I looked into it a while ago, as I was considering writing one for the
convenience of customers, they told me straight, they would never allow it.

I did clarify the situation with them a few days ago to see if they had
changed their terms and conditions on the matter as there are quite a few
systems that operate based on servers. The services that immediately spring
to mind are

http://www.125bets.eu
http://www.autolays.co.uk
http://www.thelifesystem.co.uk

They said their stance has not changed, and they would not license such a
system. Getting an application through Betfair approval is a nightmare, they
are extremely strict (for obvious reasons) with storage of usernames and
passwords (a bot is NOT allowed to store a password, even if it’s
encrypted). They inspect all of the important source code of the bot to make
sure nothing could hack the application to steal passwords, etc.

I would imagine that these server based bots are using the free api to place
bets, which doesn’t need approval.

I have heard a rumour that Betfair are on the lookout for large numbers of users
betting from the same IP address, and have limited accounts based on this (this is hearsay, I have no proof of this).

It all seems very risky to me, it would be a hackers dream to get into one
of these servers and steal usernames and passwords. Now whilst they couldn’t
directly withdraw money from someone else’s account into their own, there
are ways of transferring money to another account. Find a quiet market,
offer a bet @ 1000/1 on the stolen account, then take the bet on their own
account. Your money could be gone before anyone realised.

Now I’m sure these services will say they are totally secure, but your only
taking their word for it at the end of the day. There is no approvals
process, as Betfair would not approve it anyway. If one of these databases
did get hacked, and users lost their money, Betfair are not going to do much
about it.

Out of interest, if anyone is using one of these services, is the login screen to get to your account over https (secure padlock) or standard http. You can look at the url in your browser to see if it’s secure. There should also be a little padlock symbol shown in the status bar of your browser.

Even if it is a secure connection (a step in the right direction), this still does not stop the people who run the account from getting hacked.

Glen.

My advice: Take your winnings and change your Betfair password immediately then cancel the subscription. In that order!

Glen wrote a worrying comment about these types of bots which can be seen under The Life System Review Comment 147. Glen knows what he is talking about as he writes bots for systems used with Betfair.

Be warned!

Jon

Don’t waste your time with this one. It is run by Horse Racing Software / Sure2Profit and has had poor reviews elsewhere.

See:

http://www.bettingsystemreviews.co.uk/laysoftwaredotcom.htm

Jon