Rory Sheridan, Pronet Gaming Exchange Product Manager, has nearly two decades experience in proprietary sports betting. He has traded against some of the best in the world through Smartodds and Matchbook betting exchanges where he headed various successful trading teams. He has managed his own funds in sports betting over the years, as well as for many other large sharp syndicate-style clients. Here, Rory shares his thoughts and forecasts on what the future holds for betting exchanges.
Betting exchanges have quickly gained popularity in recent years among seasoned bettors around the world. Unlike traditional sportsbooks that pre-determine the odds, betting exchanges allow punters to set their own odds, thus allowing for a higher return on bets.
On paper, some might rightly say that an exchange looks even better than a sportsbook. For starters, it provides the ability to lay any outcome—which is essentially like saying that event won’t even happen. A betting exchange also makes it possible to buy, sell, and trade positions, thus allowing for increased liquidity and limits for major sporting events. Unlike with a sportsbook, users of an exchange also get to enjoy the benefit of leaving order requests to be matched by other users.
These are just some of the reasons why I expect to see a lot more volume and requests for exchanges in the coming years, particularly in Asia. Traditionally, exchanges have been better suited to financially stronger countries with a much higher sharp-to-soft traffic and user base. However, there seems to be an increasing need for global exchange in developing countries.
Emerging markets are fast becoming more educated when it comes to price versus return; as well as sharper, price-focused gambling. Take for instance the sport of cricket, driven by India, which has the potential to trade multi-millions for just a single event. Such figures are indeed encouraging, especially if one considers the fact that an exchange’s interface can appear much more complicated to a standard retail user.
To address this learning curve, Pronet Gaming has developed BetX Pro—a full 360-betting exchange solution that is flexible, user-friendly, and instantly customisable. It comes in the form of an iFrame or plug-and-play, either as a stand-alone white label or added as a tab to an existing Pronet Gaming product.
Thanks to our strong product and executive team, we were able to clear the typical hurdles that come with setting up an exchange, whilst ensuring that our product complements our sportsbook offering. We wanted to ensure that we offer better stakes for major sporting events, plus the ability for users to lay outcomes on the exchange.
On the technical side, betting exchanges are very resource intensive with lots of aspects that need to be considered such as back-and-lay, plus complex multi-runner markets. Auto traders require more intensive tech to be able to plug-in while exchanges in general rely on accurate, financial stock-like modelling.
Fortunately, with our industry expertise in emerging markets and the ability to quickly respond to our clients’ needs on the ground, I am confident that we have a product that can leverage the ever-growing popularity of betting exchanges in Asia and around the world.
