Smarkets Review: Our Look at the Premium Betting Exchange

Smarkets Sports Markets and Betting Options

If you love sports, then this operator is definitely for you. There are up to 35 different sports for you to stake on available. They are particularly well covered when it comes to horse racing and football – with 500 options routinely available across all the different football leagues. Additionally, you can expect to be able to bet on sports as diverse as basketball, golf, handball, ice hockey, snooker and volleyball. This is a great range of sports which simply shows how great it is for online betting.

As the above table shows, there is a little something for everyone here. The betting options are not just limited to sports however, with a very comprehensive amount of bets available on politics and current affairs – something they are now leaders of. Political are available on US Elections, sitting president’s chances of impeachment, the Brexit date and whether certain cabinet ministers will be sacked. The stunning amount of options here is second only to Paddy Power in terms of choice. This is also buoyed by other current affairs bets, such as big company news, the inflation rates of UK and the USA and even the value of bitcoin. The depth available here is simply staggering and is what sets Smarkets apart.

If political and current affairs bets aren’t for you – why don’t you take a look at the amazing amount of football bets currently available with Smarkets. The Premier League, of course, is extremely well represented, with both weekly and longer-term bets available. In addition to this, you can bet on the Bundesliga in Germany, Ligue 1 in France, La Liga in Spain and Seria A in Italy. But it is not just European football that is extremely popular here, with bets available in leagues as far away as South America, Thailand and Australia. In addition, horse racing offers an incredibly large amount of bets that occur every day, leading it to be one of the best horse racing trading platforms around.

In-Play Betting and Live Streaming

It is a truth commonly acknowledged that the only thing better than betting before an event is betting on it as it takes place. In this respect, Smarkets is one of the finest in-play betting sites around, letting you both back and lay bets as they are taking place. Sadly however, unlike William Hill, they do not allow the ability to live stream events as they play out just yet. We are sure that as this is such a huge part of the betting world now that this is something they will innovate with in the future.

Multiples Betting Options

The only thing better than putting a single bet on an event is being able to place up to several bets into an accumulator. This is a great way to get a lot of money from a very small stake. Sadly, when you are using the platform, you are unable to use accumulators as of yet. We find this an almighty shame as they are such a part of betting culture – especially when bets are being put on at the end of the weekend. If you do want to use a betting exchange that does allow you to place bets in an accumulator, then we would recommend you go ahead and use bet365, arguably the best betting exchange of them all.

Bet & Win Limits

When you are betting online, one of the most important things for you to bear in mind are the bet and win limits. What anyone wants to have is full flexibility with their money, something that loosely translates to, low buy-ins and big payouts. Thankfully for users of this operator, they can expect some of the fairest limits in the business. The absolute minimum you can stake on a bet is only 5p, while the maximum is a whopping €99,999. As for your winnings they can be dependent on how much you are willing to bet. We think that what they offer here represents some of the very best in the business. You really can’t go wrong here.

Smarkets Odds Levels10

Betting exchanges have a one-up on traditional betting sites when it comes to setting odds prices. As you are not betting against one bookmaker but instead against other punters who set the odds, the prices are much, much lower as a result. In fact, they have a ridiculous upper limit of 99% on all your bets. This means that you basically get some of the finest odds in the business – even beating Betway’s odds of 98%. This is due to the fact that instead of making money from fixing the odds prices, Smarkets charge a 2% commission on all the bets on their site. We think that this is a fair trade-off considering just how high the odds go. Take a look below to see the odds for every sport we have.

As you can see, the odds of prices do vary depending on the sport. Football is particularly good for punters as the odds levels are between 90.35 – 99.68%, which is basically as close to 100% as you can get. Equally, the odds for horse racing, a sport with more betting options, is also extremely decent, with prices ranging between 94.49 – 98.16%. You can also expect extremely good odds for American football, where the odds go between 96.45 – 98.22%. The variety of values here is simply stunning.

Smarkets IE Platform8

When you use the Smarkets platform, you can expect one of the most fluid betting experiences available across the medium. The entire website is designed to give off a very sleek vibe, reminiscent of being on a real traders platform. Utilising a combination of blacks, greens and blues, they make the platform as enticing as it is easy to use. What we particularly like is the way they have laid out the page. When you first entire the page, you are confronted directly with the current top markets, showing the biggest events of the day. With the home page there is a really strong emphasis on both horse racing and football, with both of them appearing on the home page. If you are looking for a specific sport, all you have to do is click the sideways graph symbol that you can find on the top left-hand corner of the page. From there you are confronted with an a-z of all the different sports available.

What Smarkets allows you to do is make favorites, and then when you do click on the left side of the page you can access all of your favourite markets. Additionally, they have a recommendations section, with all the best-curated bets in easy alignment. If you are looking for the blog, then you simply have to scroll down on to the bottom of the page to see it. There you can read all about how they work behind the scenes. Additionally, alongside this is the help centre, the betting education centre and a contact form. We would really recommend the betting education page, as it shows you all you need to know to use the exchange, such as explaining what betting odds are, and the best strategy in order to get ahead. This simply shows the dedication they go to in order to provide you with a brilliant betting experience.

How to Place a Bet

Placing a bet with this operator is a really easy thing to do. Before you get started however, there are a few basics that we should cover first. First of all, make sure that you get an account and are logged in. Additionally, make sure that you have deposited enough money into your betting account in order to cover from your bet. From there, simply head on over to the homepage. If you do not know what you would like to bet on, consult the a-z which can be found on the left-hand side of the page. From there scroll down in order to find your preferred sport. Once you have clicked on your favourite sport you will be consulted with all the different markets you can bet on. We would recommend picking a league that you know something about as then you will have better knowledge regarding how it will pan out.

