Matchbook has acquired rival betting exchange Betdaq for an undisclosed sum, combining two established peer-to-peer wagering platforms. The deal is intended to put the exchanges’ liquidity into one pool, allowing customers to seek better prices, tighter back-lay spreads and larger matched bets.
Ronan McDonagh, Matchbook’s chief executive, said the acquisition would give Betdaq customers clearer options during the transition and that a combined pool should offer deeper liquidity than either exchange could provide alone. Betting exchanges enable customers to wager against each other, with market participants determining prices rather than a traditional bookmaker setting them.
The existing Betdaq platform, operated by EPS Ltd, remains available for trading until Oct. 21. Customers can withdraw funds from their Betdaq accounts until Nov. 4, while Matchbook said balances remain protected under the regulatory obligations applying to both operators.
World Casino Directory reported that the transaction is understood to include Racecourse Data Technologies, a supplier of technical equipment and betting software to racecourse bookmakers. The same report said the acquisition leaves four major betting exchanges in the UK market: Matchbook, Betfair Exchange, Spreadex and Smarkets.
Betdaq was founded by Dermot Desmond in 2000 and was among the earliest betting exchanges globally. Desmond sold the company to Ladbrokes for €30 million, or £25 million, in 2013, then bought it back from Ladbrokes’ parent company Entain eight years later.
Matchbook was established in 2004 and is headquartered in Alderney. It operates through Triplebet Limited, which is licensed in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission. The company has recently widened its activity through easyBet, developed with easyGroup, and a white-label agreement with ADI PredictStreet signed in June for a prediction-market offering connected to the FIFA World Cup.
The acquisition comes as peer-to-peer betting and prediction markets have gained momentum internationally. Matchbook had recorded gradual gains in UK exchange market share even as sector-wide gross gambling yield declined in 2025-26, and the purchase gives it Betdaq’s established customer base and additional trading activity.
