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Online gambling firm Sportingbet has snubbed a £350m takeover proposal from Britain’s biggest bookmaker William 
Hill, reports said yesterday.

Sportingbet is understood to have rejected a 52.5p a share proposed bid from Hill, which has teamed up with European gaming company GVC for the deal.

The market will be looking for details from Sportingbet when it reports full-year results on Wednesday.

Sportingbet, which was previously a bid target for bookmaker Ladbrokes, has seen its shares surge around 16 per cent since speculation over the talks was confirmed.

It is thought any possible offer would be structured so that William Hill would acquire the 
Australian and certain other 
locally licensed businesses of Sportingbet, while GVC would acquire the remaining parts of the business.

William Hill, which employs around 3,000 staff in Yorkshire, and GVC must make a firm intention to make an offer for 
the online gaming firm by October 16.


Sportingbet

FRENCH police have detained double Olympic gold medal winner Nikola Karabatic and several other players in connection with allegations of match-fixing and illegal betting in French handball.

At least seven players in the French league were placed under formal arrest, a source close to the investigation said, without naming the players.

A police source said eight players for Montpellier, including Karabatic and his brother, Luka, two players for Paris Saint-Germain formerly with Montpellier, a member of staff for Montpellier and a player's girlfriend had been detained for questioning in the probe.

Five of the Montpellier players, including Nikola Karabatic, Tunisian Wissem Hmam, Frenchman Mickael Robin, and Slovenians Dragan Gajic and Primoz Prost, were put into police cars and driven away in a convoy, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

The team's physiotherapist, Yann Montiege, also left with police.

Read More: Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email]ftsales-support@ft-com[/email] to buy additional rights. William Hill’s gamble may pay off - FT-com

William Hill’s bold approach for Sportingbet may have been rejected on Monday but the move, which would bring with it Sportingbet’s businesses in Australia and Spain, has won plaudits in a market where regulation remains a formidable barrier to expansion.

The UK betting group has enlisted smaller rival GVC to help it acquire Sportingbet – a business that operates in both the regulated and so-called “grey” unregulated markets. High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email]ftsales-support@ft-com[/email] to buy additional rights. William Hill’s gamble may pay off - FT-com

Their joint approach involved William Hill acquiring Sportingbet’s regulated assets, with GVC taking on the unregulated operations.

Sportingbet says their indicative offer of 52.5p, valuing the company at £350.2m, “significantly undervalues the business and its future prospects”. But analysts expect the duo to return with a bigger offer, such is the importance of the operator’s regulated assets to William Hill.

By making a joint offer with GVC, William Hill had hoped to negotiate the regulatory problems that led to Ladbrokes last year abandoning talks to buy Sportingbet.

Read More: William Hill’s gamble may pay off - FT-com

British e-gaming operator Sportingbet has rejected a £350 million ($564.9 million) takeover bid for the company by William Hill Plc and GVC, explaining that the offer “significantly undervalues the business and its future prospects.”

Sportingbet was founded in 1997 and has since grown to become an online gambling giant offering sportsbooks, virtual games, casino sites, and online poker. Sportingbet also boasts more than 2.5 million customers in 200 different countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Spain. However, it is perhaps the company’s strong presence in Australia which has enticed William Hill to make a bid for the company as it seeks to make a return to the Australian market since its withdrawal on June 4th. The future prospect of Australian online gaming deregulation obviously makes acquisition of the already regulated top bookmaker an attractive proposition for William Hill.

“Ninety-two per cent of our turnover is from the UK so we’re absolutely looking at expanding internationally, but only in regulated markets,” explained William Hill’s head of investor relations Lyndsay Wright.

For its part, GVC is jointly involved in the bid and while William Hill is seeking to acquire Sportingbet’s regulated assets, GVC is interested in the company’s “grey” unregulated markets. Last October, in fact, GVC purchased Sportingbet’s unregulated Turkish business for €142.5 million, and as Sportingbet CEO Andy McIver explains:

“We used to operate a scatter gun approach where we would operate in a country until the regulatory picture became clearer..Our goal [now] is to be as regulated as possible and it was just a case of when we reached that tipping point.”

with its share price currently at 52.74, Sportingbet has a market capitalization of £351.74 million. However, the Sportingbet board categorically rejected the 52.5p a share bid by William Hill and analysts believe the next bid expected by October 16th will increase to around £400 million, or more than 60p a share.



