Betfair

Betfair is important it is for UK horse racing. Seems that everyone uses them as there are no real viable alternatives in the market.

Hello all, my experiences with betfair isn't very good. About few year ago I set limits on the amount I could lose on betfair casino, arcade and bingo. I set limits of £25 a week losses(or so I thought), on each of the casino bingo and arcade. When I log in I am able to view these loss limits. However I was able to spend much more than this on the arcade.

Hi pillpop, how much you spend? Did you contacted to betfair support?

Hi pillpop, how much you spend? Did you contacted to betfair support?
Hello BB, it was about £200, I'm still waiting for the answer.

Betfair is respectable bookmaker, I think they will slove thi sproblem.

A lot has improved BUT they still need to improve their app - especially the "cash out' option. The amount of times a bet has been suspended for no reason, this mean the customer is unable to cash out - just not good enough. Despite the frustration (at times), in my opinion, betfair do have one of the best apps out there at the moment. Improve on the app and you become a serious contender for the best gambling app. I think they could be better.

Hi miller3, for me every thnig works good, I can cash out.

Hi all, I use Betfair every day of the year but have yet to see any sign of a sportsbook (as opposed to exchange markets). This isn't the first time I've heard about it but never thought to ask before. How can I have missed it? Where can I find it? Very confused!

Hi, what does everyone think if the navigation on the new "improved" Betfair site?

When you win a Lay bet on Betfair, do you win the stake and the liability or just the stake?

When laying a bet you are in effect offering a price on the event just like a bookmaker does and you are looking for someone or several people to take the bet you are offering.If 1000 people offered a lay bet on a team and there were only 200 takers then only the 200 layers who offered the best prices would be matched and the other 800 would do no business.That is why you have to vary your odds,the aim is to get your offering matched at the lowest possible price and it is VERY difficult to do even if you are conversant with odds and percentages.you may well be better off (in a football match)backing team A and the draw with the bookmakers rather than laying team B on an exchange especially when the commision rate is taken into account.I dabbled a few years back but found i was making far more for the operators (the commision) than for myself. do not be lured by "free offers" they are rarely as good as they seem so check all the terms and conditions.

I am 19 and about to sign up for betfair (betting app) and I have been told that even when you put your age as 19, the bookmakers will still do age checks and if they can't verify them, your account is suspended.

It's normal thing. Every bookmaker have security and you just need to provide that you are really 19 year old

Wetherby provides a Betfair first

There was a racing first at Wetherby this week, as for the first time ever three horses were beaten on Betfair’s exchange at odds of 1.01, while the surprise winner Pookie Pekan was an in running 1,000-1 shot.

The event became possible when Northern Girl, who was at the time leading the race fell and inadvertently obstructed Dulce Panem, subsequently the path was cleared for a surprise winner in the race.

Betfair’s Barry Orr said: “This is a first in our 18-year history. We’ve had plenty of races where two horses have traded at the basement price of 1.01 and got beaten but never three in one race. And then to see a 1,000 [999-1] winner is nothing short of amazing.

“There was plenty traded at 1.01 and a tenner at 1,000 on the winner. It’s the glorious uncertainty of racing taken to an extreme on what we thought was a quiet Tuesday.”

Recalling previous winners that had traded at 1,000, Orr added: “Who can forget AP McCoy remounting Family Business back in 2002 to win having traded at 1,000 or Western Warhorse in the 2014 Arkle, matched at the same price?”

Winning trainer and owner Stuart Coltherd also commented: “We were lucky, but we deserved a bit of luck as it has been that sort of season for us. I’ve always liked this horse but I’ve been waiting for better ground for him.”

sbcnews.co.uk/sportsbook...-provides-betfair-first/

Locked In! Betfair releases ‘Auto Cash Out’ for Exchange players

Betfair has released its new ‘Auto Cash Out’ functionality, which will be made available for its UK and Ireland Exchange customers.

The new cash out feature allows players to ‘lock-in a profit’ automatically on Betfair Exchange’s live markets.

Launching the new feature, Betfair customers will now be allowed to take an ‘active cash out position’ on Exchange markets.

The feature will allow Betfair players to set their own cash out profit level, locking in a guaranteed return for their placed wager, should the customer choose the Auto Cash Out function.




Detailing the launch of Auto Cash Out, Betfair development teams stated that they wanted to bring flexibility for its Exchange customers, combined with a new engaging dynamic in industry cash out functionalities.

