Bookmakers news

Odds shortened on Tottenham to sign Celtic’s Kieran Tierney

Online bookmakers BetVictor have shortened their odds on Tottenham signing Celtic’s Kieran Tierney before the end of the summer transfer window to just 4/1.

The ongoing uncertainty surrounding Danny Roses’ Tottenham future led to reports claiming Mauricio Pochettino was eyeing a move for Tierney earlier this month, with the Daily Record (via the Mirror) reporting the 20-year-old was interesting last seasons’ Premier League runners-up.

Danny Rose controversially questioned Tottenham’s transfer policy in an public interview earlier this month, further fuelling rumours linking him with a move away from Spurs.

Rose has since apologised but that hasn’t stopped reports of Tottenham’s interest in bringing in a potential replacement from emerging.



Tierney has become a mainstay in Brendan Rodgers’ unstoppable Celtic side and it is no surprise he is attracting interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

The bookmakers currently have Man United down as evens to sign the full-back, while the likes of Arsenal (6/1), Chelsea, Liverpool ( both 12/1) and Bayern Munich (14/1) are currently considered outsiders to secure a deal before Thursday’s 11pm transfer deadline.



Tottenham’s odds have been shorted to 4/1, which ever so slightly hints that there may be some late movement from Pochettino as he makes moves to strengthen his Spurs side.

Of course, a transfer to Tottenham should be a hugely attractive proposition for Tierney if a move were to materialise. Mauricio Pochettino has earned himself a reputation for developing young players in to top-class talent, with the likes of Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Harry Kane all excelling under the Argentine.

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Esports betting is destined to eventually succeed but with the difficulty of accessing game data and the reluctance of game publishers... bookies have an uphill struggle.

Within any form of competition, bookmakers will follow close behind. Traditional sports and betting now go hand in hand and that relationship has been taken to another level with the introduction of technologies such as in-play betting.

So then why has the betting industry not had the same success in the most technologically advanced form of competition of them all, esports?

Those questions were answered as some of the top betting experts from the esports industry gathered together in Fnatic's BUNKR store as part of a panel for the Esports Insider's Forum Series.



There are hundreds of bookmakers working within esports but betting in esports still isn't popular amongst most esport fans.

One of the reasons for this, according to the panel, is the difficulty bookmakers face in receiving data. Without highly specific data, it becomes incredibly difficult to offer fair prices that will interest a consumer.

James Watson, Head of Esports at Sportsradar, said: 'Valve games are fantastic for data, with DOTA 2 you have this public API that easily stores historic data and statistics for any match you could ever want, including my own low level matches. But there is this spectrum to other games where there’s no data and any data that does exist is collected by people or in-house technologies.'

He continued that with certain games such as FIFA, data isn't the only difficult thing to find: '‘FIFA is a great flagship product for traditional sport to tap into the esports world but they’re struggling with some things as simple as scheduling at the moment. Never mind talking about getting data for these matches, they don’t even know when the games are being played. They shuffled their tournament around last minute and decided they would play in August.'

Transitioning traditional sports fans into esports will be crucial if betting organisations want to be successful in esports. FIFA is the perfect game to do that as it is instantly recognisable to any sports fan but without proper organisation and structure, FIFA itself won't grow much more in the esports space.

Suraj Gosai is the founder and CEO of esports betting company, Blinkpoint, which is the first UK regulated esports focussed betting operator. Rather than offering traditional bets, the company pits punters against the system to answer hyper-contextual questions, highly relevant to what is going on in a game at that time.

He explained why the lack of accurate data affects the pricing and why his company chose the system they did: 'With how rapid these games develop, the meta shifts left, right and centre and suddenly a game that used to be one way six months ago has completely changed. It can make a lot of your historical data redundant.

‘And for us, to be completely honest, that’s why we designed the betting mechanism that we did. We thought right, there’s no way you’re going to be able to price this accurately at a price punters are happy with. We wanted to create a system where effectively users were playing against each other, not us. And so you’re crowd-sourcing information that allows punters to enjoy themselves and express their opinions on games which fundamentally change so frequently.

‘To be honest, I think even if everybody could have access to all the data it would still be very difficult to price esports in comparison to pricing traditional sports.’



Another difference esports have to traditional sports is that esports are owned by their creators, as Ian Smith, commissioner of the Esports Integrity Coalition, explained: 'Nobody owns football, nobody owns tennis, nobody owns cricket. But there are people who own League of Legends and DOTA 2. There’s also the factor of tournament organisers, you have to deal with people like DreamHack and MLG as well'

Watson added this, saying that Americans have a very different attitude towards betting compared to Europeans: 'Realistically a lot of these publishers are predominantly US based and US driven companies. They don’t have the same betting experience as we do here in Western Europe. They’re generally not open to the concept, mainly because a lot of them don’t have a fundamental understanding of the market.

'The best example of that was with Rocket League and game publisher Psyonix. Unikrn as an esports specialist bookmaker came out and gave a press release that they were going to be offering betting lines on Rocket League. And then Psyonix released a press release the day after to say they didn’t support that. But ultimately, what can they do to stop it? It’s a completely open market, these games exist as competitions, the same as any other sport.'

