Italian police celebrate busting an illegal syndicate

No surprises here. A Mafia boss sent to jail went back to his old ways when he got out. Nothing too newsworthy there, but the facts of article leave a bit to be desired...

Italian police broke up major mafia clan

Italian police have broken up a major mafia clan, issuing 83 arrest warrants and seizing businesses, land, race horses and a London-based online betting company, officials said Tuesday.

.....

The assets seized included the sporting goods empire "Sport&More" as well as the London-based Paradise Bet, described by police as one of the most important British online betting sites.

It would be a mighty long list if Paradise Bet were to ever have featured on a list of important British betting sites, and ignoring that rather large extension of the truth, the company hasn't existed for several years!

ParadiseBet ceased operations in 2006 and became the much-disliked Bet1128.

If they were referring to 1128, who are believed to be Italian-owned, they are a Maltese minnow anyway. But never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

UPDATE 23/12:

The UK Gambling Commission has suspended the licence of Paradise Bet, but Bet1128.com appears to still be running.. so not sure who it actually applies to??

Comments

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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