William Hill's $565 Million Offer For Sportingbet Rejected

After six decades as the California Department of Fish and Game, the agency in charge of the state's wild animals has a new name - one that has many hunting and fishing organizations leery.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation recently replacing "Game" with "Wildlife," in a nod to environmentalists and animal-rights activists. Sporting groups fear the legislation signals a change in the department's traditional focus.

"Generally, that means a shift toward butterflies, endangered species and other stuff like that," said Mike Faw, spokesman for the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, an Ohio advocacy group that has seen similar efforts in other states.

Once the name change takes effect Jan. 1, only 12 other states will use the word "game" in the names of their wildlife agencies.

The name change grew out of a two-year effort to develop a strategic vision for the department. Hunting and fishing organizations say they didn't feel they were adequately represented during the department's makeover, which supporters say better reflects California's changing political and demographic landscape.

"We were outnumbered, there's no question about it," said Bill Gaines, president of the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance.

His organization was one of four representing hunters on the department's 51-member "stakeholder advisory group." Another six organizations represented recreational and commercial fishermen.

The name change "was far from a consensus, I can tell you that," Gaines said. "I think that what the proponents wanted to do was send a signal that we're changing the foundation of the Department of Fish and Game - and that's hunting and fishing."

Read more: Sport groups leery of Fish and Game change - SFGate

Michael Schumacher will retire from Formula One for the second time at the end of the season.

Michael Schumacher will retire from Formula One for the second time at the end of the season.

Schumacher's seat at Mercedes will be taken by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in 2013, and with a dearth of other options available to him he has opted to quit the sport at the age of 43.

He said: "I have decided to retire at the end of the season. I still feel I am capable of competing against the best but the time sometimes comes to say goodbye and this time it might be forever."

He added: "I had been thinking about whether I had the necessary motivation to carry on but I do not want to do something I am not 100 per cent committed to. Having made the decision I now feel a release."

Schumacher's first stint in F1, between 1991 and 2006 saw him rewrite the sport's record books, winning seven world titles and 91 races.

He will be best remembered for helping to revive Ferrari's fortunes after joining the Prancing Horse in 1996 as part of the 'Dream Team' along with Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, Rory Byrne and Paolo Martinelli, winning five straight titles between 2000 and 2004.

He retired at the end of 2006, but was convinced to make a comeback with the Mercedes team in 2010 by close friend Brawn.

Read more: Michael Schumacher announces retirement from Formula One - Motorsport, Sport - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

President Barack Obama has often shown that he is in tune with what’s happening in the world of sport.

His political future is on the line in next month’s US Presidential election, and should he lose to Mitt Romney, sport fans worldwide might be sad to see him go.

Obama has been so enthusiastic about sport that it has often dominated his thoughts ahead of Whitehouse business.

This was seen during the Olympics when he gave a score update on the women’s football final whilst conducting a press conference.

It must be said however that he is not the first American President to have a zeal for sport. Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford were keen American football fans.

However what has been significant about Obama has been his approach.

Instead of just focussing on American sports and pandering to his domestic audience, Obama has used sport to reach out to the world, according to American Studies Professor Scott Lucas from the University of Birmingham, England.

"There’s been a recognition within the Obama Administration that sport can be used as a tool to exert American soft power".

Obama’s prime tool in this strategy appears to have been football.

While Ronald Reagan’s Administration captured the right to host 1994 World Cup, Lucas contends that "the problem was that the US gave the impression to the world that it wanted to take over football".

He went on "they wanted to make the goals bigger as there were not enough goals, and then there was the embarrassing incident of the 1994 opening ceremony, where Diana Ross was trying to score a penalty, and then the goal collapsed!"

