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SMARKETS REVIEW 2024 - SPORTS BETTING REVIEW

OUR OPINIONS ABOUT SMARKETS

  • Peer-to-Peer exchange betting based on trading principals
  • Very fast and well-maintained website
  • Popular for alternative and novelty betting markets like politics

Online-Betting Rating:

This is our Smarkets review and in it, we will be taking an in-depth look at the betting exchange services.

They are a growing force in the industry after throwing a lot of technology at what they are doing.

They boast that they are one of the world’s most technologically advanced exchanges available, with transparent trading.

They offer a tremendous amount of both sporting and political markets on their exchange.

In this Smarkets betting review, we will take a look at all aspects of their services, from value to user-friendliness of the Smarkets sportsbook.

We will also look at Smarkets bonus options that are available as well after a Smarkets login. That includes the Smarkets sign up offer.

Who owns Smarkets? Smarkets were founded by a small group of investors and have impressively grown from there with such financial clout behind them.

They branded themselves as being a more “advanced trading platform” than other major betting exchanges out there and gained impressive ground in 2017 when the Financial Times named them the 25th fastest-growing company in Europe.

Smarkets UK has offices in the UK (London) and in Malta.

Betting markets and odds quality 8/10

Betting markets

Smarkets UK have built quite a reputation for political betting as well as other novelty markets from popular culture like awards.

Can you see yourself anywhere else finding a market for the Clay Prize Winner in the field of math? No, is probably the answer to that.

So you have the flexibility of not only naming your own stake on such markets but also the price that you want to take.

This is done by simply scrolling through to the odds that you want and you will hopefully have that price matched for the bet to be active.

The layout of the Smarkets betting website is very good.

There is a collapsible left hand menu for quick access around the site.

That menu itself is broken down into Quick Links which guides you to the big current markets like horse racing, football and current affairs.

Then there is the A-Z listing of the rest of the sports.

Landing on the home page at Smarkets there are current markets to look at and a really notable thing was the novelty bets that were pushed.

It’s not often you will see such markets front and centre with a bookmaker.

All in all, Smarkets looks very good, even though it is based on a black colour scheme which can get a little bit heavy at times.

But because of the green highlight colour it actually all looks really cool. But looking cool isn’t the biggest thing to consider about a bookmaker.

Things like odds value, market variety and security are a lot more important.

So to explore things further in this Smarkets review, we will take a look at some of their big sportsbook sections.

Then we will move forward to look at the Smarkets welcome offer.



Smarkets Football Review

Football takes up a large chunk of the Smarkets sportsbook landscape. Nothing too surprising there for a betting operator of course.

They were very good with future markets on the football we noticed in our experience.

A fantastic feature we will bring up in this Smarkets sportsbook review is how the markets are presented.

We clicked onto a football match from the German Bundesliga and what gets presented graphically in a chart, is where the money is being traded on the match.

It’s clear to see where punters have been backing and laying odds on the fixture. It is a fantastic tool and you can scroll back through time to see how the market has gone.

It’s clear to see how much in total has been traded on an individual game and the exchange odds are clearly laid out beneath.

In our experience and opinion, it is an excellent and transparent layout of the markets.

There was great market variety as well within the football game that we looked at.

The usual markets like Correct score, both teams to score, double chance was there along with Asian handicaps, halves and both corner and cards totals.

So there was extensive coverage on football betting at Smarkets. At the time we looked at the fixture, it was six days away from kick-off.

There were 57 markets available in total on that Bundesliga match that Smartekts have going.

When you click on the main Football link from the sportsbook menu, it will bring up the upcoming and current matches. But you can filter through things to look at European markets for example or Asian ones.

There is even an Accumulator category to click through to. That also answers the question, can you do accumulators on Smarkets?

It’s a yes on the Smarkets acca. It is worth remembering that there is an industry-low 2% commission on all tournaments and competitions for football betting at Smarkets.

Smarkets Racing Preview

Smaretks do also bring some horse racing action to the table. Again, we have to make a nod to the presentation.

It’s very good here as the main horse racing page raises the next races and allows for quick filtering to racecards from different regions.

So it is possible to see only Japan racing, or France racing for example.

Integrated into the race card is some useful information about the race, not only the distance but weather, going and the last winner of that particular race.

There is a basic Smarkets horse racing form listed in the exchange. In the market, you can see the last traded price of a selection.

We commonly saw the Top place market being offered across a lot of the international racing that was on offer there.

So the Smarkets horse racing markets from international races were extensive from Japan, France, South Africa, Germany, Australia and more.

Navigation around the horse racing at Smarkets is excellent because it doesn’t matter what racecard you are looking at, there is always a one-click link to bring up the next race that is going off from wherever in the world.

