Ladbrokes making a move Down Under?

With the Victorian retail licence up for grabs in 2012 (TABCorp currently hold the licensed monopoly for off-course betting shops in the state of Victoria), it was only to be expected that the big players might get involved. Tabcorp might re-bid, Tattersall's/UniTAB might add to their control of Queensland and SA or perhaps a firm like Betfair might make a bid, considering they are probably favourite to buy the Tasmanian TAB.

Well, UK betting giant Ladbrokes have voiced their intention to bid with a well-publicised tour of Melbourne.

British betting giant wants to control punting in Victoria

Here's the original market from IAS, it's changed a bit already (although Mark Read is never afraid to tweak odds purely for the publicity). Latest odds can be found here.

Mainland Aussie govts are very insular. It took a 'rebel' state in Tasmania to give a licence to Betfair, I can't see a non-Australian firm getting the licence. But I've been wrong before and no doubt will be wrong again!

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Spot-fixing - you will never, ever be able to stop it

According to this report , IPL tournaments so far have been rife with spot-fixing - that is fixing minor elements of the game - runs in a single over, number of wides bowled etc. The curious part of that article is that the Income Tax department are supposed to have found these crimes. What idiot would be stupid enough to put down 'big wad of cash handed to me by bookie' as a source of income? Backhanders for sportsmen, particularly in a celebrity- and cricket-obsessed culture like India are not rare. They could come from anything like turning up to open someone's new business (not a sponsor, but a 'friend of a friend' arrangement), to being a guest at some devoted fan's dinner party etc. The opportunities are always there, and there will always be people trying to become friends with players and their entourage - that is human nature. This form of match-fixing (and it's not really fixing a match, just a minor element of it) is very hard to prove, but also,

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

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lay the field - my favourite racing strategy

Dabbling with laying the field in-running at various prices today, not just one price, but several in the same race. Got several matched in the previous race at Brighton, then this race came along at Nottingham. Such a long straight at Nottingham makes punters often over-react and think the finish line is closer than it actually is. As you can see by the number of bets matched, there was plenty of volatility in this in-play market. It's rare you'll get a complete wipe-out with one horse getting matched at all levels, but it can happen, so don't give yourself too much risk...

Sport is made for betting

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