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The Best Betting Exchange Sites in the UK in 2024
When it comes to advanced sports wagering, inevitably, exchange betting comes to mind first. As opposed to standard bookmakers, the betting exchanges such as Smarkets offer the possibility to lay and back your bets. Within the following lines, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the best betting exchange sites in the UK.
| Exchange Betting Site | Rating | Highlight | Bonus | Safe Link | Terms & Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smarkets | 5.0/5 | Best Betting Exchange Site | £10 Bonus Cashback | Visit Site! | Full T&Cs Apply. 18+ New UK customers only. Min £10/€10 first deposit using Debit Card. Place a bet of £10/€10 at min odds of 1.5 to get £30/€30 in Free Bets. For new Ireland and Malta customers only, place a bet of £10/€10 at min odds of 1.5 to get £40/€40 in Free Bets. Distribution of Free Bets may vary depending on territory. BeGambleAware.org. |
| BETDAQ | 4.7/5 | Top-Rated Cashback Offer | Up to £1,000 Cashback | Visit Site! | Full T&Cs Apply. New 18+ Customers Only. Up to £1,000 commission back at the end of the first 30 days as withdrawable funds. Offer only applies to users who deposit via debit card. Standard 2% commission rate applies. Not available to API or RDT customers. Available to UK & Irish customers only. |
This page covers in great detail information about the importance of liquidity, lay betting, and commission rates. Of course, we talk about the significance of the markets and the bonuses you can get at betting exchange UK sites. Read till the end to find out some great tips on how to properly use those platforms.
Summary
Betting Exchange and Exchange Bookmakers
When picking betting exchange sites, make sure they are licensed and regulated by the UKGC. High liquidity and a large variety of sports wagering markets are also very important.
Betting Exchange Bookies Checks:
- Licensed & Secure Exchanges
- High Volume Liquidity
- Low Commission Rates
- Excellent Variety of Markets
- User Friendliness
- In-Play Betting
- Diversity of Sports
Betting Exchange Sites: How to Evaluate Them
Few main criteria come into play when evaluating the best betting exchanges for UK punters. As always, we make sure that they have the necessary licenses to operate on the territory of Great Britain. Then, we check the liquidity, which is a crucial factor when laying and backing your bets. Moreover, we compare commissions, usability, markets, bonuses, and payments.
Legal and Safety Aspects
Since you are practically wagering against other punters with a betting exchange, a trusted platform is essential to avoid scams. That’s why the well-known UK Gambling Commission is once again under the spotlight as a responsible regulation body that secures licenses only to the legit UK betting exchanges.
Similarly to the bookmakers, the exchange betting platforms are subject to heavy regulations. Thus, the UKGC, alongside other reputable regulators, is heavily involved in securing a safe environment for gamblers. All sites which we suggest are 100% legal, licensed, and regulated, which eliminates any shadow of a doubt concerning your safety.
Our mission and duty are to rate and review only the best legal and licensed operators to help punters avoid scams. That’s why among the vast betting exchange UK sites, we had to do our due diligence and gather all the intel necessary to confirm the requirements mentioned above. You can learn more about the UK’s best betting sites in our dedicated page.
Exchange Betting & Liquidity
A top priority for the best betting exchange sites is their liquidity. Without it, any trades on their platforms would be simply impossible as the idea behind it is to wager against other tipsters. Since the exchange platforms act as an arena for the player, there must always be someone covering your bet.
In order to ensure that the recommended operators have the needed liquidity, we checked different sports and bets. You can see our evaluation in the table below, where we provide the data which we collected. However, keep in mind that the volume of the liquidity is subject to change , depending on the popularity of the event, among other factors.
| Betting Exchange Bookmaker | Liquidity | Commission | Football Betting Types | Secure Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smarkets | Medium | Up to 2% | 60+ | Visit Site! |
| BETDAQ | Medium | Up to 2% | 40+ | Visit Site! |
For example, we concluded that football wagering sparks the most interest amongst UK punters and has the highest volume. Also, you can enjoy the widest variety of bet types and markets, both pre-match and in-play. Of course, each exchange betting site offers many other wagering options with over 30 different sports to place a bet on.
