79/100
Rating
Smarkets Horse Betting Bonus
0% commission for 60 days
*****
Go to Smarkets Horse Betting
Highlights
  • Deposit £20, get 1st £10 bet refunded
  • Back or lay horses through exchanges
  • Race trading charts show who's fancied

Smarkets Review 2024 & UK Horse Racing Rating

Introducing Smarkets Horse Racing Review

Smarkets celebrated a decade of trading in 2018 and you can bet punter-to-punter on this sports and horse racing exchange. This is our Smarkets review. Dreamed up by American founders, they have offices in London, Los Angeles and Malta and announced a partnership with The Jockey Club. Smarkets racing naturally commands a lot of attention as betting on horses is one of the most popular forms of trading on their platform, which was set up with the lofty aim of rivalling Betfair. We’ll learn more about it in this Smarkets horse racing sportsbook review.

Smarkets has some pretty big ambitions and wants to be a credible alternative to Betfair, which has the lion’s share of betting on the exchanges in the UK. They’ve already come a long way in their first 10 years of trading with offices in those key locations; Malta, London and LA. Smarkets commission is pretty low. They are licensed in Great Britain by the UK Gambling Commission and in Malta by the Malta Gaming Authority. This Smarkets horse racing review has lots of ground to cover, but the key area which always attracts most attention is what you get for signing up. We’ll talk about the £10 refund on losses welcome bonus to enhance your trading experience soon. In the meantime, you may also want to read our Betfair review to see how these two exchange betting services compare!

What can you expect our assessment to cover? Unlike other Smarkets horse racing reviews, we start by taking you through the sign-up process, depositing, placing your first exchange bet and withdrawing any winnings. On top of discussing the welcome bonus, we also talk about other offers and the range of Smarkets horse racing markets and odds available. We’ll look at in play betting options and what their exchange app is like. There’s customer service and payment options to consider too, plus what if any betting limits exist and the extras you need to be aware of. By looking at all of these things, come the end of our review you ought to have made your own mind up over this question; is Smarkets horse racing good?

Know Your Bookmaker

Now we’ve got those basic steps out of the way, we move on to talking about the welcome bonus of £10 refund on losses when you make a real cash deposit of £20 or more. We’ll also highlight other exchange offers and discuss how the horse racing odds and markets work, before moving on to the live betting experience when you place in play wagers. The mobile experience through the Smarkets Android app is another important consideration alongside more on the payment methods and customer service options. We’ll tie everything together in our conclusion after noting anything extra that’s worthwhile.

Company
CompanySmarkets (Malta) Limited
HeadquarterThe Hedge, Ir-Rampa ta' San Giljan Street, St. Julians STJ 1062 Malta
Year of Founding2008
CEOJason Trost
Web Sitesmarkets.com
Available LanguagesEnglish, Swedish, Portuguese
Customer SupportPhone, Email Support
Emailsupport@smarkets.com
Phone020 7617 7413
Licence039173-R-319366-009
UKGC - UK Gambling Commission
Verified byGamCare
GamCare
Payment Methods
PayPal
Neteller
Skrill
Bank Transfer
Show More

Smarkets sports review Welcome Bonus

A key part of any Smarkets sports review is what they give to new customers. It’s a bit of breathing space with their welcome bonus actually. Get 0% commission for 60 days after you register your account, use the code: COMMFREE, and place a qualifying deposit of £10. You must use a debit card to make your deposit, as Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, and any pre-paid cards are expressly excluded in the terms and conditions of this offer. This promotion is limited to one per person, email, household and IP address, payment details and telephone number.  If you’re accessing their sportsbook via API or trading software are ineligible for this offer. Other terms and conditions apply, so check the Smarkets sportsbook for further details and our best horse betting sign up offers and bonuses.

This is the point where our step-by-step manuals covering those early steps related to signing up to the sportsbook we mentioned earlier are located. We want you to feel confident and comfortable using Smarkets, so whatever you might need help with, from registration for your exchange account, to making that first deposit, placing bets on this platform and making withdrawals from your account, we’ve got it covered. Our how to bet on horses guides are in plain English, so you can get your head around them.

Usability, Look & Feel - Smarkets test of their site

Any betting exchange has a different feel to it than a fixed-odds sportsbook, and our Smarkets sports review found them to be no different in this respect. Back and lay betting options sit side by side here with the black and white colour scheme punctuated by green and blue boxes depending on whether you are for or against a horse. It’s also really handy that you can view where the money is going and trading trends.