Betting organisers will have to build relationships with game publishers if they really want to grow but that's easier said than done. CEO of Digital Fuel, Toby Oddy, gave this anecdote of when he first met a publisher: 'I had a conversation with a major game publisher five years ago. I was telling this person that I had this idea for betting in esports and they laughed at me. They actually said to me, we will never get involved in that but if we do, we’ll buy it and own it.’

It's a tough crowd which is why Gosai has tried his best to find a way around having to work with publishers: 'Again we designed our system specifically so that we did not have to deal with that relationship. I hope as the market matures and publishers start to see the value of adding betting operators, but up until now it has not been a very co-operative relationship.'

Yet, esports still seems like the perfect fit for betting and Gosai has high hopes that the esports audience will engage with betting if it is in the right format: 'Ultimately, you’re looking at an audience who has a huge self-selection bias to familiarise themselves with extremely complex games as long the product is good enough, as long as it’s got a big enough value proposition and as long as it’s fun to play.’

dailymail-co-uk/sport/es---s-difficult-bookies-html

Paddy Power at Knock: A bit of fun or offensive and hurtful to the devout?

THE RECENT CONTROVERSIAL publicity stunt by bookmakers Paddy Power has caused much consternation amongst the general public and in particular those devout to the Catholic faith. The marketing tactic involved Paddy Power projecting a 70-foot image of the Virgin Mary holding aloft Sam Maguire on the front-facing facade of Knock’s Basilica in County Mayo.
The stunt occurred on August 18 during the National Novena at Knock Shrine and ahead of the much anticipated semi-final match between Mayo and Kerry. The rationale for the prank was to create a so called apparition of their own as “to provide the county’s (Mayo) long suffering footballers with some divine inspiration”.
The story was reignited this week on RTÉ’s Liveline hosted by Joe Duffy, where many listeners and contributors relayed their disgust and dissatisfaction at the cheap shot Paddy Power was having at the Catholic Church and its followers. Many expressed it was a provocation of their religious beliefs and amounted to blasphemy. One offended contributor remarked that the bookmaker would never have attempted a similar PR stunt on a mosque as to not offend the Muslim faith.

Paddy Power were delighted with extra coverage

There was little doubt that Paddy Power were delighted with the follow up coverage and had a spokesperson on during the radio segment, who expressed some regret but was viewed as disingenuous and half-hearted by some of the listeners.
This isn’t the first time that Paddy Power has gotten into trouble on the subject of religion. In 2006 they had to withdraw an advert showing Jesus and the twelve disciples piling up gambling chips in a casino, a scene based on the famous Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper.
The Advertising Standards Authority Ireland (ASAI), the self-regulatory body for the advertising industry, determined at the time that the advert was in breach of its code, in that “the representation of the Last Supper as a casino, with the familiar Christian imagery replaced with items used for gambling, could cause serious offence”.
The ASAI code explicitly states that “marketing communications should respect the dignity of all persons and should avoid causing offence on grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the traveller community” and “not ridicule or exploit religious beliefs, symbols, rites or practices”.

Alleged blasphemy

Furthermore, the issue of alleged blasphemy had been highlighted in recent times with the Garda investigation of Stephen Fry following a complaint over comments the well-known UK writer and comedian made on RTÉ’s The Meaning of Life hosted by Gay Byrne. The complaint was made under Section 36 of the Defamation Act 2009.
The Act prohibits the offence of a person publishing or uttering blasphemous matter that is “grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion”.
A person found guilty of this offence could be “liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €25,000”. The investigation against Stephen Fry was eventually dropped in May this year on the basis that there were no injured parties.
The Defamation Act 2009 was enacted under former Justice Minister Dermot Ahern’s tenure and the controversial inclusion of the provision relating to blasphemy received much criticism at the time and subsequently. Many commentators argue that it is draconian and against freedom of speech.
Following the Stephen Fry story, the Social Democrats declared its plans to introduce two Private Members’ Bills designed to safeguard freedom of speech and abolish blasphemy as a crime, whereby co-leader Róisín Shortall called the offence of blasphemy “archaic, obsolete and unnecessary”.
Dermot Ahern recently attempted to defend his decision in 2009 for the inclusion of blasphemy on the basis that the offence was “written into the Constitution and was included in the previous Defamation Act” and that it was implemented in such a way “that it would be virtually impossible to prosecute”.
This point is true to an extent given that under the legislation there is a wide varying defence available to those accused of blasphemy. It first must be shown that the outage created was intentional and if even shown, the defendant can still reply on a full defence if they can prove “that a reasonable person would find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value in the matter to which the offence relates.”

Haunted bread

Limerick comedian Blindboy of the Rubberbandits also came under media scrutiny earlier this year following his comments on RTÉ’s Late Late Show, when he referred to communion bread at Mass as “haunted bread”. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), rejected the complaints made on the basis that while the particular comments were deemed offensive by those who had complained, the Regulator considered it “legitimate for a panellist to articulate their own personal views”.
The debate for abolishing blasphemy in Irish law is a likely topic for future government agendas but such repeal will require a referendum as to do otherwise would be deemed as unconstitutional.
It will remain to be seen if any citizen offended will make a formal complaint either to An Garda Síochána under relevant legislation or to the ASAI on the basis of an alleged breach of its advertising code. Some will argue that it was simply a bit of fun and those people who are complaining are playing into the marketing hands of Paddy Power by giving airtime to the topic. Others will argue that real offence and hurt was felt by those devout to their religion and to the sacred place of Knock Shrine.
There are bigger issues of course currently facing Irish society and its people, the housing crisis, recent flooding and the economy as a whole which can make complaints against Paddy Power or other entities regarding this subject matter appear quite trivial for the majority of the general public.
However, religion for many can provide much needed comfort and support to those who are struggling as a result of these very issues and other concerns. For such deep rooted religious beliefs to be then perceivably ridiculed or mocked for revenue gain, by an organisation that itself promotes and facilitates gambling, a very real and prevalent problem itself for modern society, denotes a saddened irony.

