Top Ten Favourite Sports Flicks
November 25, 2011
Baseball drama Moneyball opens in the UK today – in keeping with the theme of sports movies, we’ve compiled a list of ten favourites.
Click on the image below to read the full article.
Oakland Athletics Coco Crisp, right, speaks with actor Stephen Bishop. Bishop portrays former Oakland Athletic David Justice in the film 'Moneyball'.
Did we miss your favourites? Add them in the comments!
New commission proposal, feedback wanted
November 23, 2011
Since we last spoke about changing our commission rates, we’ve been hard at work thinking about the best way to structure our commission moving forward.We quietly ruled out a commission structure based solely on trading volume (it was too easy to game) – so we’ve been left working out what would be fairest to everyone involved.
We’re aiming to implement a structure that ensures our customers continue to enjoy some of the best value on the Internet.
So our plan is this: We will assign customers a commission tier according to their average monthly commission contribution. This average will be calculated over a rolling 3 month period, and reassessed at a regular time each week.
| Commission contribution per month | Expected commission rate |
| Up to £3 | 4% |
| £3 – £10 | 3.5% |
| £10 – £30 | 3% |
| £30 – £100 | 2.5% |
| £100 – £300 | 2% |
| £300 – £1,000 | 1.5% |
| £1,000+ | 1% |
We’ve intentionally set the barriers low, so that most of our active users will quickly find themselves on 2 – 3.5%. That is a big saving compared to the 4% that many are on now.
As always, we want your feedback! Let us know what you think by posting in the comments below, or emailing us directly. We’ll take your thoughts into consideration when it comes time to switch to our new structure, which will be happening shortly.
Update: Many of you have got in touch suggesting that we go off implied commission (taking into account losses as well as wins) instead of actual commission. This is something we are open to doing, so if you want to give feedback on that idea as well, please go ahead!
£50 Million Traded
November 21, 2011
Huge news at Smarkets headquarters today as we confirmed we have now traded over £50 million lifetime!
Just ten short months ago we were chuffed to have passed the £3 million mark. In June we toasted to reaching the £20 million mark. To be up to £50 million less than six months later is no easy feat.
We’d like to thank all our users for their continued support and feedback – we couldn’t have achieved this milestone without you. We’re looking forward to soaring past £100 million in the new year!
In other news, you may remember reading about a Wired UK article that featured our founders Jason Trost and Hunter Morris. If you didn’t get a chance to pick up a print copy, you can now read it online.
Free Moneybookers
November 18, 2011
We’re excited to announce that we’ve started trying out no fee Moneybookers! All withdrawals and deposits are now free!
In London this weekend the ATP World Tour Final kicks off – if odds right now are any indication, this will be a battle between the newly rejuvenated Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. You can place your bets for the outright winner here.
Major football action taking place as per usual this weekend. From Germany to the Netherlands to England, we’ve got all the markets you could possibly want on our football page.
The Bills take on the Dolphins in NFL action on Sunday and we’ve got a slew of other games that you can bet on – visit our American football page.
In Entertainment, we’re down to the final few contestants on X-Factor – place your bets now!
Djokovic on verge of upset, UEFA U19 and U21 Championships
November 10, 2011
Future Ferdinands and Messis take to the pitch today as the UEFA U19 and U21 Championships get under way. There’s still time to place bets on your favourite teams. Albania takes on Russia, Turkey plays Italy, and England goes up against Iceland. Click on the following links for a full breakdown:
In X-Factor news, Frankie Cocozza was booted off the show, meaning that a former contestant will now be voted back in. Bookies have named Amelia Lily as the favourite to return. Watch Saturday’s episode to see who ends up coming back then head over to our X-Factor page to place your bets.
World Number 1 Novak Djokovic could be on the verge of an upset at the BNP Paribas Masters 2011 today. We’ve got the match live on our site, and he just lost the first set.
Smarkets in latest edition of Wired UK
November 4, 2011
Smarkets founders Jason Trost and Hunter Morris are featured in the December issue of Wired UK.
Pick up the magazine and flip to page 53 for the full story!
UEFA, Valencia Open and X-Factor
November 1, 2011
Lots of punting action happening this week at Smarkets!
The race for the UEFA Championship continues with a slew of matches over the next two days: Chelsea looks to redeem themselves against Genk after losing to the Gunners over the weekend. Valencia takes on Bayer Leverkusen at the Estadio Mestalla in Spain. Lyon hopes to avenge the 4-0 thrashing they suffered recently by beating Real Madrid tomorrow.
The ATP circuit continues with stops in Valencia and Basel: with Djokovic in Switzerland, look to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to make a play for the title in Spain.
X-Factor drama continues with a cat fight between judges Kelly Rowland and Tulisa. The show is down to nine contestants, with Janet Devlin continuing to lead as the girl to beat.
