Category: sportsbook

Fifty-two year old Cliff Bryant, placed several accumulator bets on whether cities in Britain would enjoy a White Christmas, and won all of them bringing his winnings to £7.1 million. Ladbrokes, the betting site where he placed the bet, is refusing to pay out this sum on account of the bets being accumulators instead of singles.

Press Association: No £7.1m payout after bet ‘error’

Bookmaker Ladbrokes refuses to pay off a bet worth £7.1 million to a man who wagered snow would fall on Christmas because it was accepted by mistake. Cliff Bryant placed 2 £5 accumulators on snow fall across 24 British Cities on December 25.

Ladbrokes staff accepted the bet by mistake as the company rules state such a wager can only be a single bet. The first accumulator would’ve netted Mr. Bryant over £4.9 million, the second £2.23 million. The company honored the relevant single bets and paid out a lesser £31.78 instead. They’ve since apologized for the mistake.

Mr. Bryant is seeking legal advice over the error and says he was “gutted” by the decision. He urged the company to make rules clearer. A Ladbrokes spokesman said company rules state “snow at Christmas” bets must be singles only, rather than accumulators.

Reuters: Bookie refuses to pay out £7 million on snow bet

Cliff Bryant placed 2 £5 accumulator bets that snow would fall on 24 towns and cities across the north of England on Christmas. Now he’s being refused the £7.1 million payout he won.

“We have apologized to the customer for any confusion and for mistakenly accepting an accumulator bet when our own rules state that only single bets are available on a market of this nature,” said a Ladbrokes spokesman. “We are happy to void the bets and to pay the customer his winnings on the relevant singles.” That would be a mere £32.

The graphic designer from Southampton, says he was “gutted” and will seek legal advice. He claims the 1st bet would have won him 4.9 million pounds, with the second adding 2.2 million. “If I make a mistake in my work like that it costs me dearly and I think the offer should be a lot more generous than they have made.”

Ladbrokes gave Bryant details of the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS), an neutral adjudicator that deals with gambling operators and customers disagreements.

Danny Cracknell, an IBAS manager, told Reuters that Bryant had been in contact and they would be investigating the issue once he had completed the relevant forms.

Mirror.co.uk: Punter furious after bookies refuse to pay out on £7m white Christmas bet

A UK punter thought he won £7million betting on a white Christmas and ended up with just £31. Cliff Bryant spent £10 on 2 accumulator bets that 24 UK cities would see snow fall on Christmas. All of his predictions were correct but he was later told that his wager was invalid.

Company rules say accumulators, a series of linked bets, can’t be placed on the chances of a white Christmas. Cliff received the winnings he would have got had he placed 24 single bets. The dad-of-three, said: “My heart was beating fast when I thought I’d won but now I’m absolutely fuming. If I’d been paid I would have loved to have got my teeth done.”

A Ladbrokes spokesman said: “We apologize that a bet was taken in error. We intend to talk to Mr. Cliff to see if we can make it up to him.”

Cliff Bryant would’ve made over £7 million this Christmas but Ladbrokes claims that his bets were invalid and will award him only £31 due to the mishap.

Belgian Gambling Laws

Gambling legislation is a point of contention all over the world today, specifically the new Belgian gambling laws which restrict online casino games. Many countries are changing their policies on the subject and organization, such as the European Union, are making very influential decisions with regards to all member states.

Despite wishes on behalf of the European Union that its mandates be acknowledged and followed, some countries still insist on going against the grain. A few such countries are France, Poland and most recently Belgium. Speculations indicate that these countries have crossed the line intentionally in order to test Michel Barnier, the new European Commissioner.

Belgium has stirred the subject to the brink of boiling by recently passing a law regulating online gambling that did not address several points of contention with EU rules, as found by the European Commission.

The European Commission gave an official Detailed Opinion to Belgian legislators which pointed out which parts of Belgian gambling laws needed to be amended in order to comply with EU law. Some of the points pointed out by the European Commission include: an unjustified limit on licenses, requirements of servers being located in Belgium, and forbidding citizens to participate in EU licensed and regulated internet gambling in Belgium.

Belgian gambling laws: Sigrid Ligne angry

Secretary General of the European Gaming and Betting Association, Sigrid Ligne, condemned Belgium’s action saying that, “The law is not only highly questionable from a legal point of view, a high level of consumer protection can be achieved by specific and targeted legislation, not by protecting the operators with a vested interest in the current situation.”

On December 3rd, lawmakers passed Belgian gambling laws without taking into considerations concerns that were voiced by the European Commission. In doing so, the Belgian Government has subjected itself to infringement proceedings that may be held by the EC which believes Belgian gambling laws are illegal within the EU framework.

