At that time, they consisted of side betting parlors (much smaller than exchanges).

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Nasdaq is betting that regulators will ask banks that now trade these instruments over the phone to move them to exchanges where pricing will be instantly available to everyone.

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For instance, exchanges the gambling equivalent of online auction sites have lowered the costs of betting by cutting out bookmakers through matching gamblers offering and accepting bets on just about anything.

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Two other exchanges, www.tradesports.com and www.bluevex.de, are more like online betting sites.

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