Sport is made for betting

Changes occurring in the sponsorship of English competitions with E.ON ending their FA Cup deal and Coca-Cola not renewing their six-year sponsorship of the Football Leagues. Football League seeking new sponsor But the key part for me was right at the tail.... E.ON is ending its sponsorship deal with the FA Cup at the end of the season. E.ON's four-year deal was understood to be worth £32 million, which English football's governing body will be keen to recoup. Betting firm bwin has been linked with the FA Cup title sponsorship and the Austrian company has made it known to the FA that it would consider a bid to replace E.ON. Very interesting!

Apologies for the lack of posting this last week, but have had all my time diverted to my lovely new baby daughter, born 21/9. Life has changed forever :)

Short article in today's Racing Post about Kempton and Channel 4 discussing Saturday morning racing, as early as 8.40am to coincide with the Morning Line programme. What do you think? I can't see the harm in trying. Obviously it won't be for everyone and I doubt you'll see any Group races, but that's much as the same as Wednesday night on the polytrack anyway. Betting shops are open, a lot of folks are up and about at that hour and it might even be easier in traffic around that area. And industry people are up ridiculously early anyway. It might crash and burn, it might prove a master stroke - either way I think it's worth a go especially if there is terrestrial TV coverage behind it. Being able to spend the night before looking at a proper formguide (as is the norm back in Australia) is a huge plus from me. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

In the light of the Renault scandal in Formula 1, Bloodgate in rugby union, and football scandals such as the one Juventus was relegated for in Serie A, is it too easy for sporting authorities to blame gambling for all its integrity problems? Fair enough, there are obviously some issues with it, but ever since there has been a prize for winning a competition, people have found devious ways to win, or stop others from winning. Look at scandals in kids' beauty pageants, flower growing contests , elections, tanking for better draft picks etc - where someone has something to gain, cheating will never be far away. And that's without even discussing drugs in sport. Biggest threat to Sports Integrity comes from within While no one can argue that manipulation of sports by betting syndicates does not exist, the reality is that the most concerted efforts at manipulation are made by criminal elements via illegal bookmakers, and not as it is suggested, by online gamblers who in the majori...

Cardiff City FC showed that wisdom and commercial acumen aren't amongst their fortes with this deal. Unlicensed 777Ball Told to Suspend Football Sponsorship Days after signing a one-year shirt sponsorship agreement with 777ball.com, Football League Championship side Cardiff City FC has been forced to remove its sponsor's logo from shirts, after the Gambling Commission warned that the Asian online gaming operator had not obtained a UK operating licence which would enable it to advertise in the country. Has anyone ever heard of them? Apparently they have a licence in the Philippines, in the First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation. They don't have a UK licence and the Philippines isn't a country of the UK Gambling Commission's White List of territories outside the European Union, implying naivety at its best from both the club and the bookmaker. The bookmaker says it will now apply for the relevant licence - good luck getting that before next season then!

Am I the only one that casts a wry smile over these types of incidents? - Flavio Briatore has to fall on his sword when sacked driver Nelson Piquet Jr gets his own back by blowing the whistle on being instructed to crash in the Singapore Grand Prix last year to help his team-mate Fernando Alonso win the race. After initial denials and threats of lawsuits, a newspaper gets hold of the transcripts and suddenly the facts come out.... - Serena Williams getting a point penalty for threatening an official at the US Open and thus losing the match. Not just any match, but a Grand Slam semi-final. Had she not destroyed a racuet earlier in the match, she may have even got away with it. Whether the line judge was correct or not with the call(I still haven't seen any camera angle which proves it either way), no sporting official should ever be threatened like that, and she should have been defaulted for that alone. Using American sport as an example, she'd have been suspended for months if...

Of all the markets that could as bad taste, surely this takes the cake. Paddy Power were taking bets on which Anfield footballer would be burgled next. As if you need to provide incentives for Scouser criminals! Liverpool condemn Paddy Power bets on player burglaries After furious protests from fans and Liverpool FC, Paddy Power initially defended the bets as "tongue-in-cheek fun", but the online bookmaker has now agreed to suspend betting. On Wednesday a Liverpool spokesperson described the bookmaker's stunt as "completely tasteless and disgraceful." Bear in mind here, that Paddy Power were the official betting partner of Liverpool FC as well. Until today that is, when their agreement expires with a sour conclusion. It is believed that Betfair will be taking over 'official betting partner' status, adding to their blue-chip partners of Barcelona and Manchester United, all signed this season.