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing in the great state of Massachusetts has come to an end. The reason behind the recent change in policy is quite simple – greyhound racing was voted down by referendum. The 69-year old Raynham Park will see no more live greyhound racing as the result of 56% vote on behalf of the public against the sport.

Last lap for greyhound racing in New England

More than 3,000 people visited Raynham Park this weekend on the final day of live greyhound racing in Massachusetts and, possibly, New England. This is the result of a public referendum — 56% of voters favored banning the sport — and part of a national trend driven by a mix of animal-rights concerns and declining track attendance.

Live dog racing has ceased in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and, temporarily at least, Rhode Island. Greyhound racing continues at 23 tracks in seven states, 13 of them in Florida, according to the organization GREY2K USA, which formed in 2001. At that time there were 49 greyhound racing tracks in 15 states.

Many greyhound racing dogs will move to race elsewhere, but hundreds will be looking for new homes. Raynham is working with GREY2K and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center to aid their adoption.

“People who voted to end greyhound racing dog racing should step forward now and take a dog home,’’ Dorchak said. “This is the happy ending we all worked for, and these dogs make wonderful pets.’’

Industry can learn from greyhound ban

Rain Spot crossed the wire first in Saturday’s 10th race at Raynham Park, a track that’s been around for 69 years. Rain Spot’s race is the last dog race that will ever be run in Massachusetts, where voters decided the sport was cruel to animals and ended it.

Greyhound racing fell into decline by the mid-nineties when attendance reached pitiful levels. Casino competition, and a poor facility led to its demise, but what killed off dog racing was the public aversion to animal cruelty. Massachusetts voters passed the Greyhound Protection Act by a 56-44 margin.

Animal rights activists shed light on greyhound racing that had long tolerated owners killing dogs after their racing days were over. One story reported that the remains of 3,000 greyhounds were found on the property of a former racetrack security guard in Alabama.

Ironically, the greyhound industry did a great job curbing the greyhound racing dog killings. The industry teamed with dog lovers in an effort to find homes for retired racers. According to the Greyhound Racing Association of America, more than 152,000 greyhounds have been adopted as pets since 1990.

Gates close on live racing at Raynham

After 26 years calling greyhound races, Tony Bonaminion went into race-calling mode as easily as turning on his microphone. After yesterday’s races at the Raynham Park dog track, Bonaminion was out of a job and 75 years of live dog racing came to a close.

Patrons and employees, who turned out in massive numbers yesterday, were largely somber. For Peter Burke, director of racing, the Raynham track had been a family affair for years. “My two daughters and their mom work here,’’ he said. Burke started as a lead-out and worked his way up to being in charge of all racing at the track.

The biggest transition might be for the greyhound racing dogs themselves. Chuck Thomson, head of adoption at the Off-Track Pets facility, said the closing was the “end of an era.’’ Although Thomson’s office was only open for three hours a week, he always had several visitors who came by.

Lots of greyhound racing dogs need a home now. Louise Coleman, Greyhound Friends’ director, said 150 dogs from Raynham will not continue racing elsewhere and need to be adopted. The Greyhound Friends kennel in Hopkinton has taken in 50 dogs in the past six weeks. “It’s unfortunate that the people are being laid off, but the dogs are being laid off, too. Their job is done. We do the best we can to help them,’’ she said.

After decades of entertaining the public, Raynham racetrack must discontinue live greyhound racing on account of being voted down by the public in referendum.

Four employees of a Texas company called Fidelity were fired for playing fantasy football at work. Fantasy football involves creating virtual teams out of pro football players, then using the real player’s statistics to determine the results. Pooled money from all participants provides prizes. A Fidelity spokesperson claims the company has strict rules against gambling.

Reuters: Fantasy sports at work spark concerns after report

Fantasy sports leagues are up in arms after news got out that a company called Fidelity Investments recently fired four employees for playing fantasy football while at work.

President of The Fantasy Sports Trade Association Paul Charchian said on Wednesday that the association is concerned that the incident marks the start of a battle between employers and the popular pastime of internet sports betting. Charchian cited a June survey that found 29 million people played fantasy sports in the United States and Canada in the past year, up from 20 million people in 2007.

Fantasy sports games revolve around the statistics or actual professional athletes. Players put together a virtual team and convert the stats of each player into online points, winning money when their “team” performs well. The money comes from participants who pool funds to fuel the games. Many offices tolerate fantasy games, and some even encourage them as morale-builders. Others question shether these games amount to gambling in the true sense.

