Smarkets

History and Founding

Smarkets was founded in London in 2008 by Jason Trost, a US-born engineer, and its exchange opened to the public in 2009. Trost's founding premise was that betting exchanges had become successful despite dated software and complex fee structures, and that a cleaner, faster platform with transparent pricing could win over both recreational punters and professional traders. The company built an engineering-heavy team in London, raised venture capital from European and American investors, and gradually expanded from its early sports focus into a broad multi-sport and political-events exchange.

Business Model

Smarkets is not a bookmaker and does not set odds or take the risk on customer bets. It operates a peer-to-peer order book in which users back selections at displayed odds or lay them, meaning the users themselves act as counterparties. A bet is recorded only when matching back and lay orders meet. Smarkets earns its revenue by charging commission on net winnings rather than on turnover, and its long-standing headline rate has been a flat 2% commission. It also differentiates itself from Betfair by not applying a premium charge to winning traders, which has made it a popular venue for high-volume and algorithmic bettors.

Products and Platform

The flagship product is the Smarkets exchange, available on desktop web and native iOS and Android apps, with an order-book interface, live in-play trading, and cash-out functionality. The platform covers football, horse racing, tennis, cricket, basketball, American football, MMA and boxing, as well as political and special events. A public API and trader-oriented tools support professional and algorithmic customers, reflecting Smarkets' software-led culture. Around 2019–2020 the company also launched OddsJet, an odds-comparison platform that aggregates sports betting prices from bookmakers and exchanges.

Market Position

Smarkets is generally regarded as the second-largest betting exchange in the UK after Betfair. Its closest standalone competitor is Matchbook, and the company's main competitive lever has been price: lower commission, no premium charge, and a straightforward order-book experience. The exchange has matched billions of pounds in cumulative volume, although precise figures were not re-verified for this profile.

Regulation and Footprint

Smarkets' UK-facing operations are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, and its European operations have been licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority. The company is headquartered in London, where most of its engineering, product and commercial functions are based, and its headcount has been in the low hundreds.

Recent Developments

Jason Trost remained the company's public leader and CEO through the 2010s and into the 2020s. In June 2023, Sky News reported that Smarkets had brought in advisers to explore a possible sale, although that report could not be independently re-verified for this profile. The company has continued to appear in iGaming trade coverage, including SBC News, and remains active in sports and political betting markets.