Ladbrokes exchange review – What is it and how does it compare against the likes of Betfair and Smarkets?
Read on to find out more.
Online betting takes off
The betting industry moves at an incredibly fast pace and things are constantly changing. In the last few years, online betting has grown at unprecedented rates leaving high street bookmakers in the dust.
Due to the ease of placing bets on mobiles and other handheld devices, this trend is certainly set to continue. This has led to an increase in the number of bets being placed and ultimately an increase in revenue for the bookmakers.
Betting companies are therefore continually looking for new ways to increase their online exposure to gain new customers and the Ladbrokes exchange is no different.
Rise of the betting exchange
Back in 1999, Betfair came up with a new business model which we’d later come to know as a betting exchange.
Whilst Betfair is still the largest and most popular betting exchange in the industry and for good reason, there are other alternatives out there such as the Ladbrokes betting exchange.
Traditionally a classic high street bookmaker, Ladbrokes are constantly looking for ways to develop their platform. In November 2013, the company launched the Ladbrokes betting exchange to sit alongside their online sportsbook.
With so many punters already using their sportsbook, it didn’t take long for the exchange to gain some traction.
What is an exchange?
Before we get into the Ladbrokes exchange review, here’s a little introduction into what betting exchanges are. I’m sure some of you are new to this betting platform.
Betting exchanges are online marketplaces that connect punters looking to place opposite bets.
You can place both back and lay bets at an exchange making them incredibly versatile and valuable for gamblers.
As a punter, you can act as the bookmaker and sell a bet. This is called laying a bet and it’s only possible at an exchange.
Betting exchanges simply facilitate the match and take a commission in the process. Compare this to a traditional bookmaker where they add a profit margin into the odds.
Reasons behind the Ladbrokes betting exchange
As I mentioned earlier, the entire betting industry is incredibly lucrative for betting companies. The more exposure a company get, the more money they’re going to make as a result.
Over the past few years, betting exchanges have become incredibly popular thanks to the inherent benefits of the exchange model. Here are some of the key benefits:
- Different bet types available
- Better value odds for punters
- Greater flexibility in terms of winning gamblers
Let’s look at each of these in more detail.
Different bet types
A betting exchange allows gamblers to place both back and lay bets, making the whole platform more versatile. Whilst not everyone wants to bet against an outcome, it still adds functionality that bookmakers cannot implement.
Better value odds
Odds are one of, if not the, most important aspect of any betting company from the perspective of the bettor. With better value odds, you’re going to attract more customers. As simple as that.
It all comes down to the potential profit a gambler can win from a certain bet. Greater odds means more profit if results go your way.
Arguably the main reason exchanges have become so popular since the boom in online betting is due to the odds. They can offer a true market price. Compare this to a bookmaker where they have to build their profit margin into the odds, meaning less value for the punter.
Greater flexibility for winning punters
It’s a well-known fact that traditional bookmakers are not so keen on winning gamblers. They hurt their bottom line and it’s not uncommon for some bookmakers to gub or restrict accounts that are winning too often.
Whilst this is annoying for gamblers, you can see why it happens. However, thanks to a different model, betting exchanges don’t have an issue with winning gamblers. As I touched on earlier, betting exchanges charge on commission on players’ net winnings.
There’s always one party that wins and one that loses at an exchange, so no matter what the result is, the betting exchange always make money.
Overall, you can see why betting exchanges have become so popular over the last few years.
Ladbrokes betting exchange
So what’s the Ladbrokes betting exchange like?
You may have heard of some of the existing betting exchanges like Betfair, Smarkets and Betdaq but you may not know that there are other, smaller exchanges like Ladbrokes exchange.
So how does this exchange compare to its competitors? Here are some key criteria to look at in our Ladbrokes exchange review.
Commission rate
One of the key aspects of a betting exchange is the commission they charge their customers.
Ladbrokes charge a flat rate of 5% for all customers. This is on par with what Betfair offer and is slightly higher than the 2% at Smarkets.
Liability at Ladbrokes exchange
Another important consideration when looking at new betting exchanges is the amount of liquidity available in the marketplace. This is the amount of money waiting to be matched on a certain market. The higher, the better.
If there’s not enough liquidity, you may not be able to place your bet. This can lead to unmatched or even partially matched bets.
Overall, the liquidity at Ladbrokes exchange is pretty good although not on the same level as Betfair or Smarkets. One of the reasons for this is that they share their platform with Betdaq, another popular exchange marketplace.
Therefore when using Ladbrokes exchange, I suggest you stick to the more popular markets and you should have no issue placing your bets.
User experience
As you would expect, Ladbrokes exchange uses a similar design and layout to what they use at their popular sportsbook. It makes sense for Ladbrokes to implement this simple, user-friendly design as customers already know how to use their platform.
Ladbrokes exchange conclusion
Overall, should you consider using the Ladbrokes betting exchange in 2019 and beyond?
In short, yes it’s certainly something you should look into. Despite the likes of Betfair and Smarkets beating them when it comes to markets and commission rates, they can still be useful now and then.
It’s also a great idea to use the Ladbrokes exchange for matched betting. You can use their platform to place your lay bets to profit from bookmakers free bets.
However, you’ll need to keep an eye out for any restrictions. Since the exchange is owned and operated by Ladbrokes they may be out to ban accounts that show any signs of winning. Whilst this is unlikely, it’s just something to be mindful of.