Jason O’ Sullivan, is a Solicitor and Public Affairs Consultant at J.O.S Solicitors.

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Internet bookie 888 slumps to £13.3m loss after Gambling Commission fine

The group recorded a pre-tax loss of 17.3 million US dollars (£13.3 million) in the six months to June 30.



Online bookmaker 888 has been pushed into a half-year loss following a sanction for serious failings in its handling of vulnerable customers.

The group recorded a pre-tax loss of 17.3 million US dollars (£13.3 million) in the six months to June 30, compared with a 27.8 million US dollars (£21.5 million) profit last year.

888 was stung by 50.8 million US dollars (£39.3 million) of exceptional charges, including 5.5 million US dollars (£4.2 million) set aside in connection with a Gambling Commission probe into its treatment of vulnerable customers.

The investigation found “significant flaws” in the bookmaker’s social responsibility processes and 888 agreed to pay £7.8 million in total as a settlement.

It also took a 45.3 million US dollars (£35 million) charge linked to a potential historic VAT bill in Germany.

Total revenue increased 3%, or 9% on a constant currency basis, to 270.1 million US dollars (£209 million) in the period, helped by sports gambling. Sports sales rose 35% to 33.7 million US dollars (£26 million) and 888 said it benefited from launching into Italy and live betting. Mobile also drove growth and accounted for 69% of UK revenue.

Boss Itai Frieberger said: “Trading in Q3 has started well and in line with the board’s expectations.Underpinned by this momentum as well as the proven strengths of the group’s business model, the board remains confident that 888 will achieve further progress and deliver its expectations for the full year.”

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Ladbrokes tops the list of donations to British MPs



Bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral Group was the lead provider of free gifts, benefits and hospitality to the British Members of Parliament between the start of 2016 and July this year, making more individual donations than any company in any sector.

According to the list released last Friday by the Government, Ladbrokes appears 15 times in the most recent list of gifts given to MPs by private businesses and individuals, significantly ahead of UK commercial broadcaster ITV.

Overall, out of the 187 donations from British sources, 58 came from sports and betting companies.

MPs are required to declare any gifts or hospitality with a value of over £300 in Parliament’s register of members’ interests, however any donations under this are not recorded.

Benefits handed out by Ladbrokes included trips to major UK horse racing events at Ascot, Cheltenham and Doncaster, the FA Community Shield football match at Wembley as well as dinner at the Conservative Party conference.

Following this disclosure, which comes as the government finalises the results of its review of the gambling sector, Ladbrokes said to the BBC it wanted MPs to make decisions “from a position of knowledge”.

“We employ over 25,000 people, we have a high street presence in nearly every constituency in the land and pay UK taxes of circa £55m per annum.

“Of course we engage with politicians, we want to make sure that when decisions are taken that affect our 25,000 people, they are done from a position of knowledge,” said a Ladbrokes Coral spokesperson.

Philip Davies, MP for Shipley and one of the recipients of Ladbrokes’ hospitality, told the BBC: “I am the elected chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Betting and Gaming – and a former bookmaker – so of course I meet with bookmakers.

“It would be rather extraordinary if I didn’t,” he concluded.

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ABB comes to the defence of FOBTS



Talking to Paddy O’Connell on BBC Radio Four last Sunday (3 September), The Association of British Bookmakers CEO Malcolm George said that a ‘pan industry solution’ is required if Britain wants to solve problem gambling.

George details that the ‘personal interaction’ and ‘face-to-face interaction’ that is utilised in betting shops from shop staff who are able to build a stronger connection with customers, often wouldn’t be received in other forms of gambling.

George commented: “A bookmakers is probably one of the safest and best environments to identify problem gamblers and engage with them face to face and point them in the direction to get the help they clearly need.”

“Betting shops are in decline, there are 300 fewer betting shops this year; the levels of profitability and the stability of jobs in betting shops is declining, this is not an industry that is growing.

“I believe that all the evidence has come out that has clearly demonstrated that if you want to shift the problem, absolutely hammer bookmakers, if you want to solve the problem, come to a pan industry solution that actually sees everyone in the industry doing what they can to identify and get help to problem gamblers.”

George added: “A problem gambler walks out of a betting shop, goes down the road into an amusement arcade, walks across the road into a casino, then maybe goes online. Now if you want to reduce betting shop problem gambling numbers, then fine ban these machines, it will reduce the numbers, but will you see amusement arcade machine and casino numbers go up, almost certainly.

“What we have seen over 20 years, is between half and one per cent of the population having a gambling problem. In that time, online has arrived, fixed odds betting terminals in bookies have come in and the numbers stay the same.”

