On Course Bookmaking Software

Elite Software are announcing a price increase to £150 a day, because we want a van as well.....

IS A CHARGE BEING CONSIDERED

There will be no charge this year.

Bully boy tactics fibber2.  Have us exclusively or not at all.

Must see you as a threat fibber2.  Take it as a compliment.

Anyone able to explain this without the code?

RDT have today sent an email to all their customers regarding their new software release.  In the email, they state that they will not be prepared to offer RDT to anyone who uses other software as well.  There are a few people who have been trying out Elite Software while it is free but are not as yet prepared to move from RDT.  RDT is not going to allow this and will no longer provide RDT to anyone who uses another supplier as well.

Surely if you have RDT on your computer, you can use it, how can they stop you, obviously you will eventually fall behind if they dont give you upgrades.

as you probably know , wasnot , there are also some who use exante but also use RDT at festival meeting because of internet connection problems.
how do they fare?

I suppose they can refuse you access to the network and hence shows/networking etc.  I have a contract with RDT and it says nothing in there about exclusivity.  If it had I would not have signed it and purchased their pretty expensive equipment I needed to get on their network.

Wasnot - thanks for reply. What about likes of KZN who I thought regularly switch between exante and RDT.

Same adge, if you are not exclusively RDT they are to deny you any RDT.

They will no longer be able to Davy, according to the email.

So if an Exante user wanted to pay RDT to load their software in tandem RDT wouldn't do it ? Incomprehensible and effectively turning money away !!

i was enquiring with nick daisley at cheltenham.
he uses exante but has recently purchased the RDT software and a keyboard and dongle for just under £500 for just this very purpose. he will not be pleased

It does seem a strange way to carry on demo.  Their daily costs are fixed so I would have thought they would have been glad of the extra money on the days when occasional users chip in.  I guess they are gambling on the casuals all signing up with them.  Not sure that is going to work.  What they have done is signal to everyone that they consider Elite to be a credible threat.  Elite will probably get more enquiries than ever now!

They claim that some of their 'loyal' customer have written to them to point out that it is unfair that RDT is available to bookmakers that don't use them all the time.  Mmmm...  Make your own minds up about that one.

their gripe seems to be that some use other software most of the year but when it comes to a big meeting like cheltenham they then want to use rdt for their connection,if that is the sum of it i can see their point but maybe there are ulterior motives,who knows?

Rearrange these words into an appropriate reply:

'Lindsay, ar$e, I'll, your, black, Maurice, hole, sue, a, into'

And please don't make the mistake of thinking I'm joking.

Your not suggesting that Maurice is telling porkies are you?

ribero1 - the exante/elite users are not going to sign up with RDT as a result of this.  Perhaps they would have been better off charging a premium to other users?

O.F.T. will deffo be interested.

I understand the dongle at cheltenham worked this year, so maybe exante/elite didnt need to switch.

Do you have your contract to hand Paddy?  When you signed up was there any mention of the service (which required a considerable investment) being curtailed as a result of you not using RDT exclusively?

Davy - first day it didn't.  Other days it did.  Who can tell what will happen next year?

Wassy, I was totally straight with them when I went to see them. They knew exactly why and when I needed the system. They were perfectly happy to supply me with what I wnated for the reasons I wanted it.

I'm not sure a supplier can deny access to a product based purely on agreeing exclusivity (a monopoly supplier of on-course bookmaker wi-fi at that).  Will have to have a little read of the competition act.

Are there any southern bookmakers using Elite?

paddy ,
you were handing cash over . would have been very difficult to turn you away.
they are itching to put the daily fee up to £25 if this action has the desired effect

i think the fee should be staggered depending on who you get.

I should think they can refuse custom in the same way any shop can refuse entry

Management reserves the right.....

I took delivery of a £300 keyboard on Saturday 545APG with no mentio of any of this.  Looks like I won't be allowed to use it.  Is that right?

What is the difference to RDT say between a dual software user who uses their system let's say 10 times a year and a single, exclusive RDT user who only goes out 10 times a year ?

Maybe it could be all sorted swiftly if you had to pre pay or book when and where you will be using the system

All sounds like sour grapes from RDT

would more sign up to rdt if they had bf instead of purple?

I would imagine so, ribero1.  I was planning on using RDT about 50 times this year.  Guess that'll now be zero.

I think so Ribero

My neighbour at Cheltenham was having problems all day on the 1st day and no sign of any backup from Exante

i would like it as you could do a few things in-running but the real consequences would be that we would all bet even worse!

We managed to bet alright a couple of weeks ago Ribero :-)

I have used Elite 22 time now so I am ahead by £440. I find the system to be robust with very few issues.

Once you have the differances of keyboard in your head it is as easy to use as Rdt.

I think this e-mail may well have a bully boy effect on a few with poor I.T. skills, but I believe all in all that its a better system.

