Sport is made for betting

Item in today's RP suggests FIFA are considering banning in-play betting on football over corruption fears. 'What a great idea' will say the do-gooders and Daily Mail readers who don't have a clue about the outside world. Any knowledge of betting in football will let you swiftly decide this is the stupidest idea since awarding the World Cup to a country which bans alcohol and homosexuality, doesn't even have to hotel capacity to cater for one full stadium of visitors and will be 45-50C during July. Mark Davies has written an excellent post on it here - UEFA and FIFA: focus, please! If bookmakers offer 'micro-betting', markets on tiny events during the match such as next free kick or next throw-in, who is taking the risk? The bookie. What is a bookie's job to do? Manage risk. What happens when people fall out of trees to back one option in a multi-selection, reasonably random market? They shut it off and investigate, maybe even alerting sporting autho...

Worrying signs north of the border as Scottish football has had some very unusual matches of late, backed up by suspicious betting patterns. The common denominator in both matches: Hearts. Motherwell midfielder Steve Jennings is in the spotlight this week after his red card in Tuesday night's match against Hearts was predicted by a lot of punters, particularly new ones, wanting to have bets well above the average for this usually trivial market. Several bookmakers have reported clusters of bets being placed on 'A Red Card to be awarded' at 10/1 on this match, far and above the average for a televised SPL match, with a widespread of accts, lumpy bets and numerous new accounts, particularly from the Liverpool area, where Jennings has links from one of his previous clubs, Tranmere. SPL - Jennings in betting probe over red card Motherwell midfielder Steve Jennings has denied any wrongdoing after bookmakers began an investigation into betting patterns over the red card he ...

Britain starts to thaw out and Betfair's share price starts to rise again. As I surmised last week , the icy weather appeared to be the trigger behind the plunge in price down to a low of 1150p on Friday. Seven days later, it's up over a pound to 1263p. No different to bookmakers' share prices around Cheltenham, the Grand National and World Cup - good results = expectation of greater profits = share price rises. Loss of revenue via favourites all winning or lack of racing = decline.

Australian racing is right up there with the best of the world on many fronts - the flagship event of Aus racing, the Melbourne Cup gets a local (not national unfortunately) public holiday; the prizemoney at stake considering the number of race meetings held each year; the facilities at Flemington; the press coverage etc... But the one issue where it really stands head and shoulders above UK racing in particular is stewarding and the regard for punters. National stewards decide to put punters first in overhaul of rules STEWARDS from around the country emerged from a two-day conference in Launceston with the punter in mind. A revamp of betting deductions issued when horses are scratched late, an overhaul of the rortable jockey-challenge betting, the old commission-agent bogey, etc, were on the agenda. Leading form student and respected punter Dominic Beirne overhauled the antiquated betting system. ''It will be a much fairer system and most kind to the punter,'' Ra...

Have to give kudos to ATR presenter Sean Boyce for an excellent article picking holes in the petty arguments being put up by Betfair, bookmakers and the racing authorities at the moment over various issues all relating to funding. So much hot air and yet so many conveniently hidden facts are left out of each's argument. A petty fight with handbags and a lot of flimsy evidence. When Two Tribes Go To War . . Exchanges like to point to the price edge their customers enjoy but also insist that, despite the very different MO which makes that difference possible, they should be subject to tax and levy at the same rate as bookies. They also like to offer the more attractive products from the traditional bookies portfolio to their own customers using their own cash and operating as traditional bookies. Hence exchanges are happy to stand multiples to their customers in exactly the same way as bookies do – more about this later. Bookies in turn, hate comparisons with exchanges on the...

What a weekend for the bookies! Chelsea - LOST Arsenal - LOST Liverpool - Drew Man Utd - Drew Real Madrid - Drew Bayern Munich - LOST Racing bookmakers mightn't have been too happy with Frankie Dettori riding four winners in a row at Ascot, but their football profits, particularly from accumulators and coupons, would more than make up for that. It's always worth taking on the big names on the weekends before European action, there's regularly at least one big name which goes down, not so often a bonanza weekend like this one.