Cameron Pettigrew, a manager at Fidelity’s Westlake office in Texas, along three other employees were fired by Fidelity for participating in the fantasy sports. A Fidelity spokeswoman said “We have policies in place that address a variety of professional conduct standards for our employees”.

Few details have been released concerning how Pettigrew’s league worked or why Fidelity may have objected to it.

Boston Herald: Fidelity fires 4 in fantasy football

Fidelity Investments in Texas reportedly fired four employees for participating fantasy football while at work.

Cameron Pettigrew, a manager at Fidelity, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram how he and three other employees lost their jobs at the Boston-based mutual fund corporation.

Pettigrew, who worked for Fidelity for 2 years before losing his job, could not be reached for comment.

Vin Loporchio, a spokesperson for Fidelity, said that the company does not comment on current or former employees “out of respect for their privacy and confidentiality,” and would not provide information.

“Our company policies address a variety of professional conduct standards for our employees,” Loporchio said yesterday in an e-mail to the Boston Herald. “Beyond that, however, we would not have anything to add.”

Loporchio told the Star-Telegram that Fidelity has “clear policies” relating gambling. “Participation in any form of gambling through the use of Fidelity time or equipment or any other company resource is prohibited,” the newspaper quoted Loporchio as saying. “We want our employees to be focused on our customers and clients.”

NBC Dallas/Fort Worth: Fired for Tackling Fantasy Football

A broker at a financial company in Westlake, Florida, claims that he lost his job for playing fantasy football while at work.

“I’m being 100 percent honest,” said Cameron Pettigrew. “It’s as ludicrous as it sounds.”

Pettigrew said his former employer, Fidelity Investments, let go of him and three others in October for organizing $20 fantasy football games. Fantasy football is a popular sports game in which participants bet on the performances of real football players.

“I loved my job at Fidelity,” Pettigrew said. “My whole argument is, the punishment didn’t fit the crime.”

Vin Loporchio, a spokesman for Fidelity told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the company has a clear policy against gambling. “Participation in any form of gambling through the use of Fidelity time or equipment or any other company resource is prohibited,” said Loporchio. “We want our employees to be focused on our customers and clients.”

Pettigrew claimed to understand the company’s policy but didn’t think it was enforced. “We had people in management and leadership doing it, ever since the first day I was there,” he said. “I thought it was a rule nobody took seriously.”

Pettigrew is now unemployed and looking for work.

Online casino pro Cryptologic has agreed to license at least five of their casino games to BetClic.

The agreement will be beneficial to both parties, and Cryptologic will earn revenues based on wagers placed on the games. Following the announcement, the online casino pro shares jumped considerably.

Online Casino Pro Cryptologic Innovative Betting Games

CryptoLogic Limited, an international developer of online casino games and software, just signed a multi-year agreement to license five or more of its best casino games to BetClic, a major European internet sportsbook.

This agreement covers a few of online casino pro CryptoLogic’s best online slot games, which will soon be featured on BetClic’s Games website. The games will be integrated with the help of Gaming Technology Solutions plc, CryptoLogic’s technology platform provider.

President and CEO of CryptoLogic Brian Hadfield said, “The popularity and demand for our industry-leading games remains strong as evidenced by this latest agreement with BetClic, a fast growing European operator. As each new licensee launches our games, we add a new and recurring revenue stream to our business while providing enhanced value and user experience for our partners’ customers.”

Nicolas Beraud, CEO of BetClic, announced, “We are excited about the prospect of adding quality branded content to our current portfolio. CryptoLogic games are instantly recognisable and are developed to the highest industry standards. This partnership further enhances our commitment to offering the best gaming experience to our diverse customer base.”

Online casino pro Cryptologic on sports betting

Cryptologic, a Dublin-based company specializing in online gaming software, is about to sign a deal with Betclic, global online sportsbook operator, and will soon be launching a series of new games in partnership with DC Comics and Paramount Digital Entertainment.

They expected to announce this week that the Malta-based online sports betting company Betclic will soon offer Cryptologic games on the casino portion of their website.

Betclic is primarily focused on sports betting, especially football. The group has businesses in 15 countries and caters to around 1.5 million customers. Betclic is working to develop its casino and poker casino offerings, which have become a standard part of online gambling sites.

Cryptologic has partnerships with DC Comics and Paramount Digital Entertainment (a parent company of Paramount Pictures), and develops games using characters owned by these groups, including Superman and Braveheart.

