Mobile site review: Betfair

Betfair has had a mobile version of its website since 2006, and according to its Twitter account, has taken over 6m bets from mobile users.

With the popularity of online betting, it seems especially well suited for people out at sports events who want to place bets.

Betfair launched an iPhone optimised version of its site in December, and has recently updated it. I've been seeing how well it works...

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Posted 31 March 2009 12:27pm by Graham Charlton with 2 comments

UK social gaming startup Pikum folds

As social media grows more and more prominent and social media services like Twitter attract more and more mainstream attention, it's worth keeping a hefty dose of perspective and reminding ourselves that throwing 'social' in front of a business doesn't guarantee success.

That's exactly what UK-based startup Pikum tried to do with its 'social gaming' service that tried to put a social twist on betting.

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Posted 10 February 2009 10:00am by Patricio Robles with 2 comments

Balderton Capital raises £285m for downturn startup investments

Who said that funding wouldn't be available to startups in the downturn?

Balderton Capital, which was formerly Benchmark Europe, made $140mn when portfolio company Bebo was sold to AOL and a small fortune when another portfolio company, MySQL, was sold to Sun. Its other investments have included Betfair, the UK's most popular betting exchange, and Yingli Solar, a Chinese solar company that is now public.

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Posted 12 January 2009 16:48pm by Patricio Robles with 0 comments