another Asian bookie in the Premier League

Technically they are licensed in the Isle of Man, but one look at the site tells you that 188bet are an Asian bookie. Bolton and Wigan both sponsored by the same firm, and club shirts, not that these two clubs sell a great deal, will only contain the logo on the adult versions.

188Bet agrees soccer sponsorship deal first

It's not that rare for two clubs to be sponsored by the same firm - it has happened in Scotland for years.

So the big UK firms of Ladbrokes, Hills, Corals etc aren't prepared to sponsor English football, allowing the likes of SBOBet (West Ham), 188Bet (Bolton and Wigan), Mansion (Tottenham), BoyleSports (Sunderland), Wolves (Sportingbet), Bet24 (Blackburn and Leeds), 32Red (Aston Villa), 888 (Middlesbrough), Fulham (Betfair) and Blue Square (Conference leagues) into 'their' local space in recent years. Plus there's all the action on the continent with bwin, Interwetten, bet-at-home and Unibet getting involved in team sponsorships as well.

Heard a rumour the other day that Betfair might be doing something with FC Barcelona next year, as official betting partner, rather than shirt sponsor. You heard it here first....

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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, ...

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...

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

The Christmas Hurdle from Leopardstown, a good Grade 2 race during the holiday period. But now it will go into history as the race which brought Betfair down. Over £21m at odds of 29 available on Voler La Vedette in-running - that's a potential liability of over £500m. You might think that's a bit suspicious, something's fishy, especially with the horse starting at a Betfair SP of 2.96. Well, this wasn't a horse being stopped by a jockey either - the bloody horse won! Look at what was matched at 29. Split that in half and multiply by 28 for the actual liability for the layer(s). (Matched amounts always shown as double the backers' stake, never counts the layers' risk). There's no way a Betfair client would have £600m+ in their account. Maybe £20 or even £50m from the massive syndicates who regard(ed) Betfair as safer than any bank, but not £600m. So the error has to be something technical. However, rumour has it, a helpdesk reply (not gospel, natur...

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