TechMARK movers: CryptoLogic signs BetClic deal

Shares in online gambling software and games developer CryptoLogic soared after an announcement that they have signed a licensing deal with BetClic, a major European online sportsbook. Betclic will license at least five games from CryptoLogic. This deal will provide recurring revenues for online casino pro CryptoLogic because income is to be based on all wagers placed on the games.

CryptoLogic reported a significant decline in revenues from $50.2m to $29.9m in the nine months prior to September 2009. The loss more than doubled, jumping from $6.48m to $13.5m. The decline was blamed on licensees acting too slowly in launching new games.

CryptoLogic shares are traded on the TSX, Main Market, and Nasdaq. The current online casino pro is half what it was in the middle of September.

An elderly semi-retired heating engineer won 1.5 m million pounds ($2.4 million dollars) from a 2 pound bet when he chose six horses in six consecutive races that all won.

Mr. Steve Whiteley, 60, went to the racing track with his two buddies and a bottle of whiskey. They took the bus as none had more than 5 quid in their pockets. They got inside for free using a promotional coupon.

The bet he wanted to place would have cost 30 pounds so he instead chose 6 horses in 6 races and put two quid on the Tote Jackpon which has grown substantially. For the past year nobody was able to predict all 6 winners in 6 races so the jackpot kept rolling over week after week.

Mr. Whiteley, who was tanning a beer during the interview, states that he only goes to the track with his friends once or twice a year, and that playing poker is his true passion. Sometimes he uses an Online sports betting service, when he hasn’t got enough money to get to the track.
Out of the 363,000 tickets sold that day during the first race, only 9,076 tickets had the first horse picked correctly.
By the fourth race, Mr. Whitley was the only person still in play. “And then at the last he said, ‘There is only one left and it’s this one’. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t look – I am shaking like a leaf.”
When asked what he plans to do now, he eloquently replied – “Gonna tan some bevies and party!”

Most people never have the opportunity to participate in a Formula 1 race. Of course those who can haven’t usually don’t place significantly. However, German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel evidently wasn’t one to believe that trying again is for losers. He won last year and this year, on October 10th, he won again, beating fellow Red Bull driver, Mark Webber, by merely 0.9 seconds.

Singing praise of the Japanese Grand Prix circuit, 23-year old Vettel stated “This track is like it has been drawn for us with all the high-speed corners. It’s always a pleasure (to drive). When the car was getting lighter and lighter (with fuel) at the end, it was more and more fun,” said the 23-year old.

Three races remain within the Grand Prix Competition. Webber leads 220 points to Alonso’s 206. Vettel, in third, also has 206 points, but has won fewer races than Alonso.

Going into the race, Bodog favoured Webber at 11/4 over Alonso’s 3/1. In fact, Bet365 carried 40/1 odds of Alonso retiring early owing to his reaching the Grand Prix’ cap of eight burned-out engines.

Bet365 is currently offering 9/4 that Sebastian Vettel will win Formula 1 Drivers Champs 2010, and Mark Webber is still favoured at 11/10. Jenson Button is considered a long-shot at 50/1. For the Formula 1 Constructors Champs 2010, Red Bull is now favoured 1/50, as opposed to Ferrari’s 50/1. Bet365 closes the book for these bets at on the 22nd of October 2am. Unibet is offering similar odds.

A record $23.9 million prize fund has been organized for the Australian Open Tennis Championships. This is the greatest prize since the event started, 105 years ago. Both the men’s singles champion and the women’s singles champion will walk away with $2.2 million. The defeated finalists won’t need too many tissues, as they’ll each receive $1 million checks with which to wipe away their tears.

During January, the Australian Open is the most popular sporting event anywhere in the entire world. Moreover, it is the most prevalent yearly event throughout the southern hemisphere. To prepare for this event, Melbourne Park in Victoria is being redeveloped at a cost of $348 million. This is expected to benefit not only the Open, but the complete sport of tennis.

In the first part of 2011, Rafael Nadal will have a rare opportunity to win all four grand-slam titles with a year’s period, a feat previously achieved only by Rod Laver and Don Budge. He will be up against Roger Federer, the previous number one. Meanwhile, Serena Williams will be out to reclaim the woman’s title. Top online sport betting sites are already beginning to lay odds and collect wagers for this big tennis event.

The largest prize in European golf history is being offered at the upcoming Dubai World Championship. This golf event is being held at Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates in November, and the top 15 ranked players will share a very impressive prize pool of $7.5 million.

The prize was meant to be $10 million, but last year it was reduced 25% because of the current economic environment. Despite this huge drop in the prize pool, this is still considered Europe’s richest golf event.

The championship game will be played at the Jumeirah Golf Estates’s famous par 72 Earth Course. The top 60 players from the season-long European Tour Race to Dubai will be invited to compete.

