Smarkets is one of the newer betting exchange sites, and much admired for its straightforward approach. Its focus is on sports exchange markets, with a few specials thrown in from time to time, and rather than trying to be a jack of all trades, it has made itself a master of one, and a perfect tool for sports bettors.
But how does it differ from its competitors? How easy is it to use? And can you be sure your money’s safe with Smarkets? In this article, we’ll dive into all the fine details, to make sure you know everything you need to know about Smarkets, so you can go out and start exchange betting with confidence.
What Is Smarkets?
Smarkets is a betting exchange, which works quite differently from a regular bookmaker. Rather than the customer placing bets against the bookie, customers can place bets against each other, with the exchange typically making money by taking commission. For Matched Betting, an exchange is essential to allow you to place a lay bet against an outcome, thus enabling you to bet both for and against a single outcome, matching your bet.
Smarkets is both smaller and newer than Betfair, the biggest and best established betting exchange in the UK, but its low commission rate and ease of use make it a popular choice with sports bettors and matched bettors nonetheless.
Smarkets was launched in 2008 by a small group of investors and developers keen to apply their knowledge of financial trading principles to the world of sports betting. It aimed to challenge its established competitors by offering especially swift transactions and highly dynamic pricing. It’s grown swiftly since then - in April 2017 it was named the 25th fastest growing company in the whole of Europe - and launched its own sportsbook app (SBK) in 2019.
Its focus is on sports betting - unlike other betting exchanges, its website doesn’t offer any form of casino - and it has a wide range of sports markets, as well as a good range of ad hoc markets for current events (e.g. politics, major awards, and even the next James Bond).
Overview
Deposit And Withdrawal Methods
| Method | Min deposit | Min withdrawal | Withdrawal time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instant bank transfer | £10 | £10 | 12 hours |
| Visa debit card | £10 | £10 | 1 - 6 business days |
| Solo/Maestro card | £10 | £10 | 1 - 6 business days |
| Mastercard/Eurocard | £10 | £10 | 1 - 6 business days |
| Neteller | £10 (daily max £5000) | £10 | 1 - 2 business days |
| Skrill | £10 (daily max £5000) | £10 | 1 - 2 business days |
| Bank transfer | £10 | £20 | 5 - 10 business days |
| PayPal | £20 (daily max £200) | £20 (max £5500) | 1 - 2 business days |
| Trustly | £10* | £10 | 1 - 2 business days |
*May be £40 - Smarkets lists both as min deposits for Trustly
Registration Process
An easy two-step process. You have the option to deposit immediately afterwards, but this isn’t a requirement - you can always come back to it later.
Support
| Live chat | ||
|---|---|---|
| support@smarkets.com | @SmarketsTech | via website |
Compatibility
| Mobile | Desktop |
|---|---|
| iOS app | Website |
| Android app |
Main Pros And Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Low commission rate | No promotions after sign up |
| Very user-friendly | Crypto not accepted |
| Excellent range of markets | No best odds guaranteed |
| Custom multi lay feature | |
| Mobile app available | |
| Good customer service | |
| Comprehensive help centre |
Range Of Sports
Smarkets offer a comprehensive range of sports, and you’re unlikely to have any difficulty finding a market for any sport you fancy. Their full range of sports is as follows:
- American football
- Australian football
- Baseball
- Darts
- Handball
- Ice hockey
- MMA
- Motorsports
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Table tennis
- Volleyball
They also offer novelty markets for current affairs, entertainment and politics, which allow you to bet on markets such as who will be the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, or which country will host the 2030 FIFA World Cup Final.
Usability
Smarkets is a pretty user-friendly website, if not quite as easy for beginners to navigate as competitors such as Matchbook. Its homepage displays the top markets at the time, with quick links to specific sports and events in the left sidebar and account information (if you’re logged in) on the right.
One minor downside is that available odds for top markets and popular events aren’t shown on the homepage; you have to navigate to those markets to see those odds, making it slightly more difficult to get an at-a-glance impression of what’s on offer.
Selecting a sport, though, brings up the most popular events currently available to bet on, with the sidebar helpfully allowing you to choose certain dates or regions to view the matches or races you’re interested in.
