New Website

[freddy]

Don't know about anyone else but it gives me a headache, carn't even find the option to lay anything and fractional odds have we gone back in time .

I know there will be options to change all this, but it's not the default setting i would choose, hiding all the uniquie selling points of BF.

Just Glad i dont have to use it

Edit: Ok im clearly on the sportsbook part of the site but where is the exchange one
Baffling could this company get and more stupid

[LeTiss]

I find it very slow too, I often get script errors

[Euler]

I actually had trouble finding it so I think your local cache must save your preferances. 'Love' the way the exchange is pretty much completely hidden. What's the deal with going back to fractional odds? Really weird isn't it?

I guess this must have been Breon's first major project?

[freddy]

Found the exchange part now,
took a while, It's very well hidden,
I guess they don't want new exchange customers then,
another nail in the Betfair coffin.

depressing

[freddy]

I think your local cache must save your preferances.

Yes, ive just experimented, if you clear cache / cookies you are directed to the sportsbook site,
so all new customers will have no idea about the exchange part, unless they really dig .

They adverstise Better prices on their home page and they direct you to the sportsbook, where you will find none of them, you couldn't make it up

[mugsgame]

Whoever though this was a good idea has just given the exchange market to Ladbrokes.

[Euler]

I think the error in Betfair's current thinking is that they see casual punters as a source of big margin. But casual punters just don't use Betfair and are more familiar with sticking a £10 on England in the local bookie. That bookie is now marketing to them and telling them that this £10 they can bet online or with a mobile. A lot of bookies have that casual customer, including Paddy Power, but have acquired them from the bottom up.

Betfair are trying to dumb down a perfectly good model to try and reach customers who have no visibility of it and who most likely wouldn't bet with it.

It's a long way from the barnstorming change the world days of yonder.

[Mr Undercover]

I'm not at all surprised to see this BF hit a profit growth glass ceiling a few years back and it was perceived they would have to break into the traditional bookie fractional odds market. Most punter just sadly don't get back/lay concept and strangely struggle with decimal odds - old habits die hard.

BF used to say in their early days that as the highstreet closed down and punters migrated online they would naturaly gravitate towards the exchange... they had to of course it's best price... right ? Sadly for them 8/10 punters can't figure out how to place a bet from the BF home page (and so hence the change).

I think it's the right idea but v.poorly executed, i can't toggle between the two sites. And, what worse they now have 3 x variations to maintain as if it wasn't complex enough already.

The product design team at BF are making a pigs ear of it in my view, they need someone with a vision for simplicity and ease of use... they need the equivilent of an Jonathan Ives to keep things simple initially and then progressively to the complex stuff if punters want it.

Ultimately i think this will improve matters for BF profits maybe 5-10% but like their implementation of PC they'll probably take an axe to goose that lays the golden egg, lets hope the first few swings miss and it doesn't adversely impact the exchange.

[Euler]

Direct URL

http://www.betfair.com/sport/