Betfair data usage charges

[Prophit]

About a week ago I received an email from Betfair that I had incurred data charges but they would not charge me for this first occurrence. This was a surprise to me as I specifically had adjusted the throttle setting in MFP (Request limit in Connection Monitor) and another program that I use concurrently to 10 requests per second. The two together should not be more than 20 I figured.

Well, I was wrong obviously. I requested my usage chart from Betfair Developers Program Support, and they quickly obliged. The peak usage was 34 requests, and there was heavy use at well above 20. After this, I lowered my throttle setting to 6 requests per second and asked BDP Support to send me my usage chart for Saturday, which is probably the heaviest use day of the week. The new usage showed a peak at 24 and three occurrences at 21. This is still slightly over the 20 limit, so I verified with them that such usage would not incur any charges. This was confirmed.

Bottom line: Set your throttle at 12 requests per second at the most if you are using one program only such as MFP. The total requests per second should not exceed 12, so it will be 6 for two programs, 4 for three programs, etc.

Caveat: Because I am using two programs at the same time, there is no way for me to separate data usage for MFP specifically. It is possible that the other program is the culprit or both are at fault.

[rubold]

I don't want this to be taken as a criticism of the software, but of all the bots I use on the Sports Exchange, I have only ever been charged when using MFPro.

I never run more than one at the same time and the request limit was always below the charge level, but I think it's still possible for this to be exceeded.

All API applications run in their own channel, so it should be possible for BDP to separate the data requests for you.

[Prophit]

Thanks rubold, good idea. I will follow up on this.

[mcbee]

hi
the main problem is late results and late starts.
the bot then has to keep requesting data at 5 times the normal rate, this is for ALL bots not just mfp.
i run many different bots, sometimes 3 at a time.
mfp is perfect, as you can set triggers to stop refreshing when your bets are complete etc.
so if you have a lay/back bet and want to cover inplay etc, when the second bet is matched, have a trigger to stop refreshing.
if you only bet on 1 selection, have your trigger stop refreshing when matched.
if you don't use inplay, stop refreshing at inplay or susspend.
all cuts down on the api requests.
if you are using test mode, untick the retreive accounts for both uk and ausy, as you do not need the info and these are 5 times the api request.
have a trigger to delete markets that have no matched bets at inplay or susspend, as the request for the un-needed result is again 5 times the normal.

mcbee

[1oser]

The key thing is no know your limits .. I run @ 0.2 in-play and the most I can have is 3-4 markets in play and I will get charged. 4 is really border line but I can live with it.

The other thing is multiple instances of MFP run under their own limits, so if you have 3 instances set at 12 .. you can get charged.

[Prophit]

Thanks mcbee for this explanation.

I have requested and now received a chart from BDP Support that breaks down requests by application. It is clear from this chart that the main culprit was clearly MFP by regularly exceeding the 6 requests per second limit. Peak usage was 18 requests in a second. The other program had no trouble with keeping to the same limit, only exceeding it once by making 7 requests on one occasion.

[Oxa (WellDoneSoft)]

Prophit,

First of all, let me assure you and others that we are currently working on a better request dispatcher for MF Pro, to prevent overlapping a "second frame" counted off by the program with that one counted off by BetFair. Which means the start and end of one second could be registered idfferently on your computer and on BetFair's computer. This is something they acknowledge and also something that we're going to battle in the next release of the program.

Secondly, your request limit is 6 rps, with markets refreshed at a rate of 1 sec in-play and bets being refreshed simultaneously with the market. Now if you are refreshing two markets at the same time (and this is more than likely considering that you add  all soccer matches in one go), it means the program will have to spend at least two requests per second on each market. Being two of them, it means 4 requests already for just bets and prices. Add one request that counts as 5 for account info (funds), whcih has to be made every 15 sec, and another one for account statement (every 30 sec).

While the program makes every effort to delay a "heavy" request (such as funds and acc statement) if there is no place for it in a second, I admit that sometimes it may not be able to meet the requirement of 6 rps.

Could you please tell me if the other software you are using refreshes all soccer matches of the day with the similar settings? Also, did BetFair give you a breakdown of request types, i.e. which requests make the biggest impact on exceeding the limit?

[Prophit]

Hello Oxa,

Thanks for the explanation. I typically use the other program for horse racing and MFP for soccer. According to the developer, they take great pains to not exceed the throttle limit specified (i.e. requests will be delayed until they can be slotted in), and I can see that they are succeeding with that for the most part. However, there is only one market open at any one time, and the refresh rate is 5 seconds. So obviously the demand on requests will be much less and it will be easier to meet targets.

I didn't receive a breakdown by request type from BDP. Shouldn't that be a known factor though as per your explanation above?

[warriorfullights]

You have to reset the data request option for this. This happened to me a couple of months back and this is what I actually did.