PC could be as much as 40%??

[GaryRussell]

Does the Betdaq version have COM functionality?

These new charges are ridiculous. Trouble is despite the talk no-one will change exchanges if the liquidity is still on betfair. There needs to be a concerted push, an organised campaign to switch.

It doesn't have COM functionality.

[GaryRussell]

Sorry, i shall give it a try asap.

Is this a recent change because last time i looked there was no excel functionality, i assume it must be if it is version 1.1.0.62.

i know that grammer is spelled grammar by the way!

It's been around a while. We just aren't promoting it because the demand is very low and we don't make any income from this version.

[DFK]

I also didn't know this existed, I downloaded it last night and had a pleasant surprise. I am not telling you your business Gary, but this definitely needs developing in my opinion. Do not underestimate how many people the latest BF liberty will affect, all this crap about it only affecting 'big hitters', in many cases it equates to making about 25000 a year, good money but hardly 'big hitter' money. In todays Post BF say 'only' 500 people will be affected! They would make good politicians these people.

[Renton]

This affects a lot more user's than Betfair claim.

Surely a mass migration to betdaq is the answer? The platform is there and although it is not tested to handle the amount of requests that betfair handles it is probably only a few upgrades away from doing so.

You cant work as a gambler with so much stacked against you and grind away and then give somebody half of your profits.It 's not economically viable. Maybe this time things will change.

[2020vision]

I am not telling you your business Gary, but this definitely needs developing in my opinion. Do not underestimate how many people the latest BF liberty will affect, all this crap about it only affecting 'big hitters', in many cases it equates to making about 25000 a year, good money but hardly 'big hitter' money.

I agree that a little tweak here and there to BA for Betdaq would not go amiss.
e.g. Six ladders and user-definable cell size?

I tried using it a bit last week and quite liked it - only problem was that there was
not the money available for the greyhounds that I require - very slow going.
Ohterwise I would feel Betfair could take a running jump - am sick to death
of giving them 20% of everything I win, they are just greedy! Although some way off
of the latest Betfair PC bombshell I am (was) working my way up to it steadily.
Would not surprise me if they introduced a tiered PC that would rope me in for more?

Recently had a call from Betdaq trying to get me back with very low commission rates,
"if only", I said. They took on board my comments about their greyhounds and
said they would try to improve things.

Good luck all - Michael

[Captain Sensible]

That is the plan when we are ready. In retrospect we should have done this version in the first place.

Hindsight's always a wonderful thing Gary, I'm sure you're not the only one thinking we should have put a bit more effort into Betdaq in the past.

[patrickstar]

I am a long time user of Betting Assistant who is going to be affected by this change in PC - possibly to the extent that it's no longer viable to do some or all of my betting with betfair

So can I just agree with all those who have said the excel enabled version of betdaq betting assistant is excellent news. I wish I'd known it existed before, but I'm very glad I do now.

Just trialing the beta version and it looks great - just like the betfair one. Are there any known stability or bet processing issues? i.e. should it be fairly safe to use for putting bets through or should i be treading carefully at first?

[GaryRussell]

I am a long time user of Betting Assistant who is going to be affected by this change in PC - possibly to the extent that it's no longer viable to do some or all of my betting with betfair

So can I just agree with all those who have said the excel enabled version of betdaq betting assistant is excellent news. I wish I'd known it existed before, but I'm very glad I do now.

Just trialing the beta version and it looks great - just like the betfair one. Are there any known stability or bet processing issues? i.e. should it be fairly safe to use for putting bets through or should i be treading carefully at first?

There aren't any known issues, but I still recommend treading carefully as it's still early Beta. It has not had a great deal of development. There are a few users who have been using it for several months though.

[secretgambler]

Are there any plans for the COM functionality to be introduced on the Betdaq product as it is on the Betfair version ?

[GaryRussell]

Are there any plans for the COM functionality to be introduced on the Betdaq product as it is on the Betfair version ?

Not at the moment.

[U.F.O]

Don't think Betfair expect anyone to pay the new charges,
they simply just want them gone,

they are also starting a new sports book soon, so basically they will become a bookie in the future and replace the traders they have pushed out with themselves.

I have withdrawn my balance today, im not in the 60% bracket but will be soon if i continue to make a living from it and there doesn't seem any point continuing knowing that,

i will try Betdaq again from today or if not i will be looking for a proper job .

[mak]

I have tried Betdaq's api for a 2 weeks period last year, and i have to say that it was very unstable...

Sometimes the markets disappeared, sometimes they couldn't load at all, and in general it was too messy. In addition, the information return for the markets fro BQ api is very limited..

For example in horse race markets the api returns just
Perth win market
There is no info about feet, miles or hrd which probably are useful to bot users ( i know that it can manual bypass.. but still very limited)

Finally, I watched their forum back then and I can tell that there were a few good suggestions from their users in order to improve their products but the answer was almost the same. We can't provide it in the near future...

I am sure that they will crush if the 1/3 of BF users turned immediately to them, but I also know that there aren't any other alternatives right now...

From today I will give them another try, but I think everyone knows how things are there, in running....(for the time being at least)

[doris_day]

The PC fiasco is precisely the reason I'm banned on the BF forum and why ALL of my non-automated betting now is done elsewhere. I'm watching the increase in the BD in-running liquidity closely and I doubt it will be very long before it becomes a viable alternative.

Betfair is being so shortsighted in their attitude but I think they're determined to learn the hard way. Betfair's share price is now less than half of the issue price and surely reflects the market's attitude to their longterm growth potential.

[U.F.O]

I think they are just looking at the big bookies profits and just thinking
i want some of that please.

But i hope when they become a bookie and lose there USP they come unstuck big time.

[doris_day]

Total Bosman has got it right in his post on the BF forum when he said

"I've said this before but I think this is something that in the short-term probably makes economic sense but in the long-term will kill them.

Gambling thrives on the possibility of winning, even when you're losing. That's why poker sites glorify their most successful players- to provide inspiration for losing players to keep playing. It doesn't seem to bother poker sites that such players are draining the pool of money - they turn this fact to their advantage through advertising.

Betfair thrived on the winners welcome philosophy, on the fact that, like poker sites, it offered a realistic possibility of winning if your skill and judgement was good, as opposed to the bookie always winning. Now the most successful players are being rounded up and hounded out, the exact opposite of the aspirational model that was successful for poker sites and for Betfair itself."

Las Vegas tried this with BJ forty years ago or so when counters were winning all over the place. They changed the rules such that you couldn't ever win and the tables cleared. They had to change the rules back in order to get players back again. In BF's case they'll find it difficult to get people back but as others have intimated, they've nailed their intentions to their mast and are making it plainly obvious that they want to take the opposite side of losing bettors bets rather than letting us winners do that.
They just want to become a straightforward bookmaker because they think they'll make more money in the longrun. Perhaps they're right.