Betdaq Exchange to Close Oct. 21 After Matchbook Deal

Matchbook said on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 that it has completed its acquisition of Betdaq, and the exchange that carried the Betdaq name will stop taking bets a week later, on October 21. Betdaq’s licensed operator, Exchange Platform Solutions Limited (EPS), published a customer notice the same day that sets out what the deal covers: the Betdaq name and its web addresses, but not the customer accounts or the customer database.

iGaming Business described the transaction as bringing together two long-running exchange operators, at a time when peer-to-peer betting and prediction markets are gaining attention. Betdaq’s notice shows a deal that is narrower in practice than that description suggests, because the existing exchange is being wound down rather than merged into Matchbook’s platform.

This article covers what was announced, what the acquisition does and does not include, the closure timetable, the background of both brands, what it means for customers and for exchange liquidity, and what to watch next.

What Matchbook Announced

Matchbook, the peer-to-peer betting exchange run by Triplebet Limited, announced that it had completed the acquisition of Betdaq. iGaming Business reported that Matchbook sees the deal as a way to deepen its liquidity as it looks to capitalize on the growth of peer-to-peer betting, and that the company said the agreement “underlines its long-term commitment” to the sector.

Matchbook anticipates more liquidity for users, narrower spreads and bigger bets being matched at preferred prices. Chief executive Ronan McDonagh of Matchbook said the deal would strengthen the company’s goal of making exchanges the top pick for bettors, and he framed the logic this way: “bettors get a better deal when prices are made by a market rather than a margin.”

McDonagh also addressed Betdaq’s existing users. He said, “Our first priority through this transition is Betdaq’s customers.” Matchbook’s position, as reported, is that customers who move to its exchange should find better prices and deeper liquidity in a single combined pool than either exchange could offer alone.

None of the approved sources reviewed gives a purchase price or other financial terms. They also do not describe regulatory approvals, and the announcement as reported does not say how many Betdaq customers are expected to move.

EGR Intel reported the same day that the transaction comes five years after Betdaq’s founder, Dermot Desmond, bought the business back from Entain, which gives the sale a place in the brand’s ownership history.

What Matchbook Bought, and What It Did Not

The most detailed account of the structure comes from Betdaq’s own customer notice, which EPS published on October 14. It states that Triplebet Limited, trading as Matchbook, agreed to buy the Betdaq name and the web addresses linked to it. It adds that the purchase excludes the existing Betdaq accounts and the database of customer records.

That distinction matters for anyone holding a Betdaq account. The notice says existing accounts will not transfer automatically. A customer who wants to use Matchbook must register separately and meet Matchbook’s account verification requirements. EPS also says account information will not be passed to Matchbook unless a customer asks for a funds balance transfer.

The operating company is a separate matter. The notice says EPS, which holds the licence to run Betdaq, will end the service in every jurisdiction where it operates the brand, and it describes the closure as orderly. In other words, the Betdaq exchange as a trading venue is ending, while the name and web addresses move to Matchbook.

The notice leaves open what happens to the brand afterward. It says that once EPS completes the closure, Matchbook may relaunch the Betdaq name, but that any new sign-ups under a relaunched brand would be taken by Matchbook’s operator, Triplebet Limited. No relaunch date or plan is given in the sources reviewed.

The notice also says Triplebet Limited, which operates Matchbook, holds licences from the Gambling Commission and from the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. Matchbook’s own announcement, as quoted by iGaming Business, speaks about the combination of platforms, while Betdaq’s notice speaks about a brand purchase and a closure. The two descriptions differ in emphasis, and the notice is the more specific one on what customers actually receive.

The Betdaq Closure Timetable

EPS set a short timetable. From October 14, the operator stopped accepting new customer registrations and deposits, with one narrow exception: customers may add a new payment method and deposit up to £1 to help withdraw an outstanding balance. The exchange stays available for betting on eligible markets until October 21, 2026.

After betting ends, customers can still log in until November 4 to view statements and betting history and to withdraw available funds. From November 5, the Betdaq website is due to show a closure notice with contact details, and EPS says it will keep assisting anyone with a remaining balance and will arrange refunds where it can.

Other Betdaq products are being removed sooner. The notice says casino, virtuals, sportsbook and multiples products are being withdrawn as part of the closure, leaving the exchange as the only product open for betting during the final week.

Customers who use the exchange’s API or third-party trading tools face a hard stop. According to the notice, from October 21 there will be no active markets for them to trade on.

The table lays out the key dates.

The schedule gives customers a week of trading and then roughly two weeks of account access, which makes October 21 the practical deadline for anyone with open positions.

How Matchbook and Betdaq Got Here

Matchbook was first established in 2004, according to iGaming Business. In recent years the company has looked beyond conventional exchange betting. In 2024 it teamed up with EasyGroup, the business behind easyJet, to launch an exchange brand called EasyBet. The company has since moved into prediction markets as well, partnering around the 2026 World Cup with the tournament’s official predictions partner, ADI PredictStreet.

Betdaq’s recent history is shorter to describe from the sources reviewed. EGR Intel noted that Dermot Desmond, the business’s founder, bought it back from Entain five years ago, and Betdaq’s own notice identifies EPS as the licensed operator that has run the service until now. The sources do not describe how Betdaq’s trading volumes or customer numbers have changed.

The two brands also share a product idea. Betdaq’s help centre explains that a betting exchange lets bettors bet against one another rather than against a bookmaker, with the option to back an outcome or lay it. It says a key advantage is that customers can often get better odds than at a sportsbook, because the margin that fixed-odds bookmakers usually build in is not required.

