So what betting exchanges are there? There is, of course, the Betfair exchange and Betdaq exchange, but, we also have WBX, Betsson, and MyBet. The all important thing about betting exchanges is that there is sufficient liquidity in the market. This means there has to be plenty of participants with an equal ‘weight’ of money backing and laying. That said, Betfair.com is the biggest in these terms and Betdaq.com is the closest runner up. This post will compare Betfair to Betdaq by investigating the similarities and differences between these titans of online betting exchanges. This will be achieved by looking how the odds compare, how betting behavior differs, uncovering the main practical differences, how they compete on cost, and how technically advanced Betfair is compared to Betdaq.

How do the odds compare on Betfair and Betdaq?

One way to show how the odds differ would be to show you a screen print of the odds available on each site.  But, that wouldn’t be up to date.  To get the really good feel for the difference in pricing it is easier to visit the Betfair and Betdaq.  Open each in a separate web browser window and compare the live odds for the same event (hint,  if you use Microsoft Windows right click the bottom tool bar, there should be an option to tile the windows vertically, side by side).

There is strong price competition between Betfair and Betdaq.  You should see after doing some research that Betdaq can only match the odds available on Betfair on the most popular events.  This is because only these events can draw in enough participants to match Betfair.  Betfair has a larger user base than Betdaq: at the time of going to press. There is no reason for this situation to change.

Another feature that can be used to compare Betfair and Betdaq is weight of money. Weight of money is the amount of money entering the market for that particular event, animal, team etc, at a particular price. The weight of money is shown below or above the odds display. Again in the popular events this is often similar.  But, in other events where Betdaq is unable to attract the same number of users Betfair wins in this department.

One other way to compare Betfair to Betdaq is to look for signs of exchange members actively trading prices. Signs of trading are more apparent on Betfair than Betdaq. Betfair provides the liquidity and movement in price that traders thrive on. With all the money hitting the market the odds of selections tend to move more on Betfair providing an opportunity to trade. When the traders enter the market it acts to amplify the way the odds change. Thus feeding on itself. This movement in odds is a tell tail sign of a community of traders making money on the market.

The betting exchange is a popular platform for lay betting systems. This is where members follow a selection system to lay horses to loose. A sign that this is popular on Betfair is that you can observe a favourite who is attracting a lot more money laying than backing. It is unusual for a horse that is expected to win to receive more money betting that it won’t.

Another  difference between Betfair and Betdaq is on the run up to the start of a horse race. Betfair does have more liquidity the Betdaq, and you will notice this by the large amount of money that normally enters the market about 1 hour before the off. This is one reason people like trading on Betfair because there is a lot of money entering the market and the price fluctuates.

What other differences are there between Betfair and Betdaq?

Betdaq betting can be done for as low as 50p (or currency equivalent) . People have often been frustrated with Betfair because their Betfair betting has been limited to £2. This can be annoying for those who play with small stakes. However, since Betfair opened Betfair.com to programmers you can get software that allows you to stake smaller amounts as well enhance you betting or trading. We recommend software from Racing Traders because it has lots of features and it is free.

Betdaq does lack some of the features that Betfair has. Betdaq doesn’t have the ‘what if’ feature that calculates the results of hedging. Betfair also has live video. However, Betdaq has responded with some pretty groovy features of it’s own, such as support for accas, and recently, an in-running Asian handicap market.

What about the cost?

The main cost to a betting exchange user is the commission. Both Betfair and Betdaq charge commission, that’s how they do business. But, they want to reward loyal users by discounting commission. For regular users the commission for Betfair and Betdaq users can be reduced to 2%. Betdaq discounts the commission rates faster than Betfair. This is one of the ways Betdaq competes with it’s larger rival.

Other costs are not so transparent however. Betdaq does not offer the range and depth of markets with lots of active participants that Betfair offers. So, you might spend more time placing bets at the odds you want on Betdaq rather than Betfair.

What about the techie stuff?

Something both betting exchanges share in common is that they have allowed programmers to access their betting platforms. This has enabled companies to develop customised trading applications that enhance the experience of the user. These are often known as betting bots. The Betfair platform is more mature, which has encouraged more innovative applications to be developed. There is a good range of betting bots available on for Betfair aiding all kinds of betting.

Conclusion

There is no real reason why there can not be space for competing betting exchanges. Betfair still has the edge when it comes to liquidity. However, Betdaq has been increasing it’s users numbers but it still way off Betfair. What you’ll find is Betdaq will slowly get the features that Betfair has that users enjoy. As Betdaq are chasing the market leader you also find they have special promotions, for example, lower commissions on ‘in running’ horse racing markets.

For these reasons mentioned in this post it is worth opening an account with both Betfair and Betdaq, especially since as both have something very agreeable in common. They both offer good incentives to sign up 🙂