Sports Betting & Casino News

The Jacksonville Jaguars advanced to the divisional playoffs with a 31-29 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh. As a reward, after such a hard fought battle, they get to take on the undefeated, and rested, New England Patriots. While the New England Patriots have looked beatable the majority of the last part of the year, they have continued to find ways to win, and are still the overwhelming odds on favorite of sweeping the post season and holding up the Lombardi trophy the first Sunday in February.

Jaguars quarterback David Garrard managed to get through the entire regular season throwing just three interceptions, but he nearly matched his total with two in the victory of the Steelers. He finished that game just 9 for 20 with 140 yards passing and a touchdown. It was the play of running backs Fred Taylor, and Maurice Jones-Drew who ultimately led them over the hurdle, combining for three touchdowns. It is Taylor who has been shunned by Pro Bowl voters every year he’s been in the league, but it was the play of the young Jones-Drew, with two touchdowns, that was the deciding factor overall. A successful duo of two high quality running backs is always a good thing, never a bad thing, when trying to run deep into the playoffs. If there has been one knock on the Patriots is that they have struggled against the run a bit. At least, struggled as much as a team who has won every game they’ve played. Jacksonville is also expected to be every bit as physical at the Patriots, a fact they tack pride of.

The New England Patriots got a week of rest to enjoy their body of work, which included multiple records set by the duo of Tom Brady and Randy Moss. To give an example of the dominance the Patriots had this year they scored 589 points this year. The next closest team in their division scored 268. On defense they gave up 274 points. The next closest in their division gave up 354. However, as mentioned, the last few weeks of the season weren’t a cakewalk for the Patriots. Even in the final game of the year the Pats needed a second half comeback to defeat the New York Giants 38-35 in a game of the year candidate that ultimately have very little effect on the regular season, other then the fact the Giants were trying to end the undefeated streak. If Giants fans have their way, they’ll be seeing each other again in February.

As odds on favorite it’s no surprise when I pick the Patriots to win this game. I am not sure Garrard has enough big game experience to lead his troops against the defense of the Patriots. I think defensively they can keep it close, but as the game wears on I think the Patriots will take a steady lead, eventually winning by nearly three touchdowns.

Open a free betting account now Check the odds for this event

 Email This Post |  Print this post

(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

 Loading ...

As Giants defensive end Michael Strahan put it after their first round playoff victory over Tampa Bay, “I hope the third time is a charm,” in reference to their two previous regular season losses during the regular season to the Dallas Cowboys. Their first match-up of the year came during the very first week of the season, a high scoring affair with the Cowboys coming up on top 45-35 in Dallas. In New York during week nine the Cowboys took that one 31-20. However, the Giants may be facing their nemesis at just the right time.

Never before in the history of NFL has a loss seemed so important to a team’s morale. During the final game of the year the New York Giants and New England Patriots played all of their starters in a seemingly meaningless game, as both teams have already etched in stone their playoff destinies. The one thing that was on the line was an undefeated season for the Patriots, which they ultimately got, but not after one of the best games of year. The 38-35 loss left the Giants feeling great, knowing they just hung with the best team in the league for four quarters, and left New York hoping to see them again. Amazingly the Giants only lost one game on the road this year, that was the Dallas game. It’s been said that one of the hardest things to do in the NFL is to beat the same team three times in the same season. The Giants are hoping that rings true for them this coming week.

The Cowboys went through the majority of the season riding high. Quarterback Tony Romo spent the majority of the season finding Terell Owens wide open down field. Win after win piled up, until around the 15th week of the year. They unexpectedly lost to the Eagles in Philadelphia, but only expected that to be a hiccup. Ironically, or because, according to some people, this was also the game that Jessica Simpson and Romo officially became a couple, and Simpson was seen in the press box cheering for her man throughout the game. Many fans, and even some teammates, view Simpson as a distraction, and will most likely boo if they see her at this game, no joking aside. After beating Carolina in week 16, they lost to the Redskins in week 17, allowing Washington to sneak into the playoffs. While that didn’t ultimately affect the Cowboys playoff standings, it was Romo’s 7 for 16, 86 yard performance that has Cowboys fans wondering if the Cowboys will once again sputter out early in the playoffs.