Commission Rates
As opposed to a standard bookie, the betting exchanges apply a certain commission rate. This way, the platforms charge for their service, as they offer better payout rates, automated tools, and other great benefits. Since the exchanges don’t make any profit from the losses of their users, as compared to the classic bookies and the best casino sites in the UK, they earn through commissions.
However, the platform’s business model mustn’t affect your profits; otherwise, it’s a waste of your time and effort. That’s why it’s very important to find a betting exchange where they have a low commission rate. We’ve listed the poundage percentage charged by each operator in the table which we provided above.
Each site is obligated by the gambling law to list this information. Ideally, you should be looking for a flat rate that applies to winnings only and is below 5%. The top-rated sports betting exchanges which we offer are exactly what you need. They have very affordable commission rates and a lot of valuable tools that you can use.
Usability
The user experience is another top priority in our benchmark. It’s of crucial importance that less experienced bettors can quickly navigate through the sports betting exchange site. Indeed, that rule also applies for seasoned punters, as no one will be sticking around if they can’t find their desired wagering market.
To ensure that the user satisfaction level remains as high as possible, the platforms have spent many resources and effort to secure the best user experience. Each operator has its unique design, but what they all have in common is incredible intuitiveness and ease of use.
The Best Mobile App for Exchange Betting
A wonderful fact is that each betting exchange is built with a mobile-first approach. Every UK punter can bet on the go swiftly and enjoy the full package of features available for desktop. In some cases, the mobile betting apps are even better, but that strongly depends on your strategy and needs.
Sports, Markets and Wagering Types
When it comes to markets and wagering types, the variety is quite fundamental. To keep satisfied even the pickiest amongst punters, the betting exchange sites ensure multiple wagering possibilities for online football betting, online horse-racing betting, and online golf betting. You can also enjoy plenty of markets on other popular sports such as tennis, basketball, eSports, among others.
The same logic applies to the leagues, tournaments, and events of the most famous sports. The more wagering markets on pre-match and in-play, the better for the British players. Usually, the platforms listed on this page cover various markets, especially for major leagues and tournaments.
Last but not least, the number of bet types is also a key factor. Having the option to bet on systems, however, is not possible here. You can mainly back and lay your wagers on standard 1×2, over/under, and handicaps. Depending on the sport, you get other wagering options including in-play.
- Full Time Results: Similar to sportsbooks, you can bet on the full-time winner via the back feature.
- Over/Under: This popular wagering type is also available at the exchange betting platforms.
- Handicaps: Handicap betting is a great way to buy higher odds, but it has a higher risk as well.
- Half Time/Full Time (HT/FT): The goal is to guess the winner of HF as well as FT. Predicting correctly only one of the half times will result in a lost bet.
- In-Play: One of the best ways to predict the outcome of a sporting event is by utilising the in-play feature.
As we stated earlier, the exchange betting and the standard sportsbook have their differences. As opposed to classic bookmakers, multiple bets are not possible on exchange platforms. If your strategy revolves around accumulator bets and other systems, you should refer to any of the suggested best sportsbooks.
Bonuses at Exchange Betting Websites
There’s probably very little debate about the importance of bonuses and promotions. Of course, they take a major role at the betting exchange sites, too, as at the rest of the gambling venues. After carefully evaluating all available promos for exchange betting, we conducted that the one listed below is the best for 2024.
Apart from the well-known welcome bonus, the exchange platforms offer various other regular promotions. The betting bonuses & promotions can be in the form of price boosts and lower commission on a particular sport or day. Always choose the most appealing offers and make sure that you’re fully aware of the T&C that apply.
Payment Methods Selection
After you’ve settled with the platform you want to use and have signed up, you must proceed with depositing funds. To begin your real money play at the best betting exchange, you can choose amongst debit cards, e-wallets, and other means of safe banking methods.
