The Bookie World Cup has reached the semi final stage, which means we really are left with only the cream of World Cup bookmakers. There is no suprise that the early favourite BetFair is right in the mixer, and looks like they'll be hard to stop. What might have been a suprise is that Smarkets (an alternative betting exchange in case you hadn't heard of them) has also made the semi final, beating Paddy Power in the last round. Even more suprising might be that the Party Bets (part of Party Poker) have also made it to the semis. In fact the only traditional bookmaker at this stage is BetFred. |
With that in mind, is the traditional bookmaker dead compared to the betting exchange? Well that's a tricky question to ask. Without betting exchanges like BetFair and Smarkets, there is no matched betting. There could still be advantage play, but it would be considerably riskier. So the exchanges are needed. But when it comes to bonuses and offers the bookmaker still seems to be king.
Sites like Bet365 have excellent horse racing offers, and best odds guarantees, which make them vital sites for matched betting, but in a knock out competition like the Book World Cup saw them go out fairly early as the odds just weren't strong enough. The same goes for Totesport, Coral and Ladbrokes.
So what this means is that if you're only going to be betting at one site, then the chances are you're going to consistantly get the best odds at a betting exchange. But the only way to really get value on all of your bets, and beat the bookie, is to be a bookmaker slag and hop between them all.
So if you haven't already, then now is the time to sign up for the Bookie World Cup semi finalists. There are plenty of bonuses and great sign up offers at each of them, and you'll be getting quality odds on all the remaining World Cup matches from them.
BetFair The site to beat. The sportsbook has a great set of bonuses, and the exchange oddsare pretty much unbeatable. Great combination. |
Party Bets (Party Poker) No traditional sign up bonus, but great odds have got them this far and the boosts are perfect for arbitrage. |
Smarkets The sign up bonus may be small, but the odds are great and the commission only 2% compared to BetFair's 5%. |
BetFred The self styled bonus king, they've not disappointed up to the this stage of the competition. Great bonuses on sign up and consistantly across the sportsbook, casino, poker and bingo. |