The Dubai World Championship is new, with the inaugural event happening just last year. The winner was Englishman Lee Westwood who won with a score of 265 (-23) by a margin of 6 strokes.

Westwood was a favorite at top online sportsbooks like BetUS. This US-friendly sports betting site has yet to set odds for this year’s event, but they are sure to appear as we get closer to the late-November Dubai World Championship golf event.

The Mercury Prize winner for 2010 is London trio The XX, whose self-titled debut has been echoing across national radio stations for months. The band had quite a few backers, but for a while, nobody was quite sure how things would turn out.

Veteran rocker Paul Weller was a favorite for many, with his 2010 album ‘Wake Up the Nation’ proving to be quite popular in the few months since its release. In fact, so many bettors thought Weller was a shoo-in for the prize that top online sportsbook William Hill was forced to reduce the odds on the rock star after they became swamped with big bets.

Just days before judges would decide the winner of this year’s Mercury Prize, Willaim Hill was promising 20/1 for Weller. After receiving more than 100 £100 wagers on Weller to win, they found themselves suddenly liable for over £20,000 in bets, all riding on a single music album. The solution was simple: the sportsbook shamelessly dropped their odds to a mere 1/10!

William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said the company suspected something was up. “It’s so co-ordinated that maybe it’s a syndicate of people who have got together and thought this is a good idea,” explained Adams.

Whatever the case, William Hill’s choice to cut the odds on Weller ended up being good for punters who put their money on the rocker to grab the prestigious Mercury Prize and the £20,000 award that comes along with it.

Australia’s national election ended yesterday with Labor Party leader Julia Gillard emerging as the country’s new Prime Minister. While millions of Australians used votes to back their pick for the new PM, many others chose to use money instead, placing bets on their favorite candidate at some of the top online sportsbooks in Australia.

Betting on political candidates in Australia has been something of a controversy lately. Back in July, MP Michael Johnson tried very hard to ban online betting on elections, arguing that important political decisions are inappropriate things to be wagering on. Johnson was also concerned that betting on political elections could influence the outcome if unscrupulous political parties used betting as leverage to twist elections in their favor.

Despite Johnson’s efforts, no ban has been placed on election betting. Internet sports betting websites across Australia as well as in other parts of the world offered lines on all candidates.

Interestingly, one of Julia Gillard’s primary campaign efforts focused on the issue of gambling. She has expressed a strong desire to reform Australian gambling laws, implementing stricter regulations on pokies as well as offering tighter regulation of online gambling in the country. Most gambling licenses are not up for renewal until 2012, however, so few changes are likely to be made until then.

That’s how this Formula One Drivers’ Championship is going: Another race, another leader, another bunch of storylines. Lewis Hamilton blew past Mark Webber early in the Belgian Grand Prix and hung on to take an easy win. With Hamilton’s victory came his new no. 1 standing on the table, three points ahead of Webber, as his McLaren team completed a two-race comeback.

“This last push in the championship couldn’t have started better for me,” Hamilton stated on the official Formula One website. “This victory was the perfect way to bounce back from Hungary.”

Webber won pole position for the first time in six races and snapped Sebastian Vettel’s four-race streak at the position; however, it did him little good, as he found himself in sixth place going into the first turn. Hamilton had claimed the lead by the end of the second lap, which was followed shortly thereafter by a downpour and the safety car’s appearance.

Still on something of a dangerous track, Vettel collided with Jenson Button in the 16th lap to take the latter out of the race and Vettel out of contention for good.

Hamilton increased his lead when race resumed but his teammate Jenson Button’s championship aspirations suffered a setback when Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull hit him during lap 16.

Interestingly, Hamilton was considered the underdog at the sportsbooks among the big four going into the race at 5/1 odds, while Webber was third on most bookmaker’s tables at 4/1. Vettel was getting 9/4 odds in most shops, while Fernando Alonso, who was never in it in Belgium, had been the favorite.

It is fashionable to speak of “dynasties,” i.e. multiple repeat title-winners, in many sports these days, but perhaps no championship is so susceptible to dominance by a single force as the Tour de France. The latest mighty ruler over the sport is this year’s winner Alberto Contador of Spain, who overcame Andy Schleck to take his third Tour in four years – and his third in three tries.

Though Contador managed to sport the yellow jersey from Stage 15, it was hardly easy going for the back-to-back champion. In Stage 3, Contador went down among the peloton in crash that would remove Frank Schleck from the competition altogether and set back the Spanaird’s chances for some time.