Obama’s strategy has been more thought out, and the comments of Professor Lucas suggest this would be met with more warmth by global sports fans.

"He’s appreciated that football is global game and that it builds communities, and that America should be part of it. He’s not tried to turn football into the World Series".

Obama has taken a number of steps to reach out. In May for instance he was rubbing shoulders with biggest icon in world football, David Beckham, at a Whitehouse event.

Having teased Beckham about his underwear line, the former England star graciously presented Obama with an LA Galaxy T-shirt with the President’s name printed on the back.



Read More: Obama's sporting achievements - American Sport - Al Jazeera English

It is no secret anymore that online gaming has reached incredible levels of popularity. This is due to a number of different factors, from an ever increasing selection of videogames of all genres and types, to the general advancement of technology and the implementation of gaming on devices like smart phones and tablets. What may still surprise people, however, is the popularity of certain aspects of the online gaming industry in comparison to other forms of entertainment. For example, the growing eSports industry online can clearly be seen to be overtaking everything from real life casino activity to popular sporting events.


Read More: The Growth Of eSports In Gaming | Electronic Theatre

Australian sports betting has become a business that is exceeding all expectations and the latest trend is creating major profits for many different sectors of the industry. The news that William Hill the gambling operator from the UK has led smart sports trading group, Sportalists Limited, to seek an Australian partner in its newest venture.

One of Britain’s biggest bookmakers William Hill can see the writing on the Australian wall and has been attempting to acquire online sports betting book Sportingbet which has a profitable business in both Australia and Spain. In light of the October 16th deadline for the bid that Sportingbet has called undervalued, the very private sports trading group, Sportalists Limited, announced recently that it plans to create a club allowing the public to share in their planned trading on Australian sports.

Sportalists Communication Director Malcolm Winston, commented further, "They say build it and they will come," Winston continued, "If the biggest betting agencies in Europe are now targeting Australia, then we will go there also and happily trade with them on sports," There is a lot of confidence in this venture as the Sportalists club will be made up of experts in the field which has lead to unbeatable profits in recent years.

Julian Carr, a stock broker, commented, "The Sportalists Club has long been talked about as a group of the most astute sports traders in the world, who zealously protected their privacy," Carr continued, "They are regarded as sports specialists whose investment universe centers on sports and prediction markets," adding, "Their successes are extraordinary and the profits they make for their partners are the envy of many a hedge fund manager." Amounts punted on Australian sports rose by 82 percent to 1.493 billion BPS, while annual savings after the acquisition increased to 15 million BPS up substantially from the original estimate of 5.2 million BPS.


Sportalists Club To Trade in Australian Online Sports Betting

Japan celebrated a super weekend in sport as two countrymen -- tennis star Kei Nishikori and Formula One driver Kamui Kobayashi -- made front-page headlines on Monday for their respective feats at home.

On Sunday Nishikori, 22, made history as the first home player to win the Japan Open while Kobayashi, 26, finished third-place at the grand prix held in Suzuka, only the third Japanese to take a podium spot.

"Here come heroes this autumn," the Sankei Shimbun said in a headline on its frontpage with two pictures of them side by side -- Nishikori hoisting a winner trophy and Kobayashi holding a champagne bottle on the podium.

"Two young Japanese athletes produced excellent results against the world," the daily said.

"Nishikori boldly achieves a feat at home," the Asahi Shimbun daily said.

The Nikkan Sports daily posted a picture of Kobayashi being splashed with champagne by Sebastian Vettel, who won the race, while Felipe Massa came second.

"Suzuka was in a frenzy," the Nikkan Sports daily said. "Today's hero was neither Vettel nor Massa, but Kobayashi for sure."

On Monday, some 10,000 fans held an event at the circuit to congratulate Kobayashi once more.

"I feel relieved after I was finally able to finish on the podium," said Kobayashi. "I don't feel like I actually did it, but I understand it was a big achievement."