• [1] Make Your Selection(s)Look for the market you want to bet on at Smarkets, there are plenty of different options, be methodical and choose wisely.
• [2] Enter Your Stake AmountEnter the amount of money you would like to bet under the “Your Stake” data entry field. You will also see a live return amount.
• [3] Confirm Your Selection(s)Now you have your market and stake selected the only thing left to do is double check, then confirm your bet by pressing Bet Now!

As the above table shows out, the next steps in picking a bet are really simple. Simply find the event within the market that you are interested in and pick an outcome you believe is more likely than not to happen. Try to pick something with relatively high odds as this means that you could be due an even bigger return. From there you can place the bet; simply pick the outcome and type in the amount of money you want to stake. Remember to only stake money you feel like you can afford to lose.

Additional Company Info

Now that you’ve learned everything you need to know about betting with Smarkets, perhaps its time to learn a little extra about the company itself. Keep on reading the sections we have written below in order to learn everything else you should be aware about when dealing with the company.

The Smarkets Business

Smarkets was started in 2008 by two Americans called Jason Trost and Hunter Morris. Their aim was to make it less like a traditional betting platform, but instead somewhere you could trade bets. Since then they now enjoy prominence as one of the strongest betting exchanges, now employing over 100 customers. More recently, they became more popular when they partnered with Queen’s Park Rangers in order to be their official betting partners. Learn more about the company courtesy of the table we have created for you below.

The brand is slowly expanding and seeking to perfect their product before they scale. The leader of the betting exchange industry holds a huge proportion of market capitalisation, and have dominated for the past decade. We fully expect Smarkets to continue developing their platform to eventually squeeze into this space and command higher popularity amongst Irish punters in the near future.

Brilliant Customer Service 8

Customer service is key, and represents the key difference between a good service and a great one. Thankfully for users of the Smarkets site, they do not have to worry about lousy customer service here as the support they give is second to none. If you want to contact Smarkets, you will be glad to know that they are available via email, twitter, live chat, phone and even by post. We would recommend following them on all the social media outlets in order to get the full idea of what they are up to. What is really amazing is that the live chat is available to be used 24/7 – making it one of the most reliable services around.

Licensing & Security9

When you are betting with an operator, always check before you start placing with them that they are fully regulated under British law. This means having a license with the UK Gambling Commission. In the case of Smarkets, you do not need to worry about that as we have already checked for you and can attest that they are fully licensed. In addition to this, they are audited by the highly respected IBAS (Independent Betting Adjudication Service) who you can turn to if anything goes wrong. They also have a license granted to them under the Malta Gaming Authority.

The most important thing about betting is safety. Being able to put money in and out of an account in the full knowledge that it is completely safe is extremely important. Thankfully, when you use Smarkets, you can rest in the knowledge that all of your bets are totally secure. They are encrypted by Let’s Encrypt Authority X3, meaning that you, and only you, can see your payment details. In addition, they take gambling addiction seriously and are partnered with GambleAware to monitor any people who may have a problem. It is this dedication to their customers’ welfare that makes Smarkets one of the finest betting exchanges around.

Bonus Points 6

Although hardly the reason one may be drawn to a bookmaker in the first place, bonus points can be something that separates them from the rest of the pack. Sadly for Smarkets, they didn’t get the top marks here, but still ranked pretty well considering what they have. Take a look below to learn more.

• Live Streams.0/3
• Sponsorship.2/3
• Awards.2/2
• Extra Markets.1/1
• Bonuses.1/1
• Bonus Points.6

As you can see, the above table shows you all the bonus points you might need to know about when betting with Smarkets. Let us explain our rationale now. Firstly, they do not score any points for their live streams because they haven’t got any live streams. This is a huge disappointment, but we are sure that this is something that they will introduce in the future. In addition to this, we gave them a highly respectable 2 out of 3 for their sponsorship considering they are the official partner of Queens Park Rangers, one of the best football clubs in the UK. For their vast array of awards, including being named in the Startups 100 awards in 2012, we couldn’t give them anything other than top marks. Additionally, for their ridiculous array of political and popular culture bets, they do extremely well for people wanting to bet on extra markets.

Smarkets Betting: A One-of-a-Kind Experience

All in all, we can conclude that they are a fine betting exchange to go ahead and get an account with. Thanks to the wide variety of betting options they have, the extremely high odds levels, the extra markets such as political and current affairs betting, and the overall aesthetic of the platform, you can expect a brilliant one of a kind experience when you are on this operator. To see what we think are the specific strengths and weaknesses of this betting exchange are, please take a look at the table we have created for you to look at below.

As you can see, there are some reservations that we do have on our review about the betting site. Primarily we aren’t very impressed that there is no live streaming available and no mobile app which allows you to bet whilst on the go. Nevertheless, we believe that the overall experience available at Smarkets more than outweighs any negatives that we may have. Why don’t you start betting with them today? If Smarkets isn’t the bookmaker for you, and that’s totally fine, simply head on back to the homepage to find more top-rated betting sites.

Q&A/FAQ

If you have any more questions about the service offered at Smarkets, send us an email at info@bestbettingsites.com for further clarification.

How much commission is charged on my transactions at Smarkets?

Smarkets charge 2% commission on all transactions.