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Watch and Bet / Questions
The desk, answered

The questions this desk is asked, answered

The questions readers actually ask about a live picture, each answered in a sentence or two and tied back to the samples where a figure settles it.

Desk spec
questions
12
shortlines
6
picture lag
12.0 s
disputes the picture settles
0
the pictureA live picture is a licensed broadcast shown beside a market, not a window onto the event. It has an owner, a territory and a cost, and only 96 of 300 events in the month carry one.
the two clocksThe event happens at 0.0 s, the price refreshes at 0.2 s and the picture arrives at 12.0 s, so the number beside the picture is 11.8 seconds newer than the picture it sits beside.
the one sourceThree things describe an event - the picture, the data feed and the official result - and only the official result settles a bet. The picture looked decisive in 96 of 100 disputes and settled none of them.
Direct answer

A live picture is a licensed broadcast shown beside a market. It is delayed by about 12 seconds, blacked out in territories where it is not licensed, granted on a balance or a bet, metered by the gigabyte rather than charged to the reader, never the source a bet is graded on, and kept as a clip for a fixed window after the event.

Six answers in short

Is it live? No. It runs about 12.0 seconds behind the event on the samples.
Why is it late? Five stages, and the buffer alone is 7.5 of the 12.0 seconds.
Why is it blacked out? The licence is territorial; 16 of 40 cells are blacked.
What must I have to watch? A funded account, and on 46 of 96 a qualifying bet.
What does it cost me? Nothing directly: 0 of 96 streamed events charge a fee.
Does it settle my bet? No. The official result does, in 100 of 100 disputes.

The questions, in full

sample A to J - the four figures the answers rest on a picture exists for 96 of 300 events -> 32.0% the picture is behind the price by -> 11.8 s the reader is behind the price by -> 13.2 s the picture settles -> 0 of 100 disputes so answers about delay, blackout, cost and settlement all trace to these.
Check the answers against your own stream
  • Measure the delay once, on an event you can compare with a text feed.
  • Note whether the picture or the price moved first.
  • Note whether a qualifying bet was asked for, and of what size.

Read next

Every figureThe ten samples in one placeThe delayThe five stages in fullBlackoutsThe territorial check in fullLegal and riskHow this desk is funded and what it is not

The questions, in full

q01

Is a watch-and-bet live stream actually live?

No. A stream passes through five stages and on the samples reaches the screen 12.0 seconds after the event, with 7.5 of those seconds spent in a buffer that exists to keep the picture from breaking. That is a delay by design rather than a fault.

q02

Why is the picture slower than the price beside it?

Because the two travel on different paths. A price is a small push of numbers and reaches the screen in about 0.2 seconds, while video is captured, encoded, packaged, delivered and buffered, which takes about 12.0 seconds. The picture finishes 11.8 seconds behind the number next to it.

q03

Why can I watch a match abroad but not at home?

Because the licence is territorial. Rights are sold by territory and period, and the seller often withholds the domestic rights to protect a local broadcaster that paid for them. On the samples the home territory clears all eight events while four events clear only two territories or fewer.

q04

Can I watch a stream without betting?

Sometimes. Of the 96 streamed events in the month, 50 ask only for a funded balance and 46 also ask for a qualifying bet, so a reader can hold money in the account and still be refused the picture on about half of them.

q05

Is a stream blacked out because the site is broken?

Usually not. A black frame at the start points at the territory or the account, while a picture that stops part-way points at a periodic re-check. Only the fourth reason, an event that is in the package and would normally stream, is a fault.

q06

Does a blackout void my bet?

No. A blackout is a restriction on the picture, not a condition of the wager. The market stays open and is graded on the official result, and on the samples 0 of the 16 blacked cells void anything.

q07

How much data does an hour of stream use?

It depends on the tier. An hour ranges from 0.36 gigabytes at 0.8 megabits a second to 5.40 gigabytes at 12.0 megabits, a fifteen-fold spread, and a ninety-minute match ranges from 0.54 to 8.10 gigabytes.

q08

Does a smaller picture arrive sooner?

No. A lower tier weighs less and needs less bandwidth, so it stalls less on a weak connection, but the delay comes from the buffer and not the rung. The picture is 12.0 seconds behind the event at every tier.

q09

Does the picture decide whether my bet wins?

No. The rules name the official result as the source a market is graded on. Of a hundred disputed results the picture looked decisive in ninety-six and governed in none.

q10

Is an animated recreation a live stream?

No. It is drawn from the same data as a text feed, so it is exactly as fresh as the data and no fresher, and on a six-second redraw it can be up to 8.5 seconds behind the field. It is never a camera.

q11

How long is a replay kept?

Seven days on the samples. The clip is cut from the picture, stored for a window set by the licence and then removed, and the full archive is not kept at all because the licence does not allow it.

q12

Who pays for the stream I watch?

The operator, twice: once for the rights and once for delivery, which is metered by the gigabyte. A two-hour match at 3.0 megabits costs about 0.0540 per viewer to deliver, and the reader pays none of it directly.