Japanese sport fans, however, missed out on a third feat. Orfevre, the 2011 Japanese horse of the year, suffered a heartbreaking defeat in this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Sunday at Longchamp, placing second.

www-abs-cbnnews-com/sports/10/09/12/japanese-dailies-celebrate-super-weekend-sport

Japan’s Kei Nishikori cruised through his Shanghai Masters opener on Tuesday just 48 hours after lifting his second Tour title in Tokyo, as America’s John Isner saved three match points to progress.

Nishikori, the number 14 seed, who became the first Japanese player to win the Japan Open on Sunday, eased past China’s Wu Di 6-2, 6-4 in his first-round match.

“Obviously, it’s not easy to play (so soon) after winning the tournament,” said the 22-year-old, who is at a career-high of number 15 in the rankings after his success in front of home fans.

“But I had a good day today. I love to play here,” added Nishikori, who reached the semi-finals in Shanghai last year before he lost to eventual champion Andy Murray of Britain.

Nishikori’s weekend win over big-serving Milos Raonic was his first on the Tour since the 2008 Delray Beach title, sharply raising expectations that Asia had uncovered a potential world-beater.

In a battle of two giants, eighth seed John Isner was forced to dig deep to save three match points to win a second-round match containing three tie-breaks and keep alive his outside chance of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals.

Isner booked his place in the third round by beating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (9/7) in two hours and 45 minutes.

In a match featuring 45 aces and no service breaks, Anderson, 6ft 8ins tall, squandered match points at 6-4 and 7-6 in the third set tie-break.

“We both were serving exceptionally well. It came down to a few points here or there, and I was able to pull it out. It was looking bleak for a little bit,” said Isner, who is 6ft 9ins tall.

Croatian 10th seed Marin Cilic joined Isner in the third round after defeating Slovakia’s Martin Klizan, the recent St Petersburg Open champion.

In first-round action there were straight-sets wins for Canada’s 12th seed Raonic and Stanislas Wawrinka, the 13th seed from Switzerland. France’s Gilles Simon knocked out Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4, 6-2.

Defeated Australian teenager Bernard Tomic admitted he had given only “85 percent” in his 6-4, 6-0 defeat to Florian Mayer.

His Shanghai flop comes just weeks after he was branded “disgraceful” by Davis Cup team captain Pat Rafter following his 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 US Open defeat at the hands of Andy Roddick.

Tomic admitted he only gave “about 85 percent”, adding: “Today I gave 100 percent in the first set. I felt in the second set, my 100 percent wasn’t even close to where it should be... the mental skill is one of my biggest problems.”

And China’s Zhang Ze, who last week stunned Richard Gasquet in the China Open, could not produce fireworks for a second consecutive week, slipping to a comprehensive 6-0, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun.

Sportsbook, Sports betting, Online Betting at SBG Global Sportsbook

Comedian Ardal O’Hanlon talks to Conor Harrington about the similarities between sports and comedy ahead of his appearance at the Bulmers Galway Comedy Festival later this month

Ardal O’ Hanlon is, and forever will be, best known for his portrayal of the gormless Father Dougal McGuire in seminal 90s sitcom, Father Ted. However, writer Graham Linehan originally chose him for the part of Dougal after having seen him perform stand-up in Dublin.

In fact, along with Après Match’s Barry Murphy and the eccentric Kevin Gildea, the Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan-born comedian is credited with kick-starting the Dublin comedy scene, when the trio founded the International Comedy Cellar in Dublin in 1994.

O’Hanlon is reluctant to take any credit for helping start a comedy scene in Ireland, which has resulted in major comedy festivals taking place in cities like Dublin and, of course, Galway.

“I wouldn’t take any credit, but I’m delighted that we kick-started a tiny scene and to witness the evolution of Irish comedy has been amazing,” he says.

According to O’Hanlon, comedy is a vocation and he would be doing it whether he was paid to do so or not, but he also likes to diversify, as he finds stand-up to be a solitary occupation. He has recently tread the boards in more ‘serious’ productions, such as Conor McPherson’s ‘Port Authority’ and the Irish premiere of ‘God of Carnage’.

“Doing theatre is just brilliant. It’s the complete opposite [to comedy]. You’re working with a bunch of people, it’s very collaborative, it’s extremely social and it’s very disciplined. Stand-up can be quite ill-disciplined,” he muses.