If you want to take your betting exchange experience truly mobile, then download the Smarkets app for Android and iOS for free. It’s readily available from the app store and Google play and you get a streamlined version of the desktop site. As a product of the internet, the Smarkets sportsbook is smartphone and tablet friendly anyway. In-play betting is quick and easy, with the buttons clearly visible thanks to that crisp layout and futuristic colour scheme. The only real improvement we can suggest in our Smarkets test is perhaps having some mobile exclusive offers.

How To Open Your Account

Step 1: Hit the create account button in the top right-hand corner of the sportsbook. Now enter your personal details including address, date of birth and mobile number.

Step 2: Now creates a username and password for your new account. You also need to select the currency that you want to gamble in; that’s pound sterling (GBP) for UK punters.

Step 3: It’s at this point where you’ll be asked if you want to make that all-important first deposit. See our instructions directly below on how to do this.

Payment Methods

There’s some variety when it comes to payment methods supporting your gambling on Smarkets. It’s a mixture of the classic bank transfer, debit card options for deposits and withdrawals sitting alongside more modern ones like eWallet services Skrill and Neteller. You’ll find more details in our payments table below. While they don’t charge fees (except for withdrawing via bank transfer) at all, there is Smarkets commission to pay on all your bets unless specified. While deposits are always instant, withdrawal times will vary depending on your chosen method. Using eWallet services tends to be faster in this regard, but remember to get the welcome bonus on this betting exchange you need to deposit with a debit card.

How To Make Your First Deposit

  • The option to deposit will appear as a green rectangle on the right-hand side of the screen. Now decide on a payment method; debit cards, bank transfers or eWallet services.
  • Be aware that using Skrill or Neteller for your first deposit means you won’t get the £10 refund on losses welcome bonus. The money has to come from your bank account.
  • Now enter the amount you want to deposit. Remember, to get the new customer offer this has to be a minimum of £20.

How To Withdraw Your Winnings

  • Click on withdraw, it’s a green rectangle like deposit was. You then have a list of withdrawal options to choose from. You have to use the same method as when depositing.
  • Enter the amount you want to take out of your account. Depending on your chosen method, this will be a minimum of either £10 and £20 but no upper limit.
  • Remember as it’s a betting exchange, you will have to pay Smarkets commission for taking your bets. It’s always better that this comes out of your winnings.

Smarkets Review - Customer Service

One area with real potential to shape the Smarkets horse racing ratings is customer support. Their phone line is manned from 9 am until midnight every day, while you can also contact them via email or even on Twitter. These options and Smarkets live chat, which is available around the clock, are only available to customers of their sportsbook. If you haven’t signed up yet, however, you can still use their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section that has answers to most related queries to betting on the exchanges and send a letter to the firm’s London address if you want. We found in our Smarkets test that there’s a good selection of customer support on Smarkets, which is always good.

Licence & Security

Smarkets is a prominent bookie and has managed to form great relations with their customers. They are licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority. In the UK, they are licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission. All services and products within the UK which stem from Smarkets will fall under the jurisdiction of the Gambling Commission. As a customer, you are protected under these laws.

Smarkets will require all prospective customers to submit personal information and verify their identity. This is in line with regulatory practices and is put in place for the benefit of customers.

Looking at the technological side of things, the Smarkets platform utilises the latest in SSL technology. All information and other data which is carried across this platform, will be certified and encrypted.

Smarkets review FAQ

❓How good are the Smarkets horse betting odds?

Read our Smarkets review to see how this brand’s betting odds compare with those found at other horse betting sites. We’ll be carrying out some odds comparison tests that will help you see how Smarkets performs with its odds for everything from a minor horse race in Thirsk to a major race meeting like the Cheltenham. All you need to know is if Smarkets has the best horse betting odds on the market.

🏇Which horse races does Smarkets offer bets on?

There are dozens of excellent racecourses in the UK alone, and we’d expect all good horse betting sites to offer you odds for each major and minor race in the UK and Ireland. Plus you should be able to get bets for racing taking place anywhere from Australia to the US too. So read our Smarkets review to see whether this site has odds for your favourite horse racing meetings.

🎁Can I get a horse betting bonus from Smarkets?

It’s pretty common to find bonuses at most good horse betting sites. So be sure to check out our review of Smarkets to see whether this has any horse betting bonuses for new customers. We’ll be sure to see how this deal compares with other horse racing betting promotions, and also walk you through the bonus terms and conditions so that you don’t get caught out by any of the small print.

Smarkets Horse Betting

Betting Markets

Smarkets Review – What is Live Betting Like on the Site?

