Sports Betting Blog

With Jeff Stelling stepping down as Channel 4′s Countdown show, the bookies have opened a book on who will be the next permanent countdown presenter. William Hill have Aled Jones and Gyles Brandreth as joint favourites. With the viewing figures tumbling, it will need a big man to fill the chair. Hill’s have seen a flurry of money on Terry Wogan and have cut his odds to 14/1 from 33/1.

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Paddypower had one of the better Champions League specials. If Barcelona won the game in 90 minutes they would refund all losing first/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast bets. According to their press office they refunded €3000000.

Paddy Power have refunded a record breaking €3,000,000 in losing bets placed on tonight’s Champions League Final.

Paddy Power said “This Money-Back Special was chosen for our customers by our customers so I had a feeling it was always going to end up this way. A three million quid refund has raised the bar to new heights, but that’s what happens when you bet with Paddy Power.”

Personally, I’d say thats an exaggeration. Maximum refund was £100 per person so to lose 3 million euros they must have had around 30,000 people all losing the maximum amount. I can’t really see that myself. I am guessing they had 3 million wagered on the game and had to refund a percentage of those bets. Back in 2008, they lost 1.5 million euros on the Ronaldo special bet in which they refunded ALL losing bets, after Ronaldo scored.

Barcelona winning probably cost them more in payouts. All the big hitters would have been backing Barcelona to win. 3-1 was 17/1 at Paddypower which was a popular scoreline to have. It was no doubt an expensive night for Paddypower but I doubt they refunded 3 million euros.

Victor Chandlers refund was also triggered when Wayne Rooney scored the equaliser for Manchester United. Bet365 who’s offer was probably the most generous probably lost a shed load too. I had my free in running bet on Barcelona at half time at 2.05. Anyone watching the game would have seen it was men against boys and only Barcelona were going to win that game.

Tonight see the game of the season with arguably the best team in the world vs the best team in England. Barcelona vs Manchester United should be a cracker of a game. The bookmakers are offering a range of special money back offers. Usually these are poor but some bookies have put out some cracking specials. Here are the top 3 in no particular order.

Bet365.
Place a bet before kick-off on the big game, then once it starts place another bet on any In-Play market and if your FIRST In-Play bet loses, Bet365 will refund your stake, up to the value of their largest pre-match bet. The maximum refund £50 so to get maximum value, place £50 on a pre-match market and £50 in running. We’ll be using our free bet to hedge in running. Bet365 also have their standard football offer. Have a pre-match Correct Score, Half-Time/Full-Time or Scorecast bet and if the game finishes 0-0 Bet365 will refund all losing bets on these markets! Some extra insurance on your bets.

If you are a new member, you also get a £200 free bet basket. Click here to visit the site

Paddypower
Paddypower have gone big with a money back special based on Barcelona winning. If Barcelona win this match in normal time Paddy Power will refund correct score, first/last goalscorer, and scorecast singles on the match.. More about this offer on the main page. Maximum refund £100.

Paddypower are offering a free £25 matched bet for new users too. Click here to visit the site.

Victor Chandler
VC Bet are offering to refund Correct Score, First/Last Goalscorer and HT/FT bets if Messi or Rooney score anytime including extra time. Maximum refund £50. They’ve generously included HT/FT bets.
Click here to visit the site. New members get £25 matched free.
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In case you are wondering, we’ve had,
VCBet, £50 Barcelona HT/FT 3.25.
Bet365, £50 Barcelona HT, 2.75. with £50 to play in running depending on how the game goes.
Paddypower, £20 2-1, £40 1-0, £40 2-0 all on Barcelona at odds of 8.5, 6 and 8.5 respectively.

Today sees the second leg of the Manchester United Chelsea Champions League clash. Manchester United are leading 1-0 after the first leg and have the crucial away goal. A home win or draw will see them through to the semi final.

The first leg caught out Irish bookmaker, Paddypower when they offered to refund selected bets if Manchester United won the game. See the post here. They appear to have learned their lesson and this week are only offering a refund if Rooney scores the last goal of the game. This is not really a good bet. Rooney is about 5/1 to score last.

Luckily for us punters, VC Bet are offering a very generous offer. If Rooney or Torres score ANYTIME, then they will refund selected losing bets as free bets (so not quite as good as a refund but decent non the less). Considering that Rooney is 2.15 to score anytime and Torres is 2.8, either to score is pretty good odds.

