Btw I think the stock mkt is more knackered up by the extremely high IQ participants than the low ones.
But of course I could be wrong.

Betfair Group plc (the "Company") announces that in accordance with the authority granted by shareholders at the Company's Annual General Meeting on 6th October 2010 it purchased 50,000 of its Ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each ("shares") on 20 July 2011 for cancellation.


The average price paid per share was 648.13 pence per share.

The highest price paid per share was 654.5 pence per share.

The lowest price paid per share was 635 pence per share.


To date 567,477 shares have been repurchased under this authority.


Following the above transaction the Company has 107,548,556 shares in issue. This number represents the total voting rights in the Company and may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the Financial Services Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Betfair comments on EC opinion reveals new USP
Eric Bianchi
July 19, 2011
0 Comments and 3 Reactions
Like most opinions issued in Europe on gambling, there are gaming companies lining up to have their say. The alpha male of this group is usually a company that has had a fairly woeful last eight months, Betfair. The latest comments issued by European Union (EU) regulators concern Germany’s new draft law on gambling and accordingly Betfair has had its say. The statement in full from the company’s chief legal and regulatory affairs officer, Martin Cruddace, was as follows:

“From the very outset it was clear to us that the proposals put forward by the German Laender were discriminatory, anti-competitive and therefore incompatible with EU law. We are therefore pleased and encouraged to learn today that the European Commission shares this same opinion.”

“Although the federal states claim to be opening up the market for sports betting, the current draft treaty contained a raft of protectionist measures designed to keep private online operators out of the market.

“We now expect the German draft law to be amended so that it genuinely caters for a competitive online gambling market in Germany, and will subsequently ensure the highest standards of value, integrity and security for German consumers.

“As a responsible operator committed to transparency and integrity, Betfair hopes to obtain a licence in the newly regulated German market, and we view today’s action from the Commission as a significant step towards us achieving this goal.”

It’s nothing more than a reiteration of their earlier opinion that the law is discriminatory and anti-competitive. Although, now the regulators have agreed with their earlier point that it is incompatible with European Union (EU) law so it carries infinitely more weight. It does raise the question if this is Betfair’s new unique selling point. The “we-comment-on-everything-first” USP.

Are betfair they only people buying betfair shares???

Betfair Group PLC : - Repurchase of Ordinary Shares
Betfair Group plc (the "Company") announces that in accordance with the authority granted by shareholders at the Company's Annual General Meeting on 6th October 2010 it purchased 50,000 of its Ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each ("shares") on 21 July 2011 for cancellation.


The average price paid per share was 652.44 pence per share.

The highest price paid per share was 658 pence per share.

The lowest price paid per share was 644 pence per share.


To date 617,477 shares have been repurchased under this authority.


Following the above transaction the Company has 107,498,556 shares in issue. This number represents the total voting rights in the Company and may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the Financial Services Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Betfair looks to regain its winning streak
The City is wondering if the betting exchange has lost its way, and not just its CEO, since last year's IPO


Betfair's name will be up in lights today as the sponsor of the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in which last year's Derby winner, Workforce, will seek to bounce back from his recent defeat against four top class rivals.

The £1m midsummer highlight of the British flat racing season will see the company's branding prominently displayed on the BBC, which is broadcasting the event. And it will hope to gain from some positive PR from the race. The day will, in other words, afford the betting exchange a brief respect from the wolves who are pursuing it in the City.

It wasn't so long ago that Betfair was carrying all before it, revolutionising the betting industry and frightening the life out of the bookies. But times have changed and the company is now seeking a new chief executive to pull it out of what one analyst described as "a perfect storm".

Firstly there are its rivals which, after spending years fruitlessly complaining about the exchange's treatment by the tax and regulatory authorities, have done what they arguably should have done all along by turning up the competitive heat.

Meanwhile the exchange's recent decision to follow betting companies offshore is unlikely to benefit it for long. This week the Treasury unveiled a review of gambling taxation which will likely force all offshore online operators to pay the same 15 per cent tax on gross profits that land-based operators have to pony up. This follows the decision by John Penrose, the minister responsible for gambling, to require firms taking bets from UK citizens obtain a licence from the Gambling Commission.

The operation's international expansion strategy has also been called into question by various countries apparently moving to close the doors to betting exchanges.

Initially, Betfair's long anticipated flotation last October was a success, with the shares racing ahead after they were priced at £13 (valuing the company at £1.4bn). They were chased up to a high of £16.10 amid frenzied demand. Since then, however, it's been all downhill and yesterday they closed at just 658p.

Financial statements since the company joined the markets have singularly failed to impress. In June, Betfair said "core" revenues grew by just 7.8 per cent for the year ending 30 April. That wasn't enough for investors, given the shares' lofty rating.

The figures were released just days after chief executive David Yu announced plans to step down – one of a number of senior figures to depart in recent months. Insiders argue that while Mr Yu is a whizz when it comes to technology, his communication skills are less stellar.

BGC Partners' partner David Buik, a City veteran who has had stints in the gambling industry, says he remains a fan of Betfair but argues that the company has work to do. "What they really need to do is hire a chief executive with communications skills who can explain the strategy to the market and get investors back on side. A City veteran, not necessarily from the gambling industry, who can also provide the leadership the company needs."

