Match-fixing in the news again

Match-fixing is never far away from the news these days but it's been a busy week for it.

On Sunday we had the story break that 10 players and officials of the Southern Stars, a Victorian Premier League team (Melbourne, Australia) had been arrested over match-fixing allegations. All of the players involved were from Britain, and offered to the club at no cost. Surely that raises some alarm bells? These aren't the likes of Robbie Fowler who has made his millions and now might wish to give back to the football world by playing or coaching across the globe, but a bunch of once-promising players who now can't cut it as senior footballers and now need to earn a living. One wonders if the club administrators who agreed to such a package deal have also purchased plots of outstanding real estate with maritime views (swamp land) or have accepted offers to help Nigerian princes trying to move money out of the country....

Next up we had the World Snooker Association finding Stephen Lee guilty of multiple charges of match- and spot-fixing. This took nobody by surprise and Ronnie O'Sullivan has implied there has been plenty of other occurrences. I loved his tweet which said 'No concrete evidence but it's like being in an office, everyone knows who's shagging who'. Brilliantly put.

And the final headline, at least so far this week, has been the overnight raids and arrest of 14 people in Singapore on allegations of match-fixing and sporting corruption. This mightn't sound that big in the grand scheme of things but one of the names rumoured to have been taken into custody is Dan Tan, the big cheese in world football fixing. Singapore police won't confirm details as yet but they do have the power to hold persons without charge for up to 12 months - it could be a long period of questioning.

Dan Tan has fingers in every pie when it comes to corrupting football. With Wilson Raj Perumal spending time in a Finnish gaol and being under police surveillance in Hungary (yet allegedly arranging the Southern Stars fixes), Tan had taken over as the man in control. Don't for a moment though think that fixing dries up here. Just like a drug cartel, there will be a hefty network of people involved worldwide and several of them will be more than willing to step up and fill the void of Tan. Not only that, as fixing gains more and more publicity as each scandal is exposed, copycats will emerge and start their own fixing franchise. There will be a day where both teams in a match are trying to lose, paid off by rival gangs, just like movies where both boxers fall down at the slightest hint of a punch. In fact, there might have already been a match or two like this. Nevertheless, this is a massive development in the fight against corruption in sport.

I was contacted by Sky Sports News again once the Singapore news broke, and was interviewed this afternoon. I'll post a clip of it later on.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2

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

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...

Wimbledon preview - women

Unfortunately this year I don't have the time to write comprehensive Slam previews anymore so I'll sum this one up pretty quickly - it's all about Serena. 1 - Serena Williams. In incredible form. Since bombing out in R1 of the French Open last year, she has lost just three times - to Kerber (Cincinnati QF), to Stephens (Aus Open QF) and to Azarenka (Doha final). She has won three of the last four Wimbledon finals plus the Olympic gold last year where she dropped just 17 games in six rounds, against opponents which included four former world #1s. All that considered though, I can't have her at 1/2 (1.50) on Betfair. She just has to be opposed. I can't put a finger on who is going to beat her, but I have to side with her prospective opponents. If you want a smokey to put some small change on, try Maria Kirilenko. Her record in the Slam isn't so great but it has been improving - a best result of R4 last year beaten by finalist Radwanska 7-5 in the third, and

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