Not sure if you had time to catch this 'article' which was linked from my news feed yesterday. News of the World claimed to interview a high-roller by the name of Elliott Short, who boasted of winning millions on Betfair. It sounded like a glory-seeking tosser making ludicrous claims, and it turns out it probably was....
The guy claimed to have been made redundant as a £22k per year city trader, then turned his hand to Betfair and was making millions. He boasted of laying the favourite, hoping the second fav would win - but if that lost, he'd also make money too. And he was winning up to £1.5 million at a time.... the Betfair market can't absorb that even in a championship race unless you drip feed it in over at least an hour.
Betfair's response:
We have been contacted by several customers in relation to an article in Sunday’s News of the World. We would like to make it clear that Betfair was not asked to comment on, or validate any aspect of, the article ahead of publication.
Although we cannot comment on the activities of any specific customer, some facts which may be relevant to some of the claims made in the article include:
the biggest winner in the relevant Britain’s Got Talent market (Susan Boyle winner - Yes/No) won less than £3,000.
No Betfair customer won £1.5 million or anything even vaguely approaching that amount betting on the Champion Hurdle.
No Betfair customer won £500,000 or anything even vaguely approaching that amount laying Monsieur Chevalier at Royal Ascot
The figures shown in the account statement screenshot in the News Of the World do not reconcile to any Betfair account.
The monies present in a Betfair account are obviously no indicator of the sums won or lost on the account.
We would encourage customers to be wary of the claims of anyone purporting to have a profitable system or strategy.
We would encourage customers to retain a healthy degree of scepticism toward any claims made in the press which are not validated by Betfair.
The News of the World is a trash newspaper, repeatedly publishing fabricated news stories, and they've been conned completely by this deluded bloke. They didn't check their facts and now they've had to pull the story from the website because it was pure fiction.
The Guardian has picked up on it as well...
The guy claimed to have been made redundant as a £22k per year city trader, then turned his hand to Betfair and was making millions. He boasted of laying the favourite, hoping the second fav would win - but if that lost, he'd also make money too. And he was winning up to £1.5 million at a time.... the Betfair market can't absorb that even in a championship race unless you drip feed it in over at least an hour.
Betfair's response:
We have been contacted by several customers in relation to an article in Sunday’s News of the World. We would like to make it clear that Betfair was not asked to comment on, or validate any aspect of, the article ahead of publication.
Although we cannot comment on the activities of any specific customer, some facts which may be relevant to some of the claims made in the article include:
the biggest winner in the relevant Britain’s Got Talent market (Susan Boyle winner - Yes/No) won less than £3,000.
No Betfair customer won £1.5 million or anything even vaguely approaching that amount betting on the Champion Hurdle.
No Betfair customer won £500,000 or anything even vaguely approaching that amount laying Monsieur Chevalier at Royal Ascot
The figures shown in the account statement screenshot in the News Of the World do not reconcile to any Betfair account.
The monies present in a Betfair account are obviously no indicator of the sums won or lost on the account.
We would encourage customers to be wary of the claims of anyone purporting to have a profitable system or strategy.
We would encourage customers to retain a healthy degree of scepticism toward any claims made in the press which are not validated by Betfair.
The News of the World is a trash newspaper, repeatedly publishing fabricated news stories, and they've been conned completely by this deluded bloke. They didn't check their facts and now they've had to pull the story from the website because it was pure fiction.
The Guardian has picked up on it as well...
"We would encourage customers to be wary of the claims of anyone purporting to have a profitable system or strategy."
ReplyDeleteHaha, I like that one! Its like their saying you cant win! Not really, but you know what I mean!
Yes, but really it's just a warning about any form of investment promising get rich quick returns, whether it's with Betfair, Bernard Madoff or property in Bulgaria. The only way to make money is by doing the hard yards yourself. Take shortcuts and you will get stung...
ReplyDeleteBugger, was about to start laying favourites on the 'orses tomorrow. I'll cancel the Porsche in the morning.
ReplyDeleteCheck out laybetting.org
ReplyDelete"We have partnered with Betfair.com to offer you a free £25 lay bet stake to get you started like Elliott in the exciting world of lay betting"
Betfair may have something to say about that...
Did you notice that Elliott Short sounds very similar to "I lay it short?"