Peer-to-peer betting operator Prophet Exchange has gone live in New Jersey, marking its US debut as the only betting exchange currently available in the country.
While Prophet professes to be the first available sports betting exchange in the US, Flutter Entertainment-owned Betfair previously had a short-lived stab at peer-to-peer betting before withdrawing its product from the New Jersey market back in 2020.
Prophet was founded in 2018 by CEO Dean Sisun and COO Jake Benzaquen, who have spent the past four years preparing for the operator’s first US launch, the firm said.As a peer-to-peer betting exchange, Prophet operates as an intermediary between bettors, meaning it takes on no financial risk related to taking bets.
The exchange can pass on this benefit to customers by offering better pricing, it said, which separates it from traditional sportsbooks which account for their own profit margins when setting odds.
The exchange will place no limits on how much can be wagered, it added, provided that customers can find a counterpart to match their bets.
A lack of liquidity is the major challenge faced by exchange operators, and was a major factor behind the aforementioned withdrawal of Betfair.
To begin with, Prophet will offer moneyline, spread and total market bets across NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and NCAA football and basketball games, and will continue to add new sports and markets as the platform scales, it said.
Prophet Exchange co-founder and CEO Dean Sisun: “This is only Prophet’s first major milestone, and we will not lose sight of our north star: becoming the mainstream sports betting platform in the United States.”
Prophet’s strategic partner Victor Cruz, former NFL wide receiver with the New York Giants, became the first customer to place a bet using the platform following its launch in New Jersey.
“Prophet Exchange is the sports betting platform of the future,” Cruz said. “It was great to place a bet directly with other users on the exchange without having to factor in lines that oddsmakers chose.
“I’m extremely proud to be a strategic partner of Prophet Exchange as they continue to innovate the sports betting world. Being a native of New Jersey, there’s no company I’d rather partner with. Of course, I had to bet on my Giants for my first wager.”
Prophet Exchange CEO Sisun added that launching the platform had been a “monumentally challenging” journey to date.“That being said, this is only Prophet’s first major milestone, and we will not lose sight of our north star: becoming the mainstream sports betting platform in the United States,” Sisun concluded.
Prophet co-founder Benzaquen added: “Being the first start-up and the first betting exchange in the US regulated market means the world to us and our team here in Hoboken, and globally.
“We cannot wait to show the public who we are and what our product offers to the market here in New Jersey and beyond. As we say here, to the moon.”