Sport is made for betting

So Delaware had a great idea to bring in legalised sports betting. After all, if Vegas is doing it, and other states like Oregon have it via a 'sports lottery', then why not Delaware? Particularly when the state is struggling with the recession like the rest of the world. Well, the state government approved it, then the nosey sports leagues ganged up on them and got it shut down. It defies all logic. Legalised and licensed gambling enables sporting authorities to have a money trail, so they can detect any attempted corruption and fraud. If you leave it to the illegal bookies in bars and on street corners, the ones who they will never be able to get rid of, then there is no means of detection. It's all underground and grubby. Legalising one or two state-licensed venues, which would have been taxed enough to keep the margins no more attractive than the outlaws in the Caribbean or on the street corner, and you have an audit trail. It's not as if these firms are going to ...

In case you haven't found the link from my Twitter updates, listed on the top right, here is where you can find my US Open previews from a betting perspective. More often that not, I'll post links to the previews there so keep an eye on those comments and links. From the PuntingAce site, you'll also be able to check my previews of the last few years and decide for yourself if they're any good or not :)

After all the commotion about Ronaldo, Kaka, Alonso, Benzema and Ibrahimovic, the Spanish season is about to get underway. Here's a look at the season ahead from Insidefutbol.com. Let's hope all the money being pumped into it doesn't turn La Liga into a two-horse race, that just kills all the excitement very quickly....

Who'd have thought crusty old William Hill would sponsor a football team? Certainly not in the UK but they've taken the big step to sponsor Malaga, the closest club to their Gibraltar base of online operations, in La Liga. William Hill signs shirt sponsorship deal with Malaga CF It's easier this season to count the clubs who aren't sponsored by bookmakers!

Hardly a surprise considering the size of the UK betting market... Rafa and Ribery used in betting scam How hard do you think it would be to set this up? Bookies and punters love jumping at shadows or following the money regardless. Sooner or later, it had to turn into a scam. This sort of thing is outlawed in the financial world but I reckon it would be nigh on impossible to ban in the sports betting world. These types of markets - Next Manager, Player Transfers - are completely fuelled by rumours. If bookies want to bet on them, then they're asking for trouble.... The 'high-rollers' involved in this must have been losing accounts the syndicate bought to maximise their return - have you ever tried getting a decent bet on these markets???

About time something was done on this one. As posted here last year , something was very fishy with this match - people don't go out of their way to be betting on correct frame score unless something is up. Duo detained by police Stephen Maguire and Jamie Burnett have been detained by police looking into alleged irregular betting patterns during a UK Championship match. Both were helping Strathclyde Police with their inquiries in connection with the outcome of the game in Telford on December 15 last year. A Strathclyde Police spokesman said: "Our economic crime unit can confirm that two men, aged 28 and 33, have been detained and are assisting Strathclyde Police with their inquiries into the alleged irregular betting pattern associated with the snooker match involving Stephen Maguire and Jamie Burnett." The first-round match, which was subject to investigations by World Snooker and the Gambling Commission, was won 9-3 by Maguire. The problem is, with allegations like thes...

Racing in NSW, particularly in the city, has long been dogged by too many small fields and domination by big stables such as Gai Waterhouse and the former Ingham/Hawkes empire. This system, on first glance, appears to fix some of the shortfalls in the old system. Country horses will be better off when coming to town - i.e. weighted to have a chance rather just be making up the numbers. New handicapping system for NSW racing to start October 1 I'm keen to see this in action. If they can implement what they are proposing, it could be the rocket up the proverbial .... that NSW racing needs to get back into a healthier state. Having city meetings with average field sizes of 6 or 7 does nothing to inspire punters.

Another minor sportsbook, along with their partners EuroLinx and LinxCasino, goes belly up. Poor management, poor business plan... who knows? But punters once again get screwed. Stick to the bigger names and if you must play in the lesser-known books, use Moneybookers and Neteller to keep your balance down to a minimum. LinxMedia Group bankrupt BetOnBet was an odds aggregation bookmaker - meaning they used an odds comparison service to form their odds and simply sit in the middle all the time. And they still couldn't make a profit - or perhaps the losses from the rest of the business were too heavy. Just guessing, but they probably had to spend too much on marketing and promotions to get clients. Or they were just poorly managed. The sportsbook was relatively new compared to the poker and casino arms so chances are the other products and their marketing/bonus schemes led to their downfall.

They're at it again. After three leading Russian biathletes were busted for it back in February, now it''s the turn of the cross-country skiers to cheat the system and get caught. Three Russian skiers test positive for EPO Two of the three athletes were Olympic gold medallists as well, and conveniently, they will both now retire - probably to a hero's farewell. Winter sports need to take a hardline stance like weightlifting - multiple failed drug tests leads to that country being barred from major competitions. Until that happens, this ugly cycle will continue. And any athlete who tests positive to the more serious drugs, such as steroids and EPO, should all their previous achievements wiped from the record books.