BetFair trading video –- at YouTube
The website of that guy from the video is awful, though.
Caveat Bettor, if you spot some InTrade-TradeSports videos at YouTube, be kind enough to tip me. Thanks. Same for the other readers as for HSX, Inkling Markets, Betdaq, SpreadFair, MatchBook, XxxxxXxxx, etc.
BetFair forum:
Postings in relation to ‘race-fixing’ trial
Betfair Customer Services 09 Oct 10:39Whilst the criminal trial involving 3 jockeys and others is sub judice (i.e. being considered in court), comment on the case is inappropriate and could even be an offence in itself leading to contempt of court proceeding against those commenting. This is particularly true given the criminal charges being considered where publicly discussing such cases sub judice may constitute interference with due process (not least because jurors may be exposed to such public discussion).
As a consequence whilst this matter remains sub judice, forum postings discussing the matter will be removed as and when they come to Betfair’s attention. This also means we will have to revoke forum posting rights of customers who persist in commenting on the case on Betfair’s forums.
BetFair traders, come on Midas Oracle to post your comments on the Fallon case. Here, we do not censor anyone.
UPDATE: They talk about the Fallon case in the Chamber of Lords. (See next page.)
The Racing Post and TimeForm compete in the same space- they make money from horse racing data. The Racing Post through its newspaper- TimeForm through its database publications. On the Web, they compete head to head in many respects —-and both give away a certain proportion of their content for free.
The Racing Post model is heavily skewed towards the old betting market model- fixed odds bookmakers- price comparison etc- while BetFair (the new owner of TimeForm) is based on the Web. On top of that, BetFair does not need The Racing Post that much, whereas The Racing Post needs BetFair. The fact that BetFair’-s prices are dynamic (and, 99% of the time, the best prices on offer) fucks up The Racing Post’-s model.
Signed: Deep Throat
External Links: BetFair (the owner of TimeForm) + The Racing Post
Previously: In the UK, BetFair is pushing the bookmakers into the betting museum.
Probably, in response to this.
In horse racing, starting prices (SP) are the odds prevailing in the on-course fixed-odds betting market at the time a race begins. The method by which they are set for each runner varies in different countries but is generally by consensus of an appointed panel on the basis of their observations of the fluctuation in prices.
Signed: Deep Throat
The Daily DOW prediction markets are thin, and the Daily Nasdaq prediction markets are inexistent.
Here is the data for yesterday.
DOW:
Nasdaq:
Previous blog posts by Chris F. Masse:
Some months ago, I noted that Betzip.com (since rechristened “-PurePlay.com”-) employs an intriguing legal hack to avoid anti-gambling regulations. It charges its customers a flat monthly fee, which qualifies them to win large prizes for winning online poker games. Non-paying customers can play the same games for free, too—though without qualifying for the largest prizes.
Why adopt that business model? Presumably, because it allows PurePlay to argue that it does not offer a gambling service. Specifically, PurePlay could claim that, because the amount players win has no relation to how much they stake, it dodges the “-consideration”- element of the legal definition of gambling. Query whether that claim would survive the devoted attentions of a prosecutor and court. I set that question aside, though, and here focus on PurePlay’-s claim that they have patented their business model.
Curious about the scope of PurePlay’-s patent, I searched its website for details. It offered none. I wrote to PurePlay asking for the patent’-s number. PurePlay refused to say. So I put my able research assistant, Mr. Sherwood Tung, on the case. He found PurePlay’-s patent, and more.
MMJK Inc., an entity located in San Francisco, California, owns PurePlay. It holds U.S. patent # 7,094,154. The Patentscope database of the World Intellectual Property Organization indicates that MMJK has also sought similar patent protection in many foreign countries. The patent’-s abstract reads thusly:
A computer networked, multi-user game system utilizing subscription based membership and alternative methods of entry, as well as the award of prizes of immediate value to the winner is described. A game tournament is hosted by a game server computer coupled to client computers operated by participating players. The games offered are games that involve elements of both skill and chance and require active player participation and decision making. A subscription-based membership is established for each player by charging a fee for a pre-determined membership time period. An alternative method of entry is provided to allow non-subscription players to participate in the tournament without payment of the fee. The non-subscribing players receive equal access to the games and at least the same chance of winning as the subscribing players, but are limited to a single entry per game or tournament. The game server hosts at least one game or tournament within the period, and players are potentially eliminated until a winning player and any runner-up players are determined. A prize pool is disbursed to the winning players in the form of cash, cash-equivalent notes, or prizes that have inherent and immediate value.