“Betfair consistently strives to bring products to our customers that improve their experience and give them as much control as possible over their bets.” Betfair detailed to SBC

“Auto Cash Out allows customers to choose the profit they’d like to make ahead of the event and we ensure their bet is ‘Cashed Out’ when their selection hits a price that locks in their chosen profit. It’s perfect if a customer thinks their horse will have a fast start but won’t last the distance, or their team has a tendency to throw away a lead.”

Auto Cash Out has been released following a successful trial with select UK and Ireland players.

Betfair launches Man of the Match market from WhoScored.com

Leading football statistics website WhoScored.com has reinforced the “quality and credibility” of its data-based Man of the Match market by partnering with Betfair.

Betfair has become the second bookmaker after BetVictor to utilise the ever-popular market, which has caused a surge in betting activity and proved a real hit with fans for its objectivity.

The market, which will cover the remainder of the Premier League season and offers supporters the chance to make money on the highest rated player in different matches, is based on statistical data rather than subjective pundit opinion.

Cristiano Acconci, WhoScored.com’s Co-Founder and CEO, said: “Having our Man of the Match market on two bookmakers really shows the quality and credibility of our ratings system.

“This market also allows all football fans to join without being betting experts, it’s a fun market to bet on with very favourably odd margins.”

WhoScored.com’s Man of the Match market is based on a ratings system designed to analyse over 200 raw statistics collected by Opta, part of the Perform Group, with updates made live.

WhoScored.com is one of more than 50 major affiliates attending this week’s Betting on Football conference, held at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC, from 20-23 March.

Betfair appoints Leo Burnett London as new creative lead

UK marketing news source The Drum has reported that FTSE100 betting group Paddy Power Betfair (PPB ) has appointed Leo Burnett London as new creative lead for its Betfair brand.

This February, Betfair marketing called for a creative review as PPB’s new leadership team moved to restructure the group’s marketing agency set-up, preferring for its lead brands to be serviced by separate creative agencies.

Leo Burnett is reported to have won the multi-million £ Betfair account following a competitive pitch process featuring five agencies.

The London agency takes over the betting account from former incumbent Lucky Generals, who no longer maintain a relationship with PPB marketing.

As new creative lead, Leo Burnett will be tasked with delivering Betfair’s multi-million World Cup 2018 marketing campaign, working alongside MediaCom, Betfair’s lead media planning and buying agency.

Leo Burnett London will report to Stephen Mault, Betfair Brand Director for the UK & Ireland, who commented on the appointment;

“We went to pitch with a customer-led brief and were really excited by the work Leo Burnett presented. We look forward to launching a new Betfair brand proposition in 2018 and bringing it to life across all our key territories.”

Adverse conditions see Paddy Power Betfair report tough opening to 2018

Publishing its Q1 trading update (period ending 31 March), FTSE100 betting group Paddy Power Betfair (PP😎 has reported a tough opening for 2018, as the firm’s corporate performance was impacted by several factors.

Updating the market, PPB reports a 2% decline in group revenues to £408 million (Q1 2017: £416 million).

The betting group detailed that its punters had been discouraged by a ‘series of sustained bookmaker friendly sports results recorded from November to February’.

Furthermore, PPB’s racing markets had suffered from a number of event cancellations due to Q1 2018’s extreme UK weather conditions.

Abroad, PPB details that the solid underlying growth of its Australia division has been offset by adverse sporting results, combined with a tougher regulatory environment in which the division operates.

These adverse factors would see PPB report an 8% decline in underlying EBITDA to £102 million (Q1 2017: £111 million).

Closing Q1 2018 trading, PPB governance would declare group underlying profits of £80 million, down 12% on corresponding Q1 2017’s £91 million.

At present, PPB governance expects its full-year 2018 underlying group EBITDA to be between £470-495 million range, in-line with its 2017 performance. Corporate governance details that it will move to increase investment within its Australian division, whilst also exploring US market opportunities, should regulatory conditions change.

Closing its trading update, PPB would confirm a £500 million cash return to its investors, as part of the betting group adopting a ‘more efficient capital structure’.

Presenting his first trading update, as Paddy Power Betfair Group CEO, Peter Jackson commented on corporate performance:

“We have made good progress against our strategic priorities. In Europe, the successful completion of our platform integration has resulted in a meaningful improvement to the Paddy Power product. This has seen the brand’s gaming revenue returning to growth from February and a significant uplift in Cash Out usage and in-running betting during the Cheltenham Festival.

In Australia, Sportsbet continues to perform well and is targeting further market share growth, with additional investment planned to take advantage of any disruption arising from market consolidation and the introduction of increased taxes.

