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Peer-to-peer betting · For licensed operatorsBetting Exchange Software Development
Capermint builds betting exchange software for licensed operators in the US, Canada and other regulated markets: a back and lay matching engine, liability wallet, commission engine, trader API, risk controls and back office. Typical ranges are $60K–$180K (USD) for a custom exchange and $200K–$500K+ for a multi-vertical platform; the schedule is fixed at scoping. You hold the license.
What is betting exchange software?
Betting exchange software is the platform that lets customers bet against each other instead of against a bookmaker. One customer backs an outcome to happen, another lays it (bets that it will not happen), and the exchange matches the two at an agreed price. The operator takes no position on the result and earns a commission, usually on each customer's net winnings per market.
So the software differs from a sportsbook's: an exchange runs an order book for every market, matches orders fairly and quickly, holds each customer's liability, settles both sides of every matched bet and charges commission. Its biggest commercial risk is thin liquidity, not trading losses.
| Item | Capermint betting exchange development |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Licensed or applying exchange operators, sportsbooks adding exchange markets, racing and sports betting brands, and startups preparing a license application |
| Delivery models | Custom exchange, exchange module on your existing sportsbook or PAM, multi-vertical platform, or engineers embedded in your team |
| Typical price (USD) | $60K–$180K custom exchange or exchange module; $40K–$120K free-to-play exchange; $200K–$500K+ multi-vertical. Final quote after a scoping call |
| Markets | US states and Canada first, plus the UK, EU, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and APAC where exchange betting is permitted; free-to-play only for India |
| Engagement | Fixed-scope project, dedicated team (monthly), or co-development and staff augmentation |
Betting exchange vs sportsbook vs prediction market
All three let people stake on sports outcomes, but they run on different engines, revenue models and licenses. Choose the model first; it settles most build decisions.
| Factor | Betting exchange | Sportsbook | Prediction market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other side of the bet | Another customer | The operator | Another trader or an automated market maker |
| Who sets prices | Customers' back and lay orders at decimal odds | Operator's traders or odds feed, with a margin | Traders' orders on contracts priced between $0 and $1 |
| Operator revenue | Commission on net winnings | Margin (hold) on bets | Trading or settlement fees |
| Main risk | Liquidity and integrity | Trading risk on every market | Liquidity and market integrity |
| Core engine | Back and lay order book per market | Bet engine, pricing and risk tools | Order book or AMM, plus contract settlement |
| Typical regulation | Gambling license that permits exchange betting | State, provincial or national betting license | In the US, CFTC-regulated venues, with state authority contested in court |
If you want to price markets and run your own book, see sportsbook platform development or a faster white label sportsbook. For event contracts priced between $0 and $1, see prediction market platform development. A hybrid is also possible: an exchange for liquid markets and a sportsbook for the long tail, on one wallet and account.
How a betting exchange works: back, lay, match, settle
Every market, such as the winner of an NFL game or a Premier League match, has its own order book. The matching engine pairs back and lay offers by price, then by time.
Order placed
A customer backs Team A at 3.0 for $100, or lays it against a backer's $100 stake. A backer risks the stake; a layer's liability is the stake times the price minus one, here $200.
Matching
The order matches against the most favorable opposite price, oldest first at each price level. It can be fully matched, partly matched or left in the book.
In-play controls
In-play markets apply a bet delay and suspend after price-moving incidents such as goals or red cards; unmatched orders are cancelled or kept according to your rules.
Settlement and commission
On the confirmed result, both sides settle, void and dead-heat rules apply, and commission is charged on each customer's net winnings in that market.
| Worked example | Backer | Layer |
|---|---|---|
| Funds held | $100 stake | $200 liability |
| If Team A wins | Wins $200, pays $6 commission, nets $194 | Loses $200 |
| If Team A does not win | Loses $100 | Wins $100, pays $3 commission, nets $97 |
Illustrative 3% commission rate. Operators set their own rates within their license rules.
What we build into your betting exchange
The proposal lists which modules are custom code, which are third-party and which you contract yourself.
