Betting Exchange Sites in India
The current betting laws in India are pretty archaic, and find no mention of online betting activities, leaving them in a grey area, and making them legal as of now.
The online betting market has seen a surge in popularity in India, and many international betting sites are now accepting players from India. However, the same cannot be said regarding betting exchanges, as they are few and far apart.
Compared to a traditional betting site, a betting exchange is less profitable for a company, as the only source of revenue is a fixed commission. However, once the volume of users increases, they will be able to find profitability in running an exchange. With most Indian punters getting well versed with the concept of online betting, the next natural step will be a rise in popularity of getting exchanges, where they will be able to find better value for their wagers.
Some of the most popular betting exchange sites in India currently are:
- Fun88 Betting Exchange
- Dafabet Betting Exchange
- 1xBet Betting Exchange
- Betwinner Betting Exchange
- Crickex
Fun88 India has been around for more than a decade now, being founded in 2009, and is now one of the most popular online sportsbooks in the Indian market. In addition to being an online betting site, the group now also offers a betting exchange, making it one of the very few available for Indian players.
Why you should choose Fun88 as your cricket betting exchange site:
- Multiple preferably deposit options for India
- Wide selection of bets in betting exchange
- Solid trading volume on cricket markets
- Great amount of promotions
The best part about playing real money games on Fun88, including the betting exchange, is completely legal in most parts of India.
Mobile betting exchange
Crickex is currently one of the best betting exchanges in India, offering markets in sports like cricket and kabaddi. The platform is designed keeping in mind the Indian consumer and is pretty easy to navigate through. In addition to being a betting exchange, Crickex also features an online sportsbook as well as an online casino. Its operations are licensed by the Curacao eGaming Authority and are completely safe.
Crickex accepts Indian rupees and supports popular payment methods like Paytm, PhonePe as well as UPI. One can also download a dedicated app from the website itself.
What are Betting Exchanges?
Betting exchanges are transactions made between gamblers, where the betting site is only there to make sure that the transaction occurs and for that it charges a small commission which can be anywhere from 2% to 5%.
The most famous betting exchange provider is Betfair. What Betfair does is to connect punters who have opposite views on the outcome of a match or a competition. In its simplest form betting exchanges enable one gambler to ‘back’ a player, a team or a horse to win, and the other gambler ‘lays’ the same player, team or horse to lose.
A bet can only be accepted if it is matched by another gambler. So for example, if you are backing Afghanistan to beat Zimbabwe in an ODI match, there must be another customer who believes that Zimbabwe and not Afghanistan will be the winner of the match. In this situation you are the one ‘backing’ the bet and the other gambler is ‘laying’ the bet.
Sites like Betfair use advanced technology software which matches bets in an instant. If there are four figure bets, then the likelihood is that these bets will be matched – ‘laid’ by more than one gambler.
In betting exchanges, odds are usually represented in decimal terms and instead of the fractional 2/1 you would get the decimal 3.00. A stake of ₹100 would return ₹300 with the stake included.
Most of the betting exchange business happens using credit or debit cards, provided that you have opened an account with the betting provider which provides you with a username and a secure password.
Finally, gamblers who lay the bets must make sure that they deposit enough funds to cover their bets. For example, if the odds that the layer is offering for Afghanistan beating Zimbabwe are 1.67 and another gambler backs this result with a $100 deposit, then the layer must make sure that he has at least $167 in his account to pay out the backer if this turns out to be a winning bet.
Advantages of Betting Exchanges
There are many advantages connected to betting exchanges, especially when you compare them to regular betting sites. The most important ones however, are the real odds that gamblers get and the chance to trade your bet so that you always guarantee a profit for yourself.
Real Odds
The biggest advantage of betting exchange websites such as Betfair is that they are free markets and that the odds are not set by the betting site. For example, if you want to find the best odds that regular betting sites are offering you have to browse around town or check different providers’ websites.
And even if you do that, in the end what you are bound to find is that betting exchange prices are much higher than the highest prices that betting sites offer. This is because with betting exchanges there is no, what is known as an overround.
An overround or a bookmaker margin is the adjusting of true odds into odds which ensure that the betting site always makes a profit of a given wager. For example, when Afghanistan are playing Zimbabwe the relative probability of an Afghanistan win is 60% (1.67) and the probability of a Zimbabwe win is 40% (2.50). As you can see, when combined together, they add up to the expected 100%.