"I took delivery of a £300 keyboard on Saturday 545APG with no mentio of any of this.  Looks like I won't be allowed to use it.  Is that right?"

It will work on the elite system wasnot ;)


Theres plenty of Exante users who switch between the 2 systems at festivals and the like,  I'd be suprised if RDT now shut the doors on these people.  Their action is probably intended to prevent their own users trying out our software, and potentially becoming dual software users.  Makes sense.

RDT provide a good service for users, with their on course support and reliable connection.  I'd quesition whether most would need that service all the time, and paying a daily flat fee for it doesn't seem right.  Mobile technology is getting better, like at Cheltenham we were suprised to find ourselves with a good strong stable connection Wednesday - Friday.  Tuesday, however, we heard that the '3' mobile mast was offline, and as we didn't have another dongle, we had fun betting blind - something which we were prepared to do anyway.  One user told us they managed to connect with another provider, although it was a bit intermittent.  As for on course support, useful for some, but I do know my way around a computer, and I can carry an extra battery with me :)

We'd hope the likes of whiskyalpha will continue to use us, and we will continue to work hard on making the software as robust, reliable and as easy to use as possible.  And if any users do come to us, we wont tie their hands up.  You can use our software whenever you want, as much as you want, we won't mind.

It appears to me that RDT's recent upgrade has merely copied (stolen) ideas from Elite.  There would have been no upgrade if Elite had come on the scene.

fibber2,

I have just used the point2point download feature, very impressed, saves typing all the runners in which used to take ages.

Cheers wa,  how much do we owe you for these comments? :)

how much is the software for your laptop and does it work with rdt boards?

The software is free to download, and yes it works with rdt boards.  I've sent you a message.

They also allow you to use other software if you wish, without trying to bully you into only using them.

I have just converted to elite and i must congratulate fibber2 , i now prefer it to exante and its far better than rdt . I do not see how RDT can survive in the long run with  their costs .

fibber2 , where have you sent the message to?

sent a personal message through betfair, it might not have worked I'll send it again

fibber 2, neither message came through?

OK, I can't see my sent messages, so don't know whats going on.  I was just giving you the website to get the software. www.elitebookmaking.com . Just need to register an account first.

Anyone any suggestions for Dongle Provider at Epsom Derby - used 3G last year, which was hopeless.

fibber 2 , ok thanks , looked at the site , wont download as im on my way to a point to point , were based in ireland , more than likely will make contact with you during the week , thanks

davy , i've got both 3 and vodaphone.
vodaphone worked pretty much last year but kept dropping off the year before whereas 3 just doesn't work.
it might depend on what part of the course you are , though

ok steinbeck no worries.

Davy - Need vodafone to start sponsoring it again!  3 was good at Cheltenham, I don't know if they had extra temporary masts, or if they have just improved their overall service.  If it was temporary masts, I'd hope they'd do it again at Epsom.  I'll try to find out.

Fibber, I am a current RDT user and being honest dont plan to change at the moment due to
the oncouse wi fi signal. I would like to thank you for forcing the issue with regards to the
recent changes to the system however, which they have had to make to compete with you!

I think buying you out would have been a simpler option than getting upset about the competition, and in reality they should be forcing the rate of change with the army of staff they have, but of course programmers cost money, and I am not talking about the £20k for each van.

Funny how most exante users i know say that is a better system also than RDT, place market being on same screen as win market for example, so there are plenty who would rather use alternatives every day.

If alternate wi fi on course becomes common place then RDT monopoly will be over in my view.

No one is allowed to dictate what you use on your computer the office of fair trading will not allow it.

sounds like a bit of bluff and thay will know they cant enforce it and if they try to do it they will be in big trouble

Sorry to drag up an old thread but anyone got anymore opinions on this,is there a charge now?

There is still no charge - God knows why not.  Mainly used a 3 dongle all year with a tmobile as back up.   Connected everywhere as far as I can remember, even Goodwood which I thought may have been a problem.

ex-RDT keyboard packed up so I bought a keyboard for about £10 and used that with some stickers Elite supplied. Actually prefer it now and it's lighter to carry.

charming ive just spent 1/2 hour reading this thread and checking my emails wondering why i havnt recieved one,and then got to the end and realised it was an april thread.

IanP - What did you use at Epsom?

Don't do Epsom anymore.  Usually at Worcester that day now.

Are RDT the dominant provider of on-course software?

If so, surely this is an abuse of monopoly power?

It almost certainly is Dr Gonzo, but no-one wants to test it.

Software is still free to use at the moment.  We will probably start to introduce a fee in the coming months.

Although if anyone new wanted to try us out, we'd no doubt let them use it for free for an intoductory period.