Mr Buik also raises questions about the position of Ed Wray, one of Betfair's co-founders, as chairman. "Betfair needs a new broom. It will be appointing a new CEO, but needs a new chairman who commands the respect of analysts to get the Betfair message across. Currently it has fallen on deaf ears."

Analysts say that the company needs more than that. They argue that there are structural problems that need to be addressed. And fast.

Paul Leyland, Investec's gambling analyst, has a sell rating on the shares even at their current depressed level. He says: "I'm concerned that given their cost base it will be difficult to make money in a taxed UK environment and difficult for them to do in Europe on a regulated basis too. It's unclear that their current business model is appropriate. Operationally they don't have much room to maneuver and from a regulatory standpoint they are being squeezed in their most profitable markets."

James Hollins, at Evolution Securities, is less bearish and has shifted to neutral on the shares after being an early seller. But he also says that Betfair has deep-seated strategic problems. "The question they have to answer is should they be spending a shed load of money chasing international expansion or whether they should focus on their UK business – which is, after all, a very good business – and take advantage of those international opportunities that do exist. If they do this they have to take some costs out and stop running it as an enormous business with all those people in Hammersmith."

What stops Mr Hollins from turning more bullish on Betfair is that "no one knows what the strategic decision is". With the chief executive an unknown (Mr Yu remains in post until a successor if found) it will probably be left to Mr Wray. But will his pride prevent him from performing a volte face at a time when operations such as Paddy Power, William Hill and Bet365 are snapping at his heels with compelling online offerings of their own?

All the same, it's probably too early to call time on Betfair as a contender for the corporate Derby just yet.

Head of communications Tessa Murray accepts that the company has work to do, but says: "We're obviously disappointed by the share price performance – it's due to a combination of factors, some down to us and some facing the sector as a whole – which is why our peer group has fallen by 20 per cent on average.

"We've made some improvements to the business but the fundamentals remain unchanged – we offer the best prices and the exchange is more popular than ever – there were 20 per cent more bets matched year on year – a record 916 million. Plus, we are a growing business in a growing market with no debt and £150m on our balance sheet. We set out a plan at our results last month showing how we're going to deliver shareholder value – through top line growth, margin improvement and return of excess cash to shareholders."

That includes integrating its sportsbook – where Betfair acts as a bookie – with the betting exchange, which matches people making bets with people laying them. This will allow people wanting to take an early price on, for example, a horse race to get on before the exchange's market is fully formed (which can take some time for minor races). Instead of punters setting the price, Betfair will do it.

Ms Murray argues that while regulatory doors have apparently been shutting, things can change very fast. And sentiment can change very quickly. Take those taxation changes. They may yet make life difficult for smaller, weaker online and telephone bookies who rely on their low tax offshore locations to turn a profit.

Betfair is still a thoroughbred: while it needs a new jockey, it is still at the races alongside Ladbrokes and William Hill.

How the bookies fought back

*The exchange loudly trumpets that its prices are 20 per cent better (on average) than bookmakers' starting prices. Betfair also enables punters to "lay" horses to lose as well as backing them to win. And then there's the revolution of betting "in running" while a sporting event is under way.

Well, in terms of pricing, bookmakers have worked out a very punter-friendly offer: the "guaranteed price". Let's say you back a horse at 5-1 but the odds drift and the starting price is declared at 10-1. With the guaranteed price the bookmaker will pay you at 10-1. If the price comes in to say 2-1, no problem. You'll get still the 5-1 at which you placed the bet.

Most bookies also now offer betting "in running" (particularly good for football or cricket). But the ability to "lay" is still unique to Betfair – and the prices you can get on outsiders still make its offer potentially compelling.

THE INDEPENDENT

frightening the life out of the bookies



The old phrase "like being savaged by a dead sheep" comes to mind.


What they really need to do is hire a chief executive with communications skills who can explain the strategy to the market and get investors back on side. A City veteran, not necessarily from the gambling industry,

The last thing they need is another half witted city delusional.

Cracking stuff from the head of communication, there:  "we offer the best prices".

No, YOU do not.  Your customers do.  And many of the market-making customers who compete to offer these best prices are being priced out or forced to tighten up, weakening this competition.  Does anyone at Betfair understand what an exchange even is any more?

Will their own sportsbook really maintain these best prices?  I doubt it.  So the key selling point they are still emphasising is the very point they are weakening.

it not better even at 3%  for soccer, baseball, NFL, NBA

read that last week good for them sell shares for 13 buy them back half price,they hopeing goes back up for more profit.

