Sportsbook & Platform Types
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Traditional Sportsbooks
The sportsbooks you're most familiar with — FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, theScore Bet — are traditional fixed-odds books. Here's how they work:
- The book sets the odds and acts as your counterparty. You bet against the book, not against other bettors.
- The book profits from the vig — the built-in margin in every set of odds.
- Odds can change at any time as the book adjusts to betting volume, injury news, and market signals.
- They offer promotions (bonus bets, boosts, insurance) as customer acquisition tools.
Traditional books are where sign-up offers live. For matched betting, you use a traditional book for the promo side of every bet.
Betting Exchanges
A betting exchange is a peer-to-peer market: bettors trade odds with each other rather than betting against a book. The exchange earns a commission (usually 2–5%) on winning bets instead of charging vig on every market.
Exchanges offer two types of orders:
Back bet
Bet on something to happen — identical to a standard sportsbook bet.
Lay bet
Bet against something happening. You become the bookmaker — you accept someone else's back bet. If the outcome doesn't happen, you collect their stake. If it does happen, you pay their winnings.
Lay bets are the primary hedging tool in UK matched betting, where Betfair is the dominant exchange. They're cleaner than backing the opposite side at a second book because there's no need for a second promo offer.
True exchanges with deep liquidity (Betfair, Smarkets) are not available to US bettors in most states. The US matched betting approach uses two traditional books instead.
US Exchange-Style Options
Several US platforms operate with exchange-like mechanics — peer-to-peer pricing, tighter spreads, lower or no vig. Liquidity is lower than at traditional books, but pricing can be better for hedging once you've exhausted sign-up offers.
Sporttrade
Sports exchangeLicensed in several US states. Contracts priced like stocks — buy or sell at market price. No vig; spreads between buy and sell are the cost.
ProphetX
Peer-to-peer exchangeCompetitive pricing. Users post odds and match with each other. Smaller user base means thinner liquidity on less popular games.
Novig
No-vig exchangeCommission-free model. Removes vig from both sides, passing fair odds to users. Useful for hedging at tighter prices.
Kalshi
Event contracts (CFTC-regulated)Regulated by the CFTC, not a state gaming commission. Offers binary contracts on sports outcomes. More liquidity on popular events.
Polymarket
Prediction market (crypto)Crypto-settled. Available to US users in many states as it operates outside traditional gaming regulation. High liquidity on major events.
For beginners: start with two traditional sportsbooks. Move to exchange-style platforms when you want tighter pricing on recurring promo hedges or when you've exhausted sign-up offers at the major books.
Regulation Types
Regulated sportsbooks
Licensed by a US state gaming commission. Consumer protections apply: they must hold funds in segregated accounts, comply with payout requirements, and submit to regulatory oversight. FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, theScore Bet are all regulated. Use only these for matched betting.
Sweepstakes platforms
Legal in most US states (including states where real-money betting is prohibited) because they use virtual currency rather than real money. You play with "Gold Coins" and can convert "Sweepstakes Coins" winnings to prizes or gift cards. The promo structure exists, but conversion mechanics differ. Not covered in depth here, as the primary PromoEdge focus is real-money sports betting.
Offshore books — not recommended
Offshore books (Bovada, MyBookie, etc.) operate without a US gaming license. They are not illegal for you to use as a bettor in most states, but they carry significant risk:
- No regulatory recourse if the book refuses to pay or freezes your account
- Deposits made via crypto or wire have no chargeback protection
- Several offshore books have shut down with customer funds unreturned
- Some promos are structured to be very difficult to convert (high playthrough requirements)
For matched betting — where you're depositing real capital and relying on the book to pay out — offshore books introduce counterparty risk that makes the strategy unreliable. Stick to regulated books.
Bettor-Friendly vs. Limiting-Prone Books
Books vary in how quickly they restrict profitable accounts. Some are known to be relatively slow to limit; others move quickly. General patterns to be aware of:
- Large established books tend to have more tolerance for promo activity because their overall customer volume is higher. A pattern that looks unusual at a small book may be unremarkable at a major one.
- Books with high acquisition budgets (large promos, frequent reload offers) tend to prioritize customer growth over immediate profit extraction — they may limit later.
- Books that limit quickly are usually ones where a small number of bettors move meaningful percentages of their handle. Niche or newer books have less volume to absorb sharp action.
The best practice is to research current community experience before prioritizing a book. Reputation changes — a book that was bettor-friendly two years ago may limit faster today. Don't rely solely on this guide for current intelligence; use active communities for up-to-date reports.