Smarkets eSports Review

We are going to touch on Smarkets Esports betting next for this Smarkets review. It feels, just because Smarkets are so technologically advanced, that this is a perfect fit for the operator.

And Smarkets offer Esports betting remarkably well, allowing punters to bet and trade on a variety of markets.

Among those, there are Counter-Strike, Dota 2, E-football, E-basketball and a whole lot more.

It is just going to depend on what time you pay a visit to the site as to what is going on. To dig a little deeper into things we looked at some different action.

The first thing we looked at was a couple of eSports football matches, one from La Liga and one from the Premier League Battle. At the time the only thing that was available on both of them was the match outright.

There were no alternatives beyond that, but that is something that we will touch upon later in our Smarkets Esports in-play review. There was a lot more going on in a Counter-Strike match that we examined.

Within that there were map winner options, along with handicaps and over/under markets. So that offered a bit more and some of the markets there did have the market activity chart available for them.

In a Dota 2 match, there was equally good coverage as there was on the Counter-Strike fixture mentioned above.

The same markets were available. It’s worth noting that the Counter-Strike fixture was from North America and the Dota 2 from Poland.

There was in total, some very good coverage from around the world in eSports betting. Some of the best in fact that we have experienced across bookmakers.

The fact that it is exchange betting on Esports on top, really makes Smarkets worth noting.

Novelty Markets

Next in this Smarkets sportsbook review this is going to highlight another strong point of the operator. Their novelty markets which include politics betting are very good.

The coverage is extremely extensive. There are markets raised from all over the world including Latin American Leaders.

That is a big edge for Smarkets here because it feels a lot more extensive than what can be found at a lot of traditional bookmakers.

Just landing straight on the Politics main page, not only does a punter get the markets, but also market charts. Again this is a colourful, clear representation of how the markets have been reacting.

Smarkets offer charts which will show the growth of the market over a period of time, easily broken down into percentages. These charts, we feel, are excellent allowing the user to quickly read a market and to spot trends.

The variety is superb from things like the Named Leader to Leave their Elected Position First, Next European leader to leave office, Approval Ratings and even Presidential Handicaps.

It makes them a very strong contender for having one of the best political coverage among bookmakers.

There is the usual fare that we found in terms of coverage on things like movies and tv, which included options for things like the BBC Sports Personality.

Summary

The overall depth of options throughout the exchange is just exemplary.

Considering that there is the 2% commission only running throughout the big exchange markets, that adds a lot of value to punters.

Their coverage of Politics is arguably second to none in our experience. It really is one of the stand-out areas of the entire Smarkets exchange.

But that is just part and parcel of an overall, very good sportsbook.

The feature of being able to see market history is just fantastic. Those are interactive as well, meaning that you can hover over them and see specific dates.

So in the summary of the sportsbook part of this Smarkets review, we will give them a high score.

It all looks very good, operates well and there is very good value around. It is hard to ask for a lot more than that.

odds comparisons

Smarkets is very straightforward and easy to operate and it is an enjoyable user interface overall.

So the betting exchange gives you control of your odds which means that you have quality there and there is only a 2% commission that you pay on net winnings.

So you don’t have the middleman bookmaker running betting margins. Overall, the odds quality, therefore, are very good.

The Smarkets Commission

On the peer to peer betting exchange the standard rate of commission is 2% at Smarkets. That is for any net winning on any given market.

There is no commission paid for a lost bet.

There is no bookmaker margin built into the odds.

So that helps Smarkets massively when it comes to potentially offering the best prices on markets compared to other bookmakers.



In-play betting 6/10

live in-play betting

Smarkets do run the full in-play betting service and they focus largely just on the major sports like football, tennis, baseball, cricket and golf for that.

Live in-play opportunities are selected from down the left-hand menu, and there is an Instant Match feature available, where you immediately take at the requested price on a live bet.

That is opposed to waiting until the counter reaches zero and hoping that the price you want is still there.

There didn’t appear to be as many live betting markets available as you would find perhaps at other established bookmakers.

Clicking on a live event brought up a decent selection of the standard markets that you would expect to find anywhere and nothing more really.

It wasn’t the most extensive live in-play betting section that we have come across and with only basic support such as stats via a graphical representation of how the game is flowing.

In-Play Football

The in-play football betting is very good. There is coverage from a lot of competitions and tournaments.

The ones from the bigger events, of course, are going to attract a lot more markets for those individual games.

With in-play there is still the market history that can be viewed in chart form. That really helps to guide a punter through the given market that they are looking at.

Note that not all markets have the charts available. The depth of market variety was excellent for a sample Premier League match that we looked at. All the staples like goalscorer markets, correct score and handicaps were all present.