Of all the games this weekend, I see this one as having the biggest chance of an away team winning. The Giants are playing well, and the Cowboys could be in for some trouble. I feel this game is a pick-um, with the ultimate deciding factor being the play of Tony Romo. As of this second I am leaning towards a Giants upset victory.

Live Betting Lines Open a Betting Account

 Email This Post |  Print this post

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Antigua After the WTO ruled against the United States Unlawful Internet Gambling Act. The tiny little Caribbean nation of Antigua may be getting just a little bit richer by the tune of $3.44 billion. That’s the amount Antigua claims they are entitled to as a result of the US government ignoring a World Trade Organization decision related to online gambling.

The compensation would come from Antigua’s withdrawal of intellectual property protections for U.S. trademarks, patents and industrial designs, that nation’s government said.

“We feel we have no other choice in the matter, we have fought long and hard for fair access to the U.S. market and have won at every stage of the WTO process,” said Errol Cort, Antigua’s finance minister in an e-mailed statement. “This industry has been and can be regulated,” he said, adding that the dispute isn’t a moral issue, as claimed by the U.S.

After losing an appeal against earlier WTO decisions which found the U.S. ban illegal, the U.S. moved May 4 to “clarify” its commitments to the Geneva-based trade arbiter, saying it “never intended” to open its market to offshore Internet gambling when it made pledges on joining the WTO in 1994.

Since the Antigua government placed this request to the WTO the European Union is sending their own request.

The European Union told the U.S. Tuesday that it wanted compensation for a U.S. foreign online gambling sites ban that doesn’t comply with global trade rules.

U.K. online gaming operators such as Sportingbet PLC (SBT.LN) and Leisure & Gaming PLC (LNG.LN) were forced to quit the profitable U.S. market last year when Washington stopped U.S. banks and credit card companies from processing payments to online gambling businesses outside the country.

The decision closed off the most lucrative region in a market worth $15.5 billion last year. About half of the world’s online gamblers are based in the U.S.

The EU move illustrates the current world climate as it pertains to the United States and its present administration. US President George W. Bush received a lukewarm reception during a recent visit to Europe and the Eastern Block. Only Albania greeted him with a “celebrity” welcome.

 Email This Post |  Print this post

(5 votes, average: 4.6 out of 5)

 Loading ...

The classic American horse race, the Kentucky Derby is the oldest consecutively held Thoroughbred race in America. It is run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Along with the Preakness in mid-May, and Belmont in early June, it is the first jewel of the coveted Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing, which has been won by only eleven horses since 1919. Triple Crown winners include memorable names such as Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Whirlaway, and Affirmed.

The first Kentucky Derby was held May 17, 1875, before a crowd of 10,000 from around the city, state and surrounding areas. In that race, a field of 15 three-year-olds ran a 1.5 mile course which was won by H.P. McGrath’s Aristides. Although the first Derby was held at 1.5 miles, the distance was changed to the current 1.25 miles in 1896. The Derby field is limited to three-year-olds; fillies carry 121 pounds and colts 126 pounds. So far, only three fillies have won the Derby: Regret in 1915, Genuine Risk in 1980, and Winning Colors in 1988. The Kentucky Derby has also produced countless statistics and bits of trivia over the course of its history. The largest field was during the 100th running in 1974 when 23 horses ran. The smallest fields were in 1892 and 1905, with only three horses in each race.

The fastest Derby was run by the legendary Secretariat, who covered the 1 1/4 miles in 1:59 2/5, the only Derby winner to finish under two minutes.

Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr who built Churchill Downs in Louisville, wanted his track to have a race that would rival Englands Epsom Derby. After visiting England to study both its tracks and its races, he established the Kentucky Derby, which was first run on May 17, 1875.

However, the Derby was just another regional race until 1902, when Colonel Matt J. Winn took over the track. Although he had seen every Derby since the beginning, Winn know little about horse racing or running tracks. But he was a very good promoter.

