Affordability Checks etc

[Kai]

For example, I had a fantastic year last year, but absolutely nobody is interested in talking about it. I approached so many different people ahead of Cheltenham about how I was going to win on all 28 races, and not a single person came back and showed any interest.

Idk what to tell you, maybe big soundbites just aren't the right approach there.

As a trader and scalper I get that it's hard to lose on a Cheltenham race, but to others it probably comes across as a bit outlandish or gimmicky, so it's easy to dismiss.

[ForFolksSake]

... good thank God that's the end of the moaning

[jamesedwards]

In terms of AC, i've never had any issues using Betfair Exchange. Is there a reason for this, or is most of the talk around changes that may potentially come in in the future?

AC is only likely to be an issue if all the below apply;
> you live in the UK
> you make a deposit above the threshold
> you have low demonstrable non-gambling related income and/or you have a low credit score due to defaults etc.

[jamesedwards]

..... Cheer up everybody ... FFS ...

I'm having my best ever year so far.

[ForFolksSake]

..... Cheer up everybody ... FFS ...

I'm having my best ever year so far.

... that's what we want to hear

[Acheron]

..... Cheer up everybody ... FFS ...

I'm having my best ever year so far.

... that's what we want to hear

In terms of AC, i've never had any issues using Betfair Exchange. Is there a reason for this, or is most of the talk around changes that may potentially come in in the future?

AC is only likely to be an issue if all the below apply;
> you live in the UK
> you make a deposit above the threshold
> you have low demonstrable non-gambling related income and/or you have a low credit score due to defaults etc.

You beat me to it James, but your answer is better than mine was. To add, ACs probably won't spell catastrophe, usually means providing proof of income or accepting a deposit limit.

For example, I had a fantastic year last year, but absolutely nobody is interested in talking about it. I approached so many different people ahead of Cheltenham about how I was going to win on all 28 races, and not a single person came back and showed any interest.

Idk what to tell you, maybe big soundbites just aren't the right approach there.

As a trader and scalper I get that it's hard to lose on a Cheltenham race, but to others it probably comes across as a bit outlandish or gimmicky, so it's easy to dismiss.

Don't forget, the respective skills of a pro punter vs pro trader are viewed very differently generally speaking. Everyone wants to be a top tipster picking big winners using their shrewd betting smarts whereas 'trading' evokes charts and analysis. Personally though, Peter, I'd take your job any day!

[Euler]

I more or less doubled my profit last year. I don't think I will do that this year, but I'll probably be up. Who knows? I may discover some new things.

I actually think we're at a really interesting moment because AI is giving you the opportunity to be an expert in anything, and I'm using that to its full effect.

[Euler]

I notice your FB posts get very little engagement, Peter

Not sure if people are less interested in trading these days, and whether that is reflected in BA subscriptions also being down?

From a personal perspective, I used to be a regular poster here 10 years ago. But, I fell out with a couple of posters and then discovered Twitter, so fell away from the forum.

I've fallen out of love with that platform too, so rarely tweet these days. In fact, I'm just bored of Social Media in general, so perhaps there's many others like me, who just can't be arsed to engage anymore

There's a reason why not much happens on Facebook.

At one point, we did have 12.5k followers on there.

I got a message from Facebook business to get in contact about advertising and stuff. I had a chat to them about the business and various other things, and then about a month later they closed my account.

I got it reopened, and then they closed it again. This happened four times in total, I think. And they just stopped replying to my messages.

We do have an active account on there now. It gets a little bit of engagement, but again, recently I received a message from Facebook saying that they will not be showing it to anybody other than my existing followers.

This is why I won't go on other platforms like Discord or Slack, because you put a lot of goodwill and equity in the hands of people who don't give a fuck.

[Euler]

..... Cheer up everybody ... FFS ...

I'm having my best ever year so far.

... that's what we want to hear

Indeed, that's good to hear.

[Euler]

Honestly, back in the early days, everybody piled in and that created its own sort of momentum.

Whether people were making money or not, everybody gave the impression that they were making money, which pushed the whole thing forward.

When things get serious, a lot of these people drop away. But also think about it. I'm aware of several people who position themselves as professional traders despite the fact that I knew that they were not. In fact, some had not even made any money. Even the best of them hadn't made that much.

There's only so long that you can live that lie before you're looking for an off-ramp, and things like affordability checks and various other factors are good off-ramps for these people. They got away with murder and without people really digging underneath the surface, and this is a neat exit for them.

Meanwhile, there are lots of us that are still around doing really well, but maybe there's not as many newbies as we would expect.

That said, the Bet Angel business is pretty stable. Obviously, it's been through good and bad times, and for some reason during Covid the market went ballistic, but it's obviously fallen back to more normal levels now.

I honestly think, though, that, for example, people in the racing industry have completely missed an opportunity with trading and the opportunity to engage people. I'm pretty sure if the horse racing industry would have been more active and engaged with people like me, I would probably own a racehorse now.

Because it's so stuck in its ways and up its own arse, there's no way I'm going to buy a horse.

I think the long and short of things is there are many factors, not all of them negative. All I ever do is focus on what's in front of me and do the best job that I can. There are lots of other things I can't control, so I don't worry about them.