From their Website

If WAYNE ROONEY or FERNANDO TORRES score at anytime we’ll refund all losing First Goalscorer, Correct Score & Double Result (HT/FT) bets as a FREE BET!

Maximum refund £50 per person. Applies to singles only placed prior to kick-off. Internet, telephone & mobile bets only. 90 mins only. Free bets credited Wednesday. Free bets must be used within 30 days.

The way I’ve played this it to back, on the half time full time market. I think its going to be a Manchester United win or a draw. I’ve gone, United/ United, Draw/ Draw and Draw /United. The bet pays out at about 1.5 if any outcome happens. The good thing about it is that if Torres or Rooney score then I will get my money back no matter what. The sweet thing is that if one of the bets wins then I get my money back on the two losing bets too. Eg, If it is United HT/FT, I win £35 plus get £40 in free bets to spend later. £70 is probably the optimal amount to bet as the maximum free bet refund is £50.

Man Utd v Chelsea
Half Time / Full Time – 90 Mins
Man Utd – Man Utd
Odds: 13/5
Stake(s): 29.10
Possible Return: £ 104.76

Man Utd v Chelsea
Half Time / Full Time – 90 Mins
Draw – Draw
Odds: 4/1
Stake(s): 20.95
Possible Return: £ 104.75

Man Utd v Chelsea
Half Time / Full Time – 90 Mins
Draw – Man Utd
Odds: 17/4
Stake(s): 19.95
Possible Return: £ 104.74

If you have no VC bet account then you can sign up here and get a free £25 bet.

The most famous race in the world takes place tomorrow, the 2011 Grand National. The race remains the ultimate test, with over 40 horses battling it out over four-and-a-half-miles and 30 of the most demanding fences imaginable.

Last year Tony McCoy finally broke his National duck with victory on Don’t Push It. The pair will be reunited again this year and McCoy will be looking to win the race for a second year in succession and can currently be backed at 14/1. However no horse has won the big race back-to-back since the famous Red Rum in 1973/74. Other past National winners in the field include Comply or Die, currently priced up at 33/1.

Current favourite in the betting is The Midnight Club at 9/1. There is bound to be plenty of support for this horse with Ruby Walsh confirmed as jockey.

VC Bet are one of the few bookies that are offering to pay 6 places on the grand national. Most bookmakers only payout 5 places but VC Bet are offering 6 places.

Also, unlike some other bookmakers, you can still get a free matched bet on Grand National Day * Click here to visit the site.

*Please check site for full terms and conditions. Free bet may be withdrawn without notice.

This years stand out tie in the Champions League has got to Manchester United vs Chelsea. In terms of betting, this is a tricky game to call. Chelsea played their best so far this season recently to come back from 1-0 to beat United 2-1. At the weekend, Chelsea stumbled whereas United came back from 2-0 down to win 4-2.

For this game, I have no strong opinions. Any result wouldn’t be surprising. I could make a case for the home win, draw or away win. In terms of betting, I have placed my wagers at Paddypower. They have an amazing special for this game.

If Man Utd win this match, Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/Last goalscorer, Correct Score & Scorecast singles on the match.

This is much better than the normal offers Paddy Power and other bookmakers run. Manchester United are 12/5 (3.4) to win this game. Usually, these special offers have pretty poor situations for paying out, eg, some midfielder scoring the last goal of the game.

This offer also includes correct scores which is interesting. I’ve personally gone for 1-0, 0-0 and 1-1. I think it will be tight and the odd goal will win it. If Manchester United do win, then paddypower will refund those correct scores. If they don’t win then those scores are the most likely IMO to payout.

Paddy Power were famously burnt a few years ago in the Champions League when they offered to refund ALL losing bets if ’30+ goal a season’ Ronaldo scored anytime. He did and Paddy Power lost a lot of money.

Click here to visit the site and get a free £25 matched bet if you are a new customer.

William Hill have opened a special market to support comic relief. If you are stopping in to watch the show, this is an interesting way to help out. If you win, you can increase your donation. If you lose, then William Hill will donate the money to Comic Relief.

How Much Will Be Raised By Comic Relief During The Live Show*:

8/1 Under £40m

6/4 Between £40-50m

11/10 Between £50-60m

7/1 Between £60-70m

16/1 Over £70m

Comic Relief To Beat The 2009 Total Of £57,809,938*:

11/8 Yes

8/15 No

*All profits from the market will be donated to Comic Relief 2011

Click here to sign up

Its international friendly time. As always, you can watch selected games free with Bet365. All these games are streamed live free from the Bet365.com site. Click here to sign up if you have not already got an account.

