Smarkets Commences Business in the Emerald Isle; Announces New St Katharine Docks Headquarters

LONDON, October 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Smarkets, backed by Deutsche Telekom's venture capital arm T-Venture and Passion Capital, confirms the operator has received a remote gaming license in the Republic of Ireland and plans to build a new headquarters in the City. 

Smarkets, one of the world's largest betting exchanges, has gained its first international expansion license in the Republic of Ireland.

After the recent changes to legislation within the Emerald Isle, Ireland counts itself amongst a growing number of European countries that offer regulated gaming markets for sports betting operators.

The company plans to establish a core market of Irish bettors that have previously been unable to take advantage of the firm's market-beating commission rates. Smarkets offers clients only 2% commission on profits from betting, instead of the 3-5% other market incumbents charge.

Jason Trost commented: "We are committed to offering the best value and transparency to our customers. Our expansion into the Republic of Ireland enables us to offer more customers better odds and a market low commission of 2%, which is drastically lower than other online competitors. We're looking forward to working with and getting to know this new customer base."

Smarkets has experienced phenomenal growth this year, reporting over 400% YOY with plans to add 75 additional staff to the company's London operations.

In order to facilitate the expansion, the company is to relocate to a new headquarters in the St Katharine Docks area of London. The space encompasses a top-floor 10,000 square foot bespoke space designed by leading London design firm, ThirdWay Interiors.  

"Our new headquarters serves as a cornerstone of our commitment to innovate the betting industry as a whole, and reaffirms our promise to contribute innovation and jobs to the UK economy," stated Mr Trost.  Smarkets indicated that the company plans to complete the move before the end of Q4 of 2015.

Notes to Editors 

Launched 2010, Smarkets is an industry-leading betting exchange that makes trading on events secure, efficient and exciting. Smarkets' award-winning technology facilitates market trading that enables users to set their own prices and bet against one another, right up until the end of an event. Forged from trading principles found within the financial markets, Smarkets brings intelligent betting to the forefront of an age-old industry. Headquartered in London, UK, the company has processed over £1 billion pounds worth of transactions for customers across the company's licensed and regulated markets.  

• Smarkets is a betting exchange that offers a secure and transparent platform for trading on sporting, political and current affairs events.
• The company was founded in 2008 by a team of finance and software engineering professionals and is backed by T-Venture and Passion Capital.
• Smarkets facilitates peer-to-peer market betting where users set their own odds and bet against each other not only before an event starts but right up until the end of any event.
• The platform offers unparalleled value that combines cutting edge technology with a focus on transparency and treating the customer fairly.