Editor’s Note: Prohpet Exchange Has Withdrawn Its Ohio Sports Betting Application
Prophet Exchange is bringing peer-to-peer sports betting to Ohio. That will give bettors in the state a unique way to place their bets.
The company is already up and running in New Jersey with more launches on the way.
Prophet Exchange Sportsbook is hoping to be a big player in the Ohio sports betting industry, so it’s worth taking a look at the company’s unique approach to online gambling.
“After our hugely successful debut in our home state of New Jersey, we are thrilled to bring the exchange betting model to Ohio,” says Prophet Exchange Co-Founder and CEO Dean Sisun. “Although commonplace in markets like the UK, exchange betting is a brand new concept in the United States—and our expansion is another big step in our mission to become the mainstream sports betting platform in the country.”
Sportsbooks are different from Prophet Exchange
Prophet Exchange is the first sports betting company of its kind in the U.S. The website offers peer-to-peer sports betting as an exchange. That is very different from the setup of a traditional sportsbook.
When you place a bet at a sportsbook, that company is taking on the risk of paying you if your bet wins. With Prophet Exchange’s system, other bettors take on that risk instead.
Bettors are able to post their own odds for sports games that other players can bet on if they’d like.
Prophet Exchange’s website puts it in the simplest terms: “Don’t like the odds? Set you own here with us!”
Bettors set their own odds
Take the NFL Week 1 matchup between the Cleveland Browns and the Carolina Panthers as an example of how Prophet Exchange works.
DraftKings Sportsbook initially set the over/under betting value for that game at 44.
One Prophet Exchange user in New Jersey decided that that number was too high, so they used the site to offer up a lower 41.5 total for the game.
That bettor then set how much money he or she was willing to risk. This particular bettor decided that the max bet that they were willing to accept for under bets was $159. The max bet the bettor will accept on the over was $65.
Since the bettor is taking on all of the risk, they get to decide the max amount they’d like to accept.
Things get a little more complicated if you want to bet more than the set maximums.
Exchanges pit bettor against bettor
Let’s say you log on to Prophet Exchange to bet $200 on that 41.5 under. That $200 is obviously more than the $159 maximum the bettor who posted the odds created.
In this situation, that particular bettor isn’t willing to take your bet. However, that doesn’t mean someone else out there isn’t willing to take you up on your offer.
If you place your $200 bet on the under in this scenario, then your offer to bet doesn’t just disappear. It becomes an “unmatched bet” on Prophet Exchange.
Your $200 bet will float around on the site until a different bettor comes along who is willing to take your bet.
This new bettor would take the place of the original odds-poster for your bet and would have to pay out your earnings if you win.
In this example, whichever bettor is willing to accept your $200 bet is taking all of the risk.
Of course, this cuts the other way as well. That same bettor gets to keep your $200 if you lose.
Prophet Exchange is hosting all of these different bets but doesn’t take the risk of having to pay winning sides. That’s what makes it so different from a traditional sportsbook. When you place a bet, you’re playing against another person, rather than Prophet Exchange itself.
You can find better odds on exchanges
Using an exchange is certainly a different experience from placing a bet at a traditional online sportsbook.
Prophet Exchange is hoping to use its system to help bettors find the best odds possible.
Since the company isn’t taking on any risk, it doesn’t have to take vig into account like regular sportsbooks. Vig is essentially the amount that a sportsbook charges to take a bet, and it’s already factored into the odds when you’re betting.
Cutting that fat could help Ohio bettors find better odds and make more money from their bets when the exchange opens for business in the state.
The idea of a sports betting exchange might be a new phenomenon for most U.S. bettors, but they’ve actually become commonplace over in the UK.
For example, Betfair’s exchange has been up and running for 20 years, but its interface hasn’t changed much since the company’s debut.
New companies like Prophet Exchange will help add to the competition in the U.S. version of the exchange market. That could help make Prophet Exchange’s Ohio debut a notable one.
Prophet Exchange Ohio
Prophet Exchange is partnering with the Columbus Blue Jackets for their launch in the Buckeye State.
That partnership could lead to some signage for the company around the team’s stadium if you attend games in person.
Ohio sports betting officially begins on Jan. 1, 2023. Prophet Exchange is one of the many betting sites that are hoping to start taking bets on that day.
Opening its doors in New Jersey took the company four years. Now that things are finally up and running, that could help make a Jan. 1 launch date in Ohio more realistic.
Regardless of whether or not Prophet Exchange is taking bets from the start, the company will provide a unique way to bet on sports when it eventually makes its Ohio debut.
“Ohio is set to become one of the biggest sports betting markets in the nation, so we are delighted that bettors will be able to take advantage of our superior pricing in the new year,” says Prophet Exchange Co-Founder and COO Jake Benzaquen. “We’re also very excited to partner with the Columbus Blue Jackets, whose major league pedigree will bring greater attention to exchange betting, and help Ohio bettors make more money from their wagers than they would with traditional sportsbooks.”
