By:Sharon
2009-10-14

One of the most exciting innovations in modern times, that has its roots in the formation of betting exchanges is the chance to bet on an event while it is being played out right before your eyes. Live betting, or betting in-running as it is also called, adds a whole new dimension to betting meaning that you can react to the events you are witnessing on screen and back yourknowledge and intuition to make a profit.

A good example of how live betting can be profitable and make an event all the more interesting would be the famous game between Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester United from several seasons previously. Spurs led the game 3-0 at half time and in such situations as this, the odds on Tottenham winning the game would come right in, whilst the odds on Manchester United winning the game would have been pushed right out. So while some punters could have tried to “buy money” by placing a large wager on Spurs to win the game outright at half time, other punters may have felt that a United second half comeback was possible and made a bet on United winning the game at far greater odds than had been available before the game started. When United did rally in the second half to come back and win the game, those who would have bet on United at half time would have made a fantastic profit on their investment.

I chose this game to illustrate my point as in the season just past the same situation almost occurred at Old Trafford. United were losing 2-0 to Tottenham, but roared back to win the game. Pundits who remembered the events at White Hart Lane a few years previously would have been able to place a small bet on United coming back after they went 2-0 down and would have had the chance to make a neat profit!

However it isn’t just reacting to the scoreline that can be bet upon in live games. Many companies now offer bets on the next goalscorer, which team will score the next goal and indeed which horse will win the race as it is progressing! The only limit seems to be the imagination of those people who create the markets in the first place.

Live betting on the betting exchanges can really make a sporting event come alive and it has contributed enormously to the growing popularity of betting exchanges as the preferred place for punters to place their bets.