Matching engine and order book
In-memory order books with price-time priority, partial matching, cancel and amend, in-play keep-or-cancel rules, and an event log that replays every match for audits.
Bet slip and price ladder
Web, PWA, iOS and Android interfaces with prices and depth, one-click betting, a ladder view for active traders and live profit and loss per selection.
Liability wallet and ledger
Liability held per order and released on match, cancel or settlement, exposure netted within a market, and a double-entry ledger.
Commission engine
Commission on net market winnings, with configurable base rates, volume or tier discounts and reporting by market and segment.
Market management and settlement
Markets created from your licensed sports data, rules templates, suspension, in-play delay, results-based settlement and audited resettlement.
Trader API and market-maker tools
A REST and streaming API for professional traders, market-maker accounts with limits you control, and tools to seed new markets within your license rules.
Risk and surveillance
Alerts for linked accounts, self-matching, wash trading and unusual in-play activity, with case management and integrity reports.
PAM, KYC, payments and geolocation
Accounts, age and identity checks, limits, self-exclusion, your payment providers and geolocation where required, or integration with your existing PAM.
Back office and reporting
Finance, trading and compliance dashboards, commission statements, regulator reports and BI exports.
Liquidity: the problem your software must help solve
An exchange is only useful when orders get matched at fair prices. Customers who find empty order books and unmatched bets go back to a sportsbook. Software cannot create demand, but it can make liquidity easier to build:
- Launch on the sports and leagues your customers bet on most, so volume is not spread thin.
- Give professional traders and market makers a stable API and clear commission terms.
- Offer commission discounts to customers whose posted prices get matched, where your license allows.
- Run a hybrid model that offers a sportsbook price when an order is not matched.
Plan liquidity with your license: rules on market makers, operator trading and shared liquidity differ by jurisdiction. In the US, the federal Wire Act restricts sending sports wagers across state lines, so state-licensed exchanges have generally matched bettors within one state. We build the controls; your counsel confirms what is allowed. This is general information, not legal advice.
Architecture and tech stack
Matching must be deterministic: the same orders in the same sequence always produce the same matches, so every result can be replayed and audited. We design for that first, then for peak load on NFL Sundays, major soccer fixtures and big race meetings.
| Layer | What we use or integrate |
|---|---|
| Matching engine | In-memory order books in Go, Java or Rust, one sequenced stream per market, with snapshots and an append-only event log |
| Data and events | Kafka event stream, PostgreSQL double-entry ledger with idempotent transactions, Redis price cache |
| Real-time and front end | WebSocket price updates; React and Next.js for web and PWA; React Native, Flutter, Swift or Kotlin for apps |
| Sports data | Licensed data and results providers that you contract |
| Infrastructure | AWS or GCP with Docker and Kubernetes, hosted where your regulator requires |
Already running a platform and short of engineers? You can hire sportsbook API integration engineers to work inside your codebase.
Betting exchange development cost and timeline
Typical ranges for the software build in USD, based on Capermint's published iGaming price bands; the free-to-play row uses our typical range for mid-scope multiplayer games. The final quote follows a scoping call and itemizes every module and integration.
| Scope | What it covers | Typical range (USD) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange module | Matching engine, bet slip, commission and settlement on your existing PAM, wallet and sportsbook; quoted within the custom band, depending on what you reuse | $60K–$180K | Set at scoping |
| Free-to-play exchange | Virtual-coin back and lay markets where coins cannot be bought, cashed out or converted to money, for markets where real-money betting is not allowed | $40K–$120K | Set at scoping |
| Custom betting exchange | Real-money exchange with engine, wallet, commission, trader API, risk tools, PAM, KYC, payments, geolocation, back office, web and apps | $60K–$180K | Set at scoping (see note) |
| Multi-vertical platform | Exchange plus sportsbook or casino on one wallet, with multi-jurisdiction controls | $200K–$500K+ | Phased; set at scoping |
Exchange schedules are fixed in the scoping proposal. For reference only, Capermint's published poker platform timelines are 60–90 days to an MVP and 4–6 months for a full multi-platform build; an exchange adds a matching engine, liability ledger and integrity tooling, and licensing and provider contracts often take longer than the build.
