Last Updated on Thursday, 8 August, 2019 at 3:28 pm by Christian Keszthelyi
Betting exchange operator Smarkets is launching its new sportsbook product SBK as of tomorrow, according to a press statement issued by the company. Smarkets told Business Malta that it is committed to the local market due to its office in here, and eyes entering Malta with its services in the near future.
The SBK sportsbook app “combines industry-disrupting odds” with a “social-focused interface” for offering a “fair and fun app” for betting on sports events and politics. Prices on SBK are the same as those on the Smarkets exchange that runs on a peer-to-peer model and proprietary technology.
The SBK is promised to benchmark its prices directly against a wide range of bookmakers and show users how often they are getting the best odds with the SBK Price+ feature, which will initially compare odds on football before incorporating the app’s entire event offering.
Registration for the app starts tomorrow — 9 August, Friday —, which day marks the commencement of betting on the platform after a private test mode that has run for the past 12 months.
“By combining innovative technology with transparent and fair odds, I believe we are able to offer a product like no other in the market, which will help us continue to have an impact in an industry dominated by a few big players who do not seek to give customers the best value,” Smarkets CEO and Founder Jason Trost said.
“While some bettors prefer the advanced features of Smarkets, we created SBK for those customers that want the better pricing of an exchange with the cleaner interface of a sportsbook,” the CEO added.
Founded in 2008, Smarkets is a sports betting company headquartered in London, with offices in Los Angeles and Malta. “We are very committed to the Maltese market. We have had an office there for several years,” Pascal Lemesre, Public Relations Manager of Smarkets told Business Malta.
“In the first instance, SBK will launch in the United Kingdom before being rolled out to other regulated markets, including Malta. I cannot say exactly when SBK will launch in Malta but we are currently seeking approval and we hope it will be in the very near future,” Mr Lemesre added.