However, except for the fact that he does not, by his own admission, possess a particularly athletic build, he may have chosen another career path entirely.

“I had the silky skills but I didn’t have the body and I didn’t have the discipline,” he explains.

So, were he blessed with a more athletic physique, might he have been lining out for Monaghan’s footballers, rather than donning the dog collar in Father Ted?

“I don’t know about Monaghan! I don’t even know if that qualifies as sport,” he says with a laugh.

He does, however, “really, really admire sportspeople more than anybody”. More even, “than writers, or filmmakers or other comedians”.

As such, although the show O’Hanlon will bring to the Bulmers Pear Galway Comedy Festival doesn’t have a set theme, he has found a lot of room for his love of sport. “I don’t know why, it might be the Olympics, it might be Katie Taylor,” he ruminates.

“Sport is a subject that’s close to my heart and I’ve always wanted to do comedy on it and I’m sort of touching on that now. I’m trying to get away from the tragedy of our recent history.”

In fact, he thinks there are certain parallels to be drawn between comedians and sportspeople.

“You experience the same emotions as maybe sportspeople do before a big event.”

And, just as sport has grown more professional over the years, the Monaghan man, whose father is former Ceann Comhairle, Dr Rory O’Hanlon, says the comedy bar has been raised since those early days in the International Bar in Dublin.

“I think when I started out doing stand-up I was very, very deadpan, almost too deadpan, to the point of inertia! Now, I think, it’s gone the other way. I think you really have to perform,” he says.

With a book to his name, a play in the pipeline and various theatre projects on the go, O’Hanlon certainly keeps himself busy, but he always goes back to stand-up. And, while he welcomes the proliferation of live DVDs and YouTube, nothing compares to the thrill of live comedy, for both performer and audience.

“YouTube, or even a DVD, never does justice to live comedy. It’s a very different thing to when you’re in the room. While the material might be the same or similar, it is a different experience being there; it’s better.”

Ardal O’Hanlon plays the Town Hall Theatre on Saturday, 27 October at 8pm. Tickets, priced €25, are available at Bulmers Galway Comedy Festival 2012.

WagerWeb.com is an online sportsbook with a past that involves fraud and theft against their account holders. They are a member of the Bookmakers Review Red List and sportsbettingsites.org has recently posted a very detailed WagerWeb Warning at their website. At one point SBR also had them blacklisted; however, it was their subsequent removal from SBR’s blacklist that has triggered the latest chain of events 4Flush.com is now reporting.


Warning Warning Warning

Governments should look at criminalising doping in sports and increasing the resources of anti-doping agencies to include investigative functions in the wake of the Lance Armstrong revelations, the president of Cycling Australia has said.

"I just wonder if we haven't got to the stage of investigating in Australia of considering whether doping in sport ought to be criminalised," Klaus Mueller told reporters in Melbourne on Friday after the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) released a report that accused Armstrong of driving a systemic doping programme within his U.S. Postal team.

"What I think the USADA findings have unearthed is that there may now be the need to sit down with government and work out whether the powers that (Australian anti-doping body) ASADA have are adequate and whether their resources are adequate.


Read More: Doping in sport should be criminalised - Australia head | Reuters

Lance Armstrong's fans in his cycling-mad hometown stood by their man on Friday despite overwhelming evidence that he cheated his way to winning his record seven Tour de France titles.

Armstrong, who denies taking banned substances, has been accused by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) of being at the heart of "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping program" ever seen in sport.

But like many previous doping allegations - including when he was stripped of his titles in August - fans seem more influenced by the inspirational narrative of a cancer survivor going on to achieve unparalleled cycling glory.

"Lance is the most tested athlete and if it was such a big conspiracy as claimed it would have come out before," said Michael Blumenstein, in town for the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

He questioned the jurisdiction of the USADA and said it taking away Armstrong's titles doesn't mean anything.

Even those who believe Armstrong did engage in doping don't think it makes much sense to go back over races from 1999 to 2005.

