A betting exchange is a web site where visitors can bet against other
visitors on a range of events.  Unlike traditional betting where there
is a bookmaker who sets the odds and punters who either take the
offered odds or walk away, a betting exchange allows both "backers"
and "layers" to specify the odds they would like.  This eliminates the
bookmaker, and generally results in more favourable odds for the
punter.  The exchange generally holds cash for both the backer and the
layer to ensure that the loser pays.

I have been using http://www.betfair.com/ , a UK based exchange, which
claims to be turning over in excess of 40 million pounds sterling in
bets per *week* ($60 million or so, I guess - I'm not too hot on
exchange rates, but a lot of money, anyway).

My question:  are there any other betting exchanges with anything like
the same turnover?  I would guess that there must be something similar
in other countries.  Perhaps US law forbids such sites, but what about
elsewhere in the world, or perhaps some little tax haven somewhere? 
It would seem strange to me if a British one is the biggest betting
exchange in the world.

I've found a few other betting exchanges, but they are tiny in
comparison, and consequently tend to offer inferior odds.

Ideally I would like to see a list of sites, with the following
specified:

URL, approximate turnover, minimum initial deposit, minimum bet size,
commission charged.

But I'll settle for just the URLs...  :o)

Thank you.

Hi opicak,

It's not surprising that the UK is such a big gambling centre. Sports
gambling enjoys a favorable legislative framework in the UK under the
Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963:
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2002/draft/20022363.htm

However, some betting exchanges operate from the UK but incorporate in
Dublin or elsewhere for tax purposes.

There are also a few betting exchanges operating from Australia and
Asia.

You have asked for URLs, and if possible for other details. I have
been unable to find out approximate turnover, but I have listed other
information where it seems useful.

Here are some betting exchanges:

"I Bet You're Wrong"
http://www.ibetyourewrong.com/

The company claims to be located in Dublin, Ireland, and the helpine
has an Irish phone number, but the website has an Australian gambling
counseling message and closes at midnight Australian time for a daily
update.

Currency: US Dollars
Minimum bet size: $20
Commission charged: $2 for wins up to $50, $5 for wins above $50
Preferred payment method: PayPal

Asian Flutter
http://www.asianflutter.com/

This company handles bet exchanges on the "Asian Handicap" system,
where bets can specify a goal advantage.

Commission charged: 7.5% spread
Preferred payment method: PayNow (an asian service similar to PayPal)

BestDAQ
https://www.bestdaq.com/bestdaq/

This is another Asian company. They allow players to hedge positions
or take a number of options without tying up more funds than are
necessary to cover the maximum loss.

Currency: US dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Singapore dollars, Thai Baht,
Taiwan Dollars or Japanese Yen.
Languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, Malay, Thai.

Bet-Ex
http://www.betserver.com/bethelp/

Bet-Ex is operated by the London International Bet Exchange Limited,
and claim to be the world's first international bet exchange. The
company is registered in England and Wales. They offer Win/Lose,
Handicap and Asian Handicap betting, and their user manual takes care
to explain the different ways used to express betting odds worldwide.

Unusually, Bet-Ex do not offer a browser interface. Instead, it is
necessary to download and install custom software to use their
service.

Minimum bet size: $10
Prefered payment method: Credit card, debit card or bank transfer
Commission charged: 5% on winning bets

Intrade
http://www.intrade.com/

Intrade is a little different: they trade sports contracts like
futures contracts or shares. Intrade operates the marketplace, but
takes no position in that market. Intrade plc is a Dublin-based
Republic of Ireland public limited company.

Currency: Pounds sterling
Preferred payment methods: credit card and debit card
Charges: GBP 0.04 per trade, GBP 0.06 per expiry.
Interest is paid on member funds over GBP 5000.

Footy-mad
https://www.odds-mad.co.uk/footymad/index.html

Footy-mad is a betting exchange which accepts bets based on a result
part-way into a game. Footy Mad is a private limited company
registered in England and Wales.

Commission charged: 5% on winning bets
Currency: US dollars
Preferred payment method: credit card

Parbet
http://www.parbet.com/

Parbet is another betting exchange organised like a market, giving
bettors the possibility to buy and sell on the outcome of sport
events. Parbet has a London mailing address.

Currency: Euros
Commission chaged: 5% on winnings

My Bet Your Bet
http://www.mybetyourbet.com/

My Bet Your Bet Limited is registered as a limited liability company
in England, although their bank is in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Currency: Pounds sterling
Preferred payment methods: PayPal, credit card, cheque, bank transfer
Commission charged: 5% on winnings
Minimum bet: £1

Play121
http://www.play121.com/index.html

Play121 has a London address, and runs a similar operation to Footy
Mad.

