Punters left in dark over Betfair mystery

[Al Gobbi]

Confusion reigned among Betfair punters after an incredible incident in a race at Leopardstown on Wednesday afternoon resulted in what should be a near-£23 million payout.

A monster sum of £1,642,094 ($2,145,888 USD) was matched in running at a price of 29 (28-1) on the winner Voler La Vedette with her price failing to drop as she crossed the line four and three quarter lengths in front of Mouard having been sent off a 13-8 chance and never out of contention.


http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/punters-left-in-dark-over-betfair-mystery/968454/

[toussaud]

http://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/britain-betfair-investigates-huge-betting-on-longshot-winner/

[classhandicapper]

Wow, that's going to keep a lot of people talking.

It's possible that someone wanted to bet ON the horse, but placed a bet the wrong way AND the software didn't pick up on the fact that they exceeded their bankroll. Then someone matched it.

I know I have occasionally submitted bets on the wrong side when betting at an exchange, but I almost always quickly caught my error and cancelled it before it was matched. That's a big one though. :eek:

[gm10]

Wow, that's going to keep a lot of people talking.

It's possible that someone wanted to bet ON the horse, but placed a bet the wrong way AND the software didn't pick up on the fact that they exceeded their bankroll. Then someone matched it.

I know I have occasionally submitted bets on the wrong side when betting at an exchange, but I almost always quickly caught my error and cancelled it before it was matched. That's a big one though. :eek:

You would think there is a software bug involved here ... nobody is going to bet 23 million (in sterling) on a hurdle race in my opinion.

[Some_One]

You would think there is a software bug involved here ... nobody is going to bet 23 million (in sterling) on a hurdle race in my opinion.

Does it matter? If someone is using software which overrides the safety (for those who don't know, on the website, you need two clicks to make the bet, the 2nd being a confirm this is correct, you can have software which requires only 1 click to bet, or bots that require no human act), then it is their fault unless their is no doubt that there was a problem from a software program accessing the Betfair API to place that bet.

[ByeByeBuck]

I live in "the states" - wouldn't you have to have your money in the account to make the wagering offer? and if it was a software glitch, what's the big deal? - just cancel that one bet, and payoff the rest of the punters? Why penalize the rest of the players?

I guess I'm missing something here, but ever since one time I bet heavy on one of those simulcast English races, my horse ran third, and betting "place" there was always paying for place and show, and I figured I'd get $2.10, and there was no payoff at all, and I didn't even get my original bet back, I said FU to English racing, and I said it very loudly.

[Some_One]

The cancellation only applied to in play bets, and 99.999% of the IP bets would have been on the winner, so it probably didn't make a difference.

[senortout]

I live in "the states" - wouldn't you have to have your money in the account to make the wagering offer? and if it was a software glitch, what's the big deal? - just cancel that one bet, and payoff the rest of the punters? Why penalize the rest of the players?

I guess I'm missing something here, but ever since one time I bet heavy on one of those simulcast English races, my horse ran third, and betting "place" there was always paying for place and show, and I figured I'd get $2.10, and there was no payoff at all, and I didn't even get my original bet back, I said FU to English racing, and I said it very loudly.

The race must have a minimum number of runners say eight, before there are " show" payoffs over in England, and in Australia as well. Very same rules as are usually applied here, 'cept we don't call both place and show payoffs as place.....we just disallow show bets on small fields as do they disallow paying to three back....it's all the same really.

[Some_One]

On US racing, the 'place' markets are top 2 only for 7 and less entries, around 16 you would see top 4.

[gm10]

I live in "the states" - wouldn't you have to have your money in the account to make the wagering offer? and if it was a software glitch, what's the big deal? - just cancel that one bet, and payoff the rest of the punters? Why penalize the rest of the players?

I guess I'm missing something here, but ever since one time I bet heavy on one of those simulcast English races, my horse ran third, and betting "place" there was always paying for place and show, and I figured I'd get $2.10, and there was no payoff at all, and I didn't even get my original bet back, I said FU to English racing, and I said it very loudly.

If you are going to bet heavily, you really ought to know what you're betting on imo.


Up to 4 runners: Unavailable
5, 6 or 7 runners: 1 - 2
8 - 15 runners in handicaps AND 8+ runners in non-handicaps: 1 - 2 - 3
16+ runners handicaps: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

[gm10]

Does it matter? If someone is using software which overrides the safety (for those who don't know, on the website, you need two clicks to make the bet, the 2nd being a confirm this is correct, you can have software which requires only 1 click to bet, or bots that require no human act), then it is their fault unless their is no doubt that there was a problem from a software program accessing the Betfair API to place that bet.

Eh yes, it matters to me. I don't want to put my money there if their software is buggy.

What seems to have happened ... a bot placed a bet that was too high, and the Betfair API failed to stop it although it broke the exposure limits of the account.

[horses4courses]

As Betfair attempts to gain acceptance in the U.S., things keep going from bad to worse, don't they?

Race fixing, insider convictions, software glitches.....

[ByeByeBuck]

If you are going to bet heavily, you really ought to know what you're betting on imo.

Up to 4 runners: Unavailable
5, 6 or 7 runners: 1 - 2
8 - 15 runners in handicaps AND 8+ runners in non-handicaps: 1 - 2 - 3
16+ runners handicaps: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

I'm not gonna argue with that, and unfortunately for me it was a bridgejump bet. I've seen many others make the same error when this was first offered, and some still make this mistake and get really hissed. Since the pools are not co-mingled, (I don't think they are anyway) you would think that they would simply program the betting software to be tailered to American betting style, but that would probably make too much sense.

Pays for 4th? Didn't know that. Sorry, but I'm still ticked off at that bet like it was stealing off me. When they offer a bet where every horse bet pays off, then I'll play English racing again. :)

[horses4courses]

So....you don't actually win until you get paid, right?
You need to win the race, and then actually get paid.
Makes it like hitting the Daily Double.

Here's what we have to look forward to:

A horse going off at just over 3-2 odds (2.625) is offered at 29-1 in running during a 2, or 2.5, mile race.
Now, anything over 2-1 was a bargain, because the horse was travelling just fine. 29-1??? C'mon!

I know that software glitches can happen, and that 20+ million could not be matched - nor is Betfair liable for the winnings.
However, Betfair is acting like it was just another day at the office.
Heads should roll..........

http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=racing/11/12/29/RACING_Betfair.html&BID=464