BetVictor to stick with MBL despite influx of “bad business”

BetVictor has reiterated its commitment to its wide-ranging minimum bet liability (MBL) on horseracing despite seeing a poor margin on the new business.

BetVictor started trialling the guarantee back in August with a wider scope than some competitors, with the offer applying to each way bets and all races in the UK and Ireland regardless of grade.

And the firm is sticking with the offer in its current form, despite “poor” margins on the extra turnover and some “bad business”.

BetVictor’s head of sportsbook, Matt Scarrott, told EGR: “The bad business has been a combination of bots and linetrackers and a lot of activity has been focused on bad each-way races and horses.

“As a result, we’ve had to price some horses shorter in the Guaranteed Bet market than in the normal Win market.

“This is so that we’re able to offer fair prices for a guaranteed liability to a wide range of customers, avoiding small groups of customers who consistently take advantage of the each way terms which are simply unprofitable.”

When asked if the “bad business” was forcing BetVictor to reconsider some of the terms of the MBL, Scarrott said: “We’ve made a commitment to run with the ‘each way’ and no barrier to the class or value of the race.

“We’ll continually work on pricing and the speed of price changes, and maintain a review of the business in this market. Our rules are clear on blatant syndication and that has forced us to close three accounts, but that is the extent of the ‘re-closures’ to date.”

Scarrott said the increase in turnover from the MBL had been “in line with our expectations”.

“The level of business vindicates our view that most customers are able to bet on horseracing without restrictions, and we’re pleased to be able to offer the service to customers who felt they had accounts unfairly restricted or closed in the past,” Scarrott added.