"There's better stuff to do with government time and money than bust Lance Armstrong," said Jon Selden, as he waited in line at Franklin Barbeque.

"The titles are his that he won under the conditions at the time - everyone was doing drugs."

Tour de France officials said they were against awarding Armstrong's titles to anyone else as they seek to move forward from a "lost decade." The majority of those who finished second or third - and even lower down the field - have subsequently been implicated in doping scandals.

In Austin, Armstrong's presence can't be overlooked.

After his tour victories, the Texas capitol celebrated with Lance Armstrong Days and parades in his honor, and the Austin city council created a six-mile (9.6-kilometer) bike path through the center of the city that bears his name.

There's been no impact on Armstrong's Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop, said general manager Craig Staley. Day-to-day business hasn't been affected by the controversy and customer numbers remain consistent.

A shopper who declined to give his name because he's a competitive cyclist decried the timing of the investigation.

"It's water under the bridge, just move forward, what has the investigation done for the sport?" he told AFP. "What Armstrong's achieved is bigger than the races."

The report's findings weren't a surprise to fellow shopper Jeff Sparman, though he said he hadn't expected revelations of vindictiveness and manipulation.

"I'm waiting to see if he comes clean," Sparman said. "I'd feel better if he did."

But Sparman said that even without the drugs, Armstrong's work ethic would always have gotten him close to the top. And his contribution to the sport remains significant.

"He created a whole new way of racing on the Tours, especially in the way he focused on the mountain climbs," Sparman said.

Student Victor Harris agrees.

"His overall achievements surpass his flaws," Harris said.

"Even if he did (dope), you can't take away how he raced in those mountains and beat them."

But some Armstrong fans were troubled.

"I'm in a weird place and still sorting through it," said Eric Mills, a mechanic at The Peddler Bike Shop who was being treated for testicular cancer at the same time Armstrong received his cancer diagnosis in 1996.

He viewed Armstrong as a combined cycling and cancer hero and during each Tour de France painted the street in front of his house, copying the French tradition.

"It's blown me away and I really expected him to be cleared as he'd never failed any drug tests before," Mills said.

The doping does not take away from all the people Armstrong has helped through his Livestrong foundation, Mills said, insisting: "I'm not going to turn my back and write him off."



Fans stand by Armstrong | Sport24

CADEL Evans is a true champion whose 2011 Tour de France triumph should not be tarnished by the doping revelations which have rocked cycling this week, says former pro cyclist Tyler Hamilton.

Hamilton, among 11 former teammates whose testimony led to a life ban imposed on seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, lamented on Sunday that his era, the decade from the mid-1990s, was rife with doping.

But despite the American's belief that there are ``still a lot of bad apples'' in the sport, he says Evans' historic victory is beyond question.

``I think you have to question some of the results of the past (but) I don't think you have to question Cadel Evans' result from last year's Tour de France,'' Hamilton told Channel Nine's Weekend Today.

``From what I've heard about Cadel Evans, he's a true champion.

``He's always been a big anti-doping advocate.

``I can't say anything negative about Cadel Evans. I've a lot of respect for Cadel Evans.''

One of Evans' teammates, recently retired American rider George Hincapie, is among those to admit doping while riding with Armstrong's team which ruled the Tour de France from 1995-2005, but he said he rode clean from then on.

Cycling analysts have noted that average times during Evans' tour win were significantly down on those when Armstrong's team ruled from 1999 to 2005.

Hamilton stated his belief that most tour riders from his era, prior to his own two-year suspension for blood doping in 2004, were guilty of cheating to some degree.

That group includes Matt White, one of the most influential figures in Australian cycling, who retired in 2007 but on Saturday confessed to doping during his time at Armstrong's US Postal team.

White stood down from his positions as sports director for Australian pro tour team Orica-GreenEDGE and Cycling Australia's men's road racing coordinator after being implicated in what was described as the ``most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping program that sport has ever seen'' by the US Anti-Doping
Agency.

``Unfortunately it is the dark part of cycling, and the dark culture. That era doping was just all around,'' Hamilton said.