For what it’s worth, the most popular payment methods, such as Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard, are all available. Of course, bank transfers are also possible should you require their service. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is getting more popular by the day and could soon be introduced as a payment option as well, like it has at many Bitcoin casinos.
What Is a Betting Exchange Exactly?
If it’s not clear by now, let’s take a look at what is a betting exchange. In short, the exchange platforms allow the tipsters to play against each other. This is possible through the back and lay betting features, which we’ll explain thoroughly in a moment.
The sports exchange platforms are a lot like a financial exchange where there’s no risk for the operator. Furthermore, they allow you to create your own odds as long as another player pays them the requested price. This is called matched betting, which is the foundation of every betting exchange.
In other words, each player acts as the oddsmaker, which is usually the job of someone who works for a classic bookie. This unique feature is especially valuable when placing in-play wagers, as you can instantly see what the payouts are. And if there’s enough volume on the matched odds, you can easily back and lay your bets with excellent profits. Now that we have the basics explained, let’s get down to the rest of the features.
Back Betting
Whenever you support a particular outcome of a sporting event, it is called back betting. This way of wagering is essentially how you would place a wager at a normal sportsbook. Depending on the platform you use, the colours of the feature will be blue, orange, or green, and it will read the text ‘back (bet for)’.
Simply place your wager at the ‘stake’ field, and the exchange betting platform will instantly calculate your profit and liability. You should use the feature whenever you want a certain outcome and find good value for it. As long as there’s enough liquidity created by other punters, your wager will be matched.
So, if you support team A to win and back them up with your wager, you’ll make a profit only if they win. In this case scenario, you’ll own commission to the online betting exchange. If they lose, however, your bet will go to the gutter. To avoid that from happening, you can use the other key feature called lay betting.
Lay Betting
Along the same line of thought, lay betting is precisely the opposite option. It’s the feature you use when you want to bet against a specific outcome. Similarly to back betting, each platform labels it in different colours, which could be green, blue, or red.
UK punters use the lay betting feature whenever they want to act as the bookmaker and offer a price that another player has to match. It’s also the foundation of matched betting that allows tipsters to both buy and sell odds on the same event, thus covering all outcomes and guaranteeing a profit.
Going back to the previous example where we backed team A to win, now we’ll bet against it by placing our wager on the ‘lay bet’ field. As long as the game ends in a draw or win for team B, you’ll secure a profit. If team A wins, however, you’ll take the loss, which is listed as a liability on each site.
In-play Wagering at Exchange Bookies & Cash Out
Another fantastic feature that originated from the exchange platforms is in-play betting. This form of wagering is now the most popular amongst British punters. You can think of it as the betting exchange trading process that happens in real-time between players where the odds are updated by the second.
Live wagering at exchange platforms operates in a similar way to classic bookies. The constant shifting of the odds will depend on the fluctuation created by the betting volume. And speaking of innovations, the best betting exchange sites were also responsible for another widely popular feature – the cash out. Now, you can use the cash out option at the top in-play bookies too.
If you haven’t placed live bets yet, here’s a comprehensive example. Team A and B meet again, but now you want to place a wager as the game unfolds. Whether backing or laying, the exchange betting platforms allow doing so in real-time while the game progresses until its very end.
Pros and Cons of Exchange Bookmakers
There’re some undeniable pros about the betting exchange sites. Starting from the opportunity to create your own odds, bet against a particular outcome of a game, and of course, covering all possible results. Also, you’ll never get your account limited or banned just because you’ve won too much, which often happens at regular sportsbooks.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Create Your Own Odds | Hard to Match Large Bets |
| Lay Betting Feature | Fewer Wagering Types |
| No Limitations for Big Winnings | No Accumulators |
But you should keep in mind that like any other gambling activity, there’re some cons lurking behind the corner. The most significant disadvantage of the betting exchanges is liquidity, which is different depending on the event and the exchange. This means that matching your bets will not always be guaranteed, as compared to when playing at a regular sportsbook.
