The English Football Association has charged four players for breaching its code of conduct relating to betting on a match they were involved with.  The match in question was the Accrington Stanley vs. Bury League Two match in May 2008, the incident was brought to light by suspicious betting activity surrounding the match.

Three players who were at the time playing for Accrington Stanley (Mannix, Harris and Williams) (were accused of betting that their opponents would win the outcome of the match, one Bury player (Mangan) was also involved but had bet that his team would win.

Nicholas Stewart QC, Chairman of the Regulatory Commission said “FA rules restricting betting by players (and others) on matches or competitions in which they are involved are vital to ensure public confidence in the integrity of football and the absolute straightness of all football matches”.

One further case against Peter Cavanagh will be heard at a later date.

Ladbrokes the UK based sports betting company has opened its first dedicated betting shop in Madrid under the Sportium banner, it is a joint venture between Cirsa and Ladbrokes. The plan is for the Sportium brand to open and operate 125 outlets by 2010, this will encompass dedicated betting shops and concessions in Arcades and Bingo Halls.

A spokesman for Ladbrokes said “The opening of our first exclusive shop in Torrejon de Ardoz is the latest step in the successful roll out of Sportium’s sports betting service in Madrid.”

Sportium was created in early 2007 as a 50-50 joint venture between Ladbrokes and Cirsa, the business compines the betting expertise of Ladbrokes with the market knowledge of Cirsa Slot (Spains leading slot machine vendor) with the aim of expanding from Madrid into the rest of Spain.

The sponsors of this years World Championship Snooker tournament Bet Fred are to donate £147,000 to Sports Relief following the maximum 147 break achieved by Stephen Hendry in his match on Tuesday at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, the last prior recorded professional 147 break belonged to Ding Junhui in the Maplin UK Championship in December 2008.

Sport Relief’s Head of Fundraising, Karl Reynolds said “We are thrilled that Stephen Hendry’s skill has potted Sport Relief an amazing £147,000. A big thank you to Stephen and Betfred for one of the first donations to Sport Relief 2010.”

The founder of Bet Fred;Fred Done said: “It’s fantastic that Sport Relief are receiving the £147,000 donation and I’m delighted that it was a true snooker legend in Stephen that made the 147 break.”

UK bookmakers William Hill and Blue SQ have reported some betting irregularities on the Blue Square Premier game between Grays Athletic and Forest Green Rovers.  Grays won the game 2-1 after being 1-0 down and then scored twice in 50 seconds to win the game.

Both of the companies reported that they had seen large wagers on prior to kick off, “We saw a most unusual betting pattern on this match involving a large number of requests for bets on Grays to be losing at half time and winning at full time. The odds for that eventuality were cut from 22/1 to under half of that price yet still people wanted to back that outcome,” said William Hill spokesman, Graham Sharpe.

Both companies closed the book on the game and have chosen not to payout on the match until they have heard back from the Football Association.

Alistair Darling unveiled the 2009 Budget yesterday and initially their were cheers from the UK Gaming Industry as campaigners for the abolishment of the ‘unfair’ VAT bingo were rewarded when the news that the participation fees for bingo would no longer be subject to VAT. However as the Government gave with one hand it quickly took with the other and then some by announcing that bingo gaming duties would rise from 15% to 22%.

As well as the rise in gaming taxes, the UK government also increased amusement machine licence duty to all categories of gaming machines which will be introduced in the Finance Bill 2009. These increases will bring in an estimated £55 million to the government off setting the £50 million it was going to lose by scrapping bingo VAT.

A spokesman for Rank, one of the largest Bingo companies said “This change has been imposed without prior indication or consultation. In Rank’s recent meetings with HM Treasury there had been no discussion of increases to taxation for bingo or poker,”

Customers at Betfred stores are now able to watch  live horse racing from virtually every racecourse in Britain after the bookmaker signed an agreement with Turf TV for coverage to be broadcast in all of the companies 800 shops. The deal includes courses such as Newmarket, Aintree Newbury and Cheltenham.

The deal will initially see Betfred sign a five year deal with Turf TV, speaking of the agreement the boss of Betfred, Fred Done said “I’m very happy that an agreement has been reached with Turf TV.  My customers will be delighted that they can now look forward to watching every race, every day, in all my shops.”

The Gibraltar based online and store fronted company Betfred have confirmed that they will be the main sponsors for the World Snooker Championship for the next four years. The tournament will be now be known as Betfred.com World Snooker Championship.

The new deal has arrived just in time for this year’s televised event which starts on Saturday April 18th through to Monday May 4th at the world famous Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The tournament last year was featured on the BBC receiving over 127 hours of coverage and was viewed by over 24 million people. The event also received coverage on Eurosport and CVTV5 in China where it attracted an audience of 10 million viewers.

Fred Done, chairman of Betfred said: “It’s always been an ambition of mine to sponsor a World Championship and this is a competition with so much history. When it comes to snooker this is the pinnacle of the sport and I look forward to watching the world’s greatest 32 players.”

The World Snooker Association has been looking for a new main sponsor since August of 2008 when the previous sponsors 888.com pulled out of 5 year deal 2 years early citing difficult economic climate as its reason for withdrawing.

UK based bookmaker William Hill has revealed that they are to be the new sponsors of the Winter Festival at Kempton Park racecourse with a four year deal which will include sponsorship of the of King George VI Chase.

The event will now be know as the William Hill Winter Festival and William Hill will feature on all the naming rights to the 2 day event as well as sponsorship of the most famous events in the National Hunt calendar, including the Christmas Hurdle, Desert Orchid Chase, and Feltham Chase. The deal is thought to be in region of £5 million and will last until 2012.

Kempton Park’s Managing Director Amy Starkey, said: “We are delighted to have reached an agreement on a four-year sponsorship for Kempton Park’s flagship jumps meeting of the year. The William Hill Winter Festival will further strengthen the racecourse, and we will now work with Hills to enhance what is a superb advertisement for our sport.”

The company that took over running and rebranding of the Football Pools, Sportech PLC yesterday launched a claim with the UK Customs Office (HMRC) for overpaid VAT (Value Added Tax) payments in relation to the “Spot The Ball” game which was ran from 1979 through to 1996.

The claim is in the region of £40 million but could be higher, if successful the amount would be paid back to Sportech PLC by HMRC along with interest.  Sportech are claiming that the VAT was paid in error and is therefore repayable.

The process will not be immediate and if successful in their claim it could take Sportech PLC several years to get the money refunded from HMRC.

Sportingbet who are an internet based betting company that is listed on the London Stock Exchange has today announced a sponsorship deal with Coca Cola Championship team Wolverhampton Wanderers that runs into seven figures has become the largest sponsorship deal in Wolves 132 year history.

The deal which starts from Jone 2009 will see Sportingbet secure the rights to place their logos on home and away shirts and on all of Wolves training kits as well as a major presence at Molineux Stadium on top of becoming the official betting partner of the club and the sponsor of the clubs website.

The Chief Executive of Sportingbet Andrew McIver said “We share a common heritage of passion, skill and teamwork which I believe offers the basis of a great partnership. Football is the bedrock of our business and we look forward to working closely together.”

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