Tiny API delay for non-UK customers of BetFair —since all international BetFair bettors, traders and gamblers are now served from Malta, not from London.
Chris F. Masse June 20th, 2008
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BetFair Games, BetFair Poker, BetFair Casino, BetFair Multiples, and all non-UK BetFair customers (including those trading on BetFair’s prediction exchange), are under the radar of Malta’s Lotteries and Gaming Authority. (As you all know, Malta is a state that is a member of the European Union.) I told you I would have a short post on the API delay for BetFair’s non-UK traders. Here’s what I gathered.
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BetFair have indeed imposed a small amount (I heard a figure of 120 micro-seconds) of additional latency in the delivery of their API feeds served to non-UK customers. The move from London to Malta was motivated by regulatory concerns (it has to do with checking IDs).
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I asked whether that API delay (which could accumulate, I feared) was hurting their international customers…
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Tony Clare (of BetFair):
We’ve seen no evidence to suggest that the changes we have made in the processing of bets placed by non-UK customers have had any detrimental affect on their experience when using Betfair, nor have we seen any shift at all in the profitability of UK customers vs. non-UK customers as a result. There are many factors that will determine the time taken from submission of a bet request to confirmation of the bet’s status being received, and the majority of those will be dependent on the customer’s own set-up and the precise routing of traffic across the Internet.
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- Exchanges & Markets , Regulations , Software
- Comments(10)
[...] UPDATE: Tiny API delay for non-UK customers of BetFair —since all international BetFair bettors, traders …. [...]
Chris, are you trying to piss me off ?
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It has already been pointed out that international API users, when betting in-running, are at a significant disadvantage to UK API users. To which Chris replied “I would say you have a point, here”. I think it was the thread that deals with the Gambling Commission inquiry.
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As for Tony Clare’s comment, it seems he is deliberately evading any mention of the API in order to give his comments at least some credibility. How arrogant, and how manipulative, once again.
@Medemi: Well, if he is wrong, then you could come up with data that support a counter claim.
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Please, don’t insult that guy. You can disagree with him and still conduct a gentleman’s conversation.
Actually Chris, on second thought, he may be right.
Non UK users will not lose any money because of the extra delay.
Especially in-running, where timeliness is a crucial aspect of betting.
We should be thankful, to betfair, for all their efforts to educate us so well.
@Ed Murray: There are no internal traders.
http://www.midasoracle.org/200.....air-rumor/
We’ve seen no evidence to suggest that the changes we have made in the processing of bets placed by non-UK customers have had any detrimental affect on their experience when using Betfair
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I’m living proof. Yes, Medemi is still alive and kicking, and we know betfair are huge fans and reading all this interesting stuff on Midas Oracle.
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nor have we seen any shift at all in the profitability of UK customers vs. non-UK customers as a result.
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I would prefer to see facts, numbers on that one. If betfair can’t provide them, maybe the Gambling Commission should launch an investigation. Shouldn’t be that costly at all. And it could provide some insight into the effect of picture delays as well, depending on how the investigation is set up of course.
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There are many factors that will determine the time taken from submission of a bet request to confirmation of the bet’s status being received, and the majority of those will be dependent on the customer’s own set-up and the precise routing of traffic across the Internet.
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Yes, many factors, but most of them insignificant compared to an extra 120ms standard “penalty” enforced by betfair. But the response times I posted earlier already made that clear, to some extent.
From the BF forum right now
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Betfair Customer Services
19 Mar 18:02
Chatname – Lee (Genuine Scouser)
Do Betfair employ traders to bet in their markets?
There is a trading team based in Malta which manages the risk around the multiples product. They have software which tells them what the risk is associated with a potential result is and suggests what hedge bets can be placed to mitigate that risk at current exchange prices. They then place the hedge bets to manage the risk. They place the bets using the same software as everyone else using the site and respecting any in-play delays.
The multiples product is run under Betfair’s Maltese bookmaking license and is regulated by the LGA there. Therefore the team has to be based in Malta. The operation is an arms-length operation - there is no special access to any functionality or data from the exchange. Betfair Malta is charged commission on winning bets in the same way as any other customer in order to comply with relevant regulation and law.
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How can BF say they have a trading team based in Malta, yet have no traders? I don’t understand.
@Ed Murray: That concerns the BetFair Multiples —not the main BetFair betting exchange.
It’s great that we have betfair, so we can study it’s mistakes (or the Gambling Commission’s).
Should especially be of interest to the CFTC.
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The rules on this one can be simple - no operator/exchange should be allowed to trade or participate in it’s own markets in any way. Next case…
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As for the Gambling Commission, they’ll just have to deal with the effects following their own decision of handing out two licenses for one operator (a bookmakers license and a betting intermediary license). It’ll be messy for them.
Ed, we have a difference of opinion then. Should give people something to think about.