Sport is made for betting

Long overdue this one, so let's see how much I can come up with.... Sportingbet have rejected the takeover bid from William Hill and GVC, suggesting the bid undervalued the company. Doesn't seem like a big surprise given Sportingbet are currently trading around the offer level of 52.5p, having been as low as 26p back in May. This appears to be an action to encourage them to come back with a better offer rather than flat rejection. Meanwhile, the acquisition target's annual figures reported a net loss based on costs acquiring Centrebet and shedding regions of questionable legality such as Turkey, but once again, Australian results were very strong. The punter who cried wolf when Bet365 Australia wouldn't pay him his 'winnings' of $70k may have bitten off more than he can chew - stewards are now looking into the circumstances of the race where the two dogs who didn't run in the placings for the First 4 bet, including the favourite, had allegedly recently b...

Imagine the gendarme from Allo Allo in court.... "But we weren't throwing the match your honour, so how can we be guilty?" European press wires are going crazy with reports that some of the nation's best handball players, recent Olympic gold medallists in London, are caught up in a 'match-fixing' scandal in the French domestic league. Nikola Karabatic, one of the implicated, is renowned as one of the best players in the world. In the match in question, Montpellier were assured of winning the league, their 13th title in 15 seasons, while a win for their opponents Cesson-Savigne appears to have ensured they avoided relegation. Details of the case are sketchy, as is often the case in a region which doesn't understand sports betting. Bets are supposed to have all been on the half-time result, and have turned €5000 into €200k ! Not possible, the odds were nothing like that. Only full-time odds shown in the link below, but HT odds would have been fairly simila...

To finish off the weekend and complete the winter season for Australian sport, it's Grand Final Day for the National Rugby League (NRL). Since none of my readers from Sydney volunteered, British rugby league die-hard James Jack, @materialista27 , has answered the call for a preview. --------------- NRL GRAND FINAL This season's Grand Final pits 1st versus 2nd from the table after the weekly rounds as minor premiers Canterbury Bulldogs take on Melbourne Storm. THE BACKGROUND The Doggies last won the title in 2004 after defeating the Roosters. Last year's grand final winning coach Des Hasler joined from Manly, they look to have been galvanised and they come into this game having won 15 of their last 16. They knocked off Manly in week 1 of the finals and thumped Souths last week to set up this encounter. Their only defeat since May came in Canberra, losing 34-6 to the Raiders. That game aside, the have been consistent all season and as a result swept this year'...

One of the toughest things I find about adjusting to UK racing is the willingness to hold huge field handicaps. The way I like to do my form, it would take a day just to go through the field! Thankfully, some folk revel in this type of race, arise @Sir_Back2Lay with his trends analysis ----------- The Cambridgeshire With 35 runners this is no easy task but the trends are extremely useful to narrow down the field in the Cambridgeshire. If we go through the main trends, keeping it strict, there is a great deal of value around. ∙ Aged 6 or younger ∙ Carrying 8-7 to 9-3 ∙ Officially rated 91 to 102 ∙ Has run 4 to 7 times in 2012 ∙ Finished in the first 4 in a class 2 handicap last time ∙ Posted highest RPR of past 12 months on last start ∙ Has won at class 2 level or above (at worst placed in a class 2) ∙ Won over 1M 2F ∙ Won a race with 14+ runners ∙ Ran in the Dubai Duty Free Handicap at Ne...

A bit slow off the mark with this, but we're not expecting prices to change too much on Day 1 anyway, so no harm being patient. Assessing the Ryder Cup for the blog are the experts at Priomha, @priomha , the Australia-based sports trading fund - regulated, transparent and profitable. --------------- RYDER CUP PREVIEW One of the great fallacies of the sporting world is that the Ryder Cup is a "team" event. It is a team event in terms of who wins and loses (overall) and that you get to share beers with more than just your caddy, but in terms of execution of rounds it boils down to the individual and it is upon this premise that we have based our analysis and investments. The foursomes (alternate shot) is the only format that has some dependence on your colleague - even this is a tenuous call at the elite level as it is not as if the pairings have a 16 handicapper and a scratch player where every second shot is from the rough. Worse case scenario is that the longe...

This is the anthem of Aussie Rules football, and by crikey, I wouldn't say no to it becoming the national anthem! Even if you don't like the music, the highlights are worth watching on their own.... and after that, we have the song composed many years ago for the final series

Squeezed amongst all the racing, golf and various codes of footy this weekend is the T20 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka. With the minnows seen off, now we get into the Super Eights section, a bit of pfaff before the knockout stages finally commence. Sharing his preview of the match is Stephen Maher - @gamblerfalls ------------ Australia v India We have an exciting clash between Australia and India in Colombo today at 3PM British time. Looking at the pitch while Pakistan and South Africa are playing at the moment, it looks like 160+ would be a great score possibly match winning, 150-140 competitive and spin should play a big part. The match odds is a difficult one with India 4/5 and Australia 11/10, I’d say whoever bats first is at a massive advantage, if they dont aim too high which is highly possible considering the scores so far in the tournament. The pitch will no doubt help Indias bowling, and Australia will really need a good start from Warner and Watson so they can see off...

Friday's feature at Newmarket is the Nayef Joel Stakes over a mile, and returning to the blog with his excellent analysis is Gary Savage, @chesneywold . Nayef Joel Stakes Quite how the Joel Stakes at Newmarket has made it onto the roster of the British Champions Series is mystifying, but nevertheless it’s a competitive renewal and with the ground at HQ looking decent it’s well worth taking a look at the field. Fanunalter is trained by Michael Wigham, who is more known for his ‘exploits’ at lesser tracks than training Group Two winners. Having said that, this ex-Marco Botti inmate ran straight and true on his only run so far for his new trainer when picking up the Summer Mile at Ascot at 33-1. With a strike rate of five wins from fifteen starts he must have a chance of following up in this only marginally better contest. Most Improved has the single best piece of form in this race having taken the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. He’s the likely favourite here, and...

There is just one day in September worth knowing about, and that is AFL Grand Final Day. Saturday's the day - 1430 AEST, or on this side of the world, a rather early start at 0530. For a proper taste of the atmosphere, get to your nearest Aussie pub - it will be going off like a frog in a sock.... I have been provided with a seriously good preview of the 2012 AFL grand final by Reading the Play who provide AFL, NFL and NRL previews and betting advice. Dr Matt is their AFL & NFL guru and has excelled this year wih a 95-63 60% SR on AFL games. With a maths/science background and an economics degree, Dr Matt combines in-depth statistical analysis with a very astute dissection of betting markets. Follow him on Twitter, @downisthenewup_ and read his AFL and NFL material at Reading the Play --------------------- 2012 AFL Grand Final Preview Hawthorn v Sydney HAWTHORN 2012 ATS DATA SYDNEY 17 - 7 ATS TOTAL 16 - 8 15 - 7 ATS FAVE 12 - 4 1 - 0 ATS DOG 4 - 3 9 - 6 ATS MCG 0...