Betfair handles $21M on just three Royal Ascot races.

[rrbauer]

http://www.racingandsports.com.au/racing/rsNewsArt.asp?NID=154211&story=Betfair_Punters_Bet_Up_On_Royal_Ascot

And they did it all without slots.

[BillW]

http://www.racingandsports.com.au/racing/rsNewsArt.asp?NID=154211&story=Betfair_Punters_Bet_Up_On_Royal_Ascot

And they did it all without slots.

It must be the economy ;) .

[rokitman]

http://www.racingandsports.com.au/racing/rsNewsArt.asp?NID=154211&story=Betfair_Punters_Bet_Up_On_Royal_Ascot

And they did it all without slots.
Thank godd we are being kept safe from them!

[saratoga guy]

Just to keep things in perspective.

Since that article is in an Australian publication we might assume those are Australian dollars -- which translates closer to $16milUS.

And, for comparison, this year's Belmont Stakes WPS pool was over $17mil.

[the little guy]

Just think about how much less they could have handled if they would run Royal Ascot at night.

[rrbauer]

Just to keep things in perspective.

Since that article is in an Australian publication we might assume those are Australian dollars -- which translates closer to $16milUS.

And, for comparison, this year's Belmont Stakes WPS pool was over $17mil.


It was Betfair's pool. Not all of the action on those races they have pari-mutuel and bookmakers as well. For that matter we had those races available on US ADW sites and maybe even some simulcast venues as well. So I don't know what the total handle was.

[DeanT]

It was Betfair's pool. Not all of the action on those races they have pari-mutuel and bookmakers as well. For that matter we had those races available on US ADW sites and maybe even some simulcast venues as well. So I don't know what the total handle was.
That's correct Rich. The SP money would not be included, neither would the tote betting, nor would the place/show markets (all of those things are available at betfair). Gross betting would not be published. I know they sponsored the Ascot races quite a bit bumping purses up, so good for them.

As for total wagering? Wow, it has to be a big number. The per capita wagering in the UK is around 10X what it is here. They have much lower takes of course, but still it is a big number.

[parimutual]

Just think about how much less they could have handled if they would run Royal Ascot at night.


What would happen to the requirement of Morning Coats in the Royal Enclosure?

[hencicleva]

One new thing to me that I heard on TVG's coverage is that a full 25% of money wagered in the Exchange is made during the race. Like closing or taking your position during a football game I guess.

[Cangamble]

One new thing to me that I heard on TVG's coverage is that a full 25% of money wagered in the Exchange is made during the race. Like closing or taking your position during a football game I guess.
Betfair has an InPlay mode. You can bet right until the end of the race. They also have that available for many hockey, football (NFL real football), soccer (which they call football), basketball, and baseball games.

[DeanT]

With football and other in running sports it shows just how close racing players and sports bettors are. It is why I shudder when people go on and on about slots players crossing over to bet racing. They are completely different than sports bettors.

Where we bet based on odds and a chance to win, so are in running sports bettors. They have a database that shows when a team who is a 3 point fave are up by seven at the half, they should take 1-2 odds (or whatever) on that team winning. If the odds are greater than 1-2 it is a green light.

I think with racing it is 100% similar. What are fair odds on a horse who gets an easy lead that is 3-1 on the board? We have all done that in our minds - we know he is much less than 3-1 to win. This gives you a way to bet that knowledge and opinion.

I think we will all be doing this in twenty years. The market demands it.

[robert99]

That's correct Rich. The SP money would not be included, neither would the tote betting, nor would the place/show markets (all of those things are available at betfair). Gross betting would not be published. I know they sponsored the Ascot races quite a bit bumping purses up, so good for them.

As for total wagering? Wow, it has to be a big number. The per capita wagering in the UK is around 10X what it is here. They have much lower takes of course, but still it is a big number.

All the UK exchanges together are just 6% of UK racing betting. Bookmakers are about 86% and the Tote/PMU 8%.

Even then Betfair handles more bets per day than the New York and London stock exchanges put together. They have won awards for innovation to get the computer grunt to enable that without too many crashes.

http://www.freebet.co.uk/betfair.php

[DanG]

All the UK exchanges together are just 6% of UK racing betting. Bookmakers are about 86% and the Tote/PMU 8%.

http://www.freebet.co.uk/betfair.php
That’s interesting Robert; I didn’t realize that was the ratio. I wonder how much book action is later arbitraged through Betfair.

[robert99]

That’s interesting Robert; I didn’t realize that was the ratio. I wonder how much book action is later arbitraged through Betfair.

Hi Dan,

The on-course bookmakers bet heavily through Betfair and they are about 0.6% of the turnover of the shop/online bookies. The latter mainly pay out at the starting price reached on-course so only have to send a few £1000s to the course/ Betfair to protect that price and their liabilities. The exact amount information is kept "commercially sensitive" but I would guess it is less than 1% of racing turnover.

[DanG]

Thanks Robert