The interview followed on from the record breaking £7.8 million fine received by 888 for failing to protect vulnerable gamblers, when due to a technical failure with the site, customers who had self excluded from managed to deposit and gamble onto the site.

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Man Utd favourites to sign Marek Hamsik ahead of Bayern Munich and Barcelona

MANCHESTER UNITED are the bookmakers’ favourites to sign Marek Hamsik next summer.



Manchester United were interested in landing Napoli star Hamsik during the transfer window.

They declined to make an official bid, instead focusing their attentions on a move fro Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic, which eventually didn’t materialise.

Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also said to be interested in the player.

And bookmakers Ladbrokes have United down as favourites at 2/1 to sign the Slovakia star.

The 30-year-old is one of Napoli’s best players and the Italian club would likely put up a strong fight to keep their midfielder.



Ladbrokes has Bayern in at 41 to sign Hamsik, with Barcelona out at 5/1.

Yesterday in an interview with German magazine Kicker, Hamsik was coy when asked if he would be interested in joining Unted.

“That’s hard to say," he said.

"It would surely be the hardest decision in my career.

"Maybe everyone wants to play at these clubs, but I can’t answer that.

"I think that Napoli is one of the top 10 European teams in terms of gameplay and performance.”

express-co-uk/sport/foot----Bayern-Munich-Barcelona

Nevada will soon allow esports betting on ‘multiple events’



The Casino Esports conference took place in Las Vegas last week and one of the most key takeaways from the speakers was confirmation that Nevada will soon allow betting on esports across ‘multiple events’.

As reported by Casino News Daily, this came from Karl Bennison, the man in charge of running the Enforcement Division of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Whilst no time frame was given for the delivery of the rule change, Nevada sportsbooks will be rubbing their hands together at the prospect of this.

The city is embracing esports in a multi-faceted approach, with the likes of the Luxor transforming a 30,000 sq foot space into an esports venue, the Downtown Grand continuing to host tournaments, and Millennial Esports, which boasts a dedicated venue and studio in downtown Vegas, investing across the esports spectrum.

As it stands, esports falls under a category in Nevada (gaming regulation 22.120) in which operators have had to apply to allow betting on single events at a time making it a tiresome and time consuming procedure with each event. This has been given the go ahead twice thus far with IEM Oakland and Dreamhack Masters Las Vegas. Momentum has been growing though, and news of the Nevada State Bill 420 signed by Nevada State Governor Brian Sandoval back in May, signalled that change was on its way.

This statement from Bennison reconfirms that change is coming, and is part of a wider push by the city and state at large to make Las Vegas a known destination for all things esports.

For those interested in the convergence of betting, esports and casinos they should look to attend Betting on Esports Conference this week. Part of the wider Betting on Sports show which will see over 1,200 in attendance, there’ll be six esports focused panels with one titled ‘Saving Las Vegas’ and focused on the opportunities that esports offers casinos, and indeed, vice versa.

Speaking on this one will be Millennial Esports CEO Alex Igelman, GameCo CEO Blaine Graboyes, Downtown Grand Chairman Seth Schorr, with iGaming Capital Director Melissa Blau moderating.

Esports Insider says: Another step on the path to Nevada fully embracing esports betting. The sportsbooks will be delighted at the news, but will be keen to know, just as we are, the time frame for this to be actioned.

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William Hill forms 2-year ‘matchday experiences’ partnership with BD Sport Group



William Hill and in-stadium marketing specialist BD Stadia (BD Sport Group) have entered a two-year partnership focusing on enhancing the bookmaker’s ‘live’ matchday coverage and fan engagement initiatives.

The deal follows a successful campaign period for William Hill in-which BD Stadia ran a number of in-stadium ‘betting experiences’ during matchdays’ at Chelsea FC, Everton and Tottenham Hotspurs.

The extended partnership will see six new stadiums added to William Hill’s campaign portfolio, which will now include; Bolton Wanderers, Bradford FC, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End, QPR and Stoke City.

Further matchday marketing provisions will include branded betting booths, staff uniforms, betting coupons and corporate hospitality suites and boxes.

Tony Warwick, BD Sport Group & Joint Managing Director, commented on the agreement: “It’s exciting that William Hillhave recognised the dynamic engagement our service provides on a match day at White Hart Lane and Stamford Bridge and are partnering with us to expand that across the country. We are extremely pleased to be working with them for the next two years and look forward to football fans collecting their winnings on line and in shops.”

In its August corporate update, William Hill governance detailed that the bookmaker would be ramping up its UK marketing spend in the coming months, trailing new channels to engage its target audience with its digital betting services.

Kristian Welch, William Hill Marketing Director, backed BD Sports as marketing partners stating: “BD Sport have done an excellent job activating our stadium betting partnership rights with Chelsea, Everton and Spurs, and we are delighted to be able to extend our relationship with these new Premier League and EFL club deals.”

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Ladbrokes, 888, Sky Bet and Casumo face fines for ‘fake news’ advertising



Four of Britain’s largest High Street and online bookmakers are facing sanctions after the Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints that Ladbrokes, 888, Sky Bet and Casumo had ‘targeted vulnerable people’ with adverts purporting to be news.

The advert in question depicted the case of ‘William’ who was said to be £130k in debt and unable to pay his wife’s medical bills before ‘stumbling upon an ad for Sky Vegas’ while on Facebook.