What moves the price
- Number of sports and markets, and in-play betting at launch
- Peak order volume and matching performance targets
- Native apps and a trader ladder view in addition to web
- A public trading API and market-maker tooling
- Number of jurisdictions and hybrid sportsbook routing
Budget separately for license fees, sports data, KYC, geolocation, payments, hosting, lab testing and liquidity incentives. For a wider business budget, read how to start a sportsbook business.
How we build your betting exchange
Discovery and market model
We confirm jurisdictions, license status, sports, liquidity plan and launch date, then return the scope, IP schedule and an itemized estimate.
Exchange rules and design
Market rules, commission model, in-play rules and the ladder and bet slip UX are agreed with your trading and compliance leads.
Engine and ledger first
The matching engine, liability wallet and ledger are built and tested with order replays before any player interface is connected.
Integrations and controls
Sports data, PAM, payments, KYC and geolocation are connected, and surveillance, limits and regulator reports configured per jurisdiction.
Testing and lab readiness
Determinism, settlement, load and security testing, plus the documentation your lab or regulator asks for.
Launch and liquidity ramp
Soft launch on focus markets, monitoring and an agreed support plan as volume grows.
Markets, licensing and compliance
Our role: Capermint is a software development company. We do not operate exchanges, hold or sublicense gaming licenses, or trade on the platforms we build. Operators are responsible for licensing; we build to the technical requirements of the target jurisdiction. This section is general information, not legal advice; confirm your plan with gaming counsel.
United States
Sports betting is legal in most states through state licensing, but state-licensed exchange wagering has been rare. Sporttrade launched an exchange in New Jersey in 2022 and later held licenses in Colorado, Iowa, Arizona and Virginia, then announced its exit from state-licensed sports betting in May 2026 while it seeks CFTC approval. Some US platforms now offer sports event contracts as CFTC-regulated designated contract markets (DCMs), and whether states can regulate those contracts is disputed: the Third Circuit sided with federal preemption in April 2026, while the Ninth Circuit (August 2026) and the Sixth Circuit (September 25, 2026) held that state gambling laws can apply. More appeals are pending. Separately, the federal Wire Act restricts sending sports wagers across state lines, so state-licensed exchanges have generally matched bettors within one state.
Canada and Ontario
Ontario's regulated iGaming market launched on April 4, 2022. Operators register with the AGCO, which also registers gaming-related suppliers, and iGaming Ontario signs operating agreements with registered operators. The AGCO's sport and event betting standards for casino operators list betting exchange products and exchange bets among the products they cover; confirm with the AGCO and iGaming Ontario how an online exchange product would be approved before you budget. A 2024 Order in Council set out a model for Ontario players to join peer-to-peer games and sports betting with players outside Canada through separate international sites. Other provinces set their own rules.
United Kingdom
In Great Britain, a betting exchange needs the Gambling Commission's remote betting intermediary operating licence, which covers bringing betting parties together online without taking liability for their bets. New Commission fees took effect on October 1, 2026.
India and other markets
India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 prohibits online money games, and its rules came into force on May 1, 2026, so for India we build only free-to-play, social and e-sports formats in which users stake no money, and no coins or tokens that can be bought or converted to money. The EU, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and APAC each decide whether peer-to-peer betting is allowed; we map each target market's technical requirements during discovery.
Testing and certification: we build exchange platforms ready for independent testing by accredited labs such as GLI, iTech Labs or BMM, against standards such as GLI-33 (Event Wagering Systems, v1.1). Certification is obtained by the operator or platform owner; Capermint holds no GLI, iTech Labs or BMM certificate.
Why build your exchange with Capermint
We are a development studio that builds and integrates; you run the exchange and hold the license.