I've waited until now to comment since his appeal is currently being heard. For those outside UK racing, this is the case where the biggest punter in the UK, one who trades, nearly every race, every day, was penalised for laying his own horse twice on Betfair. Harry owns (or at least did, until the initial ruling was made) a string of horses with various trainers around the country, and most notably is involved in Denman, the champion jumper. Nobody will disagree that laying your own horse for profit is a bad thing which needs to be heavily punished. However that was not the case here. Both times Findlay had already backed his horse heavily and was reducing his risk by laying some of his outlay back. In both cases, he still wanted the horse to win overall. Mark Davies has commented about the case today - here . There are two camps of thought here - 1. that all betting against your own horse is evil and must be struck out, and 2. that one should only be punished if the owner/punter ...

Not a good week for bookies at Royal Ascot, with favourites and plunge horses landing the chocolates all festival. With only six horses winning at 10/1 or bigger - a very low number considering the size of many of the fields - there was no respite at all for bookies. Only Rite of Passage winning the Gold Cup on Thursday at 20/1 was a surprise result in any of the big races. "Punters have never had it so good. Every single day they've given us a right royal bashing," said Ladbrokes' David Williams. "Thank goodness for the England football team. They are our only salvation in a week of misery for the bookies." "It has been carnage, no other word for it," said William Hill spokesman David Hood. "What is it about Ascot? For some bookies the five consecutive losing days of 2010 will make the infamous Dettori day look like a round of drinks. Totesport told a similar story, with spokesman George Primarolo adding: "Punters have clawed back their...

Here's a heart-warming story from Australian racing - a bunch of pompous prats who want to see the continual decline of racing into a sport of a bygone era have formed an 'alliance' to keep racing in an era where punters wore flares and wide-collared shirts, or worse, safari suits (which until recently, was a requirement during summer at some metropolitan racing clubs). Alliance Lobbies Commission for a Better Deal Wednesday, 23 December 2009: A newly formed body of prominent racing industry participants is calling on the Federal Productivity Commission to support the campaign for racing to receive a better deal from wagering operators. The newly formed National Horse Racing Alliance, representing a large number of owners, trainers, breeders, agents and organisations, has made detailed submissions to the Productivity Commission inquiry into gambling in a bid to secure better returns to the racing industry from corporate bookmakers, parimutual operators and betting exchanges...

Good article here from Bill Saunders, describing how South Australian racing is moving forward (granted, it was in rather poor shape) by rolling the sleeves up and dealing with the modern age, rather than trying to stick to believing in a Flat Earth like their counterparts in New South Wales. South Australia Shows How It's Done Long considered a basket case by the rest of Australian racing, South Australia is suddenly showing strong growth from a combination of embracing non-TAB wagering operators, government taxation reform and self help from rationalisation of resources and cost cutting. The net result is a stunning year to year turnaround in performance by TRSA, from a loss of $2.1 million in 2007-08 to a profit of nearly $6.8 million in 2008-09. By far the biggest factor in the improved performance was race field contributions from the bookmaking sector, which boosted gross revenue for TRSA by $9.2 million for the 9 months of the year that the contribution was paid. After payin...

Ever thought of doing something different and creating your own lines, rather than just blindly following what everyone else does? Bookmakers living a nightmare in Vegas Favourites winning all the games, bookies crying. Similar thing happened early in the EPL, then it all turned around. Much harder to do that when only betting point-spreads though.

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 ...

It's the Punchestown Festival this week, which if you've never been, is most certainly worth a visit. Only problem is, it's about an hour from Dublin, there are too few places to stay nearby and that one hour drive in Festival week is more likely to turn into three hours on Irish roads. Two big stories this week - firstly, how earth did Dunguib start at 10/11 today in the Bumper? It touched 2.2 on Betfair and absolutely tanked in. Unbelievably high cruising speed, I really hope he can jump for next season. The story in tomorrow's Racing Post will be about the pathetic bluff of Irish bookies and the lack of spine from Punchestown racecourse in bowing to their demands. Betfair have spent plenty on sponsorship there this week, with the trailer in attendance and big screens on the in-field showing the live Betfair prices, in direct competition with the 180+% trash that Irish bookies continue to get away with. First race of the Festival, bookmakers threaten to stand down if ...