The ‘socially irresponsible’ ad went on: “With little to no money to spend he admits he laughed and almost scrolled past it until he saw they were offering a promotion that would reward him with £10 free at the Jackpot 7 game, which at over £700,000 was too hard to pass up.”

For its coup de gras the fanciful promotion alleged that ‘William’ went onto win ‘over 30 times his annual salary in a single spin’. Such tall tales drew scorn not only from the ASA but also the opposition Labour party which have called for ‘strong’ action to be taken.

Such adverts operate in a grey area however with bookmakers and casinos paying ‘affiliates’ to drum up business for them, allowing Ladbrokes, 888, Skybet and Casumo to deny condoning or having approved the ads.

A Ladbrokes spokesperson said: “Nobody in Ladbrokes Coral believes that this sort of ‘fake news’ marketing has a place in the sector.

“We have been reducing the number of affiliates we work with as well as clamping down hard on anyone using our name without our knowledge in a bid to curtail this sort of activity going forward.”

In a statement the ASA said the advert, and three similar variations, broke the UK non-broadcast advertising code by suggesting that gambling offered an ‘escape from personal problems such as depression and that it could be a solution to financial concerns.’ It also found that the piece conveyed an incorrect impression of being a news item.

The gambling industry is also exposing children to record numbers of ads according to recent data, following a boom in m arketing spend.

thedrum-com/news/2017/09---es-fake-news-advertising

Racing to sound out bookmakers over new relationship



The first moves towards creating a body combining racing and bookmakers to develop and promote betting on the sport are set to be made this week.

Representatives of British racing will be contacting operators to establish a betting and racing liaison group integral to the structure set to replace the Levy Board from 2019.

There have been calls from both racing and betting for such a development, with Sky Bet chief executive Richard Flint asking for a formal body representing both sides to be created in his speech at last year's Gimcrack Dinner at York.

More recently Ladbrokes chief executive Jim Mullen said the resolution of the levy reforms and the authorised betting partner scheme meant both sides could begin working together.

As the second part of the levy reforms introduced by the government this year, from 2019 the Levy Board's responsibility for collecting funding from bookmakers will be taken on by the Gambling Commission, while a new Racing Authority representing the BHA, racecourses and Horsemen's Group will be in charge of spending.

The authority has been meeting in shadow for some time, although the search for an independent chair is ongoing.

BHA chief executive Nick Rust said on Wednesday: "One of the things that has been agreed in principle, subject to discussions with betting operators, is the establishment of a betting and racing liaison group that would sit as a sub-committee under the Racing Authority.

"We would propose bringing in – and this is what we want to talk to betting operators about – four or five operators who represent the breadth of the industry, so digital and retail and a balance of types of betting and business levels."

Rust said the betting operators on the group would be involved in decision making about racing's policy on betting.

He added: "We want them to be willing to give data and insight so as we try things we can learn whether it is working or not, adapt and move on.

"It would also be a place where political discussions could be managed about how we might approach things with other organisations, such as government, and also perhaps where innovation can be discussed.

"So this week we are speaking to leaders of the major organisations who serve British customers to sound them out, to explain how we see it and to ask if they are interested in coming along. Once we have done that exercise we will write formally to the operators inviting them to take part."

Although Rust said the Racecourse Association and its chairman Maggie Carver had been a driving force behind the body, he emphasised that it had the backing of the three main groups forming British racing's tripartite structure.

He added: "Now the principle has been established that a centralised payment made to racing, irrespective of the betting channel, has been set, then now is absolutely the right time for racing to come forward and say [to bookmakers] we are going to put our heart and soul into working with you and assisting you to develop your businesses alongside us."

Bookmakers slammed for targeting vulnerable and students



Major bookmakers have been warned after targeting vulnerable people with “fake news” stories which claim gambling can fix major life problems.

It comes as the Gambling Commission lifts the lid on widespread gambling among university students.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has rebuked Ladbrokes Coral, Sky Vegas, 888, and Casumo for paying affiliate websites to publish fake news articles which encouraged gambling.

‘Fake news’

The articles suggested that “William”, a man with depression who was £130,000 in debt due to paying for his wife’s cancer treatment, won £700,000 after making a £10 bet.

The article claimed that the fictional William won “over 30 times his annual salary in a single spin”, and that having done so, “his debt and financial worries came to an abrupt end”.

The ASA said adverts should not suggest that gambling could solve or provide an escape from personal or financial problems, and that the adverts in question “targeted vulnerable people”.

Better education

It comes at the same time as the Gambling Commission suggests that around 1.2 million students gamble – more than two thirds of all students in the UK.

The alarming figures estimated that 100,000 students are in gambling debt, with a quarter of these in debt of over £10,000, and one in eight students missed lectures due to gambling.

The figures were collated in an online survey of 1,000 students conducted by student polling company YouthSight.

The Gambling Commission called on universities to better educate students about gambling-related risks, and provide the same level of information as they do for drinking and drugs.

Serious failings

Last month, online bookmaker 888 UK Ltd was hit with a record fine of nearly £8 million after it failed to block users who wanted to stop gambling.

888 allowed users who self-excluded on one platform to continue betting on online bingo, and also failed to recognise signs of problem gambling as a single user staked over £1 million.

