Smarkets: the only betting exchange with a Swedish licence

What a betting exchange is

With a bookmaker you bet against the bookmaker, and it builds its margin into the odds. On an exchange your bet is matched against another player who thinks the opposite. The exchange takes no position itself and is paid through a commission on net winnings.

That gives you two things the bookmakers do not offer. You can bet against an outcome, which is a lay bet, and take the bookmaker's role. And the market sets the price, so the odds on an exchange have no built-in margin.

Smarkets started in London in 2008 and received a Swedish licence in 2020 as the second betting exchange in Sweden. Today it is the only one in the register.

The licence: one year at a time, odds only

The licence holder is Smarkets Malta Limited, with a licence for commercial betting on smarkets.com and betsbk.com. The licence started on 30 June 2026 and is valid until 29 June 2027, which is one year. That is what the register of the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) showed on 21 October 2026.

The licence covers betting only. There is no casino at Smarkets in Sweden. Betfair, Matchbook and Betdaq are not in the register at all. Anyone who wants to bet on an exchange from a Swedish account has one option.

The same licence holder is behind SBK, Smarkets' own bookmaker with normal odds. A welcome offer may only be given the first time you bet with a licence holder. So SBK and Smarkets share a single offer. Winnings from a licence holder with a Swedish licence are tax-free for you as a player.

Commission: 2 per cent of net winnings per market

Smarkets takes 2 per cent of your net winnings on a market. If you end up with a net loss on the market, you pay nothing. If you win 1,000 kr net on a match, you pay 20 kr.

There are two more tiers. If you place more than 1,500 bets in a calendar month, you must move to Pro at 1 per cent. The same applies if you turn over more than one million pounds in a month. Anyone who has won more than 25,000 pounds net in the last twelve months ends up on Select at 3 per cent. According to Smarkets, two in a thousand customers reach one of the thresholds.

Commission must be included in every comparison. Odds of 2.00 on the exchange give 1.98 after commission if you win. Compare that number, not 2.00, with the bookmakers' odds.

Lay bets: what the bookmakers do not offer

A lay bet is the opposite of a normal bet. You offer the odds and win if the outcome does not happen. The risk is not the stake but the liability: the stake times the odds minus one. If you lay an outcome at 3.00 with 100 kr, you risk 200 kr to win 100.

The lay bet is the tool behind three methods. You can hedge a bet with a bookmaker by laying the same outcome on the exchange. You can play through a bonus bet at low risk, which is called matched betting. And you can lock in an arbitrage by betting with the bookmaker and laying on the exchange.

The exchange can also close a position before kick-off. If the odds have moved in your favour, you can lay at lower odds and secure winnings whatever the result. It works the same way as the bookmakers' cash out, but at the market price.

The price: close to the market's fair odds, with two caveats

On a liquid market the exchange's price is close to the fair odds, because nobody builds in a margin. That is why sharp bettors use the exchange's price as a reference. The closing odds on an exchange can serve as a measure of whether a bet was good.

The first caveat is the commission. Two per cent is small compared with the bookmakers' margin on the big markets, but it is not zero. The second caveat is liquidity. The price only applies to the amount on offer, and on small markets it may be enough for a few hundred kronor.

The exchange's odds are not in our odds comparison. The price you get depends on the commission and on how much is on offer. It cannot be shown as a fixed number next to the bookmakers' odds. SBK is listed among the betting sites with licence and terms, but not in the odds comparison. We measure every day which bookmakers most often have the highest odds, using the odds just before kick-off. The ranking is on the betting sites page.

Liquidity: where the exchange is deep enough

Liquidity is the money on offer in a market. The Premier League, the Champions League and the big American leagues have deep markets at Smarkets. Allsvenskan, SHL and lower divisions have thinner books, especially long before kick-off.

A bet that is not matched stays as an offer until someone takes it or the match starts. Part of your stake can be matched and the rest not. Always check how much is on offer at the odds before you place a larger bet.

If you hedge bonuses and arbitrage, the liquidity is usually enough, because the stakes are small and the markets are big. If you want to take large positions on Swedish leagues, the exchange is an addition to the bookmakers, not a replacement.

Does Smarkets limit winners?

An exchange takes no position against you and so has no reason to shut out a winner, as the bookmakers do. That is the big difference from a normal account, where limiting often comes after the first winnings.

What Smarkets does instead is charge more to the very biggest winners. The Select tier at 3 per cent applies to anyone who has won more than 25,000 pounds net in twelve months. Include that cost in your calculation if you plan large volumes.

How the sharp bettor uses Smarkets

As a hedge. Every bonus bet and every arbitrage needs an opposite side, and the exchange is the opposite side that is always there. Read about the lay bet above, and work out the hedge with the calculator before you place it.

As a reference. When Pinnacle leaves Sweden, the exchange's price is the closest you get to odds with no margin from a Swedish account. Measure your bets against the closing odds there, or against the fair price our system calculates for each match.

As account number six. The sharp bettor's accounts in Sweden are built on five or more bookmakers plus the exchange. The bookmakers give the price on Swedish leagues and odds boosts. The exchange gives the lay side and an account that is not closed because you win.

Do you have a problem with gambling?

If you find it hard to control your gambling, or have had problems with gambling, you should not gamble at all. That also applies with a tool, because even a tool that calculates correctly can become a way into gambling that takes over.

Always seek help. Stödlinjen, the Swedish gambling helpline, answers on 020-81 91 00, free of charge and anonymously. Through Spelpaus you can exclude yourself from all gambling with companies licensed in Sweden. Gambling for money is only for those aged 18 or over.

Common questions about Smarkets