Smarkets is a peer-to-peer betting exchange that is often seen as a poor relation to both Betfair and Betdaq. In reality, this is far from the truth, with a similar number of markets covered, an attractive commission rate, and the same market-driven odds as the other two platforms, but without many of the shifts caused by a large number of traders or the distractions of casino and poker.
Like all betting exchanges, you can use Smarkets to lay an outcome, which is useful if you are following a matched betting strategy. The standout feature here is the new user bonus which is available without a Smarkets bonus code.
Smarkets is not offering a traditional sports bonus or free bet promotion. Instead, it is offering you the chance to save on every bet you make for the first 60 days. If you sign up a new account with the bonus code COMMFREE, you will receive 60 days of commission free gambling after you make a qualifying deposit of £10.
There are some restrictions to the deposit method you can make though. Avoid using Neteller, Skrill, PayPal or many pre-paid cards if you want to successfully claim the deal. Players that are signing up from an API or an trading software platform are also not eligible for the promotion.
There are other offers and bonuses available to users of the site although they are very different to the Smarkets bonus. The 32red bonus, or the bet at home bonus are classic examples of what we mean, in that they are more traditional sportsbook offers.
The fact that you only have a few requirements to trigger the bonus and then bask in its benefits for 60 days without any fuss is testament to the fact that this promotion is great for those who are starting out in the betting exchange world.
This is the only bonus on offer available to new accounts, however, these are not the only bonus offers available on the site. While bookmakers are able to create new member offers like the 888sport bonus, this is not always possible for a betting exchange. Smarkets instead have a different types of deals on offer.
These change from month to month, so be sure to visit the site regularly to keep tabs on what you can claim. You should also look at our reviews of the STSbet bonus, the 12bet bonus and the 138-com bonus, before making your decision, as competitive deals are always out there.
Smarkets first launched as an invite-only exchange in 2009, a year or so after founders Hunter Morris and Jason Trost started work. It was opened to the public in 2010, and took less than a year to host £1m in trades – no mean feat considering horse racing wasn’t added until the following spring. Just before Christmas 2011, Smarkets surpassed £50m in trades and introduced its signature 2% commission rate shortly afterwards.
Smarkets expanded over the next few years and had passed £1Bn in trades by the spring of 2015, and ever since has passed landmark after landmark and integrated more territories and currencies into its business model. Smarkets has also expanded the markets that members could bet or trade in to cover current events and entertainment and include events like Eurovision, the local elections or even who is most likely to become the next Dr. Who.
Over a decade of growth has meant that Smarkets has become a viable challenger in the betting exchange market which was dominated by Betfair.
Despite being still seen by many as very much in the shadow of Betfair and Betdaq, Smarkets has also built a reputation for being more customer focussed, (including a bonus without a Smarkets bonus code) an area that the industry as a whole perceives Betfair especially to be poor in.
Payments and limits are always a key area of how both bookmakers and betting exchanges work and Smarkets are no different. These subjects were touched on briefly earlier when we looked at the bonus we obtained without entering a Smarkets bonus code. Now it is time to take a closer look at each payment method, the fees and limits for each, and how long the money will take to be credited to your account.
When taking a closer look at payments, it seems that Smarkets have managed to strike an important balance between supporting various payments methods and acting responsibly towards its customers.
Smarkets operate a closed-loop system whereby if you deposit via a payment method, you can only withdraw by that method until your withdrawals meet the level of your net deposits This rule applies regardless of how many different methods you use, or if you are taking advantage of your bonus without a Smarkets bonus code.
If you are using Open Banking or a debit, Solo, Maestro, Mastercard, or Eurocard, your minimum deposit is £10 (although you’ll need to deposit £20 to take advantage of the bonus offer, but you won’t need to enter a Smarkets bonus code). The same minimum deposit amount applies to Skrill and bank transfer, but for Neteller and PayPal payments, that increases to £20.
If you choose to fund your account using Trustly, you’ll have to deposit at least £40. Maximum deposits are £5K a day for Skrill and Neteller and £200 for PayPal. There are no charges applied by Smarkets, but obviously, your account provider might have their own scale of charges for transactions.
Withdrawals have no limits for any of these methods except PayPal, which sets the daily limit at £5.5K. Again, your account provider might have their own rules, which will apply. The minimum you can withdraw at any one time is £10. These restrictions apply if you are betting normally or using your bonus without a Smarkets bonus code.
Deposits using all of these methods except bank transfer are instant. When withdrawing though, it can take a bit longer with 1-5 business days being the guidance given, but here again bank transfer is the main exception with it taking 5-10 days for the money to arrive in your account.
Before you approached Smarkets, as well as reading that you did not need a Smarkets sign up bonus code to benefit from the bonus, you may have read or have been told about the lack of liquidity and that you might be better off elsewhere. This is a common myth that has followed through from the early days when comparatively few people used Smarkets in comparison to Betfair.
While that may have been true in previous years, it was not found to be the case while carrying out this review for the bonus without a Smarkets bonus code, although we obviously could not check every single market.
Overall, this operator has more of a community feel than you might find somewhere else, and it is an excellent place to dip your toe in to start trading or while following a matched betting strategy. The 2% commission rate is as good as you will find anywhere with frequent zero percent commission promotions you can activate without needing a Smarkets bonus code, could save you a lot of money over the course of a year, or even just the month or so you will spend working through those initial matched betting offers.
