The Latest in P2P: Spread Betting

In a logical next step for the betting exchange industry, City Index and TradingSports have announced the launch of the Internet's first financial betting exchange.

The site, www.Binexx.com, should go live by week's end. For now, players can access the site and sign up to be notified when trading commences. City Index, a U.K.-based financial spread betting firm in the UK, will operate the site; TradingSports, a betting exchange operator, is providing the technology.

City Index was one of the first companies to bring financial spread betting to the Internet nearly five years ago. Owned by Intercapital plc., the group boasts tight user-controlled spreads and low commission on the new site.

Martin Slaney of City Index is hopeful that the new system will be hit with existing customers as well as a draw for exchange bettors who haven't tried spread betting yet.

"The launch of Binexx.com is an exciting venture for the market," Slaney said. "We are proud to launch the first binary betting exchange and the TradingSports platform was the optimum vehicle for our product."

The deal could open up more doors for TradingSports. The company has cut out a niche for itself with a white-label package that enables gambling site operators to offer exchange betting by tying into a central network rather than having to build the necessary liquidity to offer an independent exchange. Now TradingSports has made its first foray into the financial betting market.

The deal is also the first agreement between TradingSports and a licensee that's regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Joe Tighe, Chief Executive of TradingSports, said the deal is just the beginning of bringing the popularity of financial spread betting to the exchange marketplace.

"This deal marks a significant, ground-breaking step forward for TradingSports," Tighe said, "and will highlight the potential for the TradingSports betting exchange system in the financial betting arena."

He added, "It demonstrates the flexibility of our technology offering in that it can be adapted to a multiple of markets, be it sports, financial or otherwise."

Among the added features to the Binexx.com system is the ability of users to control the price, to close out of a position without the event occurring and to quickly see the maximum profit/loss of a proposed bet.

Founded in 1983, City Index offers a wide range of spread betting products across the global financial markets. These include major indices, currencies, commodities and individual equities quoted on leading exchanges, and their associated options. Shares Magazine recognized the company as "Best Spread Betting Service" in 2001 and 2002.

TradingSports was founded in August 2000 and has quickly become a leading providing of betting exchange software and systems for operators. The company is listed on the Alternative Investment Market on the London Stock Exchange, where it has traded since May 2003.