The internet has enabled sports fans to be able to conveniently place their bets anytime they want and anywhere they are. This is why the sports betting industry has grown so big over the last few years. It’s also simply handy to be able to place bets online during a pandemic. However, what beginners probably don’t know yet is that there are two main ways to go about betting on sports.
Today, placing bets on sportsbooks remains the popular option to the majority. However, placing wagers on betting exchanges is also gaining more attention. In this article, we will have betting exchange vs real bookmaker explained. This could help you understand the pros and cons of both ways of sports betting.
Placing Bets on Online Sportsbooks
Some of the biggest online bookies today include the names of William Hill, 22Bet, 10CRIC, Betway, and many more. These are online sportsbook operators that offer odds that you can wager on. It’s easy and convenient as all you need to do is to look for an odd that you can back either the winner or the loser.
Now, when it comes to placing bets with bookies, the odds already include the house edge or the vigs. This is the money that the bookmaker will make from getting your bets. Know that whether you win or lose, the bookie will always make money from you and the vigs could be as much as 20 percent of the odds.
This is why online punters need to shop around first before placing bets on any odds. Each bookie offers different odds on matches and some bookies could be quite unfair when it comes to this. Note that the odds offered by bookies are decided by them and are also usually in their favour. Many would even say that bookies, nowadays, only really care about making money from both winning and losing bets.
Overall, bookmakers don’t allow their customers to have a say on the odds that they offer. Whatever it is that they have posted, the customers should just decide on whether they are backing the odds or not. It will always be them vs the customers or punters.
What Betting Exchanges Are About
Now, when it comes to betting exchanges, things work quite differently. Punters wouldn’t be going against the bookmaker if this is how they want to do it. Betting exchanges are platforms where punters could go against each other. On such platforms, you can offer odds on an event that other punters could accept or you’re the one who will be accepting or rejecting the odds.
The two main types of bets placed on a betting exchange are Back and Lay. Backing simply means that you are already betting on betting odds that are already offered by other players. Meanwhile, placing a Lay bet means that you are going against the offered odds. This means that you are betting on any other team, athletes, or horses to win instead of the one that is predicted by the maker.
What’s great about betting exchanges is that they don’t add vigs to the odds that other punters are offering. However, they still do charge fees to be able to facilitate the activities. Still, they offer punters a better way of gaining profits as they don’t charge as much as bookmakers would. The commission charged by betting exchanges could go as low as 1 to 2 percent.
Which is Better Then?
Well, when we’re talking about making profits from sports betting, betting exchanges are more promising compared to traditional bookmakers just because they don’t charge as much. However, placing bets on bookies is still not that bad especially if you find ones that are fair when it comes to charging vigs.
Many would probably say that they still prefer betting on regular online bookies as they find it more convenient. But some people are now starting to realize that they could do better on betting exchanges. After all, betting exchanges don’t care about how much they will make from winning or losing bets. They are mainly after getting paid for facilitating a betting exchange.
Either way, both ways of placing bets can be risky. Both platforms also have limitations in terms of placing your bets. The amount of money that can be allowed for a particular bet is determined by liquidity when placing bets at an exchange. Meanwhile, bookies suffer from cancelled bets which could affect the bets placed by their customers.
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