But Contador had been there before and he slowly chipped away at Andy Schleck’s lead, which the youth rider had regained in Stage 9. Stage 15 was key in the 2010 Tour de France and in fact Contador invited controversy when he forewent certain unwritten rules of sportsmanship to blow past Schleck as the chain on Schleck’s bike fell out. Though Contador apologized after the race, some former cyclists including Miguel Indurain came to his defense.

Schleck would fight back and take Stage 17, but since Contador finished mere seconds behind in the stage, it made little difference. At the end of Stage 19, Contador had built up a lead of 39 seconds and held that difference through Stage 20 for his second consecutive Tour de France win.

Contador now joins recent superstars such as Greg LeMond (Tour de France winner in 1986, ’89 and ’90), Indurain (’91 through ’95) and Lance Armstrong (’99 through 2005). The next dynasty may be Schleck’s, as the 25-year-old Luxembourger has now won three straight youth rider titles on the Tour de France.

In terms of odds, the bookmakers were again prescient, as the 4/7 odds on Contador held against Paddy Power’s proposition bet offering a 5/4 line on “the field.” In 19th place, John Gadret ended up the top Frenchman, a surprise to bookmakers who had him at 15/2 odds to be the tops from France in the race.

Mike McNally, a 29-year-old business graduate and football fan from Bradford, England, turned a £10 bet into £650,000 ($1 million) betting on World Cup at a popular online sportsbook in the UK. McNally correctly predicted the results of an incredible 36 out of the 64 matches of the 2010 World Cup, beating hundreds of other football fans from around the world who also entered the contest.

The win wasn’t secured until the final match. McNally and another participant were tied 35-35 until the Holland and Spain match. McNally picked Spain to win, while his rival had put his money on Holland. McNally must have been on the edge of his seat during the entire match, only relaxing after Andres Iniesta’s extra time goal for Spain put him in the lead.

“I was speechless when I learned I’d won,” McNally revealed. “I just wish England could have performed as well as I did.”

Punters who missed wagering on this year’s World Cup may feel left out after learning about McNally’s success, thinking about all the 2010 World Cup bets they could have made. This big football tournament series won’t be back until 2014, but in the meantime, there are thousands of bets offered every day at sportsbooks across the internet. Just check out the latest online sports betting odds, then put your money down to win.

While the final result and the final match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup wasn’t highly unexpected, the relative lack of clear-cut favorite throughout the tournament made for some big payouts for punters who bet correctly.

To start the tournament, Spain was a favorite at every sportsbook: The only variable were the odds, which ran at 4/1, 9/2 or 5/1. That’s at least $500 on a $100 bet just for picking the no.1 ranked team in the world going into the tournament. Even with eight teams remaining, Spain was still getting 11/4 odds at PaddyPower – a potential $375 more on a $100 wager.

Ladbrokes Sportsbook had finalists Spain and Holland at 2/1 and 13/2 to make the final match when the World Cup began. A $50 bet on each there earned clever bettors a total of $525.

As for individual matches, the biggest money was predictably made betting against the powerhouses. Those foolhardy enough to have wagered on Switzerland to beat Spain in their first game got odds of 11/1 at Brobury Sports for a huge $1,200 on $100 invested. And despite the terrible morale on Team France going into their third game, a South Africa win was still getting 11/5 odds at PaddyPower, for another $320 on $100 when the host nation defeated the champions of 1998.

Probably the biggest loss in the tournament was suffered by a bookmaker. Paddy Power had installed a money-back special for the World Cup, in which certain wagers would be returned on a 0-0 draw. England-Algeria in group play ended at 0-0 with millions bet by British punters and a sizable fraction returned on what normally would have been profit for the bookmaker.

But on our wagers, we just turned $500 into $2,920. See? Betting on the World Cup is easy. Good luck in 2014!

Would you believe that, with the 2010 World Cup, Wimbledon and Major League Baseball all in full swing, one of the most popular wagers on the Internet was on a grass-court tennis tournament in Rhode Island?

Neither does the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU), an independent investigative body, which has ordered an investigation into a match between Richard Bloomfield of Britain and Belgium’s Chistophe Rochus in which $1.5 million was wagered on Bloomfield at Betfair online sportsbook. Betfair reported the irregular activity to the TIU and is expected to hand over information on the specific bets made on Bloomfield.

Bloomfield began the Newport Hall of Fame grass-court tournament ranked no. 552 in the world, while Rochus was at no. 160. Bloomfield was getting odds of 1:1 to win the best-of-three set match the day before, but just hours before first serve, those odds had shrunk to 1:4. After taking the first set and live odds betting continuing to roll in, Bloomfield had odds of 1:8 on him.

Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin later explained to Associated Press reporters that “If people are willing to risk £4 pounds to win £1, that is indicative of a substantial gamble.”

No official word has been released on how much the “lucky” punters who backed Bloomfield won from Betfair, but estimates say it’s $600,000 minimum.

Bloomfield won the contest in two sets and is not suspected of any wrongdoing, despite a 2006 investigation in a similar situation – he won that match, too. “I don’t know what to say,” said Bloomfield. “I know England’s a big betting nation. It seems like every time I win a decent match, [controversy] comes up.”

One serious longshot and one dark horse remain among the 2010 World Cup final four, and if one of these two wins a few lucky punters will get some nice returns indeed. Even if the more highly regarded Holland or Spain hoists the Cup for the first time, though, the results will still be nice indeed for some.

Anyone with foresight enough to have bet on Germany at the start of the tournament is feeling pretty good right now. Now the hottest team left, BetUS was typical and offered a line of 14/1 on the Germans to win this thing – and eight goals in the past two games say they’ve got a shot. A $20 bet at BetUS Sportsbook in June could be worth a cool $280 on Monday.

Uruguay is the other surprise remaining in World Cup betting. Not only would a Uruguay victory in the championship represent the biggest upset ever, a mere $20 bet placed at Ladbrokes in early June will be worth a crazy $2,500.

As said before, either Holland or Spain will pay well in what was a fairly open tournament from the go with no true consensus favorite: Just last week, Netherlands was still getting 15/2 odds at BroburySports. Those doing their World Cup football betting at Bodog would have gotten 5/1 on Spain through most of the tournament.

Whoever wins the 2010 World Cup, two things are certain: This has been a great one, and some clever punters are going to be very happy with their sports betting expertise.

The question “How do you read NFL football odds?” can be answered in two different ways. One response would answer to the nuts and bolts of the question, explaining those actual slates of numbers. The other would be to attempt to explain, as we do in the United States, the deeper meaning in those numbers the online bookmakers provide.

Considering a few relevant examples will help us consider both questions.

All lines except for those on pointspread (or handicap) bets may be presented in any of three ways: fractional, decimal and American. Fractional is the classic 3/1 format; decimal format shows you the payout based on 1 unit out to two decimal points, so 3.00 for the previous example; American style shows the payout on 100 units, so the current example would be +300 in this format.

The very basic proposition bet in all of NFL betting is of course wagering on the Super Bowl winner. Currently last year’s finalists, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, are the favorites to win Super Bowl XLV at 8/1 (8.00, +800) and 9/1 (9.00, +900), respectively, by PaddyPower bookmakers.

How do you read these particular odds? These numbers mean simply, “It’s too far in advance of the season, which begins in September, to make a realistic call so we’re going with the default choices.” You can also wager on each division winner and the conference winners at most sports betting websites, but such bets in June are strictly for loyalists.

The most popular NFL bets week to week are the pointspread and over/under lines. These are represented by a plus or minus followed with a number of points. The favorite always receives a negative number, the underdog is positive. This bet works the same way as a handicap in golf, so taking the underdog means adds points to the result of the game; in a close game, the underdog often “wins” at the bookmaker.

Over/under lines represent what the oddsmaker believes will be the total number of points scored by both teams in the game. Pick the over if you think the final score will add up to more than the bookmaker’s line, under for less.

At BetUS, odds are actually already posted for week one in the NFL. In the Oakland Raiders-Tennessee Titans game, the Oakland Raiders are the underdog with a +7 pointspread and there’s an over/under of 41 points.

How do you read these NFL football odds? Well, Oakland at +7 means the bookies figure the Raiders to be just as awful as they have been for seven seasons now, while the 41 over/under indicates that this game will be about as exciting as most fans would expect. You can bet on it.

The 2010 World Cup looks to be the single most wagered upon event in sports history, with over £1 billion in bets expected at online gambling sites and bricks-and-mortar bookmakers’ shops alone.

While the great majority of this will be placed by punters on the eventual tournament outcome and on individual matches, oddsmakers naturally offer a number of bizarre propositions on which riskier (or crazier) types may gamble.

If you’re one of those bored with the more traditional 2010 FIFA World Cup odds, check out some of these fresh alternatives.

• Total number of red cards given during the World Cup: over/under 19.5. Nobody really likes to see red cards on the football pitch: They do everything from slow down the game to ignobly end careers. Of course, one way to enjoy the referee’s moment of glory in this World Cup would be to bet on the outcome. How can you spot the fan who made this bet? He’s the only one cheering for the zebra!

