Smarkets in 35 seconds
December 16, 2009
We’ve put together this quick video to show the basic features of Smarkets.
We’ll be recording a bunch of videos to illustrate how Smarkets works and to introduce novice punters to the basics of betting. If you have any specific questions, check out our FAQs section or get in touch with us.
Gaming payout methods and eGaming Review Live 2009
December 7, 2009
Smarkets attended a fascinating presentation by Paul Davis from Counting House at eGaming Review Live last week. Paul talked about how there is a trend towards paperless banking in general life but online gaming is actually an exception. Counting House’s figures showed that electronic payouts were nine times higher than cheques by volume (from January to July 2009), but those cheques were actually worth 8 times more than the electronic payouts.
If gambling is frowned upon (or even illegal) then many punters will request large cheque payouts rather than electronic transfers. Cheques are easier to turn into cash without the accounting trail associated with bank transfers and cheques are a physical piece of paper, this makes bragging in front of your mates much more effective.
Another interesting slide Paul presented was this table which shows the percentage split of payouts:
| Country | Bank Transfers | Payments to Cards | Cheques | eWallets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 44.49 | 8.33 | 10.22 | 36.95 |
| Australia | 20.66 | 18.49 | 39.64 | 21.21 |
| Belgium | 15.20 | 16.86 | 11.27 | 56.67 |
| Canada | 34.93 | 12.46 | 45.34 | 7.26 |
| Denmark | 1.02 | 49.93 | 6.14 | 42.92 |
| France | 16.38 | 49.3 | 0.00 | 34.25 |
| Germany | 37.84 | 7.82 | 8.46 | 45.88 |
| Hungary | 2.67 | 39.75 | 1.95 | 55.63 |
| Mexico | 7.92 | 18.76 | 25.64 | 47.68 |
| Netherlands | 49.79 | 3.40 | 0.02 | 46.79 |
| New Zealand | 2.73 | 45.90 | 9.74 | 41.63 |
| Poland | 6.98 | 5.67 | 0.16 | 87.19 |
| Portugal | 16.11 | 3.28 | 28.38 | 42.23 |
| Russia | 9.59 | 26.15 | 0.14 | 64.12 |
| Sweden | 13.63 | 43.61 | 1.86 | 40.90 |
| UK | 26.74 | 52.82 | 6.44 | 14.00 |
| USA | 48.47 | 0.00 | 51.53 | 0.00 |
Payment wallets (such as Moneybookers and Neteller) are gaining ground in popularity in many markets. This an area Smarkets has been investigating and (if we can get the costs to the right level) it’ll be something we’ll be adding in future releases.
Betting open on the World Cup 2010 group stages
December 4, 2009
We’ve been watching the World Cup draw with interest here in the Smarkets office. With a multinational team, the question of where the USA, England and Australia would be placed was close to our hearts.
England appear to have drawn a reasonable group (despite being in the same group as the USA) and Australia have a chance of going through too, so it looks to be shaping up to be an exciting World Cup next year.
In a fit of excitement we’ve opened the betting for every team’s first match, so place your bets on the World Cup group stages, there’s only 188 days to go!