Building since 2014
Capermint Technologies Pvt Ltd was founded in Ahmedabad by Vivek Shah. Capermint-reported: 650+ customers worldwide and over 200 specialists. About Capermint
Published iGaming work
See the iGaming projects Capermint has published. Browse the iGaming portfolio
Sportsbooks, racing and prediction markets
We also build sportsbooks, horse racing betting apps and prediction markets, so a hybrid or racing exchange can share one wallet and account. We schedule calls in US and Canadian business hours.
Betting exchange software FAQ
How is a betting exchange different from a sportsbook?
A sportsbook sets the odds, builds a margin into them and takes the other side of every bet, so it carries trading risk. A betting exchange lets customers set prices and bet against each other; the operator matches bets and charges commission. It depends on liquidity and needs an order book and matching engine rather than a pricing and risk engine.
How does a betting exchange make money?
Mainly through commission on each customer's net winnings in a market, so a customer who loses on that market pays no commission on it. Operators set the base rate and can offer discounts by volume or tier. Because commission per bet is small, revenue depends on matched volume, which is why liquidity planning matters as much as the software.
How much does it cost to build a betting exchange?
With Capermint, typical ranges are $60K–$180K (USD) for a custom real-money betting exchange or an exchange module added to your existing platform, and $200K–$500K+ for a multi-vertical platform that adds a sportsbook or casino on one wallet. A free-to-play exchange typically falls in the $40K–$120K range. License, data, KYC, payments, hosting and lab fees are separate, and the final quote follows a scoping call.
How long does it take to develop a betting exchange?
The schedule is fixed in the scoping proposal, because it depends on sports, in-play scope, apps and integrations. For reference only, Capermint's published poker platform timelines are 60–90 days to an MVP and 4–6 months for a full multi-platform build. An exchange MVP usually starts with pre-match markets on a few sports, and licensing, data contracts and payment approvals often take longer than the build.
How do you get liquidity on a new betting exchange?
Software alone cannot create liquidity, but it can make liquidity easier to build. Common approaches are launching on a few popular sports, giving professional traders and market makers a reliable API, offering commission discounts for posting prices that get matched, and running a hybrid model that offers a sportsbook price when a bet is not matched. Your counsel confirms which of these your license allows.
Are betting exchanges legal in the United States?
Only in limited forms. Sports betting is licensed state by state, and state-licensed exchange wagering has been rare: Sporttrade, which held exchange licenses in five states, announced its exit from state-licensed betting in May 2026. Some US platforms now offer sports event contracts as CFTC-regulated exchanges, but federal appeals courts split in 2026 on whether states can regulate them. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm your plan with gaming counsel.
What license does a betting exchange need in the UK or Ontario?
In Great Britain, an exchange needs the Gambling Commission's remote betting intermediary operating licence, which covers bringing betting parties together online where the operator has no liability for their bets. In Ontario, operators register with the AGCO and sign an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario; the AGCO's sport and event betting standards for casino operators list betting exchange products, so confirm the approval route for an online exchange with both bodies. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a betting exchange the same as a prediction market?
No, although both match customers against each other. A betting exchange uses back and lay bets at decimal odds and runs under gambling licenses. A prediction market trades event contracts priced between $0 and $1, and in the US runs on CFTC-regulated exchanges whose authority over sports contracts is contested in court. The engines are similar, but market rules, settlement, licensing and customer wording differ.
Can you build a betting exchange for India?
Not a real-money one. India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 prohibits online money games, and its rules came into force on May 1, 2026. For India we build only free-to-play, social and e-sports formats, such as virtual-coin prediction games where no money is staked and coins cannot be bought, cashed out or converted to money. This is general information, not legal advice; review the design with your counsel.
Does Capermint operate the exchange, hold the license or provide liquidity?
No. Capermint is a software development company founded in 2014 in Ahmedabad, India. We design, build, integrate and support betting exchange software. We do not operate exchanges, hold or sublicense gaming licenses, or trade on the platforms we build. Operators are responsible for licensing and liquidity, and we build to the technical requirements of the target jurisdiction.
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