Betfair love promoting their young sponsored poker stars - the only problem is, when one of them has an online handle of 'Annette_15', it's very easy to look upon her as being underage, or at least the company is encouraging underage gambling. Betting ad banned for encouraging underage gambling Seriously, you'd thought someone would have been able to figure that one out in-house without needing to be embarrassed by it. The username is a giveaway and she doesn't exactly look 30 in that photo. Drop the reference to the username and the ad is probably fine. It can always be referenced elsewhere on the site, rather than in the part answerable to strict advertising standards. The story goes that soon-to-be 21yo Annette Obrestad, winner of the World Series of Poker Europe 2007, when she had just turned 19, began playing poker online when she was just 15 - not at Betfair I care to add. She played only play for fun events (which still should have been prohibited as a ...

The stubborn Australian Racing Board and the Australian Jockeys' Association went head-to-head over the changes to the whip rules brought in on August 1 in Australia. Jockeys were rightfully frustrated about a major change to the rule which would bring about a suspension for them if they used the whip too many times in the closing stages, trying to win the race, yet the result wouldn't be overturned - so they'd be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Jockeys walked out across Australia last Thursday, stopping several race meetings during the day, and threatened further action. The spring carnival was never realistically under threat, but the jockeys wanted the issue sorted out before the big stakes were on the table. Jockeys, ARB reach whip compromise My query is, in six or so seconds that it takes for the last 100m, how many times more could a jockey whip a horse anyway?

Betfair, Ladbrokes, TABCorp and others have all pulled out or had offers rejected. What happens now? The price did seem a bit rich given the current economic climate, and particularly the changing wagering landscape in Australia. Tote Tasmania's sale plan in turmoil The Tasmanian Government may float the state’s Tote on the stock market after failing to find a buyer during a protracted bidding process. In a statement, Treasurer Michael Aird said two binding formal bids received when the window for formal tenders closed last week did not value Tote Tasmania at a “fair and reasonable” price. However, he insisted the sales process would continue on the open market and could possibly involve a public float. He said abandoning the private bidding process after months of haggling sent a message that the Tote would not be sold cheaply. Do they hold their cards, hoping that changing legislation works in their favour so they can achieve that sale price eventually, or do they...

Bizarre story this - an 80yo Melbourne racecourse bookmaker was robbed at the end of a fairly busy raceday at Flemington. But the robber then had a guilt trip and gave most of the money back! Guilt beats greed after not-so-great bookie robbery

The 'independent review of wagering policy and regulation' (are these things ever genuinely independent anymore?), the Cameron Report, made many recommendations for changes to the NSW wagering industry and policy. The NSW govt has taken its time, but has finally come back with some changes which might actually be a positive move for the punting public. Cameron Report - Fixed-odds breakthrough for NSW Recommendations adopted include: • pursuing a national co-ordinated approach to the regulation and taxation of wagering; • allowing the NSW TAB to offer fixed odds betting on all races through its account betting network on the phone and internet; • after further consultation and support of the industry, NSW bookmakers will be permitted to accept bets at racecourses using the internet or telephone on a 24/7 basis, as in Victoria; • not permitting betting on reality TV shows, economic events and the like; • prohibiting off-course retail bookmaking kiosks; and • givin...

Even Betfair has to go after a constant stream of smaller players so that the big punters don't dominate the liquidity. Bring in the fish or pay fines, Boss Media tells licensees BOSS MEDIA HAS introduced fines for poker network licencees that rely too heavily on rakeback and don’t bring in enough casual losing poker players, or ‘fish’. Rakeback has always been a controversial issue in poker; will this start a trend? Boss Media is one of the bigger poker networks online, how will their competitors react in the coming months?

Rumours abound this morning about the demise of RacingOdds (.com.au), the bookmaking arm of leviathan, or should it be big-mouth, Australian punter Sean Bartholomew. The website has disappeared (although other Aus firms have recently been subject to DDoS attacks and are still having issues), but there have been grave doubts about the longevity of this business for a while, with the proprietor believed to have been looking for a buyer for some time. If it is just hacker problems, then it's poor publicity for the company not to immediately send out emails to all clients reassuring them the firm is still operating, as Sportingbet and Sportsbet did last month. Punter funds will be safe - that's the benefit of the tight licensing laws in Australia. Each bookmaker puts up a hefty security bond with their licensing authority, to be distributed to punters in the event of financial insolvency. It is quite possible that Bartholomew has simply given up on an unviable business and clos...