That of course offers only a shorthand description of the patent. You must carefully read its claims to know its actual scope. Or, I should say, its supposed scope- any patent can fall to a legal challenge, and business method patents prove especially susceptible to failing “-non-obvious”- inquiries.
[Crossposted to Agoraphilia and The Technology Liberation Front.]
Adam Siegel:
Two years ago the only way to run a prediction marketplace was to roll your own or call a vendor/consultant and have them set up software and run markets for you. It took many weeks, often months. Today with Inkling Markets it take seconds. […]
[#1] Improve forecasting of key performance indicators
Track and raise awareness of key success metrics to identify and mitigate risk factors before it’-s too late.[#2] Expose product quality problems early
Identify design and production anomalies before a product (physical or virtual) is brought to market to avoid expensive repairs and recalls.
[#3] Predict risk to your supply chain
Run a “-web”- of markets about the risk factors to your supply chain to predict internal and external events that would cause inefficiencies or disruptions.[#4] Foster a culture of innovation
Determine which new ideas and process improvements will have real business impact vs. the “-nice to have.”-
[#5] Create new interactions with users
Build a dedicated community of users around a marketplace of questions relevant to your business area and brand. […]
Previous blog posts by Chris F. Masse:
Harvard University professor Edward Glaeser:
[…] Blogs and columns are quite different, and The Marginal Revolution illustrates what can make blogs exciting. Mr. Cowen and his collaborators post to the website with astonishing regularity. Their blog posts are often brief introductions to some external source of information. The best bloggers use an informal style that make the readers feel as if they are old friends. If you read the Freakonomics blog, you will be let into the private life of one of this age’-s great economists. The chatty conversational style of blogs works well with the discussions that they facilitate among readers who react to an initial blog post and then to each other.
By contrast, an op-ed column is a somewhat formal 750 word art form that usually contains some sort of clear policy punch line. I am thinking of imitating Cato’-s constant repetition of Delenda Est Carthago by ending each column with the mantra “-Manhattan needs more construction and rent control must end.”- Good columns are self-contained, since they should be accessible to readers who have never previously heard of the author. […]
Absurd:
I won’-t read the column of mister Edward Glaeser in the New York Sun. He looks like an old schmuck to me.
Previously: Another way to measure the popularity of blogs: their number of feed subscribers
We have seen two PageRank updates this month (October 2007), and the effect of the second wave is just taking effect this morning.
– [*]PageRank scale: 0–-10
[*] As plenty of SEO experts have commented this week on web forums, this decrease in PageRank has been accompanied by an increase in traffic from Google Search visitors. Go figure. 
See in this list if you need some PageRank checkers.
—-
APPENDIX: The Sentence Of The Day…-
Ironically, in the ultimate democracy that is the Internet, Google reigns as virtual dictator.
UPDATE: An explanation that makes sense to me…-
Also another really interesting and also expected outcome was that due to the progressive expanding of the web, all page rank values require more and more links to be achieved. Now for pr 3 you need more than 2.5k link popularity, pr 4 more than 5 to 20k links and pr 6 >- 150k. Note that this is LINK POPULARITY not links only which is relatively the number of actual links since most search engines don’t show the real value.
UPDATE: A third update?
More.
Author Profile -Editor and Publisher of Midas Oracle .ORG .NET .COM —- Chris Masse’-s mugshot —- Contact Chris Masse —- Chris Masse’-s LinkedIn profile —- Chris Masse’-s FaceBook profile —- Chris Masse’-s Google profile —- Sophia-Antipolis, France, E.U. Read more from this author…-With all due respect, I totally disagree with Tyler Cowen (of Marginal Revolution fame). Here are some outstanding blogs and sites that are seldom prompted by immediacy:
Read the previous blog posts by Chris F. Masse: