Could see this one coming, eh?
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The way they are handling this is ridiculous. All of the long-term markets are very illiquid, yet they will price them based on last price of Nov 21?? That price could be nowhere near fair value, and not necessarily through any manipulation. Any reasonable organization would let each contract expire naturally (at end of season), and simply stop taking any new bets between now and then.
IMPORTANT: Tradesports will be ceasing operations on Friday November 28th 2008.
It is with regret that the owners of TradeSports.com have decided to cease operations on Friday November 28th 2008.
It is expected that you will be anxious about your account balance. Please be assured that all customer balances are fully funded and will be returned to you with all possible haste and in accordance with the details below. Should you wish to have your funds sent by FedEx we are happy to do so. Likewise should you wish to receive your funds by bank transfer we will effect your instruction accordingly.
Noted below are the key dates and actions that will be followed to execute an orderly closure and a timely return to you of your account balance.
From Tuesday November 18th 2008:
No new markets will be listed and no new deposits will be accepted. Deposits in the process of clearing will clear normally and be returned in accordance with the details herein. Listed markets will remain open for trading until midday on November 21st. We are leaving the markets open for 3 days to allow you trade out of your positions and request your funds early to avoid any possible delays.
Friday November 21st 2008:
At midday ET on November 21st all open markets will be paused and closed for expiry. The expiry price set for each contract will be the last closing price set by the Exchange but cross-referenced with a number of independent other sources to ensure there has been no price manipulation leading up to the expiry. All contracts will then be expired at a representative closing price. The expiry price set by the Exchange will be final and will not subject to change in any circumstances.
Friday November 28th 2008:
Once all markets have been expired the Exchange will remain open until midday ET on this date to allow all members to withdraw their final account balance. This can be done by logging into your account and requesting a check or bank wire transfer on the Account screen.
Friday December 5th 2008:
All customers who have not requested withdrawals will be contacted by email to arrange for their funds to be returned to them.
Once again we would like to thank you for your custom and support since we acquired the TradeSports business in 2007. We would also like to thank our business partners for all their help through out our short ownership of TradeSports.com. We underestimated the difficulties that current and new customers would experience in funding accounts and partly as a result of this we have reluctantly decided to close TradeSports. While we are not hopeful that funding issues may dissipate soon, should they TradeSports will be back and it is therefore an imperative for us to effect and orderly and goodwill preserving closure for you all.
Sincerely,
TradeSports Inc trading as Tradesports.comComment
