Bet Exchange News February 2005
News
Cantor Spreadfair launch horse racing markets
Seven months into its launch Cantorspreadfair.com has started offering horse racing after initially stating that it was ‘not on the map'. Previous reservations relating to controversy over integrity and funding have seemingly been resolved. Cantor Spreadfair have had clearance from the Financial Services Authority, under whose control they fall, to enter into a MoU with the Jockey Club, and they have also agreed an interim license with the BHB, which means they will pay ten per cent of commission derived from horse racing bets directly to the Levy Board.
For further details see these Racing Post articles here and here
MD Rob Hartnett in surprise departure from Betdaq
In a move that has surprised many in the industry, Rob Hartnett the well respected and high profile Managing Director of has announced his intention to leave although he is being somewhat guarded about where he is going to, telling the Racing Post:
``The new venture is in the gambling sector and there are a number of different strands to it, but it will really require my getting my feet under the table before we go public with it.
``It's a new project from the floor up, though there will be names that people are going to recognise from the industry, and we are definitely set for a launch this year. It's UK-based and is involved in online betting, but it's not an exchange.''
Hartnett was with from its inception in 2001, having previously headed up the PR department at the Tote. In this interview Hartnett expresses some interesting views about the future of and betting exchanges in general. The article can be viewed here
Desmond – owner of Betdaq gives rare interview to Racing Post
Prior to the announcement of Hartnett's departure, Dermot Desmond overcame his loathing of journalists to give a rare and revealing interview to Jim Cremin of the Racing Post. Amongst other things he expresses his passion for and the fact that it is the first and the last thing he thinks about every day. He also discusses his frustration at not being where Betfair is today, admitting that the technology in the early days should have been better.
The whole interview can be read here
Betfair agree funding deal and sign MoU with NGRC
In a significant few weeks for the relationship between Betfair and the National Greyhound Racing Club agreement was reached on both funding and a Memorandum of Understanding. In what was described by the Racing post as “an unexpectedly generous deal” Betfair have agreed to base the payment on a figure which will ultimately be equivalent to 0.6% of greyhound turnover.
Lord Lipsey, the BGRB chairman, who is credited with securing the deal said
"Betfair's turnover is growing rapidly, so I'm pleased we have based our deal on that - rather than profits, which is how horseracing's works. I believe ours will prove more generous, plus it will also allow Betfair to become more vigorous in race sponsorship. As it stood, promoters were supposed not to accept sponsorship from them. Greyhound racing is significantly better off.”
Greyhound racing will indeed be significantly better off, as it is estimated that this could bring an additional £500,000 into the sport every year. This news was followed by the announcement that the NGRC have finally signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Betfair, giving the NGRC access to audit trails which will help identify and stamp out corrupt practises.
John Nicholson, Senior Steward of the NGRC said, “Integrity is always at the top of our agenda, and although greyhound racing represents only a relatively small proportion of betting activity on the exchanges it is important that the NGRC has access to any information that would help identify any corrupt practices.”
Mark Davies, Betfair's Director of Communications commented, “There is no such thing as a bad result for Betfair, and therefore our interests are exactly the same as any governing body: to ensure that sport is free of corruption. We are delighted to add the NGRC to the list of governing bodies we already work with.”
For more details see the Racing Post here and here
Inside Edge awards for Betfair and Spreadfair
At the inaugural Inside Edge magazine honours Betfair was awarded betting exchange of the year and editor James Hipwell's Choice of the Year, while Spreadfair won Innovation of the year.
Sporting Options debts revealed as £5.4m
The full extent of the debts built up by Sporting Options has been revealed at £5.4m. The biggest part of this was in £3.6m of punters funds, which Betfair have committed to repay, £1.25m in the form of immediate credits to punters Betfair accounts, and £2.35m in the form of reduced commission from Betfair payable over up to two years. It was further revealed that founder Kevin Griffiths has £1,170,000 in the form of directors loans that he put into the business. The Inland Revenue is another creditor being owed £250k.
Racing Post article here
Betfair become official betting partners at Aintree
Betfair has signed a three-year deal to become the Official Betting Partner of Aintree's Grand National meeting, which attracts More than 600 million television viewers worldwide.
The exclusive partnership will include sponsorship of two races. The Betfair Bowl, formerly The Martell Cup, will be the feature £150,000 contest on Thursday. Betfair will also sponsor the penultimate race on Friday, the Betfair.com Handicap Steeple Chase.
Betfair will have on-course branding for the three-day meeting,including a live in-running odds board positioned opposite the main grandstands. They will also supply the official betting prices, which means that for the first time in its 166-year history, the official odds for the Grand National will be in decimals rather than fractions.
Charles Barnett, Aintree's Managing Director, said: "We are delighted to welcome Betfair as our first Official Partner at the Grand National meeting. Our agreement with John Smith's allows us to introduce additional partners to the event and we are excited by the opportunities that this will give us. Betfair has sponsored at Aintree for the past three years and we are pleased to be developing this relationship further."
Stephen Hill, Betfair's Chief Executive, said: "Betfair is delighted to be associated with the Grand National, the world's most famous race. Our sponsorship at Aintree reflects our long-term commitment to UK horseracing. In 2004 Betfair sponsored 141 races with prize money of over £1m. Betfair also contributes to the sport through the Levy (£3.9m in the year to April 30, 2004). Betfair's global reach means that we will continue to attract new international players, and thus additional revenue, to UK horseracing."
Cheating referee's admission rocks German football
Corruption has embroiled German soccer ahead of the World Cup finals which they are staging in 2006. Referee Robert Hoyzer who officiated over matches in the lower leagues has admitted to making biased decisions with a view to fixing matches at the instruction of Croatian gambling gangs and has pointed the finger at a number of other referees and players.
In response the German Soccer Federation has said that it will announce referee assignments two days in advance, rather than the 10 days which is currently standard. They also plan to use an “early warning system” connected to bookmakers to detect unusual betting patterns. Whilst no mention has been made of betting exchanges Caspar Hill has confirmed to Bet Exchange News that Betfair are in talks with the German Bundesliga about a Memorandum of Understanding and hope to have an agreement with them soon.
UEFA sign MoU with Betfair
UEFA join the ever lengthening list of sporting bodies who are making use of the Betfair audit trail in an effort to gather information about possible corruption within the game.
Commenting on the agreement, UEFA CEO Lars-Christer Olsson, said:
“We are happy that we have reached this agreement with Betfair, as it is an important step forward in ensuring the continued integrity of our competitions.
“This is in line with our permanent efforts to protect the game from match-fixing and will facilitate the gathering of information in case of suspicious results”.
A number of minor UEFA Cup fixtures have been the subject of speculation, a prime example being the recent match between Panionis and Dinamo Tbilisi where the home team turned around a half time deficit to win 5-2 rewarding an unusual number of punters who had backed the correct score at 100/1.
Ibetx gets added to Oddschecker
Following their successful and popular Sporting Options Rescue Package IBetX continue their quest to fill the gap left by Sporting Options by making their odds available on online odds comparison service Oddschecker.
Gambling Bill gets through its third reading
Despite controversy over the proposed super casinos, the Gambling Bill eased through its third reading with 236 votes for and 38 votes against. The Bill will receive its second reading in the Upper House on February 22 nd .
Racing Post article here