As the person-to-person betting industry continues to grow, so does the number of cross-platform exchanges aimed at getting the most liquidity possible for their systems.
In the last month, two exchanges have launched, one based in Canada and one in the United Kingdom.
1X Inc., a Toronto-based exchange, and TradingSports, a London-based firm, are both hoping to penetrate the P2P marketplace and change the way sports betting is conducted worldwide.
TradingSports is the newer of the two and officially launched its product earlier this month. It hopes to get bookmakers of all sizes on board.
The focus for both exchanges is to create a marketplace with the combined resources of Internet bookmakers the world over.
TradingSports enables bookmakers and other potential exchange members to enter the global P2P market without the need to establish their own technology infrastructure--thereby opening large-volume, in-run betting with no risk, or significant cost, to their business.
The TradingSports "white label" solution enables exchange partners to benefit from all the advantages of the TradingSports back-engine technology while customizing the user interface to reflect their own brand offering.
Exchange partners also have the advantage of maintaining exclusive relationships with their users so there is no risk of them losing customers to other companies operating within the exchange.
Like its Canadian competitor, one of TradingSports' big selling points, said its CEO, Joe Tighe, is the low cost at which operators can implement a P2P platform.
"TradingSports offers exchange partners increased revenue generation per client per event, as well as a strategic point of difference over competitors," he said.
Tighe said TradingSports is targeting the P2P exchange sector because of the increased number of bettors choosing P2P betting and the small amount of sites that offer the service.
"The P2P marketplace is growing at a phenomenal rate, and companies are seeking to take advantage of the opportunity and gain an early foothold in the market," he said.
The scalability of the TradingSports technology has been a key focus of development for the company. Graham Twaddle, TradingSports’ CTO, feels that it is now unrivalled within the P2P market.
"The highly scalable properties of the TradingSports technology is the result of years of meticulous development and we believe that it is now the very best available," he said.
Another feature that differentiates TradingSports from its competitors is that unlike other applications operating within the P2P marketplace, the TradingSports system pays out on a draw.
This characteristic will have massive appeal to consumers without hurting operators, Tighe said.
"Paying out on a draw minimizes the risk to the punter and is therefore a great point of differentiation for us," he said. "The Exchange is platform independent, which means partners can offer the TradingSports service across a full range of media, including the Web, interactive TV and mobile devices."
TradingSports was established by Tighe, who co-founded IndexTrade, one of the first financial spread-betting sites on the Internet back in 2000.
During that time he worked with a dedicated team of industry experts to build a comprehensive and unique service offering that he believes clearly differentiates the company from its competitors.
Having already run successful P2P games on CricInfo, the world’s largest single sports Web site, and ITV Digital, TradingSports is in negotiations with a number of prospective partners.
The company expects to announce its first licensee within a couple of weeks. One of its spokespeople said the licensee is a major player in the British gaming and entertainment industry.
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