After rising money to same Churchill Downs from bankruptcy, Winn began making frequent trips to New York, then the center of American racing to persuade owners to enter their horses in the Kentucky Derby. His persistence paid off. By 1920, the Derby had become the best-known race in the North America and it was attracting the top three-year-olds from all over the country.

The first race in the Triple Crown, The Derby is run on the first Saturday in May. A whole week of festivities know as The Kentucky Derby Festival is built around the race which, like the Indianapolis 500, has become as much a happening as a sporting event. It attracts crowds of well over 150,000 spectators and is watched on television by millions more, many of who are otherwise not interested in Thoroughbred racing.

Check out Sportbet’s Odds for the Kentucky Derby 2007 and Bet Now!

 Email This Post |  Print this post

(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

 Loading ...

So the President signed the bill… nobody really knows how this will affect the industry in the short or long run and I guess we are just going to wait an see.

Change is the only constant and I know the industry will adjust, but your guess is as good as mine on how and what the time frame is.  I guess it is their move first.   

Reading articles related to the current issue has been more than interesting… did not know much about the Wire Act of 1961, but it kept on coming up in all the articles I read.

1961 WIRE ACT

But while the new act now categorically outlaws online gambling (the previous 1961 Wire Act was only used to charge firms that took sports bets), Kelly believes American gamblers will still find a way to pay their online bets. That’s because despite the new law, the majority of the more than 2,000 offshore online gambling companies will continue to take bets from the United States, he said. “The smaller companies who are not publicly traded will keep going. What have they got to lose?”

The Wire Act of 1961 makes it illegal to bet online, specifically on sports. But the law is nearly impossible to enforce, and nearly 80 countries allow wagers online. The $12 billion industry is expected to soar to $24.5 billion by 2010, says researcher Christiansen Capital Advisors.

Don’t have much to add, but I know it is “BUSINESS AS USUAL” here in paradise! 

Š

 Email This Post |  Print this post

(4 votes, average: 3.25 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Today when I got to work I was recieved with the big new’s there is a new analysis of the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 and what it means for gamblers around the world. This is crazy and the worst part of it is that we take the time to read it and we dont comment on the fact that it may bring problems to us in a short future and that it can be a problem for all of us out there. For gamblers and employees of the offshore gambling. And what do we do to say “no” we want to be free and do as we please… when we please. At the end of the day the money is our’s, we work for it and we can use it on what we want to.

going over the facts and what it means to us…

The Act aims to stop anyone handling financial transactions related to online gambling,
with some minor exceptions.

#1 It aims to stop banks from allowing customers to send funds to offshore sites and to criminalize those who accept those funds for the purpose of gambling. The Act is pretty ‘catch all’ in what counts as a financial transaction, it covers ((electronic funds transfers, credit cards, checks, drafts and ‘proceeds from any other financial transaction’)) scery…..
#2 It covers all ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ including poker. The Act defines ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ as “to place, receive, or otherwise knowingly transmit a bet or wager by any means which involves the use, at least in part, of the Internet where such bet or wager is unlawful under any applicable Federal or State law in the State in which the bet or wager is initiated, received, or otherwise made.” In other words, unless the gambling is state legislated then it is illegal.
What does this really mean to us???

While those drafting the legislation did not intend to criminalize any individual placing a bet or playing poker online the loose wording could, in theory, catch someone who made their living as a professional gambler or poker player. It is unlikely that this would be applied to individuals but it is not impossible that this legislation could be used to prosecute an ividual.
The wording suggests that anyone running a site promoting online gambling – whether it
is a sports gambling information site, sports betting forum, watchdog site, rakeback or affiliate site – could be considered to be ‘in the business of betting’. This is likely to affect thousands of small gambling websites. The legislation allows for the government to ask sites to remove links to gambling sites and also to ask Internet Service Providers to take the companies offline. Realistically, if the online gambling sites cease to operate then so will these information sites as there will be no affiliate revenue to keep them going.

