Poll: Is Betfair vulnerable to exchange competitors?

Ladbrokes Coral-owned Betdaq became the latest exchange to throw down its challenge to Betfair last week, slashing its commission rate to 2% across the board and pledging a “series of additional improvements”.

Betdaq, which recently launched its new #ChangingForTheBettor campaign, also noted it was receiving “significant backing” from the Ladbrokes Coral Group, which could portend a real challenge to Betfair given the combine group’s scale and resources

In the three days since the switch, Betdaq reported “strong levels of trading”, with £50m matched in total.

As one trader put it on Twitter: “If you’re still using Betfair when there’s liquidity on Betdaq at 2% commission, then you’re the problem, not Betfair.”

The message hints at the growing perception among traders and serious bettors that Betfair has become complacent by virtue of its market dominance, with more frequent outages than rivals, along with a commission rate more than double its competitors, rising to up to 60% for those hit with the dreaded premium charge.

And Betdaq is far from the only firm gaining ground, with Matchbook and Smarkets also growing in recent months and investing as such. Smarkets agreed to sponsor 240 Jockey Club races earlier in January, while Matchbook has pledged to increase marketing spend by 300% in 2018.

With that in mind, this week we ask whether Betfair is vulnerable to exchange rivals? Or, does this mark the closest that competitors are going to get, with Betfair in line to receive some product upgrades in the coming months, and boasting the all-important liquidity that rivals may never match.

Have your say below:

POLL: Is Betfair vulnerable to its exchange competitors? Details: https://t.co/lbAuHLwKeo

— EGR Global (@EGRIntel) January 29, 2018