Review of Smarkets: A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Features and Services in the Binary Options Trading Market
Review of Smarkets: A Revamped Sports Betting Exchange
Published: September 7, 2024
Smarkets, a well-established betting exchange, has caught my attention after years of indifference due to its less-than-impressive liquidity and outdated interface. Recently, I observed a vast improvement in the platform's design and functionality, which prompted me to take another look.
The improvements in Smarkets' website are undeniable. The exchange now boasts a sleeker, faster, and more professional appearance, defying its once second-rate sportsbook-like image. As liquidity on Betfair's exchange wanes, alternatives like Smarkets become a viable consideration for experienced bettors.
Navigating markets and placing bets on Smarkets has become as swift as navigating the rest of the site, making it a pleasant user experience. While the font choice might be a minor challenge for some, it is hardly a significant drawback.
Unfortunately, Smarkets fails to deliver on several key functionalities. The cash-out feature, which isn't critical for experienced traders, can take over an hour to settle trades, especially during live tennis matches. Even more frustrating, my attempts to log in on my Android phone were unsuccessful, and my inquiry via live chat remained unanswered.
Though Smarkets has announced impressive trading figures, closer examination shows that their subsidiary company, Hanson Applied Sciences Limited, is responsible for much of this activity. This revelation raises questions about the platform's true liquidity levels.
Liquidity is a persistent challenge for betting exchanges, as pricing markets in various sports is a demanding task. Even established bookmakers with comprehensive offerings of markets limit stakes. Smarkets' exchange currently covers only a handful of popular football markets, such as match result, correct score, half-time/full-time, and over/under 2.5 goals.
Matched bettors make up the majority of activity on Smarkets, drawn by the attractive 2% commission rate and promoted by platforms like Odds Monkey and Profit Accumulator. The future of Smarkets as a serious alternative to Betfair for experienced sports traders remains uncertain.
In terms of odds, they appear to be copied from Betfair, yet with smaller liquidity pools. This is less problematic for sports like horse racing, where manual in-play trading isn't popular, but low liquidity levels become an issue in sports like tennis, where manual trading thrives.
Of greater concern is Smarkets' liquidity-providing company and its acceptance of highly successful traders who profit against their money. In late 2023, Smarkets was forced to pay out a significant sum to a user who took advantage of favorable lay odds of 1.01 on a horse before the race. While claims of a hacked account seemed like a convenient excuse, it raised concerns about Smarkets' security.
Another issue is the stability of the exchange, which appears to have significant technical issues and downtime, particularly on Saturdays. This instability has alarmed even those who prefer Smarkets to Betfair.
Smarkets CEO, Jason Trost, is based in Los Angeles. Questions remain about the future role of UK sports or sports in general in Smarkets' plans, given Trost's interest in stocks and shares and the effects of betting legislation on growth in many countries.
In summary, Smarkets' current offering is intriguing, particularly for matched betting purposes, but it still has some way to go to compete with Betfair. The platform's instability and bet voiding are concerns, and users should approach it with caution.
- As Smarkets continues to evolve in the realm of sports-betting, it's putting more emphasis on finance, with its attractive 2% commission rate capturing the interest of sophisticated bettors and matched bettors alike.
- In the ever-changing landscape of technology, Smarkets is endeavoring to modernize its exchange, addressing complaints about its outdated interface with sleeker design and improved functionality.
- The revamped Smarkets platform also aims to enhance its users' lifestyle by offering a more professional and efficient sports-betting experience, although challenges persist in areas such as liquidity, cash-out settlement times, and technical issues.
