Matchbook Review | Sports Betting Exchange

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Matchbook Review | Tennis Tips UK

Matchbook is a sports betting exchange company, who have been in existence for over ten years, making them one of the oldest betting exchanges currently available. Matchbook differs from a standard bookmaker, such as Bet365 by allowing punters to bet against each other, rather than against a sportsbook.

For this to happen, there are two types of bet available, one which is backing (to win) and won which is laying (to lose). This situation makes it possible to bet on a team or player to lose. For example, if you are unsure who will win the Wimbledon men’s singles title but you are sure it will not be Dustin Brown, you can place that bet.

Within the betting exchange, the odds are set by the users, meaning you can, in theory, set whatever odds you like. However, for the bet to take actually take place, it must be matched by someone, who is willing to bet on the opposite outcome.

Standard bookmakers make their money from losing bets, so to how does a betting exchange, like Matchbook, make any money? They actually charge a commission on each bet and we’ll touch on this in more detail, later in the review.

Now we have a good understanding of what Matchbook is, we can look at the quality of the service it provides its customers.

History of Matchbook

Having successfully launched in 2004, Matchbook has been trading under the ownership of Triplebet Limited, since 2011. However, during the process of changing ownership, Matchbook suffered a loss in users, as a change in license meant all their US customer accounts had to be closed. Since then, Matchbook has grown in popularity, especially in European and Asian markets.
Matchbook is licensed by Alderney Gambling Control Commission and the UK Gambling Commission and has recently been involved with Brentford City Football Club, sponsoring their shirt.

Sports and Range of Markets

Perhaps one of the most notable things when first paying a visit to the Matchbook website, is the small number of sports available on which to bet. Thankfully, tennis is one of the sports offered by Matchbook, in addition to football, golf, cricket, boxing, baseball, basketball, Gaelic football and horse racing. Matchbook also covers special events, not associated with sport, such as who will be the next pope and political voting.

Unfortunately, the range of sports offered on Matchbook, does not compare to arguably the most famous betting exchange, Betfair. However, it does compare favourably with other betting exchanges, such as Betdaq and Smarkets, who are offering a similar amount of sports on which to bet, with Matchbook having the slightly larger portfolio, especially in comparison to the latter.
One area where Matchbook could improve, is the choice of futures markets and by this, we mean bets on who will win a tournament or league. In terms of the major tennis tournaments, such as the French Open, Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon, futures markets are on offer, which is great but when it comes to other tennis events throughout the year, such as the Cincinnati Masters, there is no futures market available.

However, if there is a tennis tournament featuring the ATP or WTA, you can rely on Matchbook to have a market available.

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The main reason why Matchbook do not have the same choice of sports and markets as Betfair is because they want to maximise the liquidity in the markets they currently offer, before adding new additions. This makes sense because it allows Matchbook to close the gap on Betfair in terms of liquidity, on the markets they currently offer, which is a smart move. When this target has been met, Matchbook will expand their offering, without being detrimental to the liquidity of the markets already being used.

For those may be new to betting exchanges, the liquidity of a market, is the amount of money available on the market. Although Matchbook do not limit the size of any individual bet on an event, it is limited by the amount of money available on the market. Therefore, the more money available on the market, the better the liquidity.

Odds and Commission

Betting exchanges will nearly always have better odds available than traditional bookmakers and this is a great benefit of using Matchbook. If you compare the odds for any tennis match on Matchbook, to that of leading bookmakers, such as Ladbrokes or William Hill, most often than not, the odds at Matchbook will be better.

In a study completed by Oddschecker in 2015, Matchbook provided better average odds across all football markets than anyone else, which is some achievement. The tennis odds are also some of the best available, at any bookmaker and also rival those at Betfair and other betting exchanges, such as Betdaq and Smarkets. Therefore, if you are searching for the best odds on ATP and WTA betting markets, you will struggle to find any better than those being offered at Matchbook.

The markets currently available for tennis betting at Matchbook are Moneyline, Handicap, Totals, First set Winner and Second Set Winner. Betfair have a slightly larger selection, including Number of Sets, Tie-break and 6-0 Set but there is not a great deal to choose between the two and Matchbook provides more tennis markets than both Betdaq and Smarkets.

In addition to offering fantastic odds on tennis and other sports, Matchbook also charges the lowest commission of any betting exchange currently available. At the time of writing, Matchbook charges its users only 1% commission and although this applies to both winning and losing bets, it is still much superior to the 5% commission charged at Betfair. The difference in commission between Matchbook and Betfair becomes more pronounced, the more you win and as you will be using the Tennis Tips UK service for all your tennis betting, this is great news.
In terms of odds and commission, Matchbook cannot be beaten.

Payments and Withdrawals

At the time of writing, there are five funding and withdrawal methods available at Matchbook and these fall into four, distinct categories.

Credit/Debit Cards: These are perhaps the most common methods of funding a Matchbook account and it is very straightforward to use, being essentially the same as buying a product online, using a credit or debit card. Credit and debit cards can be used to fund and withdraw at Matchbook.
E-wallets: Neteller and Skrill are the two e-wallets available on Matchbook and both can be used to make payments and withdraw money from the website.