One area where betting exchanges hold the edge over fixed odds bookmakers, and spread betting services like the ones discussed in our Sporting Index review, for punters who like to wager on the horses is in play markets. You can back or lay a horse in running while a race is happening. There’s no live streaming attached to Smarkets, however, so you cannot use their sportsbook to see how your live gambling turns out. A number of other sports are catered for when it comes to in play betting too; these include football, tennis, basketball, motorsport, boxing, cricket, cycling, darts, rugby and American sports.

Odds

Betting on the exchanges means there’s no best odds guaranteed on British and Irish horse racing like you get with fixed odds wagers. As our Smarkets review made clear right from the start, it is a case of punter versus punter on these platforms, and you can either back a horse to win or lay its odds if you think it will lose. The prices you get on the exchanges are often better than those offered by traditional bookmakers, so makes up for the lack of a bigger guaranteed starting price. Exchange betting contains lively place and each-way markets too as well as ante post punting.

Betting Margins

The topic of betting margins is particularly relevant here as you will have to pay Smarkets commission to facilitate all your wagers – whether it’s backing or laying an outcome. You need to know what the percentages are that an exchange operate within for taking your bets. That’s where Horsebetting.com come in with our betting margins table below for your reference.

There’s two different figures to consider when it comes to betting margins. We decide to split the table into in play wagers placed live during the action as it unfolds, which is particularly relevant to horse racing with those bets in running, and your regular markets before an event takes place.

Betting Limits

You can wager as little as 5p in the UK on Smarkets. As you’re gambling against other punters, and if you can find someone willing enough to take you up on a huge stake, then there is actually no upper limit (in theory, it’s £99,999). If you want to bet even more than that supposed threshold, you can always split the amount you want to stake into several bets. Whatever you do, remember to bet responsibly and not risk more than you can afford. It can be easy to get carried away gambling on the exchanges, so discipline is required.

79/100
Rating
0% commission for 60 days
Bonus
|
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Smarkets FAQ

🎁Is there a Smarkets promo code bonus?

Read our Smarkets review to see if you can get any kind of bonus for signing up to this betting site for the first time. We’ll examine what you have to do to claim this deal and walk you through how you can use the bonus credit for horse racing betting. Plus we’ll even compare this promo with the best horse betting bonuses so that you can find a deal that works for you.

🏇How good are Smarkets odds for horse racing?

Check out our Smarkets review and you’ll get to see exactly how good this bookie is for betting on horse racing. We’ll be carrying out an odds comparison test that’ll reveal how good Smarkets is for betting on anything from the Grand National to the Cheltenham Gold Cup. All of which should mean that you can come here and instantly know whether Smarkets is good enough for you.

⏰What is the Smarkets withdrawal time?

Make sure that you read our Smarkets review to see how fast this bookie is at payout out. We’ll examine how long it takes for the bookie to pay out according to different payment options like cards and ewallets. All of which should help you see whether Smarkets could win one of our betting awards for having some of the fastest withdrawals in the business.

💰What are the Smarkets commission fees?

You’ll probably already know that Smarkets is unlike most horse betting sites that we feature. However, this doesn’t mean that Smarkets is any less good for betting on horse racing. So read our Smarkets review to see what those commission fees are and how they are essential for helping you enjoy some of the best horse racing betting odds on the market.

 

 

Smarkets Conclusion

What have we learned from our Smarkets horse racing sportsbook review? It’s not fixed odds but taking prices from fellow punters you get on their platform. While that means the best odds guaranteed isn’t available, you may win bigger anyway if you can persuade another punter to back or lay prices you set. The welcome bonus only activates should a wager you’ve made after an initial deposit loses. There’s a mixture of payment methods, while customer service is broad and good. Be aware that there are pros and cons to a lack of betting limits and you are responsible for not gambling beyond your means. You can also bet on mobile via the Smarkets app.

While this platform is designed for serious punters with no gimmicks or extras to distract you from the unique experience of exchange betting, it probably doesn’t appeal to the casual punter. Given the ambition of Smarkets is to become a real alternative to Betfair, they may need to do a little more work to broaden their horizons if they are to realise their aims. Looking at our BETDAQ review should help to you see what we mean. Based on its current product and the findings of this Smarkets review, provided you understand how betting on the exchanges work, then there’s plenty to like.

If you like to bet on the exchanges with Smarkets, then we’d love to hear from you. Join Horsebetting.com today and post your own comments or reviews drawing on your personal gambling experiences. This will help us to give Smarkets horse racing a rating.

93/100
Rating
UKGC - UK Gambling Commission
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79/100
Rating
Smarkets Horse Betting Bonus
0% commission for 60 days
*****
Go to Smarkets Horse Betting
Highlights
  • Deposit £20, get 1st £10 bet refunded
  • Back or lay horses through exchanges
  • Race trading charts show who's fancied

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