11 July 2011  it purchased 120,000-The average price paid per share was 663.72 pence per share 
12 July 2011  it purchased 100,000-The average price paid per share was 669.78 pence per share 
13 July 2011  it purchased 97,477-The average price paid per share was 707.09 pence per share   
14 July 2011  it purchased 50,000-The average price paid per share was 685.62 pence per share
15 July 2011  it purchased 50,000-The average price paid per share was 648.17 pence per share 
18 July 2011  it purchased 50,000-The average price paid per share was 626.74 pence per share
19 July 2011  it purchased 50,000-The average price paid per share was 634.09 pence per share
20 July 2011  it purchased 50,000-The average price paid per share was 648.13 pence per share
21 July 2011  it purchased 50,000-The average price paid per share was 652.44 pence per share
25 July 2011  it purchased 50,000-The average price paid per share was 654 pence per share

4,430,089   total shares 667,477   average price 663.71 pence per share

They would be a helluva lot better though if the share price was going up.
Apparently their pay packages include a substantisl no. of nil cost options, but what is the strike price ?
Anybody know ?

Upgrading the exchange


25 JULY 2011 
Online betting exchange Betfair is midway through an infrastructure upgrade designed to support business growth
Betfair’s online betting exchange is among the UK’s most successful technological innovations of the recent era. Allowing gamblers to agree odds with one another, even during the course of a sporting event, it is today the largest betting exchange in the world, supporting more trades each day than all of Europe’s stock exchanges put together.

In October last year, the company was launched on the London Stock Exchange, raising more than £200 million (Betfair has since issued a share buy-back scheme to appease disappointed investors).

Before the initial public offering took place, Betfair had laid out a three-year plan to upgrade its technical architecture. According to software development director Hugh Fahy, the injection of funds has not led to an IT spending spree – the extra scrutiny of the public market has instead solidified its focus on that plan. “That’s been useful, because it has reduced the chance of us overextending ourselves as we redevelop our core platform,” he says.

One of the key components of the platform upgrade is to extend the use of service-oriented architecture principles.

As Betfair’s business began to take off around 2005, Fahy explains, its priority was to make sure that the betting exchange worked as reliably as possible. It therefore built supplementary functionality, such as the customer’s online wallet, to be tightly integrated with the exchange.

In recent years, however, the company has branched out into services including online poker and arcade games. Although customers can use their winnings from the exchange on these services, the fact that the wallet is tightly coupled to the exchange means that their ability to play might be constrained by their betting position – not ideal when Betfair wants to encourage customers to use as many services as possible.

This is one reason why the company is redesigning its core platform according to SOA principles. When the wallet functionality is supported by separate services from the exchange, gamblers will have greater freedom to spend their money.

Global Growth
Another reason is international expansion. Although betting exchanges are banned in most US states, New Jersey and California have recently passed laws permitting some forms of exchange wagering.

To tap these markets, Betfair has to introduce new, separate exchanges tailored to each state’s regulatory restrictions. However, it does not want to build separate wallet functionality for each exchange, for example, and a service-based approach allows it to reuse its existing assets.

The company has therefore implemented three new SOA components: a service container (or repository), a service look-up (or registry) and a ‘publish/subscribe’ messaging framework. The latter is based on Progress Software’s Sonic MQ messaging system, and Fahy describes it as the ‘event handler’. “Our system generates a whole bunch of events – matching a bet, a customer changing their loss limits, or an account being locked or suspended,” he says.

Part of the reason for selecting Sonic MQ, Fahy says, is that it can compensate for degraded network quality. Betfair has nine data centres around the world, and many of them are in locations where the wide area network (WAN) is not always reliable.

The first use of the messaging framework is to satisfy the Italian gambling regulator, which is introducing regulation of betting exchanges this year. Unlike countries such as the UK, where the Gambling Commission audits betting companies periodically, Italy’s regulator creates a unique ticket for every bet that is placed in the country, in real time. So each time a bet is matched on Betfair’s exchange in Italy, the company will soon have to inform the regulator that very minute.

The business that would have been lost in Italy without it was enough to justify the entire investment, says Fahy.

selling more like , the only ones buying are Betfair

That's when you usually do try to buy your own shares ( a low volume day).
Geez there are some real heavyweight stock analysts/corporate financiers on here.

They've spent fortunes on a system that just isn't required to match two people who want to bet (in fact it makes it more difficult and complex for them) but offers sublime support for the parasitic acitivities that have created the bulk of the winners that they now say are draining the exchange.   


If they ran the NHS 99% of resources would be spent on hypochondriacs and their solution to the problem would include charging sick people for operations they had to wait an extra 18 months for.

That's when you usually do try to buy your own shares ( a low volume day).
Geez there are some real heavyweight stock analysts/corporate financiers on here.

Really...it was a low trading day on betfair shares?, what's the ave trading Volume for betfair shares? or you don't know sh!t?

betfair is buying around 50% of their own shares each day

As betfair are currently buying back their shares, does that mean that now is a good time to be a buyer, or would the buy back be propping up their share price?

betfair buying their shares, should mean that the price per 1 betfair share should go up in value...but when betfair is buying 50% of the turnover per day, that not a good sign

Askari
Seems like quite a pretty succinctand accurate analysis to me.
I would be interested to hear an expansion of your thoughts on
"---- a cohesive team at the top who share an understanding of what bf is ---".
Is it just being an alternative to the HS bookies, with all that such simplistically entails ( not being banned, ir betting, laying big fields easily and quickly etc etc)?