An international betting exchange, 100 per cent backed by financier Mr Dermot Desmond and based in the IFSC, will go live this morning, enabling individuals to match bets with each other over the internet.

Betdaq will offer its members - most likely individuals from the upper end of the sports betting community - a bet brokerage service where there will be no limits on the size of any order. The company's technology will match individual parties together rather than offering its own odds, according to Betdaq's communications director, Mr Rob Hartnett, previously with Ladbrokes and Tote. "We're not a bookmaker and are not therefore subject to betting duty," he said.

He added that the firm had undertaken extensive legal discussions and believed there were no problems.

Because the company is not subject to regulation from betting authorities or financial authorities it has decided to lodge a $10 million (€11.2 million) bond with a bank as a guarantee to customers.

Although the size of the initial investment in Betdaq has not been disclosed, it is understood that it will run into millions of pounds as the company seeks to market its brand through advertising.

Betdaq has already signed a deal to sponsor a weekend of racing at Ascot from September 28th to 30th. The exchange will generate revenue by taking a 1 per cent cut from every transaction completed and therefore will not take on the same risk as a bookmaker. The minimum bet will be $500 to make a new offer, or $100 to accept an existing one.

Mr Aidan Donnelly, managing director of Betdaq and former head of Xerox Ireland, said the exchange would be aimed at consumers in the Republic, Britain and the Far East, and would be accessible via mobile phones, electronic organisers and PCs via the Internet.