To echo IanP, personally I haven't had any major problem's connecting to the internet using a 3 dongle last year whilst bookmaking, including the Cheltenham festival best mate/ Epsom Derby tatts.  I don't go out much though, and for me connecting to Betfair isn't a major concern anyway.  The biggest priority for me is having a stable network to link pitches, so if we think the mobile dongle connection might be dodgy, we take a wifi router with us.  Other users also do this, either via a powered wifi router, or even a small mifi will do.

Thanks for the reply IanP and i have sent you a pm Fibber.

thanks

fibber   excuse me for picking your brains but im a technophobe, im on exante and  do suffer signal probl;ems at bg meets,you mentioned a wireless router, how does that work, obviously i have a hub indoors andim with  bt,but how can you pickup something at cheltr on a wireless router, as for mii ivenever heard of it.

sickof - the router is only any use for connecting 2 pitches together.  Cant be used for connecting to internet.

ok m8 thanks  excuse my ignorance, but a bookie from wales was at my local track (brighton) and he had  somekindof set up where he set up his own wi fi thing which could link

that will probably be mi-fi.  Wont help with connection problems but can link 2 pitches together.

trouble has always been the same i want to use bfair not  bdaq.somebody said that this year theres a chance that dongle and phone signals will be a seperate thing  nd should sort out the  dongle problem

Next big thing is 4g.  Being rolled out in cities at moment, will cover 98% of country eventually.  Faster and more reliable than wi-fi.  Will be a little while before its usable for us on racecourses.

any idea what kind of timescale for that

if it cmes to fruition rdt will lose loads of customers as  the real reason they are in such a strong postion is the signal, if that ceases to be a big issue many will switch as bfair is far better to work with

I think people are with rdt for the on-course support.  Betfair liquidity is going through the floor so not as big an advantage as it once was.

agreed the oncourse support has always been an issue but less now as exante can tap into our computers from home and put most problms straight. i considered using rdt for major meets but never got round to it, i have worked with other firms  who have rdt and think the systms are pretty similar.obviously  i wouldnt be able to use rdt now as they want exclusive customers only.

to be honest it doesnt really matter at the moment  ,ive hardly been out this winter(i made that decsion  ages ago)i pick the odd dry day at plumpton and i may do one or two ling a/w but the winters a no no .

I've replied starshaped....

I've been to the pub to watch the footy, it's a good job we have wasnot on the books to answer questions for us

Just a shame the pay's not better.  Still pays better than on-course bookmaking at the moment :(

Wonder if anything will change when lads take over purple?

is that a guarentee ribero.....just enquiring

I have used the Elite system 143 times during the last 12 months and have found it to be very reliable. The cost savings have been considerable in the region of £2700.
I used to buy all my equipment from rdt at an inflated price. Printers and replcement batteries and some cables are available on the internet those that are not are much cheaper via elite.

happy new year whiskey,that saving can go towards the marketing fee,in fact it will make you feel even better about the terrific value we get fronm the fee.

And happy new year to you jimnast. As for the marketing fee, I'am looking forward to all the racecourse lead initiatives that will introduce a wave of new punters to the ring!!!!!!!

I think so johnny,later this month i believe.

Regarding RDT trying to force their customers into a 'single supplier' situation - is this not slightly akin to Microsoft's attempt to limit browser usage to Internet Explorer which once challenged in the courts was found to be unenforcable?

for my portable devices i use 3G a huawei portable dongle size of a small bar of soap, the broadband is faster than at home about 25 quid a month and connects to 5 devices,might help some

my view [ i have stayed loyal to exante ] is that the dongle works perfectly on all days and all courses that i bet at EXCEPT for a partial at best service at the cheltenham festival , epsom derby day and royal ascot. it works ok at goodwood and aintree.
now the question then is which is the best....one that has internet connection problems on a handful of days but has the betfair price for win and place markets in full view or the other system which uses purple and it's very poor liquidity midweek but has full racecourse support which to me seems necessary.
so which is best....i beleve as both have one clear drawback they end up equal if both cost the same to use

there seems an obvious conclusion there.

hello adge i still cant get on that other forum .

jimnast ,
you seem the only one i have heard of that has any problem . there are a fair degree of good posts and questions on  the forum which would also improve for your input.
i suggest you telephone linda in the office from next monday with your home computer switched on and let her talk you through what is causing your difficulty

thanks adge i will give her a ring,i am able to read the posts but cant put my twopennyworth in.

thanks ribero

adge
I haven't been able to get on either for the last week or so.

interesting , linda is on holiday this week , i suggest yo do the same as jimnast and ring the office on monday.
as you will know i am no computer buff but i've experienced no problems

If you have any any problems regarding access to the other forum, please email alanwracing@aol.com. If you are a member of the Northern BPA or East of Scotland B.A. and you want to join then get in touch and I will get you a Username and Password.
Cheers,
Alan W