Sport is made for betting

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, ...

Lalit Modi is copping it from all sides at the moment. Allegations of improper dealings over the awarding of new IPL franchises, investigations into whether they've paid enough tax, I had a journalist contact me about the ownership credentials of one franchise investor who has alleged ties to betting, and now comes an investigation into match-fixing. Even Allen Stanford, the jailed financial megalomaniac who set up a megabucks competition named after himself didn't have that many bullets to dodge! My take on the match-fixing allegations which are published here , why haven't we heard any cry of foul play from legal bookmakers? Globalisation means that even if the vast majority of action happened on the black market, it usually finds it way somehow in the licensed betting community. Either this bloke is going to have one massive fall from grace, or there are persons out there with some very big grudges against him, which often happens if you start crossing people on your que...

It has been a crazy week here so apologies for the lack of updates - it won't happen again :) This week I've been busy. NRL previews French Open title previews here Monaco F1 preview IPL finals preview

Australian rugby league IPL cricket - Delhi v Mumbai There'll be some F1 stuff from me late on Saturday as well.

So far there haven't been too many consistent teams - well, apart from Kolkata who are just rubbish. Flintoff and Pietersen proved to be over-priced flops (gee, who'd have thunk it?) and veterans like Gilchrist, Hayden, Kumble and Tendulkar have shown that the short game is not necessarily a young man's game. The end-of-season pitches are showing their age and the average score has been decreasing. This week has kept the airports busy with the English and West Indian players flying out, and the Aussies about to arrive once they are finished in Dubai. For the Cricinfo update at this stage, click here Delhi still look the team to beat, hopefully Deccan return to form on the back of Herschelle Gibbs scoring runs. My 25/1 each-way for most runs was looking good for at least some return until his last few innings.

My turn on the preview rota tomorrow for the Bangalore v Punjab game. Read the article here. The market now has Punjab favourite which astounds me. Their bowling is terrible...

Got a few articles up on Betting@Betfair this week.. F1 post-qualifying preview , very keen on the two bets listed. Deccan Chargers IPL - don't read too much into this one, all the writers drew straws for a team and had to make a case for them. I have backed Herschelle Gibbs at 25/1 each-way for Top Runscorer though. NRL Round 6 form (no byline)

Some sports want to bury their head in the sand when it comes to betting but forward-thinking Indian cricket officials are keen to legalise sports betting in an effort clean up the game and get rid of match-fixing. Cricinfo article This is potentially bigger than legalising sports wagering in the USA. Sure there are plenty of poor people in India, but there are plenty of people with wealth as well. And they bet on cricket whether it is legal or not. The Indian Premier League is only going to increase that - it's India's version of the NBA or NFL - the razzle-dazzle, cheerleaders and the media hype. The locals can't get enough of it. Good to see Betfair in there (who have an information-sharing agreement with the ICC and Cricket Australia) as well as Ladbrokes.