Preferred payment method: credit card, debit cards, cheque
Commission charged: 5% on winnings

Finally, no discussion of betting exchanges would be complete without
mentioning Foresight Exchange:
http://www.ideosphere.com/

Unlike the above betting exchanges, which handle bets on sports
events, Foresight Exchange handles bets for questions about the
future, such as

Will China exercise sovereignty on Taiwan by 2025?
http://www.ideosphere.com/fx-bin/Claim?claim=Taiw

Will a habitable earth-class planet be discovered?
http://www.ideosphere.com/fx-bin/Claim?claim=Earth2

Will G W Bush be president on 1 February 2005?
http://www.ideosphere.com/fx-bin/Claim?claim=Bush04

Bets on Foresight Exchange are for "play money", not for real money.
As they say on the site, you "bet your reputation on the future". It
sounds like a lot of fun though.


Google searches used:

"betting exchange"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22betting+exchange%22

"foresight exchange"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22foresight+exchange%22

"betting gaming and lotteries act"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22betting+gaming+and+lotteries+act%22


Regards,
eiffel-ga

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Clarification of Answer by eiffel-ga on 26 Jun 2002 02:35 PDT

The link which I gave for the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963
led to the latest amendment only. The full text of the original act
does not seem to be available online. Sorry about that!

I have found some turnover details for Betdaq:
https://www.betdaq.com/betdaq/

In their press release of 21 March 2002, they claim to have handled
matched bets to the value of five million pounds sterling during their
first 18 days operation (in March 2002):
https://www.betdaqracing.com/racing_static/20mar02betdaqracing.htm

---

Request for Answer Clarification by opicak-ga on 01 Jul 2002 05:19 PDT

Thanks for that, but I am really looking for popular exchanges.  A lot
of the ones you mentioned seem to be very small, with few users and
terrible odds.  If you are unable to find the turnover for each,
perhaps you could pick an upcoming high-profile sporting event and
find what odds and stakes are available on each exchange.  This would
serve as a useful comparison of volume.

---

Clarification of Answer by eiffel-ga on 01 Jul 2002 07:04 PDT

Hi opicak,

Thanks for your request for clarification.

Please see the comments section; I posted my clarification there by mistake.

Regards,
eiffel-ga

Thanks for the thorough answer.  It confirmed what I already thought
to be the case.  I am still surprised that there seems to be no real
competition for betfair.

Hi - an alternative to Foresight Exchange, but for *real* money (and
rather more stylishly designed):

Long Bets
http://www.longbets.org/

No turnover whatsoever as yet!

Hi opicak,

There's no doubt that Betfair is the market leader, especially since
its merger with Flutter earlier this year. There's an article about
this, dated 16 January 2002, at Guardian Sport Unlimited:

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/horseracing/story/0,10149,634157,00.html

Greg Wood, the author of the above article, claims that following the
merger Betfair controls "98% of the exchange betting market."

If the remaining 2% of the market is distributed amongst ten or so
competitors, each of them must be quite small.

I tried to compare odds and stakes on these betting exchanges, but
some of the sites will only display this information to those who open
an account with them. Also, different exchanges specialize in
different events and it's hard to find something they all take bets on
(even the soccer World Cup was not universally-supported). I thought
perhaps Wimbledon would be a suitable event for comparison - but those
betting exchanges which support it differ by whether they take bets
for individual matches and/or tournament winner. I was not able to
obtain a useful odds comparison.

Nevertheless, the Wimbledon matches confirm Betfair as the clear
volume leader:

Betfair has £626,000 matched on the Mens Championship winner, and a
further £747,000 matched on individual matches and the Ladies
Championship winner.

Bestdaq has a mere $293 (unmatched) on the Mens Championship winner.

Intrade fares a little better, with £8000 matched on the Mens
Championship winner, and a further £5000 on individual matches and the
Ladies Championship winner. Some of the bid/ask spreads (for bet
trading) are quite high, for example 46/58, 38/49, 27/35 on various
players as outright winners. However, a viable market has developed
for today's Henman/Kratochvil match, with spreads as low as a penny at
times.

Parbet has just 5 euros (unmatched) on a single match, whilst Play121
has about £5000 (unmatched) on five matches.

So, if you wish to stick with high-volume betting exchanges, your only
choice at this time seems to be Betfair.

BetDaq is number 2, if you are looking for something close to Betfair.
Or the new punt2punt will allow you to create your own markets.