Important – WBX Closure (16th March 2015)
As of Monday 16th March 2015, WBX have closed down and will no longer be accepting new customers or bets of any kind. Bets which have already been placed (including long term bets) will be settled as normal, and customers can log in to their accounts as normal to withdraw their funds.
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WBX (World Betting Exchange) is one of an increasing number of betting exchanges that have entered the market. The company first set up in 2002 but didn’t actually launch to trade until 2006. Any betting exchange that launches is immediately compared to the powerhouse that is Betfair. These guys lead the way within the industry, so it’s only natural for this to occur.
It’s interesting that whilst WBX has been ‘in the pipeline’ since around about the same time Betfair launched, it actually took them almost 5 years after this to begin trading. It is also interesting that whilst Betfair seem to be pulling away from their flagship exchange product in favour of a more traditional fixed odds sportsbook, WBX are very much embracing the exchange – focussing entirely on peer-to-peer betting.
Looks and Feel
The WBX site definitely has a unique look and feel to it. In terms of aesthetics it’s clear to see that they have mainly concentrated on keeping things pretty clean and simple, rather than going down the road of throwing a ton of fancy graphics at the site. This works both ways for us; firstly the toned down design makes it easy to use and makes navigating between markets relatively simple. But on the other hand the site looks a little dated and it appears that they have failed to move with the times in terms of design.
On the flip side it does function really well and the reduced graphics probably decrease load times a ton making market skipping very easy. The site definitely isn’t badly designed, just a little 2005 for the current crop of bookmakers and betting exchanges.
Bonus and Promotions
New users to WBX can take advantage of a series of free bets worth up to £25. This bet will be offered upon the completion, match and settlement of your bets – the first £10 is released when a total of £100 has been wagered, with an additional £5 being credited each time you have bet an additional £500.
Whilst these qualification numbers may sound relatively large to those of you who belong to the ‘matched bet’ school of thinking, don’t forget that WBX operates as an intermediary between punters, not as a bookmaker, and so runs on small margins. The primary benefit of this is seen in the better odds which you can achieve compared to traditional bookmakers.
You can further increase your margin by taking advantage of WBX’s commission discounts, which are based on the number of WBX points you have accumulated. One point is awarded for each pound wagered, with a maximum discount of 60% achieved at 9,200 points. At this top end, the commission on winning bets is 1.2% – significantly lower than that of rivals Betfair.
Features
The added navigation tabs on the sidebar of the exchange is a feature we really like. It’s a pretty simple concept having the Menu, Recent and Related pages on there, but it means you can flick between new markets and markets you are interested in very quickly. As sites have so many sports and betting markets to choose from, this added feature makes navigation so much more bearable.
For those of you unfamiliar with betting exchanges, WBX also offer a more traditional sportsbook style view of their exchange which shows only back odds at the current active price. To switch between the two views just select the relevant option (Sportsbook View v Exchange View) at the top of the page of any market.
The exchange is also compatible with most smartphones and tablets (and even slightly older mobiles for you technophobes), where the design is comparable to any of it’s competitors. The mobile site, operating via your browser rather than an app, is lightning fast and intuitively laid out, and gets a bit thumbs up from us from a usability perspective.
Verdict
WBX have managed to produce an excellent alternative to the powerhouse that is Betfair. This betting exchange provides all the sports and markets you could possibly want along with a competitive commission rate. The only downside possibly falls on the desktop websites design, but this is something that is definitely personal preference and purely superficial. All in all, an excellent betting exchange!