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£200m in Three Days
by:from Guardian (Richard Parker)
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Bookmakers were preparing yesterday for the most concerted betting spree in British racing with predictions that turnover on the three-day Cheltenham Festival will reach at least £200m. Yet for Internet betting exchanges, the bookies' new competitors in the gambling market, the tidal wave of action heading their way brings serious concerns, too. When it arrives will they manage to surf it, or will it simply wipe them out?
Yet for internet betting exchanges, the bookies' new competitors in the gambling market, the tidal wave of action heading their way brings serious concerns, too. When it arrives will they manage to surf it, or will it simply wipe them out?
Betfair, the betting exchange which accounts for at least 95% of the market, suffered a series of crashes last week when turnover was running at perhaps 25% of the level it can expect from tomorrow. The reason was an attempt to upgrade its website's hardware with Cheltenham in mind. Despite rigorous testing, though, the new systems failed miserably within hours of introduction and Betfair has now reverted to its old hardware until the problems can be solved.
For a business that is currently matching 12,000 bets per minute at peak periods, and can expect that figure to rise significantly as soon as the Festival begins, these latest problems are a major concern.
Paradoxically, these worries may also be shared by Betfair's much smaller competitors, Sporting Options and Betdaq, since a crash at the market leader would result in an exodus to the minor exchanges which both would struggle to accommodate.
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