Matchbook to introduce ‘sportsbook-exchange hybrid’ concepts in 2019
EGR understands the operator will offer a “stripped down” version of the exchange to make it more accessible to recreational customers
Matchbook is planning to introduce a “sportsbook-exchange hybrid” next year as part of an ongoing effort to bring more recreational customers to the exchange concept, EGR can reveal.
CEO Mark Brosnan said the firm was currently developing different versions of the exchange that could be shown to different customers based on their betting experience.
“My philosophy is that a sportsbook is really a stripped down version of an exchange; you can’t change the odds, you’re limited in stake size, and you are only betting against one counterparty,” said Brosnan.
“So there’s a number of variants you can have by just reducing functionality. Early next year we’’ll start releasing different versions of the exchange for different customers.
“We’re getting to something that looks like a sportsbook and then slowly educates you on looking for better odds or laying the other side, to help smooth that education curve.”
Shocked at @TeamMatchbook introduction of a “revenue share” charge. If your account is in >20k lifetime profit they will steal 60% of your monthly net profit! @Sully_Matchbook @braddersjm pic.twitter.com/n6NKmXvHBx
— Premium Charged (@PremiumCharged) October 8, 2018
Brosnan described the product as a “sportsbook-exchange hybrid, built on top of the exchange”, rather than a separate sportsbook with a trading team.
“That’s an innovation I think has been missed by all other exchange operators and we’re actively building that at the minute and looking to roll out in 2019,” he added.
The concept is not completely new with Smarkets currently testing a sportsbook powered by exchange liquidity, although the product will be more separate from the exchange than the Matchbook concept.
Brosnan also addressed the recent controversy about the so-called ‘revenue share’ condition that allows the operator to take up to 60% of revenues from customers who have hit profits above a certain threshold.
The introduction of the term was roundly criticized on social media, drawing comparisons with Betfair’s Premium Charge.
However, Brosnan said the revenue share charge currently only applied to 0.004% of Matchbok customers, and would stay in that range going forward.
“We were surprised people misinterpreted that as wider roll out of revenue share when it wasn’t,” Brosnan said.
“Its just a mechanism to ensure we can keep providing the liquidity and margins that we currently do.
“The management of that ecosystem is very important in terms of being able to ensure tight margins, and a large liquidity.
“In order to do that we have to be able to protect against customers who are overly attritional on that liquidity pool, and again, that’s a tiny minority.
Brosnan said attritional customers included those that were “aggressively taking early prices” and had a “very large win rate while not necessarily contributing to the liquidity pool”.