Smarkets Customer Reviews

Smarkets Betting Exchange Review

Provider: Smarkets Betting Exchange

Verdict: Smarkets is one of the newer betting exchanges. They were founded by Jason Trost a formed UBS banker to integrate financial trading aspects to sports trading. Smarkets offer a slightly more visual experience than industry leader Betfair by offering live charts and a more financial feeling layout. They compete with Betfair by providing lower commission rates and market makers to fill liquidity gaps.

Summary

Smarkets is a good choice for high-volume sports traders as they charge lower commissions than other betting exchanges in major markets.

Smarkets is headquartered in London and has continued to grow in popularity thanks to their sleek brand and low commission base rate of just 2% on all winning bets. They have also attracted new customers with their current offer of a £10 bonus once you have deposited £20.

Smarkets was first granted a licence by the Malta Gaming Authority in 2011, and they received a licence from the UK Gambling Commission in 2015.

Pros

• Discounted commission of 2%
• Live charting shows price movements
• Decent free bet for new punters

Cons

• Liquidity not as good as Batfair
• Uses market makers for a large % of bets

• Pricing
  (4.5)
• Market Access
  (3)
• Online Platform
  (4.5)
• Customer Service
  (4)
• Research & Analysis
  (4)

Overall

4

Richard’s Review

I’ve always liked Smarkets, I interviewed the founder Jason Trost back in 2018 I’ve been using it on and off since inception to place bets on major events, because, a. they are cheap, and b. they are good looking. And the fact that I say I like them has nothing to do with the fact that they once invited us to their box when they were sponsoring the Jockey Club at Sandown Park and let us choose the best-dressed horse in the parade ring and hand out a trophy. Absolutely nothing…

Pricing & Commission

Smarket’s unique selling point is its lower commission rates in comparison to other betting exchanges. They currently charge just two percent on winning bets, whereas Betfair’s betting exchange can charge up to five percent. This is a huge difference and one that can impact the bigger players massively. To give you an idea of how that translates, if you placed a £100 bet at odds of 5.0 and your selection won, you would win £400. Smarkets will take two percent of the profits, which is £8. Its competitors can take anything up to £20, which is a huge difference. Although £12 might not seem a lot, that is only one bet. If you worked this out across 6-12 months, it would probably be a frightening figure you have seemingly given away by not doing your research.

Market Access

Smarkets are slightly let down by their range of markets. they do cover, most of the major events, but there is better liquidity and range of markets on Betfair.

Betting on the exchange platform flips the switch on traditional betting. It allows the customer to become their own bookmaker by setting their own odds. You will often hear the phrase you will never beat the bookie, or the house always wins in gambling, well now you can become the house. Traditionally you have only ever been able to bet on something to win. However, now you can bet on something to lose, which opens up the possibilities of making a profit. For example, if you bet on a football team to win, there is only one outcome where you can win. However, if you were to lay a team to lose, you have two winning outcomes as you will also win your bet if the team you lay draws the match.

However, and this is a big however, building a betting exchange is hard, and quite frankly, unless you reach critical mass, not as profitable as being a traditional bookie. So, if you can’t find what you are looking for on exchange, you can try Smarkets sports book, SBK.

Platform & Apps

I really like the platform; it’s got a nice modern feel to it and if you look at sports trading in the same way as the financial markets, the charting and volume features are so much easier on the eye. Yes, Betfair also offers charting, but they haven’t updated the graphics in years, so it’s like trying to trade on a Windows 95 PC.

Customer Service

It’s always helpful enough when you need it.

Research & Analysis

Smarkets have their own press release team and can often keep you up to date with the latest sporting and political events. The Smarkets blog works similar to a newsfeed. It keeps you updated with all current affairs to make a better-educated decision on your trades. Their own team continuously updates it with the latest content, so you never miss a beat. It updates you on the latest political news, current affair, and much more. It also offers an insight into the industry and how the present markets are performing. There are topics on wellbeing and mental health too.

Smarkets New Customer Offers

You can currently get 0% commission when you trade for 60 days when you open a new Smarkets betting exchange account. Full terms and conditions are on the website but basically you need to use code COMMFREE to trade with 0% for 60 days. It is only valid for new UK, IE & Malta users who deposit a minimum of £10/€10 first deposit only using Card or Instant Banking. Full T&Cs apply.