Smarkets Blog » London Startups

Euro 2012!

Amita Parikh — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:37:05 +0000

No, not that Euro – the currency! After months of work we’re happy to announce that Smarkets customers can now deposit, bet and withdraw in Euros.

Stuck in Seville? You can now bet on your favourite La Liga and Copa del Rey teams. AC Milan fan? Have a punt on the latest Serie A and Serie B matches. Living in France? Check out the Ligue 1 games we have, or cheer on Thierry Henry in the English Premier League. Sharapova supporter in Germany? We’ve got all the ATP and WTA matches you could want. American expat in Belgium? Try your luck on our NFL Superbowl market.

With the lowest base commission rate in the industry (just 2%), Smarkets is the place to bet and trade on football, horses, tennis and your other favourite events.

How easy is it to get started? Sign up here: https://smarkets.com/sign-up/ (it takes less than 5 minutes). Then deposit and you’re good to go!

Filed under: Announcements, Euros, London Startups

Occupy Smarkets Open House

Amita Parikh — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:55:28 +0000

As many of you know, we held an open house in London last Thursday at our office, complete with pizza, beer and Smarkets fairycakes. A big thank you to everyone who came out to meet us and offer feedback.

Occupy Smarkets - Open House, Jan 26th, 2012

2% Commission - Lowest Flat Rate!

Guest (L) and Smarkets CEO Jason Trost (R).

Smarkets fairycakes!

Guests mingling.

Smarkets founders Hunter Morris (L) and Jason Trost (R), chatting with guests.

Checking out the Smarkets site.

The Smarkets Team.

Filed under: London Startups

Occupy Smarkets at our January Open House

Amita Parikh — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:22:31 +0000

To celebrate our new, lowered commission rate of 2% for all customers, we’re throwing our doors open! You are invited to come by our office to meet the Smarkets team and other like-minded people over drinks and snacks. If there is interest, we might move to a nearby pub afterwards.

This is also an opportunity for you to share with us what you’d like to see happen at Smarkets in 2012. We’ve read your comments and are working towards becoming the leading betting exchange in the industry. So whether it’s tennis, football or horse racing you fancy a flutter on, stop by our office to say hello!

This invite is open to all interested in Smarkets and betting – spread the word and invite your friends!

When: 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Thursday 26th January 2012

Where: Smarkets HQ
2nd Floor, White Bear Yard
144a Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5DF

Please RSVP by January 24th to amita.parikh@smarkets.com

Filed under: Announcements, London Startups

Australian Open – By The Numbers

Amita Parikh — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:11:15 +0000

As qualifying rounds for the first Grand Slam of the year get underway in Melbourne this week, we scoped out some facts and figures:

$25 million

Total prize money awarded (in USD) during the tournament

128

Number of players in the Men’s and Women’s singles draw (104 direct, 16 qualifiers)

16 years, 4 months

Age Martina Hingis was when she won the Australian Open, making her the youngest winner in the tournament’s history

Number of Australian Open titles Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have won (the most in the Open Era)

20+

Number of items that attendees are prohibited from bringing into stadium grounds. Among them: beach balls, fireworks, hampers and laser pointers

Number of Grand Slams top ranked female Caroline Wozniacki has won

Caroline Wozniacki hopes to win her first slam

$20,000

Amount (in Australian dollars) awarded to players who lose in the first round

Number of female players in the top 30 hailing from Russia

12-15

Age range kids must fall in before applying to be Ball Boys and Girls

$2,585

Cost of a ticket (in USD) in the lower seats to the Men’s final, as seen on eseats.com

£1,052

Cost of a round trip plane ticket to Melbourne from London (leaving tomorrow, on British Airways)

Number of consecutive years Australian tennis legend Rod Laver was ranked Number 1

Filed under: London Startups

2% commission effective today

Amita Parikh — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:20:15 +0000

A quick note to let everyone know that we have dropped our commission to a flat rate of just 2%!

A reminder that all bets moving forward will settle at 2%, regardless of when they were placed or matched.

With this new rate, Smarkets has positioned itself as the exchange with the lowest base-commission in the industry.

Happy punting!

Filed under: London Startups

Happy Holidays from Smarkets

Amita Parikh — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 15:19:14 +0000

We like to think Christmas came early in the form of our new commission rate slated to take effect in the new year. But just because it’s the holidays we whipped up a Smarkets-themed poem (none of us majored in English, so be nice). We also took a little break from the office to celebrate a fantastic year as a team. Check out the photographic evidence below – and Happy Holidays to all!

