kuybet exchanges such as Betfair and Betdaq have revolutionized the way many punters now place their bets. The most obvious benefit the exchanges offer over the traditional high street bookmaker is the ability to lay bets on horses to lose their race, as well as the conventional practice of backing them to win. The pioneer in exchange betting is Betfair and today it operates the most popular betting exchange website.
Essentially, Betfair brings together individual punters with opposing views, and cuts out the traditional bookmaker. All bets on Betfair have been placed there by users who either want to have a bet in the normal way (backing), or offer odds to other punters (laying). Bets are matched between people with opposing views.When you “back” a selection (be it an individual, a team, horse, dog or other), you are betting that it will win. This is just like betting with conventional bookies.
When you “lay” your selection, you are betting against it winning. For example, if you’re betting in a market on which team is going to win the Premiership and you lay Man Utd, you offer odds to other punters who wish to back Man Utd. If Man Utd do not win, then you pick up the backer’s stake. If Man Utd wins, then you pay out. This is what bookmakers traditionally do. Listed below are ten compelling reasons to join the revolution and bet on the exchanges:
Before the appearance of betting exchanges, when placing a bet on a horse you would have to take the price offered by the bookmaker. If the odds offered on a horse were 2/1 and you said you wanted 3/1 you would be laughed out of the shop. Not so with Betfair. If you want to back the horse at 3/1 then you can post this request on the web site, and if someone else wants to lay that bet then your bet will be matched.
5. Bet in-running: Betfair allows you to continue betting on an event, even after it has started. This capability brings with it a whole new betting experience, but it’s not for the faint hearted. As you might expect, the betting market for a horse race can change dramatically and extremely quickly, as horses jostle for position in a 5 furlong sprint which is over in less than a minute! Pitting your judgment and opinions against other punters as the race unfolds is very exciting, but equally risky. However, it is an experience that the traditional bookmaker simply cannot hope to match.
6. Never have your betting account closed: We have all seen the photocopied letters from bookmakers giving notice of closed accounts. The truth is, when you consistently make a profit from betting, then your business becomes a liability for a bookmaker. He is only happy to take your bets if over time he is taking more money from you, than he is giving back. When it happens the other way around, which is what all punters are striving for, then the bookmaker will invariably pull the proverbial rug from underneath you. By contrast, Betfair will never close your account. They charge a commission based upon your winnings, so in fact as long as you are winning, then they are making money too.
7. Bet to unlimited stakes: I can remember plenty of times in the past when I have received word about a horse and visited my local bookmaker to place a bet. When I asked to have £500 on the horse at 12/1 the assistant behind the counter would scurry into the back room to speak to the manager, then return to say I could have a pathetic £20 @ 12/1 but the rest would have to be at the Starting Price (which as we all know is controlled by the bookmakers). This does not happen on the exchanges. If you post a request to back your horse for £500 at 12/1 and someone else is willing to lay the bet at that price (or it could be a number of people whose total stake matches yours) then you will strike your bet.