One enormously helpful feature of Smarkets, for Matched Betting especially, is the ability to create your own custom multiple lay bets. This is unique to Smarkets, and makes it vastly easier for the matched bettor to extract value from accumulator offers.
One small downside, though, is that your betslip isn’t saved if you leave the main sports betting page - for example, to deposit enough funds to place the bet you’re creating. While only a minor niggle if placing a single bet, if you’re taking advantage of Smarkets’ multiples lay feature and realise that you need more available funds to cover your liability, it can be a source of some frustration to have to start again having made your deposit.
On the other hand, we found Smarkets’ Help Centre to be a fantastic resource. As well as answering FAQs about their site and terms and conditions, they have an educational section with more general information about sports betting, Matched Betting and larger scale trading.
Welcome Offers
Smarkets’ focus is definitely on offering the best possible experience for all their customers, rather than attempting to lure in new ones with varied welcome offers. They do, however, offer 0% commission for 60 days to new customers - which is well worth taking advantage of.
After your first 60 days, your commission rate increases - but only to 2%, which is definitely one of the better rates out there.
After you’ve signed up, you’re unlikely to see anything much in the way of promotions - but, arguably, focusing instead on offering competitive odds, a great range of markets and helpful features serves its customers better in the long run.
Safety And Security
Smarkets is, of course, fully licensed to operate in the UK under the UK Gambling Commission, and overseas by the Malta Gaming Authority. All transactions use TSL (Transport Layer Security) and SSL (Secure Socket Layer) which ensures a high level of data security - meaning you can be confident your information is out of reach of scammers.
Its safer gambling tools, meanwhile, allow you to set limits on your net deposits, gross deposits, or potential losses, as well as time-outs and self-exclusions, and Smarkets offers advice on safer gambling.
Service And Support
Smarkets has a range of contact methods, making it straightforward to get in touch if you need any assistance:
| Live chat | Twitter/X | |
|---|---|---|
| available 9am-11pm GMT | Contact support@smarkets.com for assistance | customer service also available at @SmarketsTech |
Smarkets App
As with most other betting sites, Smarkets has its own app, allowing you to place bets easily from your phone, be it iOS or Android. Its homepage is much like the website’s, featuring the top markets of the day, with tabs at the bottom to access their full list of markets, your bets, and the account section.
As with their website, you can’t view the odds in detail from the homepage, and nor does their app allow you to view availability for all odds, rather than just the best available. However, these are relatively minor points, and overall there’s much to appeal to most bettors.
Other Sections And Products
Matched Betting Hub
Smarkets launched their Matched Betting Hub fairly recently, and it’s a fantastic tool for matched bettors. On the right hand side of the page is a Matched Betting calculator, allowing you to work out your lay stakes for both qualifying and free bets, while the top of the page displays price boosts that present an opportunity for an immediate profit.
The event search tool, meanwhile, makes it easier to track down the events you need to fit a particular bet, and you can swap between seeing only lay odds and both back and lay. Although the Matched Betting Hub doesn’t have sufficient functionality to replace a full Oddsmatcher plus free bet guides, it has a lot to offer for an essentially free service.
SBK (Sportsbook)
SBK is the Smarkets sportsbook, currently available only as an app, which aims to ‘Rewrite the Sportsbook’. Their focus is on offering the best odds out there, which pundits agree they have indeed achieved, and across a wide range of markets. As their sportsbook was designed specifically as an app, it’s slick and smooth - though some bettors, especially those who place high volumes of bets, may still miss a desktop option.
They don’t offer a huge range of promotions, but there are still bonuses to be had - and their welcome offer (bet £10 and receive £30 in free bets) is both competitive and appealing.
There isn’t currently a casino section, which fits with their general focus on sports and current affairs betting. Overall, as with the exchange, Smarkets has focused its efforts on honing their sports betting service to perfection, rather than trying to be all things to all people, and this tactic has paid off.
Summary
Smarkets is an enormously useful tool in the arsenal of the matched bettor, offering competitive odds, low commission rates, and a unique multi-lay tool that allows the bettor to gain value from offers that would otherwise be wasted.
Its Matched Betting Hub is a fantastic resource for matched bettors who aren’t already signed up to a dedicated Matched Betting service, and its slick, user-friendly website and app make Smarkets a firm favourite with us.