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Not even a mouse.

The punters and arbers
Had all gone to bed
With visions of £20 notes
Dancing in their heads.But one bettor, Sam,
Remained wide awake,
Worried about the match
In which he had a stake.

He crawled out from the covers
And pulled on a sweater
Determined to stay up
Till he found odds that were better

Sam had heard about a site
Through one of his mates
It was called Smarkets
And was supposed to be great

Smarkets goes bowling

He went online to check it out
And was happy to see
That creating a Smarkets account
Was as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Once he’d deposited
And his account was approved
He started looking at the odds
And his mood instantly improved

Smarkets at the bowling alley

He could bet for or against
Almost any football match
With odds that were so good
Sam thought ‘I can’t believe there’s no catch.’

So who was behind
This gem of a site?
Sam had to read about the team
Even though it was the middle of the night

Jason and Hunter, Smarkets founders

We’re a small team comprised of
Ten boys and one girl
We’re a diverse bunch having come from
All over the world.

Smarkets wasn’t perfect
(Sometimes the liquidity would go)
But Sam felt good supporting a young group
And commission rates were so low.

He decided to bet for
Chelsea to win the match
And discovered he’d make more using Smarkets
Than on any other site – imagine that!

Sam glanced at the clock
It was a quarter to three
And he suddenly felt
Very tired indeed.

He shut down his computer
Climbed into bed,
And lay down on his pillow
To rest his sleepy head.

To all our customers
Whether you back or you lay
The small team at Smarkets
Just wanted to say

We love that you keep supporting
Our work and our site
Merry Christmas to all
And to all a goodnight!

Happy Holidays from the Smarkets team!

Filed under: London Startups

Lower Smarkets commission for 2012

Vincent Jacobs — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:08:51 +0000

After listening to your feedback on our proposed commission structures, we have decided to reduce the commission of all users to a flat rate of 2% in 2012. This new commission will take effect from the 9th of January, making Smarkets the exchange with the lowest base-commission in the industry.

Any bets settling in December or before the 9th of January will be charged at your current rate while any bets settling from the 9th of January will settle at the new 2% rate, regardless of when the bets were placed or matched.

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Happy holidays and happy punting!

The Smarkets Team

Filed under: London Startups

Why gambling can be good for you

Amita Parikh — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:41:23 +0000

Smarkets CEO Jason Trost was asked to write a piece about online gambling for the inaugural issue of new UK technology magazine The Kernel. Jason’s op-ed piece appears in today’s digital issue – click on over here to read it.

Jason Trost's op-ed appears today in The Kernel

Filed under: Announcements, Gaming Industry, London Startups

Betting on the Facebook IPO

Vincent Jacobs — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:44:56 +0000

While you can’t bet on Facebook yet, Smarkets is letting you bet about Facebook.

The tech world is caught up with the impending announcement of Facebook going public. As a tech start-up, we’re also curious as to how it will unfold – so today we’re introducing two new markets where you can bet on the Facebook IPO:

1. When will Facebook hold its Initial Public Offering?

Bet on the month during which Facebook will go public. Will it be a Christmas surprise or will they wait until the summer? Think you know? Well, now you can make some money from it.

2. How much is Facebook worth?

How much do you think Facebook is really worth? Bet on the market capitalisation at the end of the first day following their IPO. We’re personally hoping that they’re worth enough to update Mark Zuckerberg’s wardrobe.

Details on how each contract will be settled and the options for betting can be found on their individual pages.

Happy betting!

The Smarkets Team

Filed under: Announcements, London Startups, Prediction Markets

New Smarkets Arb Tool

Amita Parikh — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:08:06 +0000

Christmas comes early at Smarkets headquarters – we’ve got a new Smarkets arb tool for all our lovely customers. The easy to use bookmarklet lets you compare Smarkets’ odds with those across a wide array of other online bookmakers. Here is what the first version offers:

Prices for any Football market on Smarkets, from any site!
Inlineodds comparison – See how much better a price you can get on Smarkets.
Quick Arbitrage Calculator, just enter the price you see and we’ll tell you if you can arb it!

Click on over here for the full details and installation instructions: Smarkets Arbitrage Tool

And if you’re not sure how to arb or want more information, visit the Smarkets Academy, where you can learn about arbitrage, bookmaker bonus arbitrage, and find out how to arbitrage between bookmakers.

We love feedback, so let us know what you think of our new toy!

Filed under: London Startups