- This topic has 12 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 17 years, 4 months ago by
.
- Posts
I’ve been monitoring the Betfair SP against the SP and Tote over the last few weeks and found, not surprisingly, that it is well ahead of its rivals in terms of value, even allowing for up to 5% commission.
Of course, you need access to it, which has a cost and you are limited to single bets, but for a lot of people who cannot bet in real time(have to work etc.), it is well worth considering.
It is obvious that since the changes to SP in November 2006, the SP punter has, predictably, been very badly served by the betting industry. This will not change unless punters gradually move their business away from the traditional, but changed SP betting to a cheaper alternative.
I’m sure this will eventually come, but it may take some time.I’m not surprised that many betting shop clients don’t bother about what type of betting they engage in. The dogs, lotteries, virtual racing and FOB terminals are all arguably better value than SP at the moment.
The amount of people prepared to bet into a sport that has been riddled with banned jockeys, corruption trials, false going reports, watering debacles, e/w terms ripoffs etc… is finite. I also believe the animal welfare lobby are going to pose huge questions for the racing industry in the not too distant future.
Instead of addressing these issues and growing the sport in terms of volumes bet to compensate for reduced oncourse overounds in the exchange era, the industry took the easy, short term option and decided to stitch the lifeblood of the levy even further (Donoghue).
As a result the sport may well have to do with a prizemoney fund of £50 million annually going into the future according to the levy board chairman.
Racing appeals to the masses broadly as a betting medium and a social day out. With that in mind giving your "customers" an accessible value product that they can confidence in is the way forward for a well funded and healthy sport in the future.
Sadly continuous offcourse greed, a largely compliant racing media and a totally misguided marketing campaign (Sovereign Series) do not exactly inspire me with confidence.
The dogs, lotteries, virtual racing and FOB terminals are all arguably better value than SP at the moment.
I’d say only the FOBT terminals are better value.
Cavelino , what a great post , quality
If only someone would listen and implement ,
Ricky
:"compliant racing media" Very well put. Our racing media are on the payroll of the mass bookmakers in their search to snare mug punters.
BFSP should be the official SP!
From the Sporting Life Website (note: penned by a PA journalist):
Changes to the way starting prices are calculated have been hailed a success in the Starting Price Regulatory Commission’s annual report.
A review in 2006 concluded the calculation of the SP "was not always as robust as it could have been, nor did it reflect the overall on-course market".
It was decided as part of that review that in future "a minimum of 12 SP qualified bookmakers accepting bets on an each-way basis, chosen by the SP validator, who is employed PA Sport, would normally be used to return the SP".
The latest report concludes the alterations over the last 18 months have resulted in "a more robust and transparent SP" which "is well placed to continue to serve the industry as a trusted and respected service".
Following some criticism in the media over the SP changes, chairman Lord Donoughue has reaffirmed the SPRC’s main concern of ensuring an accurate SP and hailed what he views as a successful year despite some difficulties.[/color:nq19p0k3]
That’s alright then….
I see Betfair are guaranteeing their SP for Goodwood this week. ie – if you take the Betfair SP and the official SP is greater then the exchange will make up the difference (to a max of £500).
Personally, I think this goes against the very essence of the exchange and more towards the slippery slope of BF becoming a licenced bookmaker.
In light of the negative feedback from earlier this week, would the exchange not just be better off sticking to their original winning formula of opinion vs opinion and defend this model to the hilt instead of gimmicks like this.
Does anyone care?
Negative feedback for Betfair? Panorama was a huge positive for the exchange that allows the offical watchdog to have direct and dynamic access to their trading engine. BFSP is the real market SP.
Normally BFSP would better bookmaker SP on almost any given race so nothing revolutionary in this weeks special offer imo.
BF already have a bookmakers licence in Malta and probably hedge their multiple liabilities into the main exchange. I hope thats as far as it goes, because we bet through there now from overseas.
BFSP is an excellent product when staking in moderation.
Negative feedback for Betfair? Panorama was a huge positive for the exchange that allows the offical watchdog to have direct and dynamic access to their trading engine.
Maybe to people like you or I who can see that because we know how the exchange works. I doubt the ordinary man-on-the-street is as au fait with it however. I know plenty of people who bet in shops but who are very reluctant to use the exchange because they are afraid of who could be laying them their bet.
I haven’t seen the Panorama program but having read 8 pages on it on the other thread, my understanding is that it wouldn’t have done anything to allay those fears. Old-style punters still seem able to accept that a bookie will rob you if he can but take significant umbrage to a "fellow punter" doing the same thing.As regards BFSP, I agree that the BFSP is the real market SP. I have curtailed my betting activities over the last month or so due to time constraints and personal reasons. But before that over 90% of my bets were placed at BFSP and rarely was the official SP better than BF.
I will say though that the gains at the sharper end of the market are not as much as I expected them to be and certainly not in the region of the average 20% figure that Betfair touts around. The differences are often under 8% which IMO is an acceptable overround for a traditional bookmaker. I have stated before that I would bet at SP more if I could be confident that the SP market correctly reflects the betting on a race, a situation which is not reflected by the on-course market.
The official SP should be the BFSP less some agreed margin for the high street chains who provide a service and have overheads to cover.
The official SP should be the BFSP less some agreed margin for the high street chains who provide a service and have overheads to cover.
It should be legally capped. Unfortunately the current policy seems to be bleed the buggers dry. Which is fine until there’s no buggers left to bleed dry.
William Hills recently released half year figures make for interesting reading.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.