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The threat of gambling on the internet
Vivek Chaudhary
Wednesday May 1, 2002
The Guardian
When Ashgar tested positive for ACP, all eyes within the racing community were raised towards the internet-based betting exchanges that have turned punters into bookmakers at the click of a button.
Once when a horse was "stopped", suspicion automatically fell on the known bookmakers operating at the margins and who might want to avoid a big pay-out should a particular horse win. Now that anyone can, in effect, become a bookmaker, thousands could be under suspicion rather than the few.
John Maxse, the Jockey Club press officer said: "We were in touch with betting exchange firms with regard to the race at Plumpton. They have confirmed to us that the business they did for that race was standard, there was nothing excessive or remarkable about it. It was exactly as they had expected."
This time, at least, the Jockey Club and the racing industry were able to breathe a sigh of relief, but the emergence and expansion of betting exchanges on the internet has thrown up serious concerns that this fastest growing trend in betting could be open to abuse as anonymous punters and industry insiders attempt to make a fast buck.
It takes about four minutes to register with an internet betting exchange. The system is simple and efficent, allowing thousands of gamblers to set their own odds. Punters have to register their names and addresses and deposit a fixed amount of money using a credit or debit card.
Once the account has been approved, they can scan the betting exchange and lay their own odds, just as a bookmaker does. Other punters can lay bets against these odds, and requests for specific odds on a horse or sports event can be advertised.
The betting exchanges have been around for only two years but already rumours are rife that certain jockeys or trainers have been earning a small fortune by laying odds on their horses to lose or getting someone close to them to lay odds, given the anonimity of betting exchanges.
Maxse said: "We are very concerned about the principle of betting exchanges. Any system that offers profit from a horse getting beaten is open to exploitation and abuse. Under the traditional form of betting, even if a punter had inside information, the punter still has to pick the correct winner of the race to benefit. With a betting exchange they don't have to do that; they simply lay odds on that horse to lose."
Critics claim that the biggest problem is that the exchanges are not regulated and, legally, they do not even need a bookmakers' licence to operate. The largest exchange in the country is Betfair.com, which claims to have thousands of customers spending millions of pounds each month. No precise figures are available from Betfair.com, which became the country's largest betting exchange when it merged with rivals flutter.com in December.
Mark Davies, Betfair's director of communications, claims security is integral to their business and that they can trace every bet placed with them and that they are also able to provide the name and address of every punter who has placed a bet with them.
Davies said: "What happened at Plumpton has, in fact, changed the image of betting exchanges. When the Jockey Club came to us we were able to provide them with computer evidence of every bet laid on that particular race. They could not have done this with a cash bookmaker. We conduct tests on a daily basis to see if there are any irregular betting patterns."
Established bookmakers will not publicly criticise betting exchanges but privately some have called for them to be shut down.
In the United States, off-shore betting exchanges are currently being closed; in Britain, concerns will be addressed when the government's new Gambling Commission is established.
Vivek Chaudhary
Wednesday May 1, 2002
The Guardian
When Ashgar tested positive for ACP, all eyes within the racing community were raised towards the internet-based betting exchanges that have turned punters into bookmakers at the click of a button.
Once when a horse was "stopped", suspicion automatically fell on the known bookmakers operating at the margins and who might want to avoid a big pay-out should a particular horse win. Now that anyone can, in effect, become a bookmaker, thousands could be under suspicion rather than the few.
John Maxse, the Jockey Club press officer said: "We were in touch with betting exchange firms with regard to the race at Plumpton. They have confirmed to us that the business they did for that race was standard, there was nothing excessive or remarkable about it. It was exactly as they had expected."
This time, at least, the Jockey Club and the racing industry were able to breathe a sigh of relief, but the emergence and expansion of betting exchanges on the internet has thrown up serious concerns that this fastest growing trend in betting could be open to abuse as anonymous punters and industry insiders attempt to make a fast buck.
It takes about four minutes to register with an internet betting exchange. The system is simple and efficent, allowing thousands of gamblers to set their own odds. Punters have to register their names and addresses and deposit a fixed amount of money using a credit or debit card.
Once the account has been approved, they can scan the betting exchange and lay their own odds, just as a bookmaker does. Other punters can lay bets against these odds, and requests for specific odds on a horse or sports event can be advertised.
The betting exchanges have been around for only two years but already rumours are rife that certain jockeys or trainers have been earning a small fortune by laying odds on their horses to lose or getting someone close to them to lay odds, given the anonimity of betting exchanges.
Maxse said: "We are very concerned about the principle of betting exchanges. Any system that offers profit from a horse getting beaten is open to exploitation and abuse. Under the traditional form of betting, even if a punter had inside information, the punter still has to pick the correct winner of the race to benefit. With a betting exchange they don't have to do that; they simply lay odds on that horse to lose."
Critics claim that the biggest problem is that the exchanges are not regulated and, legally, they do not even need a bookmakers' licence to operate. The largest exchange in the country is Betfair.com, which claims to have thousands of customers spending millions of pounds each month. No precise figures are available from Betfair.com, which became the country's largest betting exchange when it merged with rivals flutter.com in December.
Mark Davies, Betfair's director of communications, claims security is integral to their business and that they can trace every bet placed with them and that they are also able to provide the name and address of every punter who has placed a bet with them.
Davies said: "What happened at Plumpton has, in fact, changed the image of betting exchanges. When the Jockey Club came to us we were able to provide them with computer evidence of every bet laid on that particular race. They could not have done this with a cash bookmaker. We conduct tests on a daily basis to see if there are any irregular betting patterns."
Established bookmakers will not publicly criticise betting exchanges but privately some have called for them to be shut down.
In the United States, off-shore betting exchanges are currently being closed; in Britain, concerns will be addressed when the government's new Gambling Commission is established.