Betfair are one of the leading online betting companies in the industry and they paved the way for matched betting back when they launched their betting exchange in 1999.
Move on nearly 20 years and they’ve diversified into the wider gambling industry to include Casino, Poker and Bingo platforms. All in all, it’s been a very successful few decades for the London based company.
‘Death to the Bookmaker’
Back in May 1999, when Betfair founded the breakthrough betting exchange platform, they had little idea of how much it would impact the industry.
However through some very clever marketing, they were soon in front of the public eye.
The founders of Betfair went to a marketing firm called Circus with a budget of £120,000. Circus came up with the brilliant idea of having a launch party and running a ‘Death to the Bookmaker’ campaign. This would show the world how betting exchanges would ‘revolutionise betting’ and kill off the traditional bookmaker in the process.
Ed Wray, one of the founding members of Betfair was initially not happy with the marketing strategy, however, he agreed to go ahead and the campaign ran in 2000.
The two founders set up a New Orleans style funeral and ran a coffin through the streets of London with the slogan ‘Death to the Bookmaker’ painted on the side.
The marketing campaign was a huge success and had a profound impact on the betting industry and shook many of the leading bookmakers like Coral and Ladbrokes.
To add to the excitement, the traditional bookies were not happy with the betting exchange concept and they tried to get it banned. They were anxious about players cheating and money laundering. However, it’s likely they were thinking of their own commercial loss if betting exchanges took off. Their failed efforts to ban betting exchanges only brought more publicity to the new platform.
Over the coming months and years, Betfair continued to grow. More and more people were talking about the company and both Betfair and the consumer were reaping the benefits.
Betting Exchanges
Betting exchanges have been the single biggest invention in the betting industry. They allow people to make money from betting in ways that weren’t possible before. They facilitate matched betting and other ways to make a guaranteed profit from betting online.
Betting exchanges are actually quite a simple platform and in essence they just cut out the middle man and take a commission for doing so. A very simple and straightforward business model. They take on no risk like traditional betting companies do and they have far less overheads than some high-street bookies.
Betfair now have other competitors in the betting exchange marketplace. Although they are still the largest and most popular betting exchange, it’s made them innovate and come up with new ideas on how to improve their platform.
Smarkets are one of these competitors who are fairly new to the industry. They were founded in 2008 and have been growing at a staggering rate since then. They’ve entered the market with a different perspective on where the industry is going which is brining them great success. Their vision is to allow gamblers to trade bets like you can trade stocks in the financial market. A very innovative idea unique to Smarkets.
Matched Betting
As we mentioned earlier, betting exchanges have paved the way for matched betting. Before 1999, bookmakers ran a very strict leash on what and how players could gamble. Players now have more freedom in terms of how and what they bet on.
Matched betting allows you to make money online taking advantage of bookmakers free bets and promotions. We use a risk free betting technique called back and lay betting where we utilise both the bookmaker and the betting exchange.
Though the concept may seem confusing and complicated at the beginning, you’ll soon understand why it’s so popular throughout the UK as a great method to make a second income online from the comfort of your own home.
Here at The Sure Bettor, we tech you everything you need to know to make a guaranteed profit using this technique. Why not join in the fun today? It’s free to sign up.
PaddyPower Betfair
Surprisingly, PaddyPower joined forces with Betfair back in February 2016.
It’s a move that no one thought was possible back in 1999, when Betfair ran through the streets claiming betting exchanges would bring ‘death to the bookmaker.’ Over the past 20 years or so, the two have been arch rivals in the industry.
Perhaps this is the result of Betfair failing to make the impact they thought would be possible when they launched back in 2000.
It’s fair to say the Betfair slogan, ‘death to the bookmaker’, didn’t quite ring true. However, it did make the giant bookmakers like Coral, Ladbrokes and William Hill sit up and re-evaluate their platforms and how they could offer a better service.
Traditional bookmakers had to increase their odds and create new features like cash-out that would give players better value and an overall superior betting experience. Overall, the bookies have done a great job of creating a better experience for the gambler.
Whilst traditional bookmakers are still the most popular and preferred way of betting, betting exchanges play an ever increasing role in the industry and that’s set to continue for a long time.
That’s it for this ‘Death to the Bookmaker’ article. Please add any thoughts or comments in the section below. I’m sure there’s something I missed.