I work for a UK company which provides online comparison of odds from
bookmakers across the globe - largely sports related.
I am looking for market information on the online betting industry,
betting exchanges and odds comparison sites which give an indication
of the direction in which the market is moving as well any information
on user experiences/preferences when using this type of service.

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Request for Question Clarification by ragingacademic-ga on 10 Mar 2003 20:00 PST

Zeon -

Thanks for your question.

I began to work on this earlier today, but wanted to make sure I am on
the right track.

Could you please clarify what you mean by market information?
Also, are you looking at this globally - or just UK/US?
Finally, are you mostly interested in understanding the market trends?

thanks,
ragingacademic

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Clarification of Question by zeon-ga on 10 Mar 2003 20:13 PST

Hey there. In answer to your questions :

- I'm really looking for information regarding the direction in which
the online betting industry is going in the future and the basis of
these predictions (i.e. past trends)
- UK/US/Europe is the main area of focus. Anywhere else is of
secondary consideration and not essential.
- Yes. I'm mostly interested in the market trends within the odds
comparision field, although this is fairly specific so the online
betting industry in general would be fine.

---

Clarification of Question by zeon-ga on 10 Mar 2003 21:14 PST

To further clarify :
When talking about market trends, I'm thinking about it as much from
the consumer's viewpoint (as in the way online betting will be for
them in the coming years) as I am from the perspective of the company
(how their profits are expected to grow).
Thanks

<Odds Checker 
Odds Checker has an odds page that shows odds that are coming in in
blue and odds that are going out in pink. You can also go to the
history page which shows you how the odds have changed throughout the
day. The top mover page list the odds with the biggest changes in
price. Antepost top differences shows the biggest changes in prices on
antepost betting. http://www.oddschecker.com/betting-odds-info/how_to_bet.htm

This site is reviewed at Alex. There are two customer reviews and both
give it the highest score of five stars.
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/reviews?q=&p=BrowseCat_W_t_40_L1&url=http://www.oddschecker.co.uk/

Odds Checker is also reviewed at Ciaou.co.uk. It is recommended by 80%
of readers. A review says it is a useful guide and time saver. However
it tends to lack behind more dynamic markets. The reviewer gives it a
four star rating out of a possible five stars. The full revies can be
seen at http://www.ciao.co.uk/oddschecker_com__Review_5133690


Tip-ex
Tip-ex shows the changes in odds http://finnx.tip-ex.com/sivu.php
Their comparison page shows odds now, previous odds and time of the
last change see http://finnx.tip-ex.com/oddschanges.php
At Doo yoo, Tip-ex gets a three star rating out of a possible five
stars.
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/misc/misc/tip_ex_com/_resources/


Bet Help.com
Bet Help.com shows odds changes but you need to be a member to access
them. http://www.bethelp.com/Odds/OddsAsianHandicap.htm

Sports Betting Odds has a review of this site that describes it as ‘a
storming site’. The full review can be read at
http://www.sports-betting-odds-uk.com/sbouk-review-bh.php

Odds Feed
Odds Feed provides up to date information on odds changes and stores
information about odds changes.
http://www.betresearch.com/of_introduction.html
At Eaton Web Portal Odds Feed has been given a 3 star rating out of a
possible five stars.

Odds Exchange
Odds Exchange allows you to see odds changes.
http://www.oddsexchange.com/servlet?cat=help#bodds
There are reviews of odds exchange on their forum at 
http://www.oddsexchange.com/forum/ui/viewThread.jsp?forum=17&thread=92
http://www.oddsexchange.com/forum/ui/viewThread.jsp?forum=17&thread=91>



<Search strategy:>
<"current odds" "previous odds">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=+%22current+odds%22+%22previous+odds%22>

<"odds now" "last change">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=+%22odds+now%22+%22last+change%22>

<"odds changes">
<://www.google.com/search?q=%22odds+changes%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=20&sa=N>
<"odds comparison" reviews>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22odds+comparison%22&as_q=reviews>


<Hope this helps.>

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Request for Answer Clarification by zeon-ga on 10 Mar 2003 22:12 PST

Thanks for your answer. Unfortunately I'm looking for 'market
information on the online betting industry', not information on
'betting markets'. It's a little clearer in the clarification I
provided. Companies like Oddschecker, as well as Bestbetting and
Betbrain, are the type of company I am refering to but what I need to
know is how this market has developed, and will continue to develop,
particularly from a user perspective. i.e. where industry experts
believe this will be in x years.