Sarah Harrison, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission said: “This penalty package of just under £8million reflects the seriousness of 888’s failings to protect vulnerable customers.”

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Bookmakers pick AC Milan over Arsenal to become Europa League champions



A few months it would have been unthinkable but now AC Milan are the bookmakers favourites to lift the Europa League next May.
After a summer of spending and a 5-1 hammering of Austria Vienna on Thursday, Vincenzo Montella’s side now head Premier League giants Arsenal on many exchanges.

Another Italian representative Lazio, are third favourites with Atalanta, who made a superb start to life back in Europe with a resounding 3-0 win over Everton, just outside the top ten. Spanish representation is headed by Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal with Basque side Real Sociedad a little further back.

French due Lyon and Marseille are also in the top ten with the Bundesliga challenge of Hoffenheim, Hertha Berlin and FC Koln following close behind.

If you fancy a real outside punt then a look down the betting sees Albanian minnows Skenderbeu quoted on most markets at 500/1 (501). Their campaign didn’t get off to the greatest of starts beaten 3-1 by Dinamo Kiev on Thursday.

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Betting shop workers ‘saved life’ of pensioner after he failed to place £1 bet

Retired chicken factory worker Michael Base spent four days in a diabetic coma before he was found by workers from the bookmakers



A pensioner who collapsed at home alone was saved by two betting shop workers who noticed he had failed to place his twice-daily £1 bet.

Retired chicken factory worker Michael Base, 72, spent four days in a diabetic coma before he was found by two workers from the bookmakers in Diss, Norfolk, where he had been a regular for 13 years.

Betfred staff Jamie Scales and Jack Bell became concerned when he did not turn up for several days. They knocked on his door and got no answer. They then peered through a window and saw the tartan bag he always carried with him so decided to phone the police.



Mr Base spent a month in hospital on a drip and is now being cared for at a residential home.

He said: “I don’t think Jamie and Jack saved my life – I know they did. I don’t really know how I ended up on the floor in a coma at home but it was obviously to do with my diabetes. I was only a few yards from my tablets but couldn’t reach them.”

Care home staff have promised to arrange a trip for Mr Base back to the bookmakers. Hans Daugaard-Hansen, of Culrose House care home in Dickleburgh, Norfolk, said: “Michael is a very lucky man. He’s a mischievous and bright fella who is lucky to be alive. He certainly loves his racing.”

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Fred Done – Tote dispute sees ‘Betfred finished with UK racing’



Independent bookmaker Betfred is ready to scrap its entire commercial relationship with UK racing, detailing that it will no longer sponsor events and cull its entire on-course betting portfolio.

A frustrated Fred Done founder of Betfred has stated to the Racing Post that his company ‘can live without the sport’ and that the bookmaker’s ‘association with racing is now broken’.

Betfred’s feud with UK racing relates to 54 British racetracks led by the Jockey Club and Arena Racing Company (ARC) dropping the bookmaker’s Tote Pool services in order to launch their proprietary ‘alternative’ pools system in 2018 when Betfred’s exclusive license ends.

Done has ordered Betfred retail to close 49 of its 51 on-course betting points by July 2018. The Racing Post details that the closure could affect more than 600 UK races with approximately £6 million lost a year in much-needed sponsorship revenues.

Moving forward, the bookmaker will only maintain its association with Ascot and Chelmsford (Betfred owned) racetracks which will retain its Tote services post 2018.

Betfred has been one of the biggest and most prominent sponsors of UK racing. In 2011, the Salford bookmaker paid £230 million to buyout the governments ownership of Tote betting operations.

Done has previously stated that UK Racing governance has ‘never forgiven’ Betfred for winning the Tote tender.

Last March, Betfred’s founder warned UK racing stakeholders, that he was prepared to ‘walk away from the sport’, as the relationship between bookmakers and UK racing had reached an ‘all-time low’.

“I gave racing the opportunity of saying, ‘We don’t want you as a sponsor,’ and I would have walked away. They didn’t take that opportunity, but as of next July we will not be sponsoring anywhere but for the exceptions of Ascot and Chelmsford” Done told the Racing Post.

Done stated that his company would honour all racing sponsorship contracts until July 2018, but at that point, his firm will end its association with UK racing.

“If anything, the regret I have about not being on racecourses is that our association with racing is broken now and will be finished next year. But that’s not business, it’s sentimental.”

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Veteran bookmakers fear rise of smartphone betting will relegate them to bygone era



This year marks the 40th straight Kalgoorlie-Boulder Race Round bookmaker Ernie McCreed will attend.

He was once one of dozens to assemble under the cavernous tin shed, which doubled as the Goldfield's famous bookie ring, calling out odds as they hustled for business.

But now the odds are turning against him.

"Oh, it's changed considerably," Mr McCreed said.

"Considering [that] when I first started in Kalgoorlie there was up to 16, 18 bookmakers and some meetings here we're down to two.

"Just recently we haven't had any here in Kalgoorlie."



Online gambling keeps punters away

Bookmakers say the explosion of online gambling has kept punters away from the track, with those taking bets the first casualties.

"Punters find it so easy on their phone," Kalgoorlie Boulder Race Club President Mark Brennan said.

"A lot of people are sitting at home in their lounge rooms on their phones, watching telly instead of coming to the track and that's affecting race clubs all over the state.

