Betfair Hires Craig Mucklow as Director of Trading


04/24/2012 : NEW BETFAIR RISK PRODUCT
 
Experienced exec chosen to lead new team
 
The Betfair online gambling group has appointed Craig Mucklow (38) as Director of Trading in charge of a Dublin-based trading team responsible for managing all of Betfair's risk products, including the forthcoming next generation sports product.
 
Mucklow joins Betfair from Ladbrokes where he was most recently Head of Sports Trading Product, managing a team of 60 sports traders. He was responsible for rejuvenating the Ladbrokes sportsbook through introducing greater automation and developing algorithmic trading models, and has substantial industry experience through trading roles with Paddy Power, Stan James and Betonsports.com.
 
Betfair's next generation sports product is designed to complement its core Exchange, allowing customers to get ‘house' prices where liquidity isn't available between customers, such as some ancillary in-play markets, or early prices on main markets where liquidity may not form until nearer the event.
 
The betting company currently estimates that it loses approximately 30 percent of its customers' sports betting spend to competitors. This product will mean the firm can capture greater share of wallet from customers who place the majority of their bets on the Exchange but are sometimes forced to use competitors if liquidity isn't available.
 
Commenting on his appointment, Mucklow said: "The introduction of the new sports product has the potential to not only revolutionise Betfair's business but also the whole industry. Everyone knows that Betfair's Exchange offers consistently the best value on the vast majority of markets, but there are areas it can't cover and we will be working to plug these gaps for customers."