Betfair, Free Soup and a Bread Roll
I read a story recently where a guy recalls walking down a London street and passing a casino. This was not a casino ‘US Style’ with entertainment, tuxedos, packed with high-rollers and pazzazz. Oh no, this was a typical London casino with scraggy carpets, a few games machines and a £1 max table. In the window was a cardboard sign saying ‘Free Soup and Bread Roll’ - a soup kitchen and casino all in one! Was this a generous offer or a synical ploy to keep their punters alive just long enough to fleece them of their last coin?
Anyway, if we combine the thrill of a casino with a broadband connection and a billion delusional people carrying a high density of greed genes and a dangerous level of financial market knowledge (i.e. none) what do we get? Opportunity that’s what we get.
Betfair (The Sporting Exchange Limited), has created Tradefair, a new home for the financial bettor and trader. The portal is a binaries trading exchange and traditional spread betting site.
Betfair revenues have seen exceptional growth: 2004:£60m, 2005:£107m, 2006:£144m, 2007:£181m
Investors include Balderton Capital (Benchmark Capital), Softbank and Index Ventures
Story here.
