Exchange Betting Guide

“What is exchange betting?”

Exchange betting is a relatively new phenomenon. It is made possible only by advanced web site technology. Exchange betting web sites, together with some great betting tips and predictions, offer bettors a greater chance of winning than do traditional bookmakers. The reasons are explained in a separate section below.

In brief, exchange betting web sites allow punters to bet against each other, acting as either bettors or bookmakers by making a ‘Back’ bet or a ‘Lay’ bet respectively. The prevailing ‘Lay’ bet odds are always more than the prevailing ‘Back’ bet odds (obviously). The difference, however, can vary greatly, depending on how ambitious (or greedy) the bettors are.

If you want better odds that are available at any given moment, you can request your desired odds and state the amount of money you want to bet at those odds. If, at any time thereafter, another punter accepts your offer, your bet is ‘matched’. You can cancel your request at any time, but as soon as it is matched by another punter you can no longer change your mind. You can do this as many times as you like, both BEFORE and DURING the event, right up until the instant when the final result is known.

To meet the expense of the technology, the web site provider takes a commission on the net winnings of all punters on each event. This means that, if you make a ‘Back’ bet on an event at certain odds and a ‘Lay’ bet on the same event at different odds that enable you to make a net profit from the result, you’ll pay a commission on only the net profit, not on the amount you actually won. This is a very fair arrangement, as your loss mitigates your winnings.

As a simple example, if you make a ‘Back’ bet of 10 on player A at odds of 4 (3/1) and offer a ‘Lay’ bet of 20 on the same player at odds of 2 (1/1) which is matched later in the event as the players’ fortunes change, you’ll win 10 (less commission) if either player A or player B wins. If player A shows no sign of threat to player B at all, your ‘Lay’ bet will not be matched, and you’ll lose 10 when player B wins. If you do not offer a “balancing” ‘Lay’ bet, you’ll lose 10 if player B wins, and win 30 (less commission on 20) if player A wins.

“What events are most suitable for exchange betting?”

The greatest chance of winning occurs in events where the scoring is fairly continual and steady, and where there can be small “swings” towards the likely result. Events such as tennis, golf, snooker, martial arts, baseball, cricket, American football, darts, rugby, pelota, volleyball, handball, basketball, etc. are suitable; hockey, boxing less so; soccer is unsuitable, because scoring is so rare, and a single goal creates a huge swing in favour of the scoring team.

Logically the fewer the possible outcomes are, the greater are your chances of winning on the event. This is another reason why soccer is harder to win on than tennis, for example; a soccer match can end in a draw, whereas in tennis there can be only a winner and a loser. Horse-racing is hardest of all because any one of a number of runners can win. Despite this irrefutable logic, horse-racing and soccer are the most popular sports events for exchange betting.

A close third in popularity, however, is tennis. Because there must be plenty of money in the “pot” also, tennis therefore ticks all the boxes for the best chances of winning at exchange betting:

There are only two opponents, and any change in the odds on one has a directly corresponding effect on the other’s;
There can be small swings to one side or the other during the event;
There can be only one winner and one loser, no draw or tie;
There’s plenty of money being bet by punters.