However, when a betting site adjusts the odds he would always go over the expected 100%. For example, an Afghanistan win will be priced at 70% (1.43) and a Zimbabwe win will be priced at 50% (2.00). As you can see the odds are much lower. Below you see a representation of your real winnings compared to your adjusted odds winnings with which the betting site always makes a profit.
Real Odds (Betting Exchanges)
Afghanistan to win ₹60 stake at 1.67 - to pay out ₹100
Zimbabwe to win ₹40 stake at 2.50 - to pay out ₹100
Adjusted Odds (Bookmaker)
Afghanistan to win ₹60 stake at 1.43 - to pay out ₹85
Zimbabwe to win ₹40 stake at 2.00 - to pay out ₹80
In another example, let’s say that for a game between Man City and Chelsea, the bookie is offering odds of 1.75 for a Man City win, 3.7 for a draw, and 3.95 for a Chelsea win.
If you calculate the total of the percentages from these odds, it would come to:
This means that the margin for the bookie in this market is 9.4%.
For the same market in a betting exchange, may offer 1.88 for a Man City win, 4.0 for a draw, and 4.54 on a Chelsea win, bringing the total percentage to 100%.
Now let’s have a look at how much does that difference of odds translates to.
Real Odds (Betting Exchanges)
Manchester City to win ₹50 stake at 1.88 - to pay out ₹100
Draw ₹25 stake at 4.00 – to pay out ₹100
Chelsea to win ₹22 stake at 4.54 – to pay out ₹100
Adjusted Odds (Bookmaker)
Manchester City to win ₹53 stake at 1.75 – to pay out ₹92
Draw ₹25 stake at 3.7 – to pay out ₹92
Chelsea to win ₹22 stake at 3.95 – to pay out ₹87
It is clearly visible that in betting exchanges all the money that goes on backing a winner is eventually returned and nothing stays with the betting provider.
However, when a betting site moderates wagers, the same stakes yield smaller profits for customers, meaning that the $100 the betting site receives are only paid out as ₹80 or ₹85 to customers. This means that whatever the outcome of a match the betting site always wins.
Trading
A trader in betting exchanges is very similar to an arbitrageur in normal betting (a gambler who safeguards his bet by betting on the opposite outcome to minimize losses or to ensure profit). Betting exchanges give gamblers the chance to trade on sporting events so that they ensure profit.
For example, a trader can bet on Royal Challengers Bangalore to win the IPL at odds of 4.00 by placing a stake of ₹100.
However, if the chances of Royal Challengers Bangalore of winning the IPL increase due to, let’s say the Sunrisers Hyderabad or the Mumbai Indians not mounting a challenge, then their odds of winning the IPL will decrease to somewhere around 2.00.
In this situation a trader can switch from backing the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win, to laying them with ₹200 to lose at odds of 2.00 so that he can lock in a guaranteed profit of $100 whichever the final winner of the IPL is.
Trading Example
Odds Stake Potential Winnings/Losses
Back RCB to win the IPL 4.00 ₹100 ₹400
Lay RCB not to win the IPL 2.00 ₹200 -₹200
This means that the following situation will occur in which no matter which team wins the IPL you will still end the season as a winner with a guaranteed profit:
Possible Winnings from Backing ₹400
Total money invested (Stake + Money Laid) ₹300
Profit ₹100
Possible Winnings from Laying ₹200
Total money invested (Stake) ₹100
Profit ₹100
Let’s have a look at another example, this time of a football game.
A game between Arsenal and Liverpool is about to kick off, and the odds for a draw are 3.0. You stake ₹100 `backing´ a draw. Now, if the game does end in a draw, you will win ₹200, and if it doesn’t, you end up losing ₹100.
Now it’s half time, and both the teams are level at 1-1, and the odds for a draw drop down to 2.0. You can now place a `lay´ bet for the same, this time wagering ₹150, and trade your bet to guarantee a profit, no matter what the outcome will be.
Possible Winnings from Backing ₹300
Total money invested (stake + lay bet) ₹250
Profit ₹50
Possible Winnings from Laying ₹300
Total money invested (stake + bacl bet) ₹250
Profit ₹50
So no matter if the game ends in a draw or not, you have now guaranteed yourself a profit of ₹50.
This emphasizes just how useful trading can be if the situation is favorable i.e. if odds are getting lower.
This example emphasises just how useful trading can be if the situation is favourable i.e. if odds are getting lower.