"Sadly, I would say the future for on-course bookmakers in Western Australia is very limited; we've seen bookies disappear from many dominions throughout the world."

Mr McCreed fears the emergence of online betting may relegate race track bookies to a bygone era.

"It's getting tougher and tougher for the bookmakers, we're getting older and older," he said.

"There's not too many young ones around and yeah, the corporates are knocking us around."

On-track bet decline a symptom of struggle

Mr Brennan said the bookies were just one symptom of a struggling local racing industry, which was haemorrhaging revenue due to online gambling.



"That's had a big hit on on-course turnover through our totes and our bookmakers and our tote turnover is historically where we've got our money," he said.

Mr Brennan said the lack of race track cash flow rippled right through the industry.

"Foal crops are down, there's less horses being bred [and] therefore, there's less horses being bought, trained, so it makes it hard," he said.

"The smaller the size of the field, the less turnover and the less money for our race clubs."

Clubs say new tax could save industry



Industry leaders say governments are trying to play catch up after the explosion of online gambling and recent measures are seeing dollars trickle back into grass roots turf clubs.
The Western Australian State Government recently announced a "point of consumption" of 15 per cent on all bets placed in the state.

"This reform will benefit the local racing industry by levelling the tax playing field for the WATAB relative to the online corporate bookmakers," Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia said.

However, the tax will not come into effect until 2019.

"Changes need to happen soon," Mr Brennan said.

"There's been a lot of nervous tracks that have one or two meetings a year, which play a really vital part in the social fabric of those towns, but on an economic basis, are probably not a viable model."

abc-net-au/news/2017-09----artphone-betting/8976236

How To Bet On Esports

The popularity of esports games have soared in recent times. There are lots of competitions being staged in games like Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and many others. The prize polls for these tournaments have hugely increased over time too. The number of people that are interested in betting in esports games has also tripled, and this is making more bookmakers get involved.



As a lot of fans have developed interest in wagering on the outcome of these games, it is only right that they are given the real information about how esports betting works.

* The first caveat for all who will like to engage in bets in esports is that they are not like any other sports competition. This is an entirely new world altogether. So, a deep learning and understanding of the dictates of each game you want to wager on is very essential. Though no one expects you to be an expert in the games, you must know the strategies and gameplay well before you can make any meaningful predictions.

* Once you’ve informed yourself about the games and the gameplay, you need to study the tournament or the competitions you are betting on. Esport betting is not done on individual games between two unknown people. It is mostly on teams pitted against each other in a tournament setting. Study the contest or the league you want to wager on. This will give you the chance to make informed decisions based on trends, forms, records, head to heads, and other essentials within the tournament. You are always advised to start your betting sojourn with the biggest and most popular tournaments, and the information about those is easily accessible.

* The next thing to study after looking at the tournaments, contests and leagues are the players and teams. This time around, you look at them in the larger context, including their experience, their successes and failures in other tournaments, their motivation, and many other things.

* Another very important aspect of study should be on the odds and the bookmakers. Learn how the odds work, and which will be the best for you at any given time. Look at the bookmakers, their rules, their mindset, what they offer, and how they work before you wager with them. What odds are bookmakers offering and how possible are the actions. Don’t bet based on the size of the odds!

Tips to Achieving a Successful Bet

Another important decision lies in choosing the games to bet on. While you may want to make money from an esports tournament, understand that not all the games are favorable. There are indices you have to look at to decide whether the games are worth betting or not. You have to do this. Check for the genres you love so much, and the games you enjoy playing (which obviously you know more about), and many other things.

Since this is a new sector, knowing the games, the tournaments, and the players does not confer mastery of esports betting on you. You need to study the betting markets too. Do you actually understand the meaning of the markets and the actions they refer to? You have to learn and understand this too, so that you won’t bet with one thing in mind when the market means another thing.

gamegrin-com/articles/how-to-bet-on-esports/

Paddy Power Betfair boss calls for Fobt stakes to be cut to £10



Paddy Power Betfair have become the first major bookmaker to support a major reduction in gaming machine stakes, calling for stakes to be reduced to £10 or less.

The company's chief executive Breon Corcoran wrote to Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport minister Tracey Crouch this week to say the subject had become "toxic" to the industry and that lack of decisive action would lead to continuing uncertainty for the sector.

The results of the government's long-awaited review of gaming machines – better known as FOBTs – are expected to be released in October.

Campaigners have called for the maximum stake on the machines, which have become the largest source of revenue for some operators' retail chains, to be reduced to £2 from £100 to tackle problem gambling.

It has been reported that the government is mulling options including £2 and a figure of around £20 and £30, while the status quo is unlikely to survive.

Retail bookmakers have argued that a major reduction in stakes would lead to the closure of many betting shops, thousands of job losses and also impact on racing's finances.

However, in the letter Corcoran, who it was announced in August will be stepping down as the firm's chief executive, said: "Whilst we are not aware of any evidence which links stake size to problem gambling, we are acutely aware of the increasing reputational damage to the gambling industry that has followed the lack of progress in this area.

"We believe that this undermines the role of the sector as a provider of entertainment, employment, and tax revenue, in addition to being a much-needed supporter of sports such as horseracing.

