against other punters, although it is all done through the exchange and you are not doing any of this directly. So, those harder to find markets which you would like to bet on, may be just that much easier to find at a betting exchange, because chances are, someone else is interested in them too.
A betting exchange is a great alternative to how a regular online bookmaker works. The benefits of a betting exchange over a bookmaker may not be noticeable at first, but when you really start exploring and comparing, then you may well see just how much it could enhance your online betting experience. The largest benefit of all is certainly the competitive prices which it offers. Say for example that you don’t want to back a bet at the price at which it has been laid. Then you have the prerogative to request the odds that you want, and all it takes is someone else on the exchange to match your offer and you have an active bet. This is the big benefit of a betting exchange over a bookmaker, where you are limited to the odds which the bookie sets. With all of the normal services which you would expect to find at an online bookmaker, because there is no bookie using profit margins on odds, it will mean that you can realistically expect to end up with a little more in your pocket. Online bookmakers generally do not have limits on how much you can stake, unlike bookmakers, which can set ceiling limits so that they don’t lose too much.