Rove Odds
Sportsbook.com is offering odds on the future of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. The opening line is that Rove will not be dismissed or resign in the wake of an ongoing criminal investigation, with odds at 1-6. Rove's job security has been the subject of much speculation since recent allegations that he leaked the identity of a CIA operative to the media in an effort to discredit an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq.
Brown Odds
Shortly after the terms of the Detroit Pistons' buyout of Larry Brown's contract were made public this week, Internet sports book PinnacleSports.com opened betting on where the nomadic Hall of Fame basketball coach will roam the sidelines next season. Speculation on Brown filling the New York Knicks head coaching vacancy is rampant, and bettors are already heavily backing the Long Island native to return to coach his hometown team. With health questions remaining, PinnacleSports.com opened wagering with the odds at 2/5 that Brown would not be an NBA head coach at the start of next season, while the odds that he would take over as head coach for the New York Knicks were second at 9/4. Nearly all the bets placed so far have backed Brown going to the Knicks, and the odds for that outcome have shifted to 1/2. Odds that he won't coach next year have shifted to 8/5.
Premiere League Odds
Weeks after the release of the 2006-06 fixture list for the English Premier League, bookmakers have begun to list odds for the opening weekend of games, slated for August 13. Among the highlights of the first week is newly promoted Wigan as a 17/2 long shot to win its first league match against defending champion Chelsea. Most installed the first-time Premier team as a 1,500/1 long shot to win the outright championship. Manchester United's purchase of teenage sensation Wayne Rooney from Everton last summer has created a large buzz among fans at Old Trafford. Rooney will make is debut with his new club on the road against West Brom, but many bookmakers still have the Reds listed as 3/2 favors to win the match. Chelsea is a 5/8 favorite to repeat as champions with fellow Londoners Arsenal installed as the second favorite with odds of 11/4 at most books.
NCAA to Increase Anti-Gambling Efforts
The NCAA has announced that it will enforce new measures this year in its efforts to crackdown on gambling. The group will monitor betting lines on games more closely and begin to do background checks on baseball and hockey officials. The action was prompted by a 2004 NCAA study finding that 35 percent of male athletes and 10 percent of female athletes had gambled on college sports during the previous year. Rachel Newman-Baker, the NCAA's director of gambling activities, said the new measures could result in the NCAA increasing communications with bookmakers in Las Vegas.
British Open Kills Bookies
British bookmakers collectively lost a reported £10 million last week when heavily favored Tiger Woods rolled to his second career British Open victory. Punters' heavy backing of Woods heavily cost bookies their biggest payout ever in golf. Woods is now just 4-1 to beat Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 wins and 2-1 to win next month's PGA Championship. One punter had placed £100,000 on the world No. 1 at 3-1 even before he had hit a shot at St Andrews.
Match Fixing Allegations in Finland
Allegations of match fixing in Finland's highest football division have erupted into a scandal bigger than any other in the history of the sport in that country. It began after reigning champion Haka Valkeakoski beat last season's runners-up, Allianssi Vantaa, 8-0 on July 7 in a match that attracted far more betting than usual. Before the match, Allianssi had conceded just seven goals in its 11 previous league matches. "I have never seen anything like it," Jan Walden, the chief executive of the Finnish League said. "It could have ended 20-0. . . . The main thing in football is to try one's best. Allianssi didn't. We haven't had such a crisis in Finnish football before."
Betfair Appoints Financial Advisers
In preparation of an initial public offering (expected to occur within the next six months), leading online betting exchange Betfair has announced the appointment of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as financial advisors.
Central Europe's Largest Betting Network
Officials with Czech-Slovak financial group Penta in June announced the completion of a takeover of six betting companies, making it the largest odds-betting network in Central Europe. Some 200,000 people visit the 1,200 odds-betting branches in the three countries where Penta operates, and the company is planning to enter betting markets in additional countries in the region. Management isn't commenting on a potential public offering.
Mobile Volleying
On the heels of another successful Wimbledon tennis tournament, officials with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club have announced the launch of the first officially licensed cell phone tennis game. Wimbledon 2005 will be carried in Europe and North America through leading mobile carriers Verizon and Cingular. The game offers a realistic virtual tennis experience for cell phone players, who can adjust the velocity of their serves, attack the net and add spin to their shots. The All England Tennis Club and Pixiem are promoting the game by sponsoring the "Wimbledon Mobile Great Give Away" sweepstakes through which two drawings will be held during the next year and winners will receive all-expenses-paid trips for two to the Wimbledon tournament in 2006. Plans for European users include the ability to place bets on matches with the official bookmaker of the Wimbledon Championships.