Punter claims he was unfairly banned by Betfair for using ‘stream’
An in-play horse-racing punter says Betfair unfairly closed his VIP account without warning after he was dobbed in for using a “stream” that gave him an edge on punters at home.
Adam Fraser, a former professional golfer, is exploring his legal options after Betfair executed one of its customer terms and conditions to “suspend or terminate” Fraser’s account “either with or without cause”.
Betfair has shut down one punter’s account over in-race streaming.Credit:Getty Images
Betfair declined to comment on why it closed Fraser’s account, but Fraser believes someone who was on a Zoom stream with him took a screenshot of the video chat and reported him to Betfair.
But Fraser argues what he did was legal, by watching – via Zoom – a “free-to-air” channel on a network that would normally be installed on televisions for access to religious stations, and then betting on the outcomes of races after the gates had opened.
“Part of being a successful in-play trader is trying to find a time-delay edge, and even though you’ll never beat being totally live, the closer an in-play trader can get to live vision the greater opportunities it presents to show his/her skills,” Fraser said.
“The vision that was being watched by myself and other in-play traders that day, and it was ‘free-to-air’ vision, it is available to every member of the Australian public to watch. The reason I was watching it on the Zoom app is because I didn’t have the channel at home, and my friend had it.
“It just so happens [this channel] comes with the odd race meeting and sports coverage, which [my friend] thought I might be interested in, being an in-play racing trader, and I expressed to a few fellow in-play trader friends that this was available to watch, and they did also.”
What is in-play betting?
In-play betting allows punters to bet on the result of the race after the race has begun.
For example, punters may place bets on a horse to win after it jumps well and leads in the early part of the race, or they may lay – bet to lose – on a favourite that misses the start.
On an exchange like Betfair, bets are taken against other punters, unlike bookmakers who determine the odds. So, an in-play punter on Betfair with a time advantage, such as a punter on course, can see the race taking shape up to seven seconds before a punter at home.
Fraser said the stream carried a delay of between 0.5 and one second on the live race, “hence why it is so popular with in-play traders”. Regular Betfair customers punting at home are doing so on vision feeds up to seven seconds delayed, but they are also betting against punters on-course, who can watch the race in real time and also bet on the exchange with a delay edge, which is considered a fair advantage.
Punters who have a delay advantage can see favourites miss the start, or horses loom to win races before punters at home, and bet on the outcome accordingly. Fraser denied that the Zoom stream was broadcast from the racetrack, where on-course television screens broadcast near-live feeds of the races. While there are no racing rules preventing punters from using streams to bet in-play, conditions of racecourse entry prevent govern the transmission and distribution of vision.
Some in the racing industry, such as bookmaker Rob Waterhouse, believe broadcasters should be ordered to broadcast the races in real time, so punters at home aren’t disadvantaged.
Fraser, who also runs a golf tipping and ratings service, fears Betfair has set a precedent to punish in-play punters who use easily available broadcasts.
“If they don’t re-open my account, are Betfair going to close every in-play traders’ account that has ever watched ‘free-to-air’ vision?” Fraser said.
“It would surely cost Betfair hundreds of millions of dollars in matched bet in-play turnover long term, I’d assume, if they did so. My account being closed has definitely set a precedent, it seems.”
He said he believed Betfair had acted negligently in closing his account and had defamed his character by doing so. The former professional golfer, brother of Australian golfer Marcus Fraser, said he was exploring his legal options to get his account back online.
In a statement, Betfair said, “integrity and fairness” were paramount to running a betting exchange.
“Betfair offers an online betting exchange to its customers and, like other wagering operators licensed in Australia, allows its customers to bet in the run on thoroughbred and harness racing,” the company said.
“We don’t provide racing vision to our customers. Races are owned, managed and broadcast by third parties, and therefore Betfair does not have rules in relation to accessing footage of races.
“Integrity and fairness are of the utmost importance to Betfair.
“Betfair has the right to terminate a customer’s account in accordance with Betfair’s terms and conditions, and a customer can also close their Betfair account at any time.”
Racing Victoria said stewards did not “currently hold concerns” about in-play traders.
“In-play betting on thoroughbred racing is an approved betting practice in Victoria and is not something that our stewards currently hold concerns about,” Racing Victoria said in a statement.
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