Matchbook CEO says Betdaq acquisition deepens exchange liquidity as UK exchange yield nears half of 2016/17 level

Matchbook's acquisition of Betdaq, announced last week, has narrowed the field of recognisable UK and Ireland betting exchanges to Matchbook, Betfair Exchange, Smarkets and Spreadex. Two weeks before the announcement, Matchbook CEO Ronan McDonagh spoke to SBC News at the SBC Summit in Lisbon about the company's prospects.

McDonagh said there are very few peer-to-peer licences in the UK and that the market is not as crowded as sportsbooks, which he described as a "massive advantage". The sector itself is shrinking, however. UK exchange gross gambling yield fell again in 2025/26 to £92.66m, compared with £171.53m in 2016/17, almost half in a decade. McDonagh called the market and its customers "a bit old-fashioned" but said Matchbook's market share has risen even as the overall market contracts. He argued that the Betdaq deal "deepens the pool at the heart of everything we build".

The acquisition also increases Matchbook's on-course presence. Betdaq had the largest share of on-course bookmakers across the UK and Ireland that connect to an exchange for pricing information and hedging, and that business will transfer to Matchbook. McDonagh said bookmakers on the track already feed volume to Matchbook.

The deal also has an international dimension. Betdaq accepted players from 26 countries, including Argentina, Mexico, Croatia and Costa Rica. Matchbook operates in the UK and Ireland, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, and is due to launch in the US soon to pursue the prediction markets boom. McDonagh said the company has reskinned its product and applied for a CFTC licence for that market.

Over the summer, Matchbook gained visibility through a white-label arrangement with ADI Predictstreet, the official prediction market partner of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Its LED advertising during Scotland's opening match against Haiti generated, according to McDonagh, more page views than Grand National Day. He said the company is unlikely to market at that level again, but that such exposure helps it move beyond its underdog status. He added that being UK-only would have been challenging, whereas a wider footprint allows more diverse growth.

The deal carries personal weight for McDonagh, who worked as a Senior Trader at Betdaq from 2005 to 2014. In a LinkedIn post he said the experience gained there remains valuable, because anyone who understands exchanges understands the wider gambling world.