I will discuss these three exchanges in one tweet. Lets be clear they are all a fraction of the size of Betfair.
Lets start with Betdaq. They used to provide an interesting alternative and I would use as an emergency back up if Betfair has issues.The problem though is any liquidity soon disappears if Betfair goes down showing how little true liquidity there is. On the face of it the 2% commission rate holds appeal. However, and not many will know this but they do have a form of Premium Charge if they feel you are taking too much money out of the site. It worked out as an effective rate of 25%. There has also been multiple changes of ownership over the years, which in itself makes me nervous. Not least when they were owned by Entain and the Ladbrokes/Corals brand.Certainly tough to trust them to do the right thing. It maybe different now it is back with Dermot Desmond. I have no idea and unfortunately Premium Charges on Betfair dictate I don’t use Betdaq like I used to. I obviously worry who is providing the liquidity.
I have not used Smarkets a great deal so it is tough to say much apart from the liquidity on site is a fraction of what is on sites like Betfair. I know they used to be the choice of the matched betting community. Despite that just nothing much is happening. They just exist.
One thing that did annoy me was them stating they don’t ban winners. I know for a fact from a very close friend, that they would effectively do that, through various means. Relating to API access etc. I also know of a few bet disputes involving them which were a nonsense
because they were in essence the counterparty to the bet. Doesn’t instil much confidence when they cant rule impartially even when they have messed up.
Matchbook is an exchange that just makes me very nervous. They had their license suspended in 2020 by the Gambling Commission and the owners got a large fine. Think that through. The Gambling Commission must have seen some seriously questionable stuff
as they are utterly useless, even in the face of huge evidence of bad practices. The GC said this ‘The Gambling Commission said its investigation had found serious failings in Triplebet’s approach to anti-money laundering, the monitoring of business relationships and due diligence checks into members of gambling syndicates. The commission said one of Triplebet’s main customers was a syndicate, whose lead contributor was a professional gambler, “who also held a beneficial interest in Triplebet itself”.
I think I will be ok thanks and will look at other options. You have to be so careful who you are betting against and with. Do your own research and tread with extreme caution.
ProPunting 