Betfair has developed new forms of betting, for instance “place only” and “In Running”.  There has developed  a whole raft of new “Beat Betfair” systems - many of which can be found elsewhere on this site.  Many “Betfair-exclusive” software packages have also arrived on the market, allowing you to evolve and program your own “system”, then leaving the computer or ‘bot (robot) to fire in your bets whenever it thinks you have a betting advantage.

One advantage of dealing with Betfair Betting Exchange is pretty obvious - there’s no risk of being kicked out for being too good!  Another benefit is the better odds usually on offer.  A disadvantage is a lack of liquidity in many minor markets, where a bet as small as under £50 ($100) can be difficult to place because of a lack of opposing bettors/layers.

Many Betfair users “trade” the Betfair markets, seeking to arrive at a situation where they cannot lose whatever the outcome of an event.  This often involves a mix of pre-match/pre-race and “in running” betting to get a win-win outcome - pretty cool huh?

The Betfair site offers a huge range of markets including (of course) Horse Racing Football (soccer), Tennis, Cricket, American Football, Baseball, and dozens of other minor sports.  It also has a “games” section with its own versions of Texas Holdem, Baccarat, Blackjack and several more, as well as a a more traditional Online Poker section and a Casino.  (visit the Betfair site now...)

Betfair is  the “big brother” of online bet exchanges.  It was one of the first in the market and has been a leader ever since.

Why a Betting Exchange anyway?

The main difference between a betting exchange and a traditional bookie’s is that you as the punter are not taking on the bookie, you are actually taking on another punter with an opposing view.  This leads us neatly into the field of “lay” betting, or betting on a horse to lose.  If there are lots of bettors thinking a horse will win, they will need an equal number of people to think it will lose, otherwise a market can’t develop, and then of course, the odds will swing around until a balance is reached.

There can be drawbacks too.  For instance, the betting exchanges are competing by offering a wider and wider choice of bets, but there are only so many punters!  This can lead to a lack of liquidity in some markets where there are just not enough punters to make the market fully functional.  On the evening US races, I have sometimes found it difficult to bet more than a few pounds on a horse, because there is just no-one else 6to take the bet!

The exchanges DO offer one major benefit to users of this site (who are planning to win regularly) - they will not cancel your account just because you win too much!

Betdaq arrived on the scene a little later than Betfair, and have had to work harder  and be more inventive to stay in the hunt.  They seem to be doing that pretty well so far.

The Betdaq site is a model of clarity (except for the hideous purple headers), and the individual “working” pages like the racing bet selector pages are much less crowded than Betfair’s.  

I particularly liked the “My Betdaq” feature which allows you to entirely tailor the look and feel of the site.  You can even select an option for fractional as well as digital odds - very useful to old souls like me (if they’d offer odds in pounds, shillings and pence I’d be in heaven).  Another of the settings you can customise is the maximum bet size - very useful to a lot of punters who can easily get carried away!

One oddity was the “ language” button, which offers “English” or - uhh - “English”?

Bearing in mind that the odds are invariably a little better than at the bookie’s, and considering all the other nifty features of the site, I certainly think it warrants a good long look.  (visit the Betdaq site now...)