McDonagh’s remark that the idea is winning links the deal to a wider trend. iGaming Business tied that trend largely to the United States, where Kalshi and Polymarket, both prediction market platforms, have drawn attention.

The timeline below summarizes the dated points from the sources.

What It Means for Customers and Exchange Liquidity

For Betdaq customers, the immediate effect is practical. Anyone with funds on the platform has until November 4 to withdraw, and EPS says customer funds are held in segregated bank accounts separate from its operating funds, in amounts it says are sufficient to cover outstanding balances. It targets a one-working-day turnaround on withdrawals, depending on verification checks, and says funds may then take a further three to five working days to reach a bank account.

The notice sets a £1 minimum withdrawal, no maximum and no withdrawal fees. It also says balances below £1 that remain unclaimed after closure may be donated to a suitable charity, pending legal and regulatory sign-off. Customers who miss the November 4 deadline can still contact Betdaq support about an outstanding balance.

Open bets follow a set of rules. Bets that can settle on or before October 21 settle normally. Bets matched before October 14 and due to settle between October 21 and November 30 will be honored and settled. Bets matched before October 14 on events that end after November 30 will be voided, with stakes returned to account balances. Bets placed from October 14 on markets due to settle after October 21 will be voided, and no commission or fees are charged on voided positions.

Unmatched bets are the customer’s responsibility to cancel. If they remain on markets due to settle after October 21, they are returned when the market is voided.

For the exchange market, liquidity is the key question. An exchange matches bettors against one another, so the size of the pool of available offers matters, and that is the point of Matchbook’s argument that combining the two brands will deepen its pool. Because Betdaq’s accounts and order book are not moving across, that benefit depends on Betdaq’s customers choosing to register with Matchbook, and the sources reviewed do not say how many will.

What the Announcement Does and Doesn’t Establish

It establishes, from Matchbook’s announcement and Betdaq’s own notice, that the acquisition was completed on October 14, that Triplebet Limited acquired the Betdaq brand name and domain names, and that EPS is closing the Betdaq service on a published schedule.

It does not establish that Betdaq’s customer base, trading data or order book have moved to Matchbook. The notice states the opposite for accounts and the customer database. Reports that describe the deal as a merger of two platforms should be read against that statement.

It does not establish a price. The sources reviewed give no financial terms, so any figure seen elsewhere is not supported by the material used for this article.

It does not confirm what will happen to the Betdaq brand after November. The notice says only that Matchbook may relaunch it, which is a possibility rather than a plan, and any relaunch would run through Matchbook and Triplebet Limited.

It also does not show whether any regulator reviewed the transaction. Neither the announcement as reported by iGaming Business nor the Betdaq notice discusses approvals, so none is described here. Finally, the claim that customers will find better prices in a combined pool is Matchbook’s expectation, reported by iGaming Business, and it has not been tested by the market yet.

Market Context: Exchanges Meet Prediction Markets

The deal arrives as exchange operators position themselves against the growth of prediction markets. McDonagh’s own comment names both, saying exchanges and prediction markets are taking peer-to-peer pricing to wider audiences globally. iGaming Business tied Matchbook’s strategy to that momentum, pointing to its prediction-market partnership around the 2026 World Cup.

One licensing scheme offers a point of comparison. The Malta Gaming Authority’s business-to-business licensing page lists Type 3 as covering pool betting, which includes betting exchanges, along with peer-to-peer games and other products. In a separate announcement on October 15, Hacksaw Group said the MGA had extended its supplier licence to that Type 3 category to cover peer-to-peer prediction market services.

That connection is limited. Betdaq’s notice lists Matchbook’s licensors as the Gambling Commission plus Ireland’s gambling regulator, not the MGA, and the Hacksaw announcement concerns a supplier rather than an exchange operator. Still, both stories show peer-to-peer products drawing commercial interest at the same moment.

The table sets the two developments side by side, using the facts each source states.

The comparison shows a shared theme, not a shared business: one company is consolidating an exchange, the other is selling technology to operators.

What to Watch Next

The first date is October 21, when Betdaq betting closes and the exchange stops offering markets. The next checkpoint is November 4, the last day customers can log in and withdraw. After that, the Betdaq website is due to show a closure notice from November 5.

The second item is the brand. The notice says Matchbook may relaunch Betdaq once the closure is complete. If it does, new customers would register with Matchbook and Triplebet Limited, and that would show whether the purchase was mainly about the name, the domains or both.

A third item is liquidity. Matchbook has said a combined pool should produce tighter spreads and larger matched bets. Any later statement from the company on customer registrations or matched volume would show whether former Betdaq users moved over.

Readers following the wider peer-to-peer story can also read GamingNewsNow’s coverage of Hacksaw Group’s B2B prediction markets platform and its MGA licence extension. GamingNewsNow will report further Matchbook or Betdaq announcements as they are published.

Sources

• iGaming Business — Matchbook completes acquisition of rival exchange Betdaq (October 14, 2026)
• BETDAQ Customer Support (Exchange Platform Solutions Limited) — Betdaq Closure FAQ (October 14, 2026)
• EGR Intel — Matchbook acquires rival betting exchange Betdaq to provide users with “deeper pool” of liquidity (October 14, 2026)
• BETDAQ Customer Support — Sports Betting Exchange: How Does a Betting Exchange Work?
• Malta Gaming Authority — B2B licences: game providers and back office
• Hacksaw Group — Hacksaw Group Launches B2B Prediction Markets Platform, Expanding Technology and Distribution Ecosystem (October 15, 2026)