• England is eliminated from the tournament on a penalty shootout: 4/1. Perhaps the most bet-upon side in the whole 2010 World Cup is England, which has even UK-based bookmakers worried that the country might get to relive the glories of 1966. On the other hand, there’s this prop bet, which will surely appeal to many cynical Brits.

• Any goalie scores in the tournament: 11/2. It’s never happened in World Cup history, but someday surely will.

• Diego Forlan of Uruguay scores the final goal of the 2010 World Cup: 500/1. This proposition is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Not only would Uruguay presumably need to at least make the World Cup final, striker Forlan needs to put in the game-winner. Either that or the punter is cheering for a lot of nil-nil shootout wins for the country that hasn’t won the tourney since 1950.

• Pick all 64 games correctly: €1,000,000. Titan Bet is offering this chance at riches, immortality and a genius label. And if someone picks “only” 49 games correct, that’s worth €250,000, too.

• North Korea to win: 2000/1 (or more). This line is Paddy Power’s and actually represents odds a bit shorter on North Korea than on many Internet gambling sites offering World Cup betting. All right, so this isn’t a bizarre proposition bet, but it would take a certain kind of punter to put any amount down on this all-time darkest of all dark horses.

Whether you’re betting soberly or crazily, enjoy the 2010 FIFA World Cup! And Gambling Results reminds all its readers to please bet responsibly.

As the BP oil disaster unfolds in the Gulf of Mexico, Irish internet sportsbook Paddy Power is offering odds on which species the oil will drive to extinction first. Some have called the offerings irresponsible, saying that the attempt to profit from the disaster is in bad taste. Paddy Power responded by saying that they offer the odds in hopes of bringing attention to the issue.

The Wall Street Journal: Paddy Power Seeks To Cash In On Marine Life Extinction

Paddy Power may have crossed the line. In a recent press release entitled “Ridley Turtle Tipped For Oily Exit” Ireland’s biggest online sportsbook announced odds on which marine species will be the first to become extinct due to the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Paddy Power insists that they are only trying to bring attention to the responsibilities of oil companies.

“The oil spill seems to be going from bad to worse with no end in sight,” says a spokesman for Paddy Power said, who denied that the extinction odds were in bad taste. “Hopefully our odds will bring home the imminent danger to such a varied mix of species dependent on the ocean.”

Unfortunately these words clash with the the tone of Paddy Power’s press release, which inserts humor in all the wrong places. For example, the statement quips about the Kemp’s Ridley Turtle, saying the fact that the species migrates through the Gulf of Mexico this time of year is “spectacularly bad luck”.

This is obviously a publicity stunt, and Paddy Power’s bottom line is to make money. Unfortunately, the fact remains that BP’s pipeline has yet to be fixed, and everyone involved is side-stepping the issue, refusing to accept responsibility.

New York Times: Website Offers Betting on Spill-Related Extinctions of Gulf Species

The online sports betting site Paddy Power is offering odds today on which marine species would be first to go extinct due to BP’s ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Kemp’s ridley turtle, already an endangered species, is favored to go first. A $5 bet on the turtle would win $9 if it becomes extinct because of the spill. Other species like the gulf sturgeon, smalltooth sawfish and elkhorn coral have less probable odds, paying out at rates of 20-to-1.

Paddy Power hopes the offer will bring attention to the fact that the spill is an environmental catastrophe that will likely lead to the extinction of one or more species in the Gulf.

“We kind of have a very simple philosophy at Paddy Power — within reason if there is a very newsworthy event that are people are talking about, people should be allowed to back up their opinion with some cash,” said spokesman Ken Robertson.

The Chronicle Herald: Ruptured oil well threatens bluefin tuna

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is threatening the Atlantic bluefin tuna, raising concerns about the future of the species in Atlantic Canada. The fish breed in the Gulf, but then follow the Gulf Stream north, along the Nova Scotia coast.

“There is an important rod-and-reel fishery and a significant tourism industry associated with the great fish during the fall season in the Maritimes,” said Reg Hartlen at H&H Fisheries in Eastern Passage.

Many people associated with Canada’s fishing industry first heard about the threat to the bluefin when Paddy Power online sportsbook gave odds on which species would become extinct first because of the disaster. The bluefin is listed as second most likely to face extinction, right after the Kemp’s ridley turtle.

“Anybody who knows anything at all about the importance of the gulf region to our fishery is watching this situation very closely,” said Stephen Kiley, a former Shad Bay charter boat captain.

“One of the worst environmental night­mares of our time is unfolding right now in the gulf. We’ll be living with it for years.”