Like everything else, it is important to understand the process otherwise you may lose money unnecessarily. You might also make money by accident but that’s a risky way to make a bit of cash! A betting exchange doesn’t accept the bets themselves, they merely provide a forum to match punters on either side of a wager. In addition to paying less commission on winnings, bookmakers also build a profit margin into their odds. A betting exchange removes this profit margin, hence the odds tend to be better.
To make a bet is as easy as 1, 2, 3.
- Choose the event or game,
- Choose the price, and
- Choose to lay or back.
If you don’t like the available prices then you can always enter the amount you wish and wait for it to be accepted or matched. This is known as an order and allow you to effectively create a wish list and people can accept your offers if they want. The backend software driving the betting exchange will store all the lays and backs and match them off when appropriate. The advantage of this is that if some-one posts a lay for $500, then one person can accept for $500 or five people may accept for $100 each. Once again this works the same as a stock exchange. As you can see, this is an ideal way to match punters with different bankrolls and hence the betting exchanges appeal to both the casual and dedicated.
Finally, it gives you a chance to be something more than a passive punter. Much the same as some people prefer playing blackjack rather than slots at a casino, because they have some control over the outcome. Whilst you might not be out on the field playing the game, you can control your destiny by deciding the odds you wish rather than having to accept what the bookies are offering.