Cymatic Trader Community

[Gavin]

I received this message today from Betfair. Cymatic has very large numbers of users in Portugal and I anticipate this being really frustrating for everybody, lets just hope they are not offline for very long before the licensing is concluded.
Regards,
Gavin

Dear Software Vendor,

Betfair has recently applied for a Portuguese licence and as part of the application process, we have now been asked by the regulator to temporarily switch off our site in Portugal whilst licensing is concluded.

Portuguese customers are still able to log into their accounts to withdraw funds until July 31, but no new bets can be placed from July 16.Betting will be suspended in the following ways:

· New Sportsbook bets blocked; current bets will be allowed to settle until July 31, all bets due to settle after that will be cancelled
· New Exchange bets blocked; customers can trade out of existing positions until July 31, after which customers will not be able to access the Exchange
· Gaming bets are blocked immediately

We value our ongoing relationships in Portugal and understand that this development is frustrating. But in complying with this interim regulatory requirement we hope to be able to secure a long term future in Portugal. We will seek to provide regular updates on the situation, and please contact us if you have any further questions.

If there are any developments on this, we will update you.

Kind Regards,

Betfair Developer Program

[Gavin]

Portuguese version:

A Betfair está neste momento iniciando o processo para obter uma licença em Portugal e como parte deste processo foi requisitado pelo órgão regulador português que não ofereçamos nossos serviços até que o processo esteja completo. Você terá acesso a seção minha conta até dia 31 de Julho para poder levantar fundos durante este período se desejar porém novas apostas não poderão ser colocadas de acordo com a informação a seguir:
1.Apostas no Sportsbook serão suspensas no dia 16 de Julho. Apostas atuais que sejam saldadas até dia 31 de Julho continuam validas. Após essa data todas as apostas serão canceladas.
2.Apostas no intercambio serão suspensas no dia 16 de Julho. Você poderá fechar sua posição nas apostas em aberto até dia 31 de Julho. Após esta data não será possível acessar o site.
3.Apostas no casino, árcade e jogos de intercambio estão suspensas.
Entendemos que seja frustrante e pedimos desculpa pelo inconveniente causado. Esperamos retornar o mais rápido possível assim que o processo de licenciamento esteja completo.

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[playpower]

I have been consulting a few Portuguese trading forums and seems like this suspension can last until the end of 2015, if everything happens according to the plan.
Although, it is not certain that Betfair will come back since the amounts that the Portuguese government want are considered too high.
Also it is not certain that, if Betfair remains in Portugal, the liquidity of the markets would remain international.
Despite this doubts, the Portuguese association of professional betters (ANAon) believes in a happy ending.. after 5 months of suspension... 5 months

[Gavin]

Hi playpower,

Thanks for that extra insight.

Yes I noticed some comments on a Portuguese forum from people who thought it could take that long. Lets hope it is rather faster, because this is going to be an appalling situation for our users in Portugal, albeit a temporary problem we all hope. Very frustrating.

Kind regards,

Gavin