If you have migrated from another betting exchange for whatever reason, you will find Smarkets quite refreshing and reminiscent of what some of the larger betting exchanges were like eight or ten years ago, with a simple customer-focused approach and an easy to understand bonus with no need for a Smarkets bonus code.
Claiming bonuses when signing up to a new operator. On the face of it, they can look generous, but when you read the terms and conditions you find there are a whole range of hoops you need to jump through to qualify. Not only that, there are usually requirements to play through your bonus a certain number of times which can leave you with nothing like the impressive sum, you saw when you hit the join now button.
In contrast, the bonus at Smarkets is about as simple as you can get. IF you sign-up using the Smarkets bonus code COMMFREE and make a qualifying deposit of £10, you activate 60 days of betting without having to pay the standard 2% commission fee.
As mentioned above, the bonus without a Smarkets bonus code is simple but there are a few terms and conditions to consider:
Once you have used your Smarkets bonus code up after 60 days, you will need to start paying 2% commission fees on all wagers made on the platform. So, be sure to get as much betting done in the first two months as possible.
Here are a few tips for betting on the platform to avoid making mistakes that people commonly do:
There are a couple of basic mistakes that can lead to others and start the dominoes falling. Foremost among these is having the expectation that you are never going to lose, and the day after you start betting or trading that money is just going fall in on you every time you open the door.
Realistically, you will be doing well to win anything like half of the time, and if you are thinking of ‘trading’ using an exchange like Smarkets, margins can be quite small and it is usually the volume of trades over time that builds a bank.
The approach should be one of sustainability and building funds over time rather than swooping in and making a fortune, as attempting to do that can trigger the next mistake
Having unrealistic expectations like doubling your money every week or even every day, can make you think you are doing badly when in fact you might be doing very well. This can lead to you chasing losses which is a sure-fire way of creating even more of them.
It might seem obvious but it is the easiest trap to fall into because it is all based on emotion and not that plan you promised faithfully to stick to earlier that day. You will consider bets you would have laughed at before you made those original losses, or up your stakes trying to hit a target and instead dig yourself into an even deeper hole.
Any experienced bettor will tell you not to chase your losses because they know that one afternoon of rash decisions can undo several weeks or even months of disciplined bank building.
It is the mismanagement of this bank that is the next mistake. You need to set yourself some rules as a novice bettor or trader, and only allow yourself some latitude as you gain experience. It is correct that this way you will occasionally leave money on the table by sticking to your plan. But at the same time you shouldn’t suffer excessive losses either.
Equally as damaging as chasing losses is changing your plan based on limited information and personal observation over a short period of time. In these circumstances, making a bad bet and winning by pure luck can be more damaging than making a bad bet and losing. Not only do you not learn your lesson – you go to make your next decision based on the incorrect assumption you know what you are doing.
There are, of course, more mistakes that both the novice and the experienced bettor can make but these are regarded to be three of the biggest, and as mentioned above, can cause a knock-on effect that can wipe out your entire account in double-quick time.
It was easy to rate this Smarkets bonus code high. there are very few promotions that will offer you something everytime you bet over a 2 month period. The fact that you can save on commissions means that you can bet more regularly if you want to.
If you found Smarkets by searching for a Smarkets sign up code online, or if this is your first encounter with a betting exchange, the bonus you found here will give you a good start,. But keep tuning in for further bonuses, as the operator is likely to offer great bonuses down the line too.
This Smarkets bonus without a Smarkets bonus code review found that this was probably a better longer-term benefit than what you might find elsewhere. Having complicated bonus requirements to fulfil can make you feel like you are trapped and you tend to make bad decisions like the ones covered in the section immediately above.
Smarkets focuses on its core market with few distractions and backs that with a help centre to make sure you are well informed.
Smarkets also knows where a large number of its new users are coming from, which is why there is a 0% commission deal with the Smarkets bonus code COMMFREE. This offer is most significantly for OddsMonkey, Profit Maximiser, and Profit Accumulator members who use Smarkets as part of their matched betting plan.
Overall you cannot really compare Smarkets to a bookmaker, but when put toe-to-toe against other betting exchanges, it does score highly in many areas. The Smarkets bonus code.) is the standout feature here with a simple no-nonsense reward that has no complicated criteria.
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You currently do not need a Smarkets bonus code for the Smarkets bonus. Operators do make other offers available, many of them for a limited time only, and the latest offers are usually detailed as part of the latest reviews
Smarkets usually has several offers running, but do not involve free bets or a deposit credits – instead they use an alternative that could work out more profitable than either. This latest review of the Smarkets bonus explains how it works
Betting exchanges charge a commission on all winning transactions. These vary from operator to operator and a lower commission rate can make a huge difference over the course of a year. The standard Smarkets commissions is an industry low 2%, although better commission rates are available.
Betting exchanges such as Smarkets are used when following a matched betting strategy. However, Smarkets is particularly suited and offers and special sign-up bonuses could theoretically increase the profit you make while following a matched betting programme
Smarkets accepts many methods for deposits including Neteller, Skrill and PayPal. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not currently accepted, but this may change in the future. You will be able to find any updates to Smarkets deposit methods by reading the latest reviews
Users must be 18+. If you are having trouble with gambling then help and advice can be found at begambleaware.org. Please Play Responsibly.
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