Some Tips and Strategies
Making profits at betting exchange UK sites is comparable to a cat-and-mouse game. You need to be extremely patient and wait for the right time to get the biggest value. Learning how to fully utilise the back and lay feature is your best chance to get as close to arbitrage betting as possible.
- Back & Lay – Compare the odds between different exchanges and back the best ones. After that lay them on a price high enough that guarantees profit.
- Match Your Bets – Very similar to the back and lay strategy, the matched betting eliminates the possibility to lose and guarantees steady yields via the bonus offers and promotions.
- Use Promos – Promotions such as enhanced odds, cashbacks, win boosts, and matched bonus can be very valuable and easy to capitalise.
- Use the Pro Tools – All top-rated betting exchanges have professional tools such as automations and bots. You can even use third-party tools for a subscription fee.
- Trade Horse Racing – Horse racings offer the biggest long-term profit among all sports. With the abovementioned pro tools, you can connect directly to the exchange API and be a successful trader.
Covering all possible outcomes with a profit is much easier to achieve at betting exchange sites than standard bookies. But in order to successfully complete the back and lay strategy, you need to monitor the liquidity of your preferred market constantly. Make sure that your calculations are right and you’re always covering your liability without losing profits.
It won’t hurt using some of the bonuses and promotions too. For instance, price boosts at horse races are another great benefit that can give you the upper hand. These types of offers can be easily layed with a guaranteed profit, even it’s just a couple of percent. Remembering that exchange betting is a long-term venture and being greedy for huge profits won’t get you too far.
The History of Exchange Betting in the UK
With the progress of the internet and modern technologies, local gambling shops have been quickly overtaken. Up until 2006, almost all trades were executed by a professional trader over the phone or in-person at land-based wagering shops. But then the exchange betting was revolutionised entirely in the UK by the giant Betfair, who was the first major player in the game.
In 2011 the cashout feature was first introduced and quickly became a sensation among gamblers. Nowadays, British punters have the opportunity to use state-of-the-art platforms with many great tools and features, as long as they are playing at online gambling sites licensed by the UKGC. Only time will show what other technological innovations will be rowed out to the public that will once again rewrite the history of exchange betting.
Find the Best Betting Exchange Site!
Learning how to be a trader rather than a gambler is the next step in your venture. It surely requires a lot of time and patience, but it could be rewarding in the long term. Using the advanced tools and features at the best betting exchange platforms increases your chances of beating the odds.
As a conclusion to this guide, we can only wish you good luck and remind you once again to take your time mastering each feature from the betting exchange sites. You can also check out the rest of our detailed pages where we covered all things gambling-related.
FAQ
We gave you valuable information about the best betting exchange sites in the UK, some tips, and detailed explanations on this page. But, before we wrap it up, there’re some frequently asked questions that we’d like to address. Hopefully, after reading them, you’ll be one step closer to your desired destination.
🥇 What are the best betting exchange bookmakers?
Within our page of the top exchange websites we’ve shortlisted a couple of platforms for UK tipsters. All of them are worthy of your time and funds as they're licensed, safe, and reliable, have enough liquidity to match most of your bets and fulfil the rest of our criteria.
🤔 How does betting exchange work?
The essence of a betting exchange is players' opportunity to play against each other with real money, be their own oddsmakers, and pay a commission for the service. Another benefit from using those platforms are the top wagering bonuses which we've discussed in detail in the corresponding paragraph.
🤚 Are betting exchange sites legal in the UK?
Yes, playing at exchange betting sites is 100% legal in the UK. Our guide is dedicated to only licensed bookmakers that have the necessary permission from the UK Gambling Commission. Learn more on the legal side of exchange betting in the United Kingdom.
🤑 ₿ Are there any Bitcoin betting exchange sites in the UK?
As of the time of writing, the UK betting exchange sites don't accept Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies, for that matter. However, there're plenty of payment methods available for the British punters who'd like to give it a go and enjoy a thrilling experience like no other.