---

Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 11 Mar 2003 04:47 PST

<Merrill Lynch predicts that the global online betting industry will
be worth £125 billion by 2015. Interactive television is predicted to
account for half of that. Currently in the UK 70 % of bets are placed
on horseracing, 20 % on dogs and 5 % on football. Bookmakers
anticipate that Interactive television will encourage more betting on
other events like the Eurovision Song Contest, Boat Race and the
Oscars. Consumer psychologist anticipates that betting will become
less of a male dominated pastime. TV betting is likely to be offered
in partnership with broadcasters who will take a cut of the money bet.
The UK has had a slow uptake of internet betting with only 3% of
punters betting online. 90 % still bet in betting shops.
http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/articles/10/10-27.htm

Merryl lynch predicts online betting turnover to be 6.3 billion
dollars in 2003 rising to 86 billion dollars by 2005.
http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:V4G5PlL2IOMC:www.bettingmarket.com/analysis.htm+%22online+betting+industry%22++billion&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

An in-depth study of the sports betting industry in the U.S. The study
looks at the competition in the market, barriers to trade like
possible changes in U.S. legislation, types of betting products and
ideas for new products. The study says that a survey carried out by
Football Betting Guide 2000 into what customers want found that the
most important characteristics of an online betting company are
customer service, and handling of funds, rules and technology.
http://www.handels.gu.se/epc/archive/00002307/01/Cobb_2000_12.pdf

Research shows that America is the biggest market for online betting.
They place 60-70 % of all bets online.
http://www.e-iom.com/case/bet.html

The average bet size on the internet is around £25, on the phone £50
and on interactive television £10, suggesting that bettors prefer the
comfort of hearing a human voice when placing large bets.
http://www.silicon.com/analysis/500019/1/1033390.html


The online betting industry is becoming a very crowded market and is
likely to result in mergers or closures of some firms.
http://hot30onlinecasinos.com/n39.htm

Changes in betting laws may impact on online betting. For example when
the UK government started losing revenue to offshore betting
operations the law was changed abolishing betting tax in order to get
people betting again with UK operators. See
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/1209170.stm

Tighter regulation in Antigua may have an effect on the operation of
online betting on the island.
http://www.winneronline.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000664-2.html>


<Additional links:>

<The future of online betting>
<http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:TXiHs_CJWz8C:www.thomson-intermedia.com/pre/research/rpts/online_betting.doc+%22online+betting+industry%22+++future&hl=en&ie=UTF-8>

<Online Betting.>
<http://www.greatluckcasino.com/casino/gambling/betting.htm>

Profile of Sport Betting.com
<http://www.aimquoted.com/pages/story_display.php?story_id=14>


<Search strategy:>

<"online betting industry" trends>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22online+betting+industry%22&as_q=trends>


<"online betting industry"  billion>
<://www.google.com/search?q=%22online+betting+industry%22++billion&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=30&sa=N>


<Hope this helps.>

zeon -

This is a little odd - there are no formal rules regarding researchers
answering questions that other researchers are already working on,
because we want to make sure you, as the customer, receive the best
answer as quickly as possible.

However, typically, when a researcher asks for relevant clarifications
and is clearly communicating with the customer, other researchers will
give him or her some time to complete their reply (or to give up...)

I am sorry that the answer you have received is so clearly off track.

I'd be glad to continue and work on this - but cannot do so as long as
the question is already marked as "answered."

I'll continue to track this thread over the next few days to see how
this develops...

thanks,
ragingacademic