(Tim Heitman/USA TODAY)
Last August, Prophet Exchange made history when it launched the nation’s first peer-to-peer sports betting exchange in New Jersey.
After spending the last several months building out the exchange wagering concept, Prophet has named SharpRank as the company’s official independent evaluator. The partnership marks the first time a U.S. sports betting exchange has appointed an external auditor.
SharpRank is generally viewed as one of the industry leaders in conducting independent audits, providing customers with proprietary performance data and audits of sports wagering content. In selecting SharpRank as the company’s official rating agency, Prophet believes it is providing additional transparency to users.
“After our successful debut in 2022, we are thrilled to partner with SharpRank as our official rating agency,” Prophet Exchange CEO Dean Sisun said in a statement. “We are a company built on transparency and integrity, so this was a hand-in-glove partnership.”
Prophet allows users to set prices or place bets on prices already set by other users by acting as an intermediary between two users. Prophet does not add a margin or vig to its odds and does not set limits on individual wagers.
During the NFL season, Prophet users have seen returns of 10-20% higher than those of the leading traditional sportsbooks in New Jersey, the company said.
Before the start of the 2022 NFL regular season, former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz became the first bettor on a U.S. sports betting exchange nationwide. When the Giants faced the Titans in Week 1, Cruz made two bets: a spread wager on the Giants at +5.5 (+100) and a moneyline bet on his former team at +230. The Giants prevailed 21-20 when Titans kicker Randy Bullock missed a 47-yard field goal with no time left, making Cruz a winner.
“Being a native of New Jersey, there’s no company I’d rather partner with,” Cruz said in a statement. “Of course, I had to bet on my Giants for my first wager.”
More than other state in the nation, New Jersey has embraced the exchange wagering concept. Shortly after Prophet made its debut last summer, Sporttrade, another exchange wagering platform, chose the Garden State as the jurisdiction for its U.S. launch. A third exchange wagering platform, Mojo, also selected New Jersey as the state for its U.S. debut last year. Mojo allows users to trade on the career values of NFL players and college quarterbacks, and it accepted three separate six-figure deposits last month.
Both Prophet and SharpRank are aligned in a “consumer-first approach,” placing a premium on customer protection, according to Chris Adams, founder and CEO of SharpRank. While many companies emphasize transparency and integrity, independent evaluators such as SharpRank can assist its partners in assessing market conditions and legislative processes that may be thorny in some states.
“Quantity means nothing to SharpRank if it does not screen through the quality filter and becoming Prophet’s independent evaluator checks both boxes,” said Adams, in a statement.
The Prophet Exchange platform is available on iOS, Android, and desktop versions in New Jersey.
Photo: Tim Heitman/USA TODAY