Ladbrokes Exchange to launch this week
Exchange product to provide customers with a "one stop shop" with mobile and tablet versions to follow in coming weeks
Ladbrokes is to launch its betting exchange product this week as it aims to reinvigorate its sportsbook site and take a bite out of Betfair’s market share.
The product will be initially be available on desktop only, with mobile and tablet launches planned in the coming weeks.
The UK bookmaker had originally planned to release the product in early 2014, but plans were expedited after more advanced features were put off until next year allowing for a simpler launch.
Ladbrokes Digital MD Jim Mullen, who joined the company last week, said the launch was a first from a major fixed odds operator and would provide the company with an important point of differentiation from its competitors.
“The service will develop over time but from day one will deliver a seamless offer to those Ladbrokes customers who already use both fixed odds and exchange services,” he said.
The Ladbrokes Exchange will use automated push messaging to alert customers of price changes on live exchange movements. The feature will be fully customisable, allowing players to determine how often they are alerted to price movements depending on the device they are using.
Ladbrokes said that up to 30% of its sportsbook customers already use an exchange product, with the vast majority using Betfair. It hopes to capture some of this share with this week’s launch by attracting players with the notion of a “one stop shop” for betting services.
Customers will be able to use a cash-out facility for the first time, while also having the opportunity to deposit or collect from Ladbrokes high-street stores in the UK and Ireland.
The bookmaker had been working on Ladbrokes Exchange since it acquired Betdaq earlier this year and the business will continue to operate as a pure exchange product, boosted by the increase in liquidity brought by the Ladbrokes deal.
Ladbrokes Exchange will share technology with Betdaq, however both offerings will retain their own customers. Betdaq is to close its fixed-odds operations as a result.
“By welcoming the Ladbrokes customer base to Betdaq it is win-win as the Betdaq exchange’s liquidity expands overnight, whilst the Ladbrokes customers will be able to enjoy a cash out option for the very first time,” Lewis Findlay, MD at Betdaq, said.