In the USA, TVG and Betfaircasino.com have good momentum and we are continuing to make preparations for any positive regulatory changes. Notwithstanding lower profits in the first quarter, we expect full year underlying EBITDA of between £470m and £495m.

We are today announcing that we intend to return £500m of cash to shareholders, representing a step towards a more efficient capital structure, whilst retaining substantial strategic flexibility.”

Scott Longley – Is the Betfair Exchange losing its edge?

This April, Paddy Power Betfair reported a lacklustre Q1 2018 trading update, in which the betting group detailed a decline in its Exchange revenues.

As the FTSE operator tackles further enlargement pressures, can the Betfair Exchange maintain product and market dominance against ambitions incumbents seeking to slice apart ‘the exchange cake’…

It seems a long time ago since Betfair first floated on the London Stock Exchange and the prospectus spoke about the betting exchange being a “unique, disruptive platform” that had a “transformational impact” on the sports-betting market.

Back in 2010, Betfair talked about the way that the exchange had “fundamentally changed” the world of sports betting. Come in the first-quarter trading statement from the enlarged Paddy Power Betfair, though, and you have to wait until the fourth paragraph of page two before any reference to the exchange is made.

To compound the impression of a product which has lost its luster, the statement goes on to say that revenue for the exchange was down 7 percent for the first three months of the year due largely to lower horseracing commissions.

Other than a brief explanation of the whys and wherefores of fixture cancellations and exchange revenue performance, that’s pretty much it. No further mention is made; not in relation to reviving the situation nor to any plans to potentially expand into the US with a product which could well thrive in any positive post-SCOTUS scenario.

This eclipsing of the betting exchange’s importance within the parent organisation comes at a time of increased exchange competition, according to the analysts at Morgan Stanley.

In a note issued ahead of the first-quarter results in late April, the MS team suggested the exchange was “the greatest point of diversification” for the Paddy Power Betfair online operation but also “an area where we see increased competitive risk.”

Noting moves made by Matchbook, Betdaq and Smarkets to cut commission levels while upping their collective marketing spend, the analysts warned: “While the superior liquidity on Betfair forms a defensive moat, we do see scope for this gap to close or for Paddy Power Betfair to be pressured to cut commission levels to retain syndicate-based winners on the platform.”

Eye off the ball

“I think more people are questioning their Betfair use now,” says Shane McLaughlin, managing director at Betdaq, the now GVC Holdings owned betting exchange based in Dublin.

To counter the liquidity question, McLaughlin says the launch of a 2 percent commission offer (well below Betfair’s standard 5 percent) means that perceptions have “changed somewhat.”

At Matchbook chief executive Mark Brosnan thinks that a “level of disillusionment” dating back to Betfair’s introduction of a premium charge in 2011 has contributed to punters looking elsewhere when it comes to their exchange preferences.

“I think, on the whole, there is a sense that Betfair has lost focus on the exchange side of their business,” he says. “From the time the sportsbook was launched right through the Paddy Power merger and subsequent platform integration, the exchange has become a smaller and smaller part of the overall business.”

Betfair for years hung its hat on a ‘winners welcome’ sign but for many that premise met its demise a long time back. “As soon as they had a client database they turned bookie,” says Ben Keith, founder and chief executive at Star Sports which also runs the Star Spreads business.

He suggests that by straying far from that original message, it will have given the likes of Betdaq “hope”. But he still issues words of caution about the liquidity advantage. “Liquidity breeds liquidity,” he says.

“It would be a mistake not to acknowledge the job that Betfair has done over the last 15 odd years, in educating customers as to the value of betting with an exchange,” says Brosnan.

“It is obviously one of the main drivers behind the overall growth of the betting-exchange market but its complacency has left the door open for others to build on that position and not just take market share, but help grow the overall betting exchange market itself.”

“We just think there should be room for more than one dominant player,” says McLaughlin, who points out that where Betdaq has seen growth in recent months has been with the higher-spending exchange customers.

The prize, though, would be making headway with the more mass-market customers. “Then we would really be driving success,” he says.

To misquote The Wire, many have come at Betfair and as Brosnan points out, many have missed the target, the ill-fated WBX.com for one. But timing is everything and given that the focus of Paddy Power Betfair is currently elsewhere, there are reasons for the contenders to believe this time might be different.

“There are two ways for us to think about market growth,” concludes McLaughlin. “First, it will be by developing more product, apps, presenting exchange betting as more generic. But we also want to see more growth from new regulated territories opening up.”