{"id":1936,"date":"2020-09-15T14:37:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T14:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.safebettingsites.com\/?page_id=1936"},"modified":"2023-08-09T16:17:18","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T16:17:18","slug":"exchange-betting-sites","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.safebettingsites.com\/exchange-betting\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Exchange Betting: A Comprehensive Guide for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exchange betting\u00a0<\/strong>is where you back or lay sporting outcomes against fellow punters, paying a small percentage of commission to the website used for facilitating such services. There are two ways to place sports bets: you can use fixed odds bookmakers or betting exchanges.<\/p>\n

Whereas the bookies set their prices, betting exchanges, on the other hand, run a peer-to-peer model where customers set the their own odds. This leads to a highly competitive marketplace which, in turn, often results in betting exchanges providing higher returns. In this guide, we’ll outline everything you need to know about betting exchanges, placing safe and profitable bets.<\/p>\n

What is a Betting Exchange?<\/h2>\n\"What\n

Where a traditional sportsbook\/betting site operates on a bookmaker-to-bettor relationship, a betting exchange facilitates a betting relationship between two bettors. In standard sports betting, the punter is trying to beat the bookmaker, but on the exchange, punters take on each other.<\/p>\n

How Does a Betting Exchange Work?<\/h3>\n

The one key difference is that on a betting exchange, players can lay bets by offering odds to other players. In other words, they can bet on selections to lose as opposed to win. This essentially allows players to adopt the role of the bookmaker. Betting exchange UK sites also aren\u2019t looking to beat players to make profit, as they simply make a profit by charging a small commission on all winning bets.<\/p>\n

There are other differences between standard sports betting and exchange betting, such as liquidity. When playing at a sportsbook, the punter simply selects a bet, enters a stake, and the job\u2019s done. On the exchange, players must ensure that there\u2019s enough liquidity in the market. In other words, if there\u2019s not enough money on the other side of the market that you\u2019re looking to bet on, then your bet will be unmatched, either partially or in full.<\/p>\n

Example<\/h3>\n
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Say you want to have \u00a320 on Tottenham to beat Arsenal at odds of 2.5. To get this bet on, there needs to be \u00a320 in the market from players looking to bet against a Spurs win. \u201cBack\u201d and \u201cLay\u201d are the terms used on an exchange. Like the stock exchange, to back is to buy, while to lay is to sell. Essentially, to buy a Spurs win, there needs to be enough money from those who\u2019ve sold a Spurs win at the same price.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

With any bet, the money is split into two pools – the money people have placed to back, and the money people have placed to lay. Each ‘pool’ is separated into pots based on the odds that have been offered. Depending on the result of any bet, the winning pool is returned to the people who backed the correct result, and they are paid from the ‘losing’ pool.<\/p>\n

While setting your own odds does sound attractive, it’s usually best to stick with the odds offered by the betting exchange. These are the most common odds that people are backing and laying. If you try and offer outlandish odds, such as Manchester City beating Sutton United in the FA Cup at 100\/1 then you will find there’s no liquidity as no one (at least no one with any sense) would be willing to lay such an outlandish bet.<\/p>\n

We hope that now you know what is a betting exchange, and how to use one.<\/p>\n

Betting Exchange vs Traditional Sportsbooks<\/h2>\n

Are betting exchanges better than traditional sportsbooks? There are certainly pros to using a betting exchange instead of a sportsbook, though it really depends what you’re looking for. For a simple comparison of the two, see below.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Criteria<\/strong><\/td>\nExchange<\/strong><\/td>\nSportsbook<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Set own odds<\/td>\n\u2714\ufe0f<\/td>\n\u274c<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Back bets<\/td>\n\u2714\ufe0f<\/td>\n\u2714\ufe0f<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lay bets<\/td>\n\u2714\ufe0f<\/td>\n\u274c<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trading<\/td>\n\u2714\ufe0f<\/td>\n\u274c<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Restrictions<\/td>\n\u274c<\/td>\n\u2714\ufe0f<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Liquidity issues<\/td>\n\u2714\ufe0f<\/td>\n\u274c<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Pros and Cons of a Betting Exchange <\/strong><\/h2>\n

There can be no denying that betting exchanges have their place in the world of online gambling, though that\u2019s not to say that there aren\u2019t pitfalls as well as benefits. See below for the pros and cons of exchange betting sites.<\/p>\n

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Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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