Avoid Matchbook

that sucks. they should not be allowed apply any fee changes to deposits made before the change of terms. im sure there are many others with even larger balances who will be charged. matchbook must be cleaning up. hope you can get your money back. im sure a lot wouldnt have even played there if the charge was in place at said time

The Gambling Commission said they can not help with 'contractual disputes'!

They are out and out con men.

qft

@ YOMOMMA.  Seems like you did okay in the end and got out at a good time. Here i was a couple of weeks ago singing their praise and now I am finding out how amateur they really are.

On 29/7 I received an email from then telling me that due to an upgrade, that I would have to make a one off deposit before I could make any future withdrawls. I made that deposit, placed a few small bets, before their site crashed costing me $500 last week. After complaining to a VIP Customer Service staff member, he offered me a "Goodwill Joke" of only $50 subsidy in commission for future bets until recovered.

Finding that unacceptable I responded, but have not heard back in a number of days so I went to withdraw my balance, only to be told that yet again I have to deposit a further $43.00 due to another upgrade, prior to being able to withdraw any funds. It sounds to me like they need the money more than I do.

Sounds like those emails I used to get from Nigeria, sleepless.

@Darlo. Did you have no luck with those Nigerian's. I got a diamond mine and a cute wife from them and all I had to do was give them my bank details.

unf frog I have no faith at all that the gambling commission understands anything about "modern" gambling.  They ignore cheating at poker and corruption in racing, so I can't see that they would be in the least bothered about an exchange ignoring best execution.

Read once that someone attempted to place a bet that was well covered by the amount of money on offer
but was allowed only a small fraction.

They seem to have a good relation with Oddschecker because they (oddschecker) refuse to take into
account that commission is paid on losing bets.

Strange that Oddschecker prefer to knowingly supply their customers with false information.

hi Frog, as is usually the case all I see on google is blah, blah, blah. Half bull sh!t and half hype. The owners are just names to me so the only way to draw my own conclusion is to give them a go. All I want is a fair go and to do business with credible companies on a level paying field. Clearly that is way too much to expect in this industry, or perhaps it is just a sign of the times.

For what it is worth I think Matchbook are no better or worse than others. They all operate offshore for their own questionable benefits and don't give a feck about their customers. So far they have done themselves out of hundreds of dollars in commission while they make no effort to communicate or resolve the issue, so it doesn't serve to benefit either party.

This thing about them expecting multiple deposits, so that they can upgrade their system concerns me, particularly given the current dispute. Cooperation is a 2 way street, as is respect. If they don't give it, they sure as hell won't get any in return from me.

Kerrygold are you speaking from experience,

Firstly the commission is 1% per bet, win or lose, not 1% of net profit. If you like to duck in and out of a market and green up both sides, it is easy for commission to exceed 10%.

Secondly comm rate is irrelevant if their site crashes and your bet loses because you can not trade out of your position to create a green book.

Thirdly, they have very limited games, with very limited markets turned in play. Match odds and over/under 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 is all, and if there is more than one big match on at the same time liquidity disappears dramatically. Try trading goal markets when you have 4 or 5 EPL games scheduled at the same time on a Saturday arvo.

Fourth, most times you try to match a bet already in the system, that price conveniently disappears during countdown and adjusts in their favour, further reducing profits if you start chasing their prices and finally, if you have a problem and hope to receive some sort of customer service, well save your time cos just like Betfair, they don't give a feck.

I am more than happy too deal with them, when they deserve my business.

I had no problem with them. Closed my acct now. If i took a bigger price on Betfair i usually won , but if i took the bigger price on Matchbook i invariably lost. I think there are some very smart operators on Matchbook.

Matchbook have potential, but not under current circumstances. Their site and customer service is crap(but then again so is Betfairs), their number of markets going "in play" are laughable and it appears not to be peer to peer. As Bingo Bongo and Frog seems to be suggesting, if owners are adding liquidity they have a vested interest in scaring off winners, because it is owners money that punters are winning, as compared to peer to peer where Matchbook make a locked in profit regardless of who wins.

I wonder if perhaps the reason offers are removed when they see counter offers coming in is to drive the price out and get matched 3 or 4 per cent better off, so that they can immediately accept the genuine price with Betfair and make an instant 3 or 4 percent over and above commission. I doubt that 1% commission would even cover the cleaners wage(or others would be offering it). Perhaps the same process is being undertaken by a private investor, who knows, but it will scare customers off pretty quick either way.

If they push me out and I am stupid enough to accept a lay for $10,000@1.57 and they can offset that immediately with a lay of 1.54 on Betfair, they lock in an instant profit greater than what they stand to gain from commission. Do that consistently and it will quickly add up. Just saying.

I am sure Matchbook are lurking as has previously been admitted to me, so why not sort it out and show transparency so both parties can get back to making money, instead of wasting time on a forum. Check the view count on this thread alone. That can't be good for business.

because, as you seem to know, the commission structure isn't based on profits. So you could clearly lose money on a trade that would be profitable on BF.

If you deposit and withdraw without placing bet, what did you expect? They are best @ the moment.

Has anyone else been asked to go through this process with them twice in a month????

no problem, Dave, that is why the could be a worthy alternative under the right circumstances.

funkymonkey, I have never been charged a withdrawal fee. I had reasonable turnover without multiple withdrawals though. I drew the same conclusion that unless your commission paid does not cover their bank/admin fees then they reserve the right to charge a 2% processing fee.

Have you received emails from them asking you to make one off deposit and withdrawals to confirm your card details due to an upgrade to their system. I received one on July 29 and I did as they asked, but then I received another email making the same request on September 3 asking me to deposit another $43 for the same reason. I tried to withdraw funds a couple of days ago and they wouldn't let me, until I make that deposit. When i contacted "live chat" they just said that the first time failed at their end so I had to do another one. There is more than enough money in my account so that is not an issue, but I seem to be the only one being asked to make these random deposits for their benefit.

Cheers Funkymonkey,

I play with bigger money, but certainly no hot shot. I can't imagine that they would charge you for a withdrawal if you bet regularly and don't withdraw all of the time. I assume that they would have to warn you if there are any fees before finalising the transaction. Just get on live chat and ask if you have any concerns.

I just wonder with my problem if it has something to do with the fact that i would be covered by different regulators being from outside the UK, but all they specify is an upgrade to their software, so it should be the same for everyone. Buggered if I know. Sadly, MB haven't even got the decency to respond to my emails.

You all gonna place bets on PP soon. So be happy what is whether you like MB withdrawal policy or not.

Thanks for the link Darlo, dig a bit deeper and there are plenty more

JML - Are Sporting Options the same mob as WSEX