An in-depth review of the betting exchange Smarkets is now available. This comprehensive review is part of a series on betting agencies that are suitable for Australians. All reviews form part of the Bookmaker Reviews section on this website.
In summary, Smarkets has become the latest betting exchange to offer Australian dollar accounts. Like most competitors of Betfair, Smarkets doesn’t offer as much liquidity, however it does charge lower commissions of 2% compared to the base rate of 5% with Betfair. Another major upside is because it isn’t licensed in Australia, Smarkets does offer online in-play wagering, which works really well in an exchange environment due to the ability to bet directly against previous selections. For popular events we found Smarkets to compare favourably against Betfair due to the lower commissions, however with most other markets Betfair offers better value. The range of sports covered is currently very modest so Smarkets is more of a niche exchange with a focus on football and to a lesser extent, cricket and tennis. Smarkets isn’t yet big enough to work as a primary betting membership, but for fans of football betting it would work well within a portfolio of account memberships due to its competitive odds and commissions on popular matches. Fans of the AFL & NRL should look elsewhere, however those who wager on football should definitely check Smarkets out.
A full survey of betting agencies can be found in the Betting Agencies section.