P2P (sometimes player to player, person to person or peer to peer) betting is a very modern form of betting made much more viable and easier to conduct through online sports betting sites. It also threatens the lifespan of many on track and off track bookmakers and online betting sites, who may see their profession decline as punters look to outsmart their own.

P2P betting is seen by many as the natural evolution for sports betting and many gamblers are beginning to take full advantage of passionate fans betting with their hearts. So how should P2P betting affect you?

Simply, if there are better odds being presented at a P2P online betting site, go for it. Bookmakers might be scrupulous in setting their odds with precision and making sure their book adds up to more than 100%, but patriotic sports fans are not professional bookmakers.

Take the Euro 2004 final as an example. A Portugal supporter, very confident that his team will prevail, visits a P2P betting exchange in order to seek out someone who is prepared to bet on Greece. They will already have posted odds at which they are prepared to bet, and should the Portuguese supporter deem these reasonable and take them up, the bet is on. There is no intermediary involved, save the exchange itself, which takes a fair clip of the money won by the bet’s victor.

The emergence of P2P betting has threatened online betting sites, but simultaneously presented them with the opportunity to complement their current services with it. Another benefit for online betting sites is reduced expenses. Instead of having to handle transactions on their own or leased servers, they can provide branded services to generate commissions and establish relationships.

The best place to look is currently the most popular P2P betting site of them all, Gamebookers.com, which has vowed to fight any legal action taken by online betting sites, as there will undoubtedly be a wider range of odds on offer for a higher number of sporting events. If the odds you see are not juicy enough, simply nominate your own and wait for someone to accept.

The eradication of the intermediary of P2P betting presents a major problem for online betting sites – the present intermediaries – who are continually assessing their legal options. P2P betting sites, which seem to have escaped the clutches of the US Wire Act, have benefited from the legalisation of English sports betting online and are acquiring licences by the day, are set to revolutionise betting online completely – just as fixed odds modified the betting scene in the late 19th century, and spread betting in the 1940s.