Racing Commission

This page outlines the Racing Commission's definition of selected gambling terms. 

Betting exchange

A betting exchange is an online platform where customers bet against one another, including setting the odds and the size of the bet.

A betting exchange operates in a similar way to a bookmaker by accepting bets from customers, however traditional bookmakers set the odds and may also reduce the bet size. 

A betting exchange operator will only accept a bet where it is able to offset the risk of that  bet by matching it against requests for bets from other customers.

Novelty bet

A novelty bet is one that differs from the staple kinds of bets: one that may be new, innovative, unusual and sensible but is not offensive, distasteful, unsavoury or causes affront to normal public standards.

A novelty bet must be in respect of an outcome that is certain and one that can be independently verified.