"We now believe that the issue has become so toxic that only a substantial reduction in FOBT stake limits to £10 or less will address societal concerns. I am confident that we could operate our retail business successfully and profitability under such circumstances. Other well-run operators should be able to do the same."

Corcoran goes on to say he does not believe other measures such as reducing the number of machines allowed in shops or changing spin speeds would be effective.

He added: "Instead we believe they could worsen the situation by leading to a higher number of lower quality gambling operators on our high streets."

It was recently reported that analysts at Barclays had estimated that a reduction in stake to £2 would cost Ladbrokes Coral £449m in revenues, William Hill £284m and Paddy Power Betfair £55m.

Analyst Gavin Kelleher at Goodbody said the news would "be viewed as something that makes the chances of a severe stake reduction more of a possibility".

By late morning, shares in Ladbrokes Coral had fallen 0.7p to 123.5p, William Hill shares were up 0.2p at 250.8p and Paddy Power Betfair shares had fallen 10p to 7,295p.

racingpost-com/news/news---s-to-be-cut-to-10/302359

‘Big on Darts’ Unibet secures multi-year title sponsorship of PDC Premier League



European online bookmaker Unibet (Kindred Group Plc) has confirmed that it has secured a 3-year deal to become the ‘title sponsor’ of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Premier League.

The bookmaker extends its relationship with the PDC expanding its existing darts sponsorship portfolio which includes; the Unibet European Championship, the Unibet World Grand Prix, the Unibet Champions League of Darts as well as the World Series Finals and Melbourne Darts Masters.

The PDC Premier League is a 16-week long series of darts tournaments, which will take place across the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. Breaking new grounds, the 2018 PDC Premier League will make its debut in Berlin Germany.

In celebration of its ongoing PDC partnership, Unibet marketing will release a series of social media content videos relating to the PDC Premier League. The first viral video is a ‘hidden camera’ trick featuring PDC Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen and world number three Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright t

Detailing Unibet’s commitment to darts, Kindred Group CCO Ebba Ljungerud stated: “Darts has been one of the fastest growing sports in our sponsorship portfolio in the UK and we are extremely excited about extending our partnership with the PDC to become the new sponsor of the Premier League. We are planning on making what we already know to be a great tournament even better.

“It’s grown to become the widest-reaching event in darts and we’re looking forward to 16 exciting nights across Europe. Darts is an action-packed betting sport and we will continue to bring our best-in-class activation and offer to all the fans. “

PDC Chairman Barry Hearn backed Unibet as title sponsor of the Premier League: “We’re delighted that Unibet have furthered their association with us in their sponsorship of the Premier League for the next three years.

“The Unibet Premier League will be bigger than ever in 2018, with our success in the UK, Ireland and more recently the Netherlands leading to the introduction of a league night in Berlin next year, and it promises to be a special tournament. The Premier League’s growth since 2005 has been a phenomenon in British sport and it’s another boost that Unibet were so keen to add this prestigious event to their growing darts sponsorship portfolio”.



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Ladies rule starting line-up for William Hill’s Sports Book of the Year Award 2017

FTSE bookmaker William Hill has announced its official longlist for the 2017 ‘Sports Book of the Year’ award, the most prestigious prize in English sports literature.

Hosting its 29th edition of the award, William Hill presents a diverse line-up of renowned sports authors and first-time writers competing to win the £29,000 prize which will be awarded on 28 November at BAFTA London.

Presenting its longlist, William Hill was pleased to announce that its 2017 award would feature its highest ratio of female authors, with five books making the ‘starting line-up’. A total of nine female writers (5 authors/4 co-authors) will be represented in this year’s sports book contest.

Female contenders include tennis mother Judy Murray’s ‘Knowing the Score: My family and Our Tennis Story’ (penned by Alexandra Heminsley). ‘Four Mums in a Boat’, the diaries of four working mothers; Helen Butters, Niki Doeg, Frances Davies and Janette Benaddi who took on the Atlantic to break a world record, rowing 3,000 miles for charity and in turn captivating the nation.

Swimming historian Jenny Landreth’s ‘Swell: A Waterbiography’ which details the struggles of the ‘swimming suffragettes’ makes the bookmakers longlist, alongside ‘Centaur’ the story of jockey Declan Murphy by Ami Rao.

Rich in subtext, William Hill’s distinct longlist deals with a number of far-reaching themes. ‘Redemption: From Iron Bars to Iron Man’, tells the story of career criminal John McAvoy’s rehabilitation through endurance sports. Whilst the highs and lows of the life as a professional gambler as seen through the eyes of Harry Findlay, which include a one-year prison, are detailed by author Neil Harman in Gambling for Life.

Presenting William Hill’s initial longlist, Chairman of Judges and Co-founder of the Award, Graham Sharpe said:

“Judging the Award is a sport in itself. This year’s submissions were of an extremely high standard – excellent for the health of sports-writing, not necessarily so good for those of us embarking on the challenge of seriously considering, debating and ultimately deciding on which worthy titles will make our starting line-up. In any competition decided by opinions, there will be those who feel dismayed and disappointed. I have now been through this process 29 times. It never gets any easier or more enjoyable, I’m afraid! Congratulations to those who made the cut, commiserations to those who missed it.”

William Hil expects to announce its official ‘Sports Book of the Year’ 2017 Shortlist on 24 October.

William Hill 2017 Sports Book of the Year Award – Longlist



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