Very interesting development here - after the legal battles in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands and Sweden, particularly involving Betfair, Bwin, Ladbrokes and Stanley International, it seemed that the European Union was forcing the hand of member states to allow free trading across borders for all gambling companies, particularly bookmakers, licensed within the EU. Does this ruling in Portugal open the door for governments to protect their monopolies in the name of fraud and crime prevention? Bwin Loses EU Court Challenge to Portuguese Gambling Monopoly Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, an online bookmaker, lost a challenge to Portugal’s sports- betting monopoly after a European Union court said gambling restrictions are legal as long as they target fraud and crime. Bwin had challenged Portugal’s national gambling monopoly and its extension to online wagering. The ruling today by the European Court of Justice could affect other pending cases i...

There's a piece in Monday's Racing Post about how a stalwart of the greyhound industry had given up betting on the sport because of the actions of the selfish owners. Bookmakers, notably Ladbrokes (and I assume Corals as well), who own varios greyhound tracks in the UK have stopped webcasting from certain tracks and blocked the tracks from selling race replay DVDs to punters. So the only way you can see a race is if you go to the track or you're a mug in the betting shop. Bookies cut out anyone with an ambition of winning a bet by doing some homework, protect their margins and the industry goes down the tube with backward evolution. In contrast, the Irish Greyhound Board (note, a united front for the industry nationwide) has announced that every race replay will be available on its website the day after the meeting, for free (initially). Little wonder in Ireland the industry is reasonably healthy and in the UK it is dying off. The same could be said for privately-owned ...

Following on from their sponsorship of AC Milan, Bwin are getting aggressive in Italy, this time in poker. Bwin eyes Gioco Digitale deal in Italy Gioco Digitale came to prominence when it swiftly took the number one spot in the burgeoning Italian tournament poker market after it opened up for business late last year. If you've never heard of Gioco Digitale like me, here's a look at their rather flash looking blog site .

If ever there was a body that needs to be held accountable for its incompetence in trying to fight legal battles, it is Racing NSW. Take a look at this shambles. Sneaky Changes to Race Field Conditions Seriously, V'Landys, if you ever get a job again in the industry after this (assuming the NSW govt have the balls to boot you when it all comes crashing down in November), we are all doomed.

Bored with the round-ball game yet? The Guinness Premiership and Magner's League rugby competitions start this weekend. Anyone would think rugby players and fans like a drink :) As a sport which is popular but not rammed down your throat by every form of media, there is plenty of value available in trading and if you do your homework. Here are some previews for the new season: Guinness Premiership club-by-club Guinness Premiership season preview The experts have their say GP preview 2009-10 Betfair trading on rugby, domestic rugby in particular, is very different to the rather simple methods on football. As the scoring system varies (try, conversion, penalty,and drop goal), field position counts for plenty, and most crucially, there is no market suspension when a team scores, you have to be on your own toes. But if making things a little more difficult makes it easier for those who do the hard work to make a profit, then so be it. With lower volumes traded, it makes i...

You'd think running a tote business in a region with a strong racing product, plenty of retail outlets and high margins would mean large, guaranteed profits. Apparently not. Off-track betting under fire for vehicle fleet The betting operation, which is heavily indebted and government-controlled, has come under scrutiny by the state comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, for having a fleet of 87 vehicles at its disposal, according to an article in The New York Times on Tuesday. The vehicles cost an average of $6,700 each to operate every year. ... The betting parlors are floundering in fiscal mismanagement. Last year, they recorded a deficit of $17.8 million, despite handling $1 billion in wagers. On Tuesday, Governor David A. Paterson issued an executive order authorizing OTB to file for bankruptcy protection. What the ....? 87 company cars around one of the world's most traffic unfriendly cities? Get on the bloody subway! Have they ever thought of looking at how similar b...

This is an important day for Australian racing, the day when the weights are released for all the big spring feature races. Melbourne Cup weights are headed by 2007 Cup winner Efficient and 2008 Cox Plate winner Maldivian on 58kg, followed by last year's winner Viewed and two Godolphin entries, Eastern Anthem and Schiaparelli on 57kg. Other notable foreign entries are Kirklees (Godoplhin) 57kg; Cima de Triomphe (Cumani) 55.5kg; Doctor Fremantle (Stoute) and Macarthur (de Kock) 55kg; Mourilyan (Moore) 54.5kg; Age of Reason (Godoplhin), King of Rome (de Kock), Scintillo (Hannon) 54kg; Askar Tau (Tregoning) and Profound Beauty (Weld) 53.5kg; Singapore champion mare Jolie's Shinju 52.5; Friston Forest (Godolphin) 52kg; Basaltico (Cumani) 51.5kg; Age of Aquarius (O'Brien) 51kg; Changingoftheguard (O'Brien) 50.5kg. First acceptances are taken next Tuesday. Click here for the full list of VRC spring feature weights