FINALLY, THE PREDICTION MARKETS ARRIVE IN GREAT BRITAIN.

Chris F. Masse May 21st, 2008

The image above is static —it’s a screen shot of the chart widget, not the chart widget itself. (I haven’t had access to their code, see, so I am not able to embed it here for you.) To view their updated widget, right-click on the image above, and open the link into a new browser tab.

First time I see a big UK newspaper associates “BetFair” with the term “prediction markets”.
Their explainer is quite acceptable.
That is a great step for BetFair. Congrats.
I’d explain things differently —and I dislike that they suggest that the prediction markets can greatly outperform the polls, described as not “accurate enough”. Pollsters do the best they can, it seems to me.
The output that BetFair hands out and the journalists seek are probabilities (expressed in percentages) —not those damn decimal/digital odds.
The chart widget they use is crappy. I already discussed it. It has usability problems with FireFox. It does not go into feeds. And it’s not readable enough. Look at the alternative, just below. (The only reason those idiots of journalists are using that crappy widget is that BetFair customized it for them, by putting their fucking newspaper trademark on top of the widget.)
Anyway, the dead-tree, print newspapers are dying, and the future belongs to blog networks.

The chart below is better… more readable… and it goes into feeds… - But those idiots at the Telegraph won’t show it to you because it is not pinned with the “Telegraph” trademark.