Games that are getting streamed live. Kick off times shown in bold.

Greece v Canada 15:00
FYR Macedonia v Cameroon 16:45
Croatia v Czech Republic 17:00
Azerbaijan v Hungary 17:00
Turkey v South Korea 18:30
Cyprus vs Romania 18:30
Sweden vs Ukraine 19:00
Albania v Slovenia 19:00
Luxembourg v Slovakia 19:15
Belgium v Finland 19:30
Holland v Austria 19:30
Poland v Norway 19:30
France v Brazil 20:00

The pick of the games has to be France vs Brazil.
Current odds from Bet365.
France 2.70 Draw 3.20 Brazil 2.60

The bookies are finding it hard to separate these teams, suggesting that Brazil might not be at full strength. Surely a full strength Brazilian team would be about even money against the current France team. Click here to bet.

After the sacking of Alan Irvine, Skybet have opened a book on who will be the next permanent manager of Sheffield Wednesday.

Next Permanent Manager of Sheffield Wednesday Odds

Megson, G 8/11
Johnson, G evens
Keane, R. 2/1
Bond, K 4/1
Keegan, K 6/1
Hoddle, G. 8/1
Parkinson, P. 8/1
Sheridan, J 10/1
Ince, P. 10/1
Wise, D. 10/1
Keen, K. 10/1
Dowie, I 10/1
Nilsson, R. 14/1
Sousa, P 16/1
Worthington, N 16/1
O’Driscoll, S 20/1
Hughton, C. 20/1
Hill, K 25/1
Cotterill, S 25/1
McInnes, D 33/1
Robins, M 33/1
Turner, C 33/1
O’Neill, M. 33/1
Tisdale, P 33/1
Magilton, J 33/1
Burley, G 33/1
Hart, P 40/1
Windass, D 40/1
Coleman, C 40/1
Di Canio, P 40/1

As with all these manager bets, there is always a lot of speculation and the early favourites don’t always get the job. There could be some value in betting on a long shot. Click here to visit skybet and see the latest odds for the next owls manager. (its under football – manager specials). .

Midweek Champions League preview from Bluesquare. 2nd and 3rd November 2010.

Bursaspor will be looking for their first Champions League goal of the season in Tuesday’s Group C home game against Manchester United. It’s a depleted Red Devils’ squad that travels to Turkey in need of three points that will ensure their progression to the knock-out stages. Rio Ferdinand did not make the plane, presumably after straining his vocal chords whilst sorting out the rules for Mark Clattenburg and his assistant referee on Saturday. Long term absentees Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs will affect the balance of the squad that will meet the usual fiery Turkish atmosphere. Sir Alex Ferguson’s team will be relying on squad rotation to overcome the club who are unbeaten in this season’s Super Lig. In the reverse fixture just two weeks ago Bursaspor were only beaten by one goal to nil and must harbour hopes of getting a point on the board from this home tie. United are the 7/10 favourites with Blue Square for the game, and the draw is a 12/5 chance. Either result will maintain their unbeaten run started with a 3-1 rout of Chelsea in the Community Shield back in August. Plenty of negative comments have been attached to Fergie’s team already this season, following some unlikely draws, but you can’t argue with those stats. Bursaspor are the 4/1 outsiders for the game. Rangers are also big outsiders at 7/1 to improve their qualification hopes with a win at Valencia, who are challenging them for second spot in the group.
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West Brom delivered the shock of the season today by beating Arsenal at the Emirates. It could have been worse for Arsenal as West Brom had their first half penalty saved. Whats unusual about the victory is that West Brom actually out played Arsenal. Usually, teams that beat Arsenal have backs against the wall, defending a single goal. West Brom were 3-0 up at one point and only a late resurgence by Arsenal made the score 3-2 and made it half respectable.
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Some punters are rushing to bet that the early season goal-rush in the Premier League will continue this week, and William Hill are quoting 7/1 that last week’s Premiership total of 37 goals will be exceeded, and 5/2 that a hat trick will be scored during the games – which was a 10/3 shot last week. William Hill have also seen business for their offer of 9/2 for another Premier League scoreline of 6-0 to come up in the next round of games. ‘The early season goal-rush has sparked a rush of bets for it to continue’ said William Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.

It could well be worth backing individual games to be overs too. Hopefully the rest of the market will not have caught on and there may be some value there.
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