A Look At Betdaq Exchange: How Does It Compare?

As matched bettors, we need to make sure we have chosen the best betting exchange possible when completing our offers. If you are completely new to matched betting, it is essentially a way to guarantee a profit from bookmaker offers. To do this, we have to cover all possible outcomes for an event. If a bookmaker is offering a free bet if we deposit and place a bet with them, we will then place a back bet on a selection to win with the bookmaker and use a betting exchange, such as Betdaq Exchange, to place a lay bet on the same selection not to win. Here we have covered both outcomes, losing only a few pennies in the process in order to qualify for the free bet. The free bet stake can then be used to guarantee a profit using the same back and lay strategy.

What is a betting exchange?

A betting exchange is an online platform that allows punters to bet with each other, rather than against a bookmaker. In a betting exchange, you can play the role of a bookmaker by offering any odds you wish and as long as the selection reaches those odds and there is enough money in the pot (known as liquidity), your bet will be matched. When placing a lay bet on an exchange, there will be a liability amount taken from your account, which is the amount of money at risk if the lay bet loses. The lay stake you place is the amount you would win if the lay bet wins.

The introduction of betting exchanges has really changed the game, as it means matched betting is a possibility. The way betting exchanges make their money is through a commission rate, usually only on winning bets. This can be up to 5%, but some exchanges such as Smarkets charge a lower amount such as 2%. Since great odds can be found on betting exchanges, this has also forced traditional bookies to offer better odds in order to try and keep up.

A look at Betdaq Exchange

Betdaq have been in the betting exchange game for quite a long time now, having been launched in 2000. They were successful on their own until they were purchased by Ladbrokes PLC back in 2013. Due to this, when completing a Ladbrokes offer you should probably avoid placing your lay bets with Betdaq as your account could be flagged up. They operate out of Gibraltar and have a full license from the British Gambling Commission to accept customers from the UK.

If you are ever stuck when using Betdaq, their support is good with options to phone, fax, email or reach a member of their team instantly through their live chat feature. Of course, if you ever have any issues the MatchedBets.com support team will be able to offer help and advice too. They accept a number of currencies, but as matched bettors it is likely we will be using GBP. You can also deposit funds through a number of ways, but we always advise depositing funds with a debit card if possible.

When you click through to the Betdaq website for the first time, you are shown an advertisement for their welcome offer which we will soon discuss in further detail. The Betdaq home page is well laid out, and it gives us a positive user experience. The purple and white colour scheme links to the company logo, so you know exactly where you are straight away. Across the top of the page, you are shown other options such as a casino and virtuals, but for matched betting we will stick with the exchange for now.

Popular links are listed in the top left corner, showing sports and events that most people will be interested in, such as big horse racing meetings or football matches. You are able to find markets for over 15 sports on the site, including all of the most popular sports.

Key terminology

• Back Bet – Betting exchange term for betting on an outcome to win
• Lay Bet – Betting exchange term of betting on an outcome to lose
• Liability – The amount of money at risk if laying an outcome to lose or betting an outcome to win
• Liquidity – The amount of money available on a betting exchange to back or lay on a market

Placing a Lay Bet

What we really need to know is how to place a lay bet on the site. Of course, the first thing you will need to do is find the correct sport and market that your lay bet needs to be on. Once clicking into the event, you will be shown a number of different odds. On Betdaq, the best possible back odds for each market are placed in a light orange box underneath the words ‘Back All’. There are also other, slightly worse, back odds to the left of the light orange box. What we are interested in though are the lay odds, and the best available lay odds are listed in a light green box underneath the words ‘Lay All’. Slightly worse lay odds are listed to the right of this.

The top number in the box is the lay odds, and the number in pounds underneath this is the liquidity of the market, or how much is available to lay. Taking an example from an England v Slovakia game, the best lay odds against England to win were 1.43, with £920 available to lay. That means if you placed a lay bet on England, it would be successful if England failed to win the match. A selection with low odds such as this would be a good option for a qualifying bet for an offer, providing the bookmaker back odds are above the minimum odds required. To place the bet, simply click on the box and the selection will be added to your betslip. Enter the lay stake and click place bet(s). You will then be able to track all your bets in the My Account section.

Welcome Offer

When you first sign up for an account with Betdaq, make sure you input the promo code FREE30 so that you can receive 0% commission for the first month of your account. As Betdaq’s normal commission rate is 5% on all winning exchange bets, you can potentially save yourself a lot of money with this offer. The more offers you complete in this time, the more money you will save through paying no commission. When completing an offer in your first month, make sure you have set the Betdaq commission rate to 0.00 on our matched betting calculator. It is worth signing up for a Betdaq account to take advantage of this offer alone.

Betdaq Mobile

You can also use the Betdaq exchange on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. If you go to the Betdaq website on a mobile browser, you will find that it is fully optimised. This means that it will recognise which device you are using and display the screen size to accommodate this. There are also mobile apps available for iOS and Android devices, and this has a nice layout and is easy to use. As all pages and tools on MatchedBets.com are also fully optimised for mobile devices, you will be able to get your lay bets on and complete offers on the move.

How does it compare?

The biggest question is, should you use Betdaq exchange ahead of the other available betting exchanges. The main three things to consider are; How many markets do they have? What is the liquidity like for these markets? How much do they charge for commission? Lets compare…

• How many markets do they have?

Compared to the biggest betting exchange, Betfair, Betdaq actually match up quite well on the number of betting markets available. They will list the popular markets as a certainty, and it is often the case that they have a number of more obscure markets too. They have as many if not more markets available than the next closest competitor, Smarkets. It is certainly worth having a Betdaq account as on some occasions they will provide more value than their competitors.

• What is the liquidity like for these markets?

As you would expect, there is usually less money in the pot when compared to the same market on Betfair. To be honest, on most occasions Smarkets will also have more liquidity than Betdaq. This is not to say that you will never get your bets matched, as if you stick to more popular events you should have no problem at all.

• How much do they charge for commission?

After you have taken advantage of Betdaq’s 0% commission for the first month offer, it automatically changes to the normal amount of 5%. This is the same as Betfair, but higher than Smarkets’ 2%. This can make a lot of difference over time, so Smarkets certainly gains an advantage here. That said, Betdaq often offer ongoing promotions such as 0% commission on all tennis markets and 0% commission on all Saturday 12.30 Premier League football games.

Overall, it is certainly worth having a betting exchange account with Betdaq. If you place all your tennis lay bets here, you will keep more of your profits thanks to the 0% commission on tennis. There will also be cases where there is better value on Betdaq when compared to their rivals.