``At least 80 per cent of the peloton back 10, 12 years ago were doping to some degree.

''... The guys who rode in that dark era of cycling, I would not be surprised if they did participate in doping.

``Now that I'm older and wiser, yeah I made the wrong choice. But at that time when I was young, 24, 25 years old, these older doctors came to me and said I need to do this for my career.

``We all were put into this position. So as for the Australian cyclists, I'm sure they were all put in that position at one point.''

Hamilton said there were still current riders competing who had doping pasts but had yet to come forward - and believed the only way for the sport to advance was to learn from past mistakes.

``Unfortunately there still are a lot of bad apples in the sport today,'' Hamilton said.

``Directors, general managers, even current riders from the past that have not come clean.

``If we don't figure out what happened in the past, how it happened, why it happened and how we can prevent it from happening in the future, how do we know it's not going to happen again in two or three more years?''



Cookies must be enabled | Herald Sun

Cycling Australia referred doping allegations against Matt White to the nation's drugs in sport watchdog just months before it appointed him national road co-ordinator.

ASADA started investigating White in 2010 after CA became aware of allegations from American rider Floyd Landis which led to White's weekend admission that he had doped while a pro rider.

In January 2011, CA appointed White to the national team job.

ASADA says it had been unable to pursue a thorough investigation of White at the time because of the US probe which eventually brought down Lance Armstrong. Multiple sources have confirmed that ASADA was investigating White prior to his CA appointment and his hiring by Australia's professional road team Orica-GreenEDGE.

ASADA confirmed in a statement on Monday: "In 2010 ASADA became aware of allegations of doping made against Mr White by the American cyclist Floyd Landis.

"Due to the federal investigation in the United States and subsequent United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation, ASADA was unable to obtain information to pursue a thorough investigation."

ASADA is prohibited from revealing details of ongoing cases and would have been unable to tell CA unless they had definite proof White had been doping.

And Landis, a drug cheat stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory, had been widely viewed as a discredited voice in the sport at the time.

But the wider fabric of the USADA investigation which nailed Armstrong gave new credence to Landis's claims - including that he had used testosterone and EPO with White while part of the US Postal team in 2003.

White stood down from both his key Australian roles at the weekend, admitting his doping as a rider but saying he had run completely clean teams since moving into management in 2007.

CA also had another chance not to employ White due to his dismissal from pro team Garmin-Cervelo just days after CA announced his appointment.

White had referred Australian rider Trent Rowe to now-disgraced ex-Armstrong doctor Luis Garcia del Moral without the team's permission although there was no talk of doping.

The original plan was for White to do the CA job while working for Garmin-Cervelo so the appointment was put on hold for a week.

CA chief executive Graham Fredericks eventually told his board there was no reason to reconsider White's appointment to the high performance program.

CA president Klaus Mueller has already said the organisation may not have been thorough enough in its checks before appointing White.

Mueller said the Rowe matter would also be re-examined.

ASADA also pledged a new investigation into White on Monday saying: "The confession of doping by Mr White is indeed a serious matter.

"The action of peer pressure to force any athlete to dope is abhorrent, but does not excuse the choice made by an individual athlete to participate in a team strategy that sets out to deceive the sport and its fans.

"Due to the extensive nature of the USADA report and the latest admission by Mr White, ASADA will be seeking further information from USADA and Cycling Australia as the relevant national sporting organisation.

"This may take some time, but ASADA has a duty to be both thorough and accurate in its investigation."


White's doping status queried by CA

The world of marketing takes many forms and when online gambling firms are looking to advertise their services one of the most sought after venues is always sports. The sponsorship of football clubs around the world has been taken up by the online sports books who not only provide money for football team action but reap the benefits of having their products exposed front and center on various media streams.

Recent news that the Sunderland Association Football Club which goes back a long way and has a voluminous history has partnered with Asian facing TLC88-com to become the club’s official betting and gaming partner.

