betfaiR

The bf_login function is used to login to Betfair and return a session token, which is required to retrieve data from the exchange API using the different methods. The function will print Login successful to the console if a session token was returned, and will print a warning message if login failed, usually due to an incorrect username and/or password.

usage

bf <- bf_login(usr = username,
               pwd = password,
               key = api_key,
               jurisdiction = "default")

arguments

param details
usr Betfair username
pwd Betfair password
key Betfair API key (see Betfair documentation on how to get an API key)
jurisdiction Sign into different jurisdictions, the default logs into .com, enter ‘italy’ for the Italian exchange, ‘spain’ for the Spanish and ‘romania’ for the Romanian

Usernames, passwords and API Keys SHOULD NOT be shared, there is the danger in R that you inadvertently save these either by saving your workspace on exiting or in your .Rhistory. The httr package (on which this package relies) has a very good appendix in one of its vignettes on ways to keep data like this more secure, you can read the vignette here, but the relevant section is repeated in the appendix at the bottom of this page.

return

The function returns a list, if everything went okay (correct credentials were provided), with a class of bf_login. The list contains 3 sub lists, usr, resp and ssoid:

You can print the object, which will display the credentials you passed into the function and any session token that was returned.

appendix

username, password and API key best practices

The betfaiR package requires a valid Betfair username, password, and API key - see the Betfair documentation on how to get an API key. The steps below show how to securely store your credentials as environment variables, preventing them from being shared inadvertently via .Rhistory or .RData files.

  • Identify your home directory. Not sure? Enter normalizePath("~/") in the R console.
  • Create a new text file. If in RStudio, do File > New File > Text file

  • Create the following lines:

    BETFAIR_USR=yourusername
BETFAIR_PWD=yourpassword
BETFAIR_KEY=yourAPIkey
  • Make sure the last line in the file is empty (if it isn’t R will silently fail to load the file). If you’re using an editor that shows line numbers there should be four lines, 3 containing the three variables above, and a fourth empty one.
  • Save the file in your home directory with the filename .Renviron. If questioned, YES you do want to use a filename that begins with a dot .. Note that by default dotfiles are usually hidden. But within RStudio, the file browser will make .Renviron visible and therefore easy to edit in the future.
  • Restart R. .Renviron is processed only at the start of an R session.

  • Use Sys.getenv() to access your username, password, and API key. For example you would use them like so with the betfair function:

# load library
library(betfaiR)
# login
bf <- betfair(usr = Sys.getenv("BETFAIR_USR"),
              pwd = Sys.getenv("BETFAIR_PWD"),
              key = Sys.getenv("BETFAIR_KEY"))
Warning in bf_login(usr = usr, pwd = pwd, key = key, jurisdiction =
jurisdiction): Login failed: INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR
bf
<betfaiR API>
Methods available: 
    $account(pwd) 
    $cancelOrders(..., marketId = NA) 
    $clearedOrders(betStatus = "SETTLED", eventTypeIds = NULL, eventIds = NULL, marketIds = NULL, runnerIds = NULL, 
   betIds = NULL, side = "BACK", from = NULL, to = NULL) 
    $competitions(filter = marketFilter()) 
    $countries(filter = marketFilter()) 
    $currentOrders(betId = NULL, marketId = NULL, orderProjection = "ALL", from = NULL, to = NULL, orderBy = "BY_BET", 
   sort = "EARLIEST_TO_LATEST", fromRecord = NULL, count = NULL) 
    $events(filter = marketFilter()) 
    $eventTypes(filter = marketFilter()) 
    $login(usr, pwd, key, jurisdiction = "default") 
    $marketBook(marketIds = list(), priceProjection = "EX_BEST_OFFERS", orderProjection = "EXECUTABLE", matchProjection = "NO_ROLLUP", 
   getRunners = NULL) 
    $marketCatalogue(filter = marketFilter(), marketProjection = "EVENT", sort = NULL, maxResults = 1, keepRules = FALSE) 
    $marketPnL(marketIds, settled = NULL, bsp = NULL, NET = NULL) 
    $marketTypes(filter = marketFilter()) 
    $placeOrders(marketId, selectionId, orderType = "LIMIT", handicap = NULL, side = "BACK", order = limitOrder()) 
    $replaceOrders(..., marketId) 
    $session() 
    $updateOrders(..., marketId) 
    $venues(filter = marketFilter())

FAQ: Why define this environment variable via .Renviron instead of in .bash_profile or .bashrc?

Because there are many combinations of OS and ways of running R where the .Renviron approach just works and the bash stuff does not. When R is a child process of, say, Emacs or RStudio, you can’t always count on environment variables being passed to R. Put them in an R-specific start-up file and save yourself some grief.