I. What is a betting exchange?

The core idea of the betting exchange is that you bet against other people and not against bookmaker. This is called Person to Person betting (P2P). It has some similarities with a stock exchange too.

Overall it works like this:
  • Everyone makes an offer of what he/she wants to bet on.
  • The system matches and enforces agreeable offers.
  • The rest of the offers wait until they can be matched or the owner cancels or modifies them.
You can find additional information here.

II. How do I use it?

Traditional way example (you act as you normally do as a punter)

  1. France will play against Holland in a football match.
  2. You want to bet on (back) France.
  3. You see that the best available odds are 1.95
  4. You accept the odds with a stake of 100.
    • If France wins, you win 95.
    • If France draws or loses, you lose 100.
This is the same as with common bookmakers, except that they will likely offer you no more that 1.80 for France victory.

The alternative way (you act as a bookmaker)

  1. France will play against Holland in a football match.
  2. You want to bet against (lay) France.
  3. You see that the best available odds are 1.95
  4. You accept the odds with a stake of 100.
    • If France wins, you lose 95.
    • If France draws or loses, you win 100.
This needs more explanation:

When you are betting against (laying) some event (to not happen) you are effectively offering money for the others to bet on (back) the same event to happen.

This is what a bookmaker does. It offers you money to bet on some team and if the team fails to win, the bookmaker takes your stake. If the team wins you take the bookmakers money.

Requesting better odds and/or more money

  • When you are backing it is better to find higher odds. Of course.
  • When you are laying it is better to find lower odds. At lower odds you will be offering less money to the backers.
You just enter your desired odds and stake. If there are suitable counter-offers (back and lay are opposites) your offers is matched immediately. If not the offer waits for better times.

Betfair system schema

Betfair schema

Conclusion

There is much more than this to Betfair, but I tried to keep the things simple and to point out the important facts. This is enough to get you started.

If you want more - check out those detailed guides:

The Betfair site itself is fairly easy to use, has a good help and excellent support. It has simplified modes for beginners and for people used to the classic betting.

III. Who are Betfair?

Betfair is currently the largest betting exchange, with the most users and liquidity. It has a very technologically advanced web site and even API interface that allows other companies to develop additional tools to work with Betfair system.

You can find additional information here.

IV. Why is Betfair better than any bookmaker and the other exchanges?

  1. Bookmakers
    • 10-25% higher odds. Bookmaker's odds tend to be lower because they calculate a profit margin inside.
    • Free markets. There are no restrictions or requirements of any kind, no maximum stakes, bet on whatever you like, whenever you like.
    • Driven by user interest, not by bookmaker profits, you can even propose new events you would like to bet on.
    • More flexible. You can act as a bookmaker by laying an event, request better odds, and have any combination of bets.
  2. Other betting exchanges
    • Better odds. Larger user base and larger amounts of money turnover that results in better odds for all events.
    • More features. Excellent web site with more features both for novice and advanced users.
    • More markets. The betfair has a huge selection of events and the most in-play markets you can find.

V. Current promotions

FREE ˆ25 Bet

Click here to register and claim you free bet!

Step by step instructions

  1. Click on the link above to enter Betfair registration form.
  2. Fill all the necessary details to complete the register process.
  3. Make a deposit (min ˆ15) to your account then bet at least ˆ25 in one bet or a series of bets.
  4. You'll receive your free ˆ25 as soon as the result of your bet(s) is known.

Additional conditions

  • You must enter Betfair registration through this page and link, otherwise the promotion is not valid.
  • You must activate your account and have at least the value of bets settled within 14 days of opening your account.
  • Payments made to your account via Moneybookers or WebMoney are not valid for the purposes of this promotion.
  • You must be over 18 to take part in this promotion.

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