International marketing director for the Sunderland AFC,Mike Farnan, commented on the valued exchange, “This is the first partnership that the club has signed in Asia and one that will help the growth of Sunderland AFC on an international level.” Farnan continued, “This echoes our commitment to partnering with top-line international brands and we are delighted with the partnership.” The two year arrangement will see TLC88-com offer the team fans the opportunity to punt on the Barclays Premier League football games as well as other betting offerings. The Asian market for Black Cat betting is large and lucrative and will serve a huge jurisdiction.

The Asia Pacific Strategy Director for TLC88-com, Mike Chong, also was pleased with the deal saying, “In Asia, offline gambling is viewed very much as an engaging, social pursuit and the success of TLC88 has been to bring that sense of sharing and fun to the internet.” Chong added, “We believe that our knowledge of developing fun, interactive and engaging platforms will provide Sunderland’s international fan base with an exciting, new gaming experience.” The Sunderland football club was established in 1879, and is one of the biggest and most noted clubs in English football today. Sunderland was sponsored by the Irish bookmaker Boylesports who signed a four year contract with the club in 2007 worth up to £12 million.



Asian Facing Online Gambling Firm to Sponsor Sunderland Football Club

Online gambling is like baseball there are the big leagues and then the others which sometimes don’t have the same influence on the betting numbers. Such is the case of William Hill which is definitely a big league player in the gambling industry which has been working on acquiring Sportingbet for a long time. Ladbrokes attempted to get a hold of Sportingbet but failed to negotiate a deal with the British company. Sportingbet has a variety of products including poker, casino action, backgammon as well as the noted sports wagering offering.

Just a few weeks ago the Sportingbet board rejected a bid by William Hill and it partner in the bid GVC holdings. The current bid before the firm’s executives is twenty percent higher than the previous one, which Sportingbet considered undervalued. William Hill is Britain’s largest book maker and improved its offering by a considerable £530 million which the Sportingbet board is expected to recommend as a good deal. A firm offer is pending and the bid must be formally proposed by 13 November which is a little longer than the original deadline date.

The GVC Holdings spokesperson indicated the talks on the bid were only in the early stages and it was by no means a done deal. They were waiting on stats form Sportingbet regarding their finances and shareholder reaction to the takeover proceedings. The shareholders do have more payment options on the table with them being able to apply to receive proportionately more shares or more money.

Sportingbet was established 1997 as one of the first online gaming companies in the world in and offers online betting services in 26 countries to over 700,000 active customers worldwide. It is involved in 26 markets globally and covers 31 different sports. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2010. William Hill’s stock did rise upon the news of the possible takeover progress.


Sportingbet Online Gambling Goes for William Hill Purchase Terms

New Jersey is charging ahead in its effort to offer legalized sports betting despite the presence of some hefty opposition standing between the state and the goal line.

The state said Monday that it could begin issuing licenses for sports betting on Jan. 9, assuming a federal lawsuit filed by the major professional sports leagues and the NCAA can be overcome.

The NCAA announced Monday that it would find new hosts for five championships scheduled to be held in New Jersey next year.

“Maintaining the integrity of sports and protecting student-athlete well-being are at the bedrock of the NCAA’s mission, and are reflected in our policies prohibiting the hosting of our championships in states that provide for single game sports wagering,” Mark Lewis, NCAA executive vice president of championships and alliances, said in a news release. “Consistent with our policies and beliefs, the law in New Jersey requires that we no longer host championships in the state.”

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement published regulations for sports betting on Monday in the New Jersey Register. That clears the way for casinos, horse-racing tracks or joint ventures involving both to apply for $50,000 sports pool licenses.

“With the publication of these regulations, New Jersey ensures effective regulation and oversight of sports wagering, consistent with its longstanding nationwide reputation for maintaining integrity and instilling public confidence in gaming operations,” said David Rebuck, the division’s director.

But state officials made no mention of the biggest obstacles to their plans to offer legalized sports betting: a federal law banning it in all but four states and a lawsuit in the federal courts between the state and the major professional sports leagues.

The NCAA, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League have collectively sued to block New Jersey’s sports betting law from taking effect.


Read More: N.J. plans to start licensing sports bets in January | The News Journal | delawareonline-com