It's now only three days to Christmas, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very happy Christmas and a profitable new year! I'll be back in 2006 with lots more betting advice, news, tips, reviews, and more.
Be lucky!
Nick
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Lazybet Update
Following a few unsuccessful bets, the Lazybet Placepot syndicate had its first winning day yesterday at Ludlow. The cumulative total is now £4,928 from an original 'pot' of £5,000, so the syndicate is down £72 at the moment. Still, another day like yesterday would turn that into a profit!
The Scoop6 syndicate has just over £4,000 and needs closer to £40,000 before it would be a viable proposition. Lazybet say they will keep it open for a few more weeks and review it again before offering members the chance to withdraw or stay with it. There is still time to join this syndicate if you wish, therefore. (The Placepot syndicate is closed for the moment.)
The Scoop6 syndicate has just over £4,000 and needs closer to £40,000 before it would be a viable proposition. Lazybet say they will keep it open for a few more weeks and review it again before offering members the chance to withdraw or stay with it. There is still time to join this syndicate if you wish, therefore. (The Placepot syndicate is closed for the moment.)
Monday, December 19, 2005
Betting Exchanges Escape Tax Increases
Betting exchanges, with their (often) better odds and the opportunity to make money by laying as well as backing, have been one of the best things ever to happen for punters.
So I was delighted to hear that Chancellor Gordon Brown has resisted pressure from the bookmakers to make exchanges pay more tax, and even make layers on exchanges apply for bookmaking permits.
Exchanges currently pay a 15 per cent tax on the commission they charge winning punters (up to 5 per cent of winning bets), while bookmakers pay a 15 per cent tax on their gross profits.
Bookmakers have long argued that this is unfair on them, and have lobbied hard for exchanges to pay more. After a 12-month review Gordon Brown rejected their arguments, however, suggesting that the current arrangements were "generally working well".
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the bookies’ case, the decision is good news for punters. If exchange taxation had been increased significantly, exchanges would have had little alternative but to increase their commission rates, making it harder for punters to turn a profit. Alternatively they might have opted to relocate overseas (a few months ago Betfair obtained a licence to operate from Malta).
As things stand, the signs are that bookmakers are now accepting that this particular battle has been lost, and many are in fact making use of betting exchanges themselves. William Hill, who have been among the biggest critics of exchanges, recently revealed that they are now hedging bets through the Irish exchange Betdaq. Coral are already using Betfair for hedging, and Ladbrokes look likely to start using exchanges soon as well (probably Betdaq again).
Hopefully we can now enjoy an end to the uncertainty about the future for betting exchanges, and look forward to cuts in commission rates as competition among them starts to bite.
So I was delighted to hear that Chancellor Gordon Brown has resisted pressure from the bookmakers to make exchanges pay more tax, and even make layers on exchanges apply for bookmaking permits.
Exchanges currently pay a 15 per cent tax on the commission they charge winning punters (up to 5 per cent of winning bets), while bookmakers pay a 15 per cent tax on their gross profits.
Bookmakers have long argued that this is unfair on them, and have lobbied hard for exchanges to pay more. After a 12-month review Gordon Brown rejected their arguments, however, suggesting that the current arrangements were "generally working well".
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the bookies’ case, the decision is good news for punters. If exchange taxation had been increased significantly, exchanges would have had little alternative but to increase their commission rates, making it harder for punters to turn a profit. Alternatively they might have opted to relocate overseas (a few months ago Betfair obtained a licence to operate from Malta).
As things stand, the signs are that bookmakers are now accepting that this particular battle has been lost, and many are in fact making use of betting exchanges themselves. William Hill, who have been among the biggest critics of exchanges, recently revealed that they are now hedging bets through the Irish exchange Betdaq. Coral are already using Betfair for hedging, and Ladbrokes look likely to start using exchanges soon as well (probably Betdaq again).
Hopefully we can now enjoy an end to the uncertainty about the future for betting exchanges, and look forward to cuts in commission rates as competition among them starts to bite.
Germany's World Cup chances...
I was chatting over the weekend with my old friend Gary Boswell, who writes a football betting column for the Sporting Life website (www.sportinglife.com).
Gary took me to task for telling anyone to back Germany at 8/1 - he reckons the true odds about Germany winning the World Cup are actually around 22/1, not the 8/1 or so I recommended taking now.
Of course, I defer to Gary's greater expertise as a football pundit. However, I do stand by my original comment. While Germany's price may be shorter than it should be if it truly reflected their chances of winning the World Cup, I am convinced it will shorten further as the tournament approaches and (especially)if they progress through their not-too-difficult looking first group stage.
My advice therefore remains to back them now and lay them for a guaranteed profit when their price shortens. But taking Gary's point on board as well, once we are into the early stages of the tournament, I would certainly think about laying Germany on the exchanges. While I can see them doing a little bit better than some people are predicting, I cannot see any realistic likelihood of them winning the tournament.
Gary took me to task for telling anyone to back Germany at 8/1 - he reckons the