I feel so outraged about... BetOnMarkets

[fxeconomist]

I was checking their "What's New" page and I've seen it...

"10 February 2011 - BetOnMarkets picks up another award!

We are delighted to announce that BetOnMarkets has just recently been awarded the 2010 Trade2Win Members' Choice Silver Award for Best Fixed Odds Broker. This is a testament to our commitment to providing our clients with a service of the highest quality and a reflection of our continued efforts to improve our platform."

I really don't understand how this could happen. Indeed, BetOnMarkets is probably the best fixed-odds broker out there. The large majority of *option websites focus on Spread Betting, while BetOnMarkets STILL has Fixed Odds. Too bad they killed the competition on this segment (BetsForTraders, ClickOptions). So BetOnMarkets is now THE BEST AMONG THE WORST!

I really wanted to trade with them. But gosh... Except a short innovation, in 2008, BetOnMarkets has a huge list of bet removals. I mean, instead of seeing them adding year by year new and exciting instruments , ever since 2006 BetOnMarkets is on a killing spree.

First, it was the non-digital options (2006) : Cut-Off, Capped and Knock Out Calls and Puts. These were very smart, as they were completely adjustable, unlike the vanilla ones on the market, that have predefined strikes. Also, pure Spread Trading was removed (it had another name back then) - this allowed to take a position on the underlying.

Then, the removal of bet information, as odds or greeks - so that we don't know anymore the greeks for the options, the estimated chance and BetOnMarkets' fee.

The removal of clubs - they were a really nice facility, would like to see these back.

The takeover of BetsForTraders didn't leave any trace on BetOnMarkets - the Lookback option doesn't become a part of BetOnMarkets' offer, even as bad as it was implemented by BetsForTraders (could not be sold, i.e. you couldn't ride volatility with it).

At this point, however, I was almost on the point of trading with them at that time, but I needed some adjustments on the triggers mechanism.

Then the worst happened in 2009, when, under the pretext of an interface facelift, BetOnMarkets removes Double Touches and it's opposite, a really engineered product, probably the most interesting bet ever created by BetOnMarkets, Double Contra. An entire bet class completely wiped out, and there's no way to reconstruct them synthetically.

And the adjustment came, but not as I expected, an improve of the triggers to allow also "AND" as a condition, not only "OR". Instead, BetOnMarkets decided to partially (or totally) remove the triggers, which are possible now only for SOME bets and SOME expiries (I don't even know which). As an extra malevolence act, the triggered price can't be in the range of the current trading session - but it doesn't tell you that when you make the bet. So if your bet has a barrier in this interval and you want others for instance to be liquidated on that touch, it would be impossible - you should wait, kill the bets you already made, lose money!

April 2011 - BOM launches the new "platform". It's a bit better than what it was to be, because at least it has dual princing. An improvement, in a sea of dissapointments.

Now my question would be: Why does the award go to BOM ? Is the STATUS OF THE BEST AMONG THE WORST ENTITLING BOM To RECEIVE THE AWARD? I see only a trail of destruction. A *REPUTABLE* broker should always add to its offer, improve its offer of financial instruments. Like an insurer that must exist 50 years in the future to pay its obligations if you're struck by a disaster, same is a REPUTABLE BROKER. It must not be ever allowed to remove instruments from the offer, rendering strategies inoperable - especially when it comes to options, which are not funny toys, but hedging instruments.

Should we also add the lack of any API ?

I would really someone out there to kick their ass and do all the things that BOM removed - we should finally have a reliable fixed odds broker that's good to make business with! Too bad now the new option houses as TradeSmarter don't even look at fixed odds seriously. Since there's nothing to threat BetOnMarkets, we can surely bet they'll continue to "adjust"... Until probably only runbets will remain...

 

[pboyles]

The awards are open to abuse because so few people bother to vote. This year the most helpful member award went to somebody that had only made a couple of posts in the last year or so, the other awards all went to vendors, not hard to figure out what happened there. In other words the awards should not be taken seriously.

 

[fxeconomist]

The awards are open to abuse because so few people bother to vote. This year the most helpful member award went to somebody that had only made a couple of posts in the last year or so, the other awards all went to vendors, not hard to figure out what happened there. In other words the awards should not be taken seriously.

Well you members know that, but BetOnMarkets took it very seriously, since it published on the what's new page. I guess at least for the prizes, there must be a sort of "member committee" to establish who takes the prizes, or even if there is anybody to be awarded. Prizes shouldn't be awarded to the "best of the worst" because they are relatively the best in the herd, but rather it should be analysed how the services evolved. I would give the gold to BetOnMarkets 2006, or the silver to BetOnMarkets 2008, but certainly they don't deserve it for 2011. As for BetFair... I think it should get a gold, but not on this section, rather on gambling! (For the API).

I think we, the trading community, should do something about this. BetOnMarkets is largely unresponsive to requests - everything I ever told them has fallen on deaf ears. Probably if the community would start to make some noise, something could be achieved - after all, BetOnMarkets is the only one to have this kind of adjustable exotics... But with the removal of clubs, they destroyed even their own community...

 

[pboyles]

You have to remember that all these sites make money by taking adverts from brokers and other vendors. Therefore it is not in their interest to see the membership criticising the advertisers. If the community, as you put it, were to complain about a vendor and show examples of how they were ripping people off you would very quickly find that the posts would be deleted. T2W is by no means the worst but there have been numerous shady, and sometimes illegal, practices exposed here but in almost every case the evidence was deleted.

This business is based on dishonesty and deceit, most vendors make money by lying about their product. I could give you a dozen examples off the top of my head.

 

[fxeconomist]

Yeah, we know, nowadays Dishonesty + Deceit = Marketing

 

[fxeconomist]

Received confirmation, triggers are gone for good!