It also suggests that ‘skill gaming’ sites will be illegal – under the definition of the Act it definitely appears that playing chess for money online will now be in breach of the law. ( or anything that you can have fun doing ) The books, mainly those not publicly traded will take a wait and see approach. They barely have anything to fear. The smaller books may fold up the tents and go home, but they were on thin margins anyway. The books are mentioned as potential criminals but the real target is financial transactions. Not the books, not blocking isps. And now the important part of it is….

 “who does it not affect?”

The chief winners from the Act are operators of fantasy sport sites. Despite the fact that their activities are very similar to gambling in many ways, there is a specific exemption for fantasy sites. However they may not have their scoring systems based on a team’s performance, team score on the point spread on that game. This means fantasy sports
must be based on the statistical performance of a group of players. The fantasy sport
operators may also not offer prizes related to the number of entrants into the fantasy pool.
( that’s convenient. :-). )

How fantasy sports have managed to get this exemption is something of a mystery and a
doubt some online gambling operators will be looking to see if their sites can be changed
into fantasy sites.

State lotteries also do well from this legislation. They are now specifically allowed to start online operations and to club together to provide multi-state jackpots on their sites. It also allows them to run ‘casino style’ games of chance on their websites, akin to the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in UK betting shops. ( once again really convenient ) and if thats not enough….
The religious right is slowly turning our country into a facist state. They must be repudiated before the entire game ends. They are the power brokers, not the front men who are merely puppets. All of the right wingnut religious power brokers must be stood up and straightened out. If everyone just takes this they will walk all over you until there is nothing left but them, and people afraid to stand up to them. This is the path we are on now. Why are they so powerful? Because they vote, they campaign and fund candidates. They work the political machine to perfection. In order to beat them you have to do the same. Become vocal, more importantly become heard and seen. Vote, write letters and make phone calls. They slipped this in the backdoor at the last minute when no one can do anything about it, the American way. Right wing candidate? Oppose them. Contribute against them, get them voted out. Enough of the Kyl’s, Frist’s and Leeches. Out.

 Email This Post |  Print this post

(4 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

 Loading ...

We are able to process MasterCards again!  We have been having some trouble getting these suckers to get processed, but with the addition of a new merchant to our ranks, it seems the hassles are gone… I hope long gone.

In this day and age where convenience and efficiency would fly off the shelves if it could be sold by the bottle, giving our clients the capability to deposit from their own living rooms is a priority for us at SportBet.

If you had trouble using your MasterCards before, give us another try and I can almost guarantee different results.  I don’t like to use “almost” very often, but I do have to leave a small window for Murphy and his stupid Law.

 Email This Post |  Print this post

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...

What do those two words stand for?  To SERVE the CUSTOMER should be a given when we take the time to think of what the ultimate purpose of a company usually is, to sell a product and have customers want to purchase that product (SIMPLE), but is it always that simple?

In my opinion, you can not provide a product customers are going to want to buy if you do not know what the customer wants!  And when you work in an industry as competitive as the offshore gaming industry, sometimes that feedback doesn’t just knock on your door, but I believe it is the responsibility of the company to reach out for it and make that a priority when deciding its future.  We are ultimately here to SERVE every active and potential CUSTOMER that finds our site and want to be able to provide that product that sets us apart from all those other brands.

I am not an authority when it comes to business strategy and I honestly do not spend too much time thinking about it when I am not in the office… I live in Costa Rica and paradise is too distracting when you get out of concrete walls, but as Customer Service Manager for SportBet I do care about the experience a client has when dealing with our Customer Service Department and I think providing a product our competitors are envious of should be SIMPLE!

 Email This Post |  Print this post

(3 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

 Loading ...

ESPN’s show, Outside the Lines is doing a feature on the internet gambling industry.  They interviewed Russ Hawksins, the owner of the well know watch dog site called MajorWager.  You can see his post on the interview and the show here,

http://www.majorwager.com/fusetalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=22&threadid=166518&STARTPAGE=2&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

 The show is seemed to favor legalization and regulation instead or an outright prohibition.  This prohibitive approach has failed in the past.  There is a bill in the senate now to study the internet gaming industry and determine if prohibition or tax and regulation is the right approach. 

Š

 Email This Post |  Print this post

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...