BBC One
Panorama
Wed 30 Jul, 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm 60mins
Nearly six years after its award-winning expose of corruption in horse racing, Panorama returns to the sport of kings to investigate the world of betting. Paul Kenyon reveals why those running the sport are so concerned about gamblers betting large sums of money on horses not to win, but to lose. [*] While ordinary punters risk their cash on picking winners, those in the know are playing a different game altogether.
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[*] A mechanism made ultra convenient by the arrival of “betting exchanges” (real-money prediction exchanges), like BetFair and Betdaq.
Thanks to our commenter for the tip.
Will somebody help us (who don’t live in the United Kingdom) to get to know what will be said that day on the Beeb?
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UPDATE:
- BBC
- BBC
- Guardian
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Here’s another thread from Betfair (This one is from the horse racing forum, not the same one I posted earlier)
People are sick of the insiders, and sick of the British Horseracing Authority trying to keep things as quiet as possible. Talk of contacting PANORAMA on this thread, as far as three weeks ago.
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http://site.forum.betfair.com/jive3/betex/ThreadsFrameset.jsp?forumID=16&threadID=1585734
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Let’s clean up this mess and learn from it.
@Ed Murray: Please, be careful not to say thing about BetFair that are untrue. I can’t check everything you say.
There’s something seriously wrong with your media coverage in the UK.
Sure, there was some information brought forward, questions asked, question answered. But where was the debate following that ? I didn’t hear any suggestions being made going forward. The best ideas come from interaction. And there wasn’t any.
So now the BHA have to take some action – probably warn off a couple more jockeys – and that’s that. In the meantime we’ll waste a lot more taxpayer’s money on insiders (who can’t be caught) to show the public the BHA really do mean business. And betfair can keep the public happy (they hope) by handing over information on suspicious betting activity, now and then, when they feel like it, to the relevant authorities.
Christ… no wonder your country is corrupt like hell. And betfair are playing this game smart, it has to be said, at least in the short term. When you have a problem, give it to someone else.
Hey… I really do respect betfair, even when they rip their customers off, or when they play dirty. It’s just that I don’t have any reason to show it. Also, I’m usually one step ahead of them.
@Ed Murray: Ed, I talk tough to all sides.
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Ed, BetFair has a policy to fire any employee who would look into traders’ accounts and use that info for personal use.
Ed,
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I think it’s beautiful given the unfortunate circumstances. The moment you reveal their names (should you know them) is the moment you’ll become a victim yourself. The same applies to Chris when he choses to pick sides. I’m sure a lot of people are wondering whether Chris is a bit naive, or simply very smart. It’s one of both and I have a pretty good idea by now which one it is. As for you Ed, simply keep doing what you are doing as long as you’re being honest. And return the problem to betfair by bringing it out in the open, a problem which originated from them in the first place. This could be poor advice though. Either way, have fun.
There was no reaction on the betfair forum about the programme because people already know what is going on. Panorama chasing 2 criminals who look like idiots ? You can find those in any area. Panorama failed big time, this time. They probably made a deal with Mark Davies of betfair not to ask any hard questions or else they wouldn’t get in. It was pathetic. If that is the best you can do then I really fear for Britain’s future. I’m not saying they should expose more criminals, there seems to be no purpose, no goal. You can implant every person with a chip and you won’t notice a bloody difference.
@medemi: “people are wondering whether Chris is a bit naive, or simply very smart.”
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We are all not fully informed about internal things that happened in companies, obviously.
Some comments from Ed Murray here were deleted by me.
Defamatory.
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I told Ed Murray MANY TIMES not to publish defamatory material against BetFair. He did it again.
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It’s with deep regret and sadness that I am banning Ed Murray from commenting here.
We are all heartbroken about it, betfair. Our legal dream team.
Make it a short celebration.
We are all not fully informed about internal things that happened in companies, obviously.
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FWIW, I made up my mind yesterday, before the major event. It’s not one of both, you’re both. I suppose that’s a healthy combination in a tough environment.
Should anyone want to get personal with me, please don’t hold back. I’m quite used to that.
FWIW, I watched the BBC programme and found it fuzzy and out of date. Their reportage is focussed on controversy generation (IMHO) and dumbed-down “excitement of the chase” instead of determining the key factors and enlightening their audience on the way that those key factors can be manipulated to produce fraud.
It seemed quite clear to me that everyone interviewed that had a position of some Authority seemed far more concerned with AVOIDING addressing ANY issues than “earning their keep”.
Also seen ( yesterday) was this reportage (from the UK’s Racing Post) regarding the UK’s Gambling Commission:
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The [UK] gambling commission cost the [UK] betting industry more tham £11.5 million in the year to the end of March. This includes £9.3 million for 222 staff. A thousand complaints were handled by the commission, that’s £11500 to sort out each complaint. Following investigations 17 licences and 10 certificates were revoked, thats £425,925 to sort out each one. At the end of the year the commission had total assets of £6.5 million.
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Quite where Joe Public goes to find a GC published list of who got canned, who got beaten up, who got warned (and for what) by this Public Authority remains a complete mystery!
We pay, THEY say, it seems……. but only when it suits them.
The mushroom principle survives, still……
Adonis
Constructiveness is hard to find in Britain these days, it’s all about money and self-preservation. That shouldn’t surprise us when we witness a society that has been infected with Thatcherism and laws that restrict people‘s personal freedom in stead of preserving it. It’s very sad to watch this, from a distance. Because it’s not the people’s fault. It never is.
What more should be expected of a Country where general practices have become so decadent that it is perfectly acceptable for:
1. A state-licenced betting Company to restrict the free speech of its Customers arbitrarily, and without providing any reason for that whatsoever…….[This is my own, DIRECT experience with one such Company]
2. A state-licenced betting Company which openly admits to “freezing” Time during which it abstracts a proportion of Customers’ bet/lay offers into its own coffers, yet imposes Time delays on those same Customers in case another CUSTOMER manages to fleece them via the vagaries of Relative Timeliness…..
The UK Citizenry will continue to suffer at the hands of these “New Wave” autocrats until exasperation (and profligate sufferance) generates the age-old maxim:-Â “so far, and NO FURTHER”.
We appear to be a long way from that point yet, so there is much more hay to be made until the inevitable backlash happens, and complacency returns to the back seat.
Adonis