What Smarkets does

Smarkets is a privately-held prediction market exchange platform founded in 2008 and headquartered in London. The company operates as a financial exchange where prices are set by participant trading rather than by a house counterparty, distinguishing it from traditional sportsbooks. Its core product, the Smarkets Predictions platform, supports real-time trading across 15+ sports verticals including soccer, tennis, baseball, basketball, American football, golf, motorsports, and table tennis, handling billions in trades annually. The platform offers professional trading tools including real-time order book visualization, charting, and 24/7 market availability, with a SBK-branded sportsbook app targeting UK and Ireland consumers alongside the core exchange.

Smarkets generates revenue primarily through transaction fees on participant trades rather than house-margin pricing, aligning incentives between the platform and its users. It operates across multiple regulated jurisdictions: UK (Gambling Commission account 39173), Malta (MGA license issued 2009), and the US state of Indiana (Indiana Gaming Commission), with a pending CFTC Designated Contract Market application for broader US prediction market access. The company has secured flagship distribution partnerships with SailGP (three-year Official Sports Trading Partner) and DP World Tour (official betting operator in UK/Ireland), embedding the product into major sports properties. Institutional backing from Susquehanna, a major quantitative trading firm, provides both capital and trading expertise.

The company targets two primary customer segments: individual sports bettors and sophisticated data-driven traders seeking fair, market-determined pricing and professional tools, and sports organizations seeking regulated betting partnerships and fan engagement capabilities. B2C distribution is primarily direct via the Smarkets website and SBK mobile app, with self-serve onboarding, while B2B distribution occurs through sports league partnerships. Smarkets is privately held with 101-250 employees and has raised approximately $9.1M across multiple funding rounds led by Passion Capital, Deutsche Telekom Strategic Investments, and Susquehanna Growth Equity.

Name

Smarkets

Legal name

Smarkets (Malta) Limited

Website

https://smarkets.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Smarkets is a London-based prediction market exchange founded in 2008 where users trade peer-to-peer on sporting and political outcomes. It serves individual bettors and sports organizations across the UK, Ireland, Sweden, and the US, generating revenue through transaction fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prediction Market Exchange

NAICS

Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Exchange Odds, Pricing, Trading Tools & APIs (MPAEAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sportsbook Trading, Odds & Feed Providers (MPAEAKAB), Odds, Trading & Risk Management Services (MPAEACAD)

Keywords

• Prediction market exchange
• Sports betting platform
• Peer-to-peer trading
• Event trading markets
• Financial exchange betting

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Trading/Market Fees: Revenue generated from transaction fees on trades executed on the platform. The exchange model charges fees on market activity rather than traditional sportsbook margins.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Smarkets operates a peer-to-peer prediction market exchange where prices are set by participant trading rather than by a traditional sportsbook. Users trade on outcomes of real-world events across sports, politics, and entertainment via a web platform (smarkets.com) and a mobile sportsbook app (SBK). The platform charges transaction fees on trades rather than acting as counterparty, and offers professional-grade tools including real-time order books, charting, and 24/7 live in-play markets.

Product overview

Smarkets operates as a unified prediction market exchange platform with two main products: the core Smarkets Predictions platform for prediction trading markets and the SBK sportsbook app for sports betting. The platform also includes Profit Hub, a calculator and event search tool. Smarkets functions as a financial exchange where prices are set by participant trading rather than by the house, handling billions in trades annually. The platform offers live trading 24/7 across multiple sports categories including Football/Soccer, Tennis, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Cycling, Darts, Golf, Ice Hockey, MMA, Motorsports, Rugby League, Table Tennis, and Australian Rules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smarkets Predictions A peer-to-peer prediction market exchange platform where prices are set by participant trading rather than by the house, enabling individual users to trade on outcomes of real-world events across sports, politics, and entertainment.
• SBK The sportsbook app of Smarkets offering sports betting services with integration into golf tournament odds and sponsorship activations, serving users in the UK and Ireland.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• SailGPflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2026Three-year partnership making Smarkets the Official Sports Trading Partner of the Rolex SailGP Championship with integration rights in the UK, Ireland, and Sweden. Partnership also includes sponsorship of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, the 2025 Season Champions, and the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth. Enables fan engagement through on-site activations and digital platforms. This is SailGP's first formal partnership with a betting company.
• DP World TourcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwo-year agreement making SBK (the sportsbook app of Smarkets) the official betting operator for the DP World Tour in the UK and Ireland. Gains presenting partner status for tournament odds pages and partnerships at three 2026 events including the Scottish Open, British Masters, and Irish Open.
• Emirates Great Britain SailGP TeamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partner of the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team as part of the broader SailGP sponsorship, with activation rights at SailGP events.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Kalshi: Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market for event contracts in the US, directly comparable to Smarkets' exchange-based prediction market model. Both operate regulated exchanges trading real-world outcomes.
• Betfair: Betfair is the original and largest betting exchange globally, operating a peer-to-peer model nearly identical to Smarkets. Both platforms allow users to trade outcomes with prices set by participant matching rather than house odds.
• Polymarket: Polymarket is a prediction market platform where users trade on event outcomes, structurally similar to Smarkets' exchange model. Both serve sophisticated prediction market traders seeking market-determined prices.
• PredictIt: PredictIt operates a prediction market for political and economic events, sharing the exchange-style peer-to-peer trading concept with Smarkets. Both platforms enable users to take positions on event outcomes at market-driven prices.
• Betdaq: Betdaq is a betting exchange competing directly with Smarkets in the UK and European markets. Both operate peer-to-peer betting exchanges offering an alternative to traditional sportsbooks.

Broad incumbents

• CME Group: CME Group is the largest derivatives exchange operator globally and could expand into event contracts. Its existing CFTC-regulated infrastructure and institutional relationships make it a potential competitor in regulated prediction markets.
• FanDuel: FanDuel is one of the largest US sports betting operators with overlapping sports betting offerings. It competes with Smarkets' SBK sportsbook app in regulated markets and has far greater scale and brand recognition.
• DraftKings: DraftKings is a major US sportsbook operator that has begun exploring prediction market and exchange-style products. It represents a broad incumbent with significantly larger scale and resources than Smarkets.

Emerging players

• Robinhood: Robinhood has launched event contracts trading through its platform, entering the prediction market space as a fintech-brokerage hybrid. It represents an emerging competitor with significant retail investor reach that could overlap with Smarkets' target audience.
• Augur: Augur is a decentralized prediction market platform operating on blockchain technology. It shares the peer-to-peer prediction market concept with Smarkets but uses a different technology and regulatory approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smarkets
• Facebookfacebook.com/smarkets
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smarkets

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smarkets