Jason Trost is the founder and CEO of both the Betting Exchange, Smarkets and the up-and-coming bookmaker, SBK and he joined me in Episode 62 to talk about his time running both companies and the many challenges in the industry right now.

Jason talks candidly throughout about his work first of all in setting up Smarkets, including taking on Betfair, the challenges of attracting customers and their goal to be different in terms of simplifying and improving the exchange experience.

He also explains their approach to commission rates and liquidity, including the setup and usage of their own trading arm to provide betting volume across the range of markets on Smarkets.

Not one to rest on his laurels, in 2019, Jason setup the bookmaker, SBK as a way of appealing to those who prefer a more traditional bookmaking setup, but with the advantage of better odds based on those available from the Smarkets exchange.

He explains the challenges of this including advertising restrictions and their quest to replicate many of the more exotic bets that many regular punters look for such as multiples, yankees & lucky 15s.

Jason also tackles the thorny topic of affordability limits and the various checks and balances forced upon all operators at the moment to comply with current rules. He has some strong opinions on why gambling is being singled out when other 'sin industries' are not and why banks should be more involved when it comes to these checks. He also rails against the double standards that has seen some bookmakers benefit from operating in offshore jurisdictions where betting is not legal and the unfair financial advantage that gives them elsewhere, including in regulated markets such as the UK.

I really enjoyed my chat with Jason as someone happy to speak openly and honestly about not only running both an exchange and a sportsbook, but also the various challenges facing the betting industry as a whole.

And for those of you on the fence, we do recommend checking out both Smarkets as a Betfair alternative and also SBK for the often best-value odds you can find in several markets.

Discover More:

• Learn more on the Smart Betting Club and how we help winning bettors at https://smartbettingclub.com/ 
• Smarkets: https://smarkets.com/
• SBK: https://getsbk.com/
• Contact Jason: [email protected]
• Podcast feedback - contact SBC on twitter @sbcinfo
• Read more about each SBC Podcast episode: https://smartbettingclub.com/the-smart-betting-club-podcast/