Trading from Europe

[attheraces]

I've heard people say response times in the US are pretty good, so who knows maybe distance isn't such a problem, though I'm certainly no technician! I'd love to see someone do a blog where they travel around the world armed only with a laptop and a grand or so stake money

Does this not bring up the problems of Betfair`s banned countries ISP routing?Apparently if you are unknowingly routed through one of them your account can be locked/closed,so the need for a VPS/Proxy server as it would be quite difficult to know exactly where your ISP is routing you all of the time,i am no Geek ,so perhaps someone can enlighten me.
This link gives a list of allowed countries,so i assume any countries not listed are banned? {i think i confused myself there}

http://help.betfair.com/index.en.html

Regards

Edit:
You beat me to it Hendry

[bazbaz]

In Italia, betting exchange is forbidden. Just look here the face of misery: https://www.betfair.it/ (betfair.it works like a traditional bookie)

The same thing should happen in France on 01/01/2010.

What a wonderful world!!!

Are you saying it's impossible to access betfair.com from Italy or through trading applications?

Regarding the US I've heard a couple of people say they've traded fine using a proxy (or something similar) and had good refresh rates which if true would at least point to the fact that distance might not be so important when it comes to refresh rates.

Like I say Im no technician but there must be ways around things. Maybe an alternative to a proxy would be to use a service like gotomypc which lets you access your home PC and software from anywhere in the world.

[Temujin]

I use (or have) on my iPhone a program called logMeIn. Allows you to control your computer from your iphone. On course, it is enough to do the job, as long as you are getting decent download speeds.
From there, I can either control my home computer, or my VPS.
My VPS, gives me a backdoor into the Betfair server from the London dataexchange (I believe that is where my VPS is? One of them was anyway).
You should be able to trade from anywhere in the world via a UK VPS. Prices are negligible. Think I pay around 100 a month for a reasonable spec system.

Of course, it isn't the same as being there, but you do get the massive refresh, just that your ping time decides how long it takes you your bet placement to occur.
Assuming you don't try and create a new Betfair account in the US, or Italy? or anywhere else where it cannot happen, you should be able to trade from anywhere in the world where you are allowed traffic to the UK. There is no BF server being contacted, as that is all done from your VPS, a couple of ks down from the server itself.

Basically means I can run my 3rd party API application from my iPhone, or any computer in the world without installing it everywhere. As long as you can access Remote Desktop, you are home and hosed....

Not trying to spam, but I use tagadab.com... Had 1 downtime in over 12 months. No issues for me.

[Temujin]

Other thing I wanted to say, without editing my post for a 4th time, was that while programs like the mentioned "gotomypc", which I assume is the same as LogMeIn, allow you to do everything you want, they also have the downside that your computer is on, and everything is on the screen as if you were controlling it from the chair.
While this may be a non issue for some, I think most will agree, as far as security issues go, this is not a good idea if you are travelling and trading on the go.
I know I leave the house for 5 minutes, and I lock my computer so if anybody breaks in, they can't get access to all my accounts. Obviously, environmental issues may also play a part.
With a VPS, you have a system, always on anyway, and secure. You can do as you like with it, without worrying about prying eyes from beyond the balaclava.

[bazbaz]

good stuff temujin

[hendry]

Well, trading from an iphone, not for me please!

Of course, there are many ways to bypass access restriction like there are many for Betfair to close account and freeze the money.

Try it yourself to trade from Italia!

Its merely impossible and people who do that are not scalpers but more gamblers in my point of view.

Your vpn solution is possible for travellers (less for residants of theses countries). But do you really want for example scalp on a market with more than 1-2-3-4 seconds older. Do you?

PS: i'm quite angry against this f**king country, which is mine, coz of the new law adopted. Since 3 years, betting exchange was not legal but nor illegal in France, so in a such way it was tolerate. Now, it will be simply illegal and no way to refind found. They want to make it like the american dream! Bad bet...
Let me know if you have houses in Ireland or GB to rent!
I need fresh air!

[Temujin]

You won't have more than 1 second ping I doubt no matter where you are in the world.
I am in Australia, and I am looking at around 600-700ms ping. Pretty sure you could go anywhere in Europe and wouldn't come close to being near half that.

[Temujin]

Well, trading from an iphone, not for me please!

Was more to point out the uses of such programs as LogMeIn, and other equivalent software.
Can use the same software to access your computer from a laptop, or desktop. And don't underestimate the strategies you can implement even from a simple mobile phone. Powerful stuff.
Remote Desktop is much better however, but needs compatible hardware on both ends.

[jimrobo]

I've traded through a vps in italy earlier in the year. It wasn't that bad but the connection I was using was less than half a meg which is unuseable in the uk never mind italy!

With a decent connection you will have no problem using a vps from italy. The good thing about a vps is you can use any windows computer in the world and all you have to do is open up the remote desktop client and type your vps ip and password and you are working right from the vps in effect

[Temujin]

Yeah, I think you would need min 1.5 Mbps. I haven't really noticed any significant difference in connection since I was on that speed, and am now on a huge 4.5Mbps... :S All it has done, is somehow required my download limit increase, without giving the performance benefits.

.5Mbps - 1.5Mbps = huge difference. 1.5Mbps + = negligible....
At least in my experience.

[hendry]

If you connect directly from ISP to betfair, yes it is.

But if using a proxy, i mean public proxy its quite impossible.
The solution could be a dedicated server based in UK. For travellers, i think its in fact THE SOLUTION.
But there is always a risk of Betfair account closed for illegal use. Some italian know what i mean.

Temujin, are you taxed on what you win with betting in Australia?
Coz im still searching a country where to plant my tent.

[Temujin]

No, gambling is not taxable in Australia. And yes, you will have issues if you are a local trying to find a way to use Betfair if it is illegal in that country. For travellers though, it is the answer, and should be done so you don't need to know any laws on any country you are trading from.

[hendry]

Yes you right. I will stop with my off topic.

You are lucky guys!

[jimrobo]

I know someone who has traded from america through a vps and said it was perfectly useable.

[rjmcgee]

If you signed up to Betfair from a UK address, trading from America's east coast shouldn't be too bad, you might get 150ms to 300ms refresh rates. If you're on the US west coast, then you're looking at 400ms to 600ms. Not sure about the Caribbean but Adam T traded from there in his 2005 vids and it seemed to be at least 500ms.

If Betfair considers you an international customer, the odds refresh rate will be around the same as above but your bet placement will be much much slower; your bets get sent to Malta servers before going to the UK which makes for a pretty long trip. Expect to wait close to a second or more (sometimes up to 3-5 on Saturdays!) to see your bet added to the queue.