Pre-paid Cards: The only pre-paid card available on Matchbook is Paysafecard and this can only be used to make a deposit, for which there is a 2.5% charge.
Bank Transfer: It’s also possible to deposit and withdraw finds on Matchbook using a traditional bank transfer. However, do be aware there may be a charge for using this service, so always check first.

Matchbook may not have the largest selection of deposit and withdrawal methods of all the betting websites out there. However, they have covered the quickest, safest and most popular methods and there is something for everyone, so there should never be any problems, when making a deposit or withdrawal at Matchbook.

Website Design and Usability

The Matchbook website is very straightforward to use and that’s the best compliment you can pay any betting website. The simple but effective, red, white and grey colour scheme, is easy on the eye and upon loading the homepage, the most popular markets are displayed in the centre of the screen. The sports available are situated down the left side on the page and betting slip is situated on the right of the page.

By selecting an event, such as Wimbledon, you are taken to the full selection of markets for that event and the central area of the website displays all the available bets plus any forum posts or reviews, regarding the selected event.

The moneyline offers both the back and lay bets available for the market you have chosen to look at and the liquidity of each. By selecting the back or lay bet you would like to place, it will appear in your betslip on the right of the screen and this is where you can enter your stake. Once you are happy with your bet, just click submit and the bet is placed.

It really is as simple as that and in terms of the betting interface, Matchbook is excellent. There is no learning curve and even if you are new to betting in general or betting exchanges, you will have no problem using the Matchbook website, it’s great.

Support | Live Chat, Telephone & Email

Customer support is available on Matchbook via telephone, email, live chat and post. The live chat service is available between 9am and 3am GMT and although other bookmakers, such as Bet365 and betting exchanges, such as Betfair, have a 24-hour chat option, these hours are pretty good.
The hours of operation for telephone and email support are not listed on the website, which suggests they are going to be limited. Therefore, if constant support is something you desire when betting, Betfair may be a better option but otherwise, the support offered by Matchbook should be more than sufficient.

Promotional Offer

At the time of writing, Matchbook are offering a £30 welcome bonus to all new members, when they sign up. This is split into one £15 back and one £15 lay and these are only awarded, if you place both a £15 back and £15 lay and they lose. If you win, you are not eligible for the bonus. This may come as a bit of a disappointment, especially if you see the great offers available elsewhere, such as Bet365.

However, this type of offer is common place in the world of betting exchanges and Betfair adopt a similar policy. Smarkets on the other hand, offer all new customers a free £10 welcome bet to new customers, who have placed a £20 bet in their betting exchange. Always read the small print because the rules and regulations regarding a free bet can be quite complex and not always as they seem. At least with Matchbook, you know exactly where you stand.

Mobile

Matchbook have both an iPhone and Android app available for download. All the same features are available on the mobile app, as they are on the desktop site, which is great. Every market is available and the functionality is identical to the desktop website, making the app essentially a miniature version of the main Matchbook website.
For betting on the go, the Matchbook app is perfect.

Lounge

The Matchbook Lounge, which can be accessed from the link at the top right of the website, offers a knowledge base and betting previews. The betting previews are mainly for football and golf but do keep a lookout for tennis previews, as the major events approach. The knowledge base, features a number of useful articles regarding the technical aspects of betting. This is a good area of the website to use, if you are new to betting exchanges and would like to learn more about exactly how they operate.

Casino

The casino at Matchbook offers table games, slots, video poker and live dealer. When visiting the casino homepage, the 200% deposit bonus offer, up to £50 is displayed and you can take advantage of it when signing up to use the Matchbook casino. All the popular video games, table games, slots, video poker and live dealer games are shown and with one click, you are taken to all the action.

The overall number of games is quite limited, in comparison to what other gaming sites may offer and the interface is quite basic but it delivers a solid casino experience. If this is a secondary option to tennis and sports betting, the casino is more than adequate.

Summary | Matchbook Review

Matchbook has made great strides to improve its offering in recent years and continues to improve all the time. The website does not offer the same amount of sports and markets as Betfair but they are building on this regularly. The same can be said about the liquidity, which is currently lower than what you will find on Betfair but is always improving. Matchbook have taken the stance of allowing the liquidity to build in the current sports and markets they offer, before adding new ones. This is a good idea and means the liquidity of the tennis betting markets is only going to get better.

If you are new to using betting exchanges, then Matchbook is the perfect place for you to start. The website interface is more beginner friendly than other exchanges, such as Betfair and Betdaq.
A further benefit of using Matchbook, is the low 1% commission on all bets. This is superior to all the main challengers out there, such as Betfair and Betdaq, who both charge 5% and Smarkets, who charge 2% commission.

There is still plenty of room for Matchbook to grow but in some ways, that’s a good thing, as they will continue to strive and improve what they offer. However, in terms of great odds and low commission, Matchbook cannot be beaten.

When you receive your next set of tennis tips, why not head over to Matchbook and make use of the low odds and great commission for your tennis betting, we are sure you won’t regret it.