So with the exchange in play that raises opportunities to try and hedge bets with trading. It’s an exciting dynamic of the Smarkets in-play football betting area.

The section is quick to operate and jump between markets and navigation is easy.

There is a graphical representation of a match as it is happening live in-play.

It will show the flow of action in the game and provide statistics such as the number of attacks, generous attacks and shots on and off target.

In-Play Tennis

We looked at a random exhibition tennis match from Poland at one point and there were 21 markets available at the time in-play. Naturally if that was a big Grand Slam match then there would be a lot more.

So that is a very good example of the depth that Smarkets bring to the table when it comes to in-play tennis. Again it is excellent in terms of bet variety and for value.

There were constant markets rolling from ATP and WTA as well as lower-tiered tennis events. So in our experience Smarkets didn’t come up short in that area.

The betting exchange does have that ability to bring value to the table as opposed to traditional bookmarks. Players can, of course, set their own odds on the exchange and try to get them matched.

Other In-Play Sports

We found the overall coverage of in-play betting on the Smarkets exchange pretty varied. At the time we looked at darts, table tennis and football.

The Esports events are not tradeable while in-play.

We liked the overall in-play options that we found for this Smarkets review.



Extras & features 7/10

Extras & features

With Smarkets you aren’t looking at a lot of extra features on the site at all. It is very down-to-business; there are odds, bet on them. There is really nothing else going on anywhere than the sports betting exchange itself.

There is no live streaming, no virtual betting, no stats to back up anything there. There was, however, a lot of future events, even in the popular football leagues like the Premier League.

You get the feeling at Smarkets that ‘now’ is what counts. That lack of sports stats could be something that punters would miss greatly.

They do have a good trade out feature, which can be thought of as a Smarkets cash out. This is where you place a bet to oppose the outcome of an existing wager, used to lock in profit, reduce exposure and basically cancel out a previously matched bet on that market.

This is essentially hedging a bet and an example is an existing £10 lay stake on Juventus to beat Real Madrid at 3.00 with a liability of £20. Real Madrid are winning at half time and therefore you trade out by backing Juventus to win at bigger backed odds of 8.0 than the lay odds that you took on them.

So no matter the outcome, you would ensure a win if you staked £3.75 on Juventus to win. There is a great hedging calculator available to figure it all out.

There are, basically, no other sections on the site other than the sportsbook to browse around. But if you are looking for a very clean functional exchange site, they have it.

Keep Bets In Play

This feature at Smarkets allows punters to leave their unmatched bets live once the market moves to an in-play status. What that does is give punters a better chance of having their bet matched up at the requested price.

What usually happens to an unmatched bet is that it gets cancelled just before live in-play happens. But this changes the game on the because a request can be made in order to not have the proposed bet cancelled.

So it is a bit of a time-saver, not having to go back when the live in-play has started and replace the bet.

This is handled under the Time In Force drop-down menu in your bet slip where you can select Keep in-play.

Trade Out

The trade out, also known as cash out in some circles, is available at Smarkets. This gives punters an opportunity to lock in a profit or cut losses by controlling what is happening to wagers both pre-game and in-play.

The Smarket trade out feature becomes active when you have a matched bet on a contract and the exposure is not at zero. The final factor is that there has to be enough volume on the market.

If there is a Trade Out available it will appear on the market overview. Click the button and the trade out form will appear. That is where the sell price for example at trade out will appear.

Trade out is available on in-play markets as well. The Smarkets trade out feature is available on all contracts within any market.

Market Charts

We have made some reference to the charts that are on display at Smarkets, but for this Smarkets review we are going to look a little deeper. They are designed to display a deep level of historical data.

They can be used to track the historic price of the executions of any contract that has been struck within the market.

Naturally there are a lot of different contracts that are available for a given event, but the chart will be narrowed to show only the top five.

That is customisable however at the click of a button. So punters are able to quickly see the volume of bets which have been executed on a contract over time.

It’s very useful, and they offer some great insights that aren’t so readily found at other bookmakers.



Smarkets payment options - deposit and withdrawal methods 7/10

Smarkets payment options

A look at the payment method page at Smarkets will show you the many different ways that you can get funds into your account.

Note that in order to use the Smarkets welcome bonus only cards, bank transfer and trustly deposits count towards it.

No credit cards can be used to make a deposit as the UK Gambling Commission banned the practice in April 2020.

There are different limits, fee and processing times, so check through the best source for you. There is a £10 minimum pretty much across the board. The exceptions are on Bank Transfer, Trustly and Paypal.

Note that deposits through Paypal and any other e-wallets that are funded by credit cards cannot be used. The full list of the deposit methods available at Smarkets are listed below.

How to make a Smarkets withdrawal

After a Smarkets login, the cashier section can be accessed. When it comes to making a Smarkets withdrawal most methods again have a £10 minimum.

