Company:Smarkets

From HandWiki
Smarkets
TypePrivate
IndustryBetting and gaming
Founded2008
FounderJason Trost and Hunter Morris
HeadquartersLondon
Number of employees
100
Websitesmarkets.com

Smarkets is a United Kingdom -based betting exchange company founded in 2008. It has offices in London, Los Angeles , and Malta.[1][2]

History

Smarkets was founded in 2008 by Jason Trost and Hunter Morris as a peer-to-peer platform that allowed its users to bet on various sports and political markets.[3][4][5][6][7]

Smarkets became Queens Park Rangers F.C.'s front-of-shirt sponsor in June 2016,[8] and in January 2018, announced that it was working with The Jockey Club to sponsor 35 race days in the 2018 calendar.[9]

Smarkets was named the City A.M. Leap 100 Company of the Year for 2017,[10] and came second on the 2017 Sunday Times Tech Track 100 list.[11]

Salary culture

The company notably initiated a wiki-like salary policy; the employees could view salaries of all of their peers, including the company CEO, on an internal wiki page. The company has a self-set salary policy, which authorises employees to decide their own salary as often as every six months. This process is similar to a peer-review process carried out at designated times during the year.[12][13][14][15]

Political predication markets

During the 2020 US presidential election, Smarkets was one of a number of companies that carried political prediction markets that provided live odds during the campaign and while the vote was still being counted. The company's final Electoral College forecast on election day notably outperformed the leading poll-aggregation models.[16][17][18][19]

References

  1. "Kamala Harris is top pick for Biden's VP, betting giant predicts". https://finance.yahoo.com/video/biden-takes-lead-over-trump-184237836.html. 
  2. Higgins, Tucker (3 June 2020). "Biden blows past Trump in betting markets as protests over police brutality continue". https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/03/biden-takes-lead-over-trump-in-2020-presidential-race-betting-markets.html. 
  3. Donata Huggins (7 October 2010). "The surest bet for business success". City AM (London): p. 30. http://www.cityam.com/city-focus/the-surest-bet-business-success. 
  4. "Diary:Ken Backs out of Press gang". The Independent. 28 January 2011. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/diary/diary-ken-backs-out-of-press-gang-2196689.html. 
  5. Hasan, Mehdi (21 February 2011). "Gove's reverse Midas touch- everything he touches turns to dust". New Statesman: 16. http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2011/02/education-secretary-gove. Retrieved 14 March 2011. 
  6. Francesca Washtell (10 October 2016). "Donald fails to trump Hillary as Clinton storms ahead in betting polls". City AM (London). http://www.cityam.com/251084/donald-fails-trump-hillary-clinton-storms-ahead-betting. 
  7. Stirewalt, Chris (3 June 2020). "Violence abated". https://www.foxnews.com/politics/violence-abated. 
  8. "Smarkets confirmed as new shirt sponsors". 7 June 2016. http://www.qpr.co.uk/news/article/qpr-smarkets-loftus-road-3136317.aspx. 
  9. Chris Wright (5 January 2018). "Smarkets to sponsors 35 racing fixtures including at Aintree and Haydock". The Liverpool Echo. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/other-sport/horse-racing/horse-power-wild-west-wind-14117447. 
  10. "Smarkets wins 'The Leap 100 Company of the Year' at City A.M. Awards 2017". 10 November 2017. https://theleap.mishcon.com/smarkets-wins-leap-100-company-year-city-am-awards-2017/. 
  11. "Britain's Fastest-Growing Private Tech Companies Revealed" (PDF) (PDF). The Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  12. "The London company allowing employees to decide your pay". BBC News. 8 May 2018. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-london-44045911/the-london-company-allowing-employees-to-decide-your-pay. 
  13. "Large firms to justify 'fat-cat' pay". Sky News. 10 June 2018. https://news.sky.com/video/large-firms-to-justify-fat-cat-pay-114002. 
  14. Rosie Scammell (1 April 2018). "London firm revamps pay by letting staff set salaries". AFP. https://www.yahoo.com/news/london-firm-revamps-pay-letting-staff-set-salaries-031253635.html. 
  15. Sophie Jarvis (18 October 2017). "The founder of Smarkets is turning workplace hierarchies upside down". City A.M.. http://www.cityam.com/274078/founder-smarkets-turning-workplace-hierarchies-upside-down. 
  16. Jennifer Shanker (9 April 2020). "Smarkets: Coronavirus crisis boosting Trump's poll numbers, but that may not last". Yahoo News. https://news.yahoo.com/smarkets-coronavirus-crisis-boosting-trumps-poll-numbers-but-that-may-not-last-194232952.html. 
  17. "Biden back as favorite to win U.S. election: Smarkets". Reuters. 4 November 2020. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-odds-biden-idUSKBN27K1DJ. 
  18. Rey Mashayekhi (5 November 2020). "Trump and Biden's roller-coaster betting odds tell the tale of an unpredictable election". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2020/11/05/trump-biden-betting-odds-chances-markets-election-predictions/. 
  19. Javier E. David (22 November 2020). "Betting markets emerge as winners in messy aftermath of Election Day 2020, polling failures". Yahoo Finance. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/betting-markets-emerge-as-winners-in-messy-aftermath-of-election-day-2020-polling-failures-140241854.html. 

External links