The EXCHANGE betting concept was first developed by Betfair.

Betfair is the world’s largest betting exchange based in the UK.

Your options on the Betfair exchange:

  • you can bet that the outcome WILL HAPPEN (“For”) and that the outcome WILL NOT HAPPEN (“Against”);
  • you can propose and create your own odds;
  • you can place bets as you play;
  • a full range of innovative services and projects is available (such as access to all exchange services using programs (web-service betfair api);
  • you play ONLY with other members of the exchange;
  • ALL PLAYERS UNDER EQUAL CONDITIONS;

What are the advantages of a betting exchange?

Unlike traditional bookmakers who set their own odds on events, Betfair does not set odds or bets on events. All the exchange does is provide a platform for betting between players. This has three main benefits for players:

  • On average, the odds are 20% higher. If you want to bet “for”, the offered odds for the event will be much better than those of traditional bookmakers, because the users of the exchange place bets with each other and form the odds themselves. As a result, players receive favorable conditions for placing bets and better odds compared to bookmakers.
  • For or against. On the betting exchange, you can place traditional “back” bets. But you can also place an alternative bet against the win (bet “against”) by offering your odds to other players. Being able to place pros and cons has its advantages and allows you to trade on the exchange. The essence of trading is to accept a bet at a low odds, and to bet at a high one. As a result, for any outcome of the match, you make a profit.
  • On-the-go bets. Betfair offers a wide variety of highly dynamic and exciting trading markets – live betting markets. Trading starts at the start of the game. You can place pros and cons up to the final whistle of a football match or the last second of a horse race.

Betfair history

Betfair was founded in August 1999 by Andrew Black and Edward Ray to commercialize its own betting technology that had been developed in the previous year. The company revolutionized the betting market and became the world’s first betting exchange.

How does a betting exchange work?

 

A betting exchange is a kind of bookmaker that uses technology to offer its players the best odds. Betfair does not set its odds like traditional bookmakers do. The players themselves form the odds.

Imagine two friends making a bet while watching a football match, and an independent observer holds the money until the match is over. The betting exchange works on the same principle: our users place bets with each other, while Betfair accepts and calculates bets.