I've been to this event numerous times and to be fair, I'm hardly surprised. It's all for the betting shop industry which is tired and stale. Betting Show future in jeopardy after exodus THE future of the bookmaking industry’s annual shop window, the Betting Show, has been thrown into doubt by the exit of three of the biggest exhibitors from this year’s event, due to be held at the NEC Birmingham from October 14-15. --- It's mighty expensive to run a stand there, it's trade only and very little business gets done anymore. Hard to justify that sort of expense in tight economic times...

Yesterday's Racing Post had a two-page spread about how British bookmakers are handling the economic downturn, in particular, if they are looking to minimise tax and levy by heading abroad. Naturally they can't move their shops abroad, but other functions such as internet and sportsbook operations could head to Gibraltar or other territories with much lower tax burdens. - BetFred recently transferred its internet sportsbook to Gibraltar, where it already based its casino operation. - Victor Chandler has been in Gibraltar for a decade and hasn't changed. - Stan James recently shut down a UK call centre and transferred operations to Gibraltar, where much of their business had operated before the abolition of betting duty. - Betfair have had major operations in Malta for several years, and all exchange bets placed by non-UK and non-Aus/NZ residents are processed via those servers, as well as multiple bets and all poker, casino and gaming transactions. - Hills and Corals are no...

Sports betting in Australia has changed enormously over the years. It was only 20 years ago when you could first bet on Aussie Rules (AFL) legally, now it's huge. Pioneering bookies reflect as punting on footy turns 20 "We've gone from those first four bookies in Melbourne to now 35 online betting shops around Australia betting on AFL," he said. "You can throw in another 40 overseas betting shops as well." That equates to huge money. "Back in 1993 footy betting turnover through legal channels was $3 million. This year I'm sure it will top $1 billion. Big business, and best of all for expats like myself, there are three games per week live on Setanta in the UK.

It's the age-old problem of business. If you're not prepared to give credit, then your business can't grow. But who is a good risk and who is a bad one? This guy was a massive punter, but it's not the gambling which has sent him to the wall, those debts are relatively minor compared to his others. Former Billabong chief leaves trail of gambling debts The bookies involved are big enough to absorb the loss, but like any chunky bad debt, it will hurt their profits. Never get in too deep, otherwise the house of cards can come crashing down....

Not really sure what any betting company has to gain by this, after all, the interestate advertising restrictions for bookmakers proved to be indefensible in court by the Victorian and NSW govts. But, it's probably worth doing the right thing in order to keep the locals sweet, get some publicity and kick on from there. Off and racing to register for betting in SA The interstate TABs have jumped in; the gentlemen's agreement is well and truly dead in the water. Betfair are there as well and I'd expect other firms to include Centrebet, Luxbet, Sportingbet and IAS. And just to show how out-of-touch with the rest of the world South Australia are, they have to do a special investigation into Betfair because laying horses is obviously evil. Yes it really is 1983 down there....

Victorian bookmakers will finally be allowed to take bets 24/7 under new proposals from the state government. But it's still taboo for them to lay horses on Betfair, although EVERYONE ELSE in the entire country is allowed to do it. Seriously, you wonder how any of these idiots managed to get elected.... Herald Sun article They'll still have to be based on a racecourse, venues punters rarely ever attend these days and severely lacking in technological resources or office space. And they'll still only be allowed to advertise in Victoria, if they're lucky...

I'm all for the notion of every sporting event or betting market offered becomes an opportunity for profit. Do your homework better than anyone else and you can be rewarded well. And the satisfaction for doing that is often worth more than the money. But there are certain events and signals which should tell you to steer well clear of getting involved. 1. Betting on your own team - bookies love punters who will fanatically back their own team or country. When betting with the heart rather than the head, any concept of value or proper analysis of the betting goes out the window. UK bookmakers make millions every year because England teams across most sports are incredibly over-rated. When was the last time England won anything of note in football? 1966. The cricket team won the Ashes in a tight contest in 2005, and since then have been flogged regularly. The overnight result against NZ was embarrassing. England rugby fares better, but they only bother to turn up at the World Cup app...