Smarkets have to do their checks before releasing funds to a financial account.

The Smarkets withdrawal time should take between 1-6 days depending on the method.

A new account at Smarket will have to be verified for security on both ends. Most UK players can be verified electronically so there is a likelihood that you wouldn’t not have to do anything.

Where that is not the case, documents can be uploaded to Smarkets. They will ask for something like a passport, driving licence or national ID card. Proof of address can be verified by things like a utility bill.



User-friendliness of website & mobile app / mobile version 7/10

User-friendliness of website & mobile app

The site feels different from the regular bookmakers and that is something that Smarkets have clearly gone for. This is a really nice main website and betting slip that you have in place at the site.

You can switch between a light and a dark theme at Smarkets so that’s a nice customisable touch. Whichever theme is in play, the website does look very cool.

The thing that jumps off the page is all of the charts of market history. That is such a wonderful visual to have at your disposal. The markets are clear to read and navigation around the site is great.

The betting slip is very smooth and easy to handle. The website itself is fluid, because if you collapse it then the slip will move to the bottom of the page. It usually sits on the right hand side.

On the right hand of the screen, there is a column which covers all of the popular bets that are happening. So that is just an extra touch that helps navigation roll along.

They do now have an app for iOS and Android, which was released in 2017. This fast and secure app will allow you to keep up with your in-play bets and enjoy the trade out features.



Smarkets Mobile App 7/10

So carrying on with this Smarkets review, we will take a look at the Smarkets app review for iOS and Android. There are links to both of them on the Smarkets main website.

It is a very slick mobile app. It looks good, feels good and allows fantastic access to the Smarkets live in-play betting service. Navigation is very good with links to the home, active bets and buttons to browse markets.

The Smarkets app review allowed us to experience a quick and responsive platform which is technologically strong. Punters can trade sports, politics and current affairs right on the app with the Smarkets real-time prices.

The full functionality of the Smarket exchange is available on the app and when it comes to theme, the dark or the light theme can be used. Another feature of the Smarkets app download is their trade out feature.

So it is a very full experience on the Smarkets mobile app. It has been designed extremely well. There is a lot to enjoy as a user-friendly experience in it.



Smarkets Customer Service & Support, Security & Reliability 7/10

Smarkets Customer Service

There is a help section available by clicking on the circled question market at the top of the Smarkets website. The first thing that we experienced there was some good guides.

There was very good informational help for understanding what lay betting is and different types of bets. There is a good search tool that is available in the help section at Smarkets.

We did find the explanation of things to be very clear and concise. We took a look at the page for their Trade Out and it was really in-depth, leaving no stone unturned in how it operates.

So there are good education insights on the Smarkets section. There is an FAQ section right there which covers different areas and we found that quite helpful.

The other option is just to browse around the sections which are well displayed. So you can go straight to the Payments section for example if there is anything there that you wanted to find out about.

It is possible to make a Smarkets contact in a few ways. They have an email at [email protected] and they can be contacted via twitter @SmarketsTech as well. A very convenient option of a Smarkets live chat is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Or there is the phone contact of +44 207 617 7413 and their customer service hours via telephone is from 9 am until midnight.



Safer Gambling With Smarkets

The Smarkets website offers an extensive array of safer gambling information, surpassing what most other platforms provide. Each tool on their site has its dedicated page, offering a detailed explanation of its purpose and functioning. Furthermore, contact details are readily available for individuals who require additional assistance or support regarding issues or addiction. Among the notable tools available are:

  1. Deposit Limit Review: Smarkets provides a comprehensive review of deposit limits, outlining why they are crucial and explaining how they can be effectively utilized.
  2. Loss Limit Explanation: Smarkets offers an in-depth explanation of loss limits, emphasizing their importance in promoting responsible gambling practices.
  3. Gambling Self-Assessment Test: Users can access a gambling self-assessment test, which aids in evaluating one’s gambling behavior and identifying potential concerns.
  4. Gambling-Site Blocking Software: Smarkets presents gambling-site blocking software as a tool to help users control their access to gambling websites when needed.

For individuals facing challenges related to problem gambling, the Smarkets help center serves as an invaluable resource. If you require assistance, it is highly recommended to visit the help center by following the provided link for further information.

Our Smarkets review rating: 8 / 10

Smarkets review

So this is a betting exchange and a good one and it can be kicked off by the Smarkets new customer offer.

The site is beautiful and really great to navigate your way around and the value is great through their peer to peer odds.

However, where it perhaps will fall down for punters is in not having a particularly expansive sportsbook, a lack of any other features whatsoever and limited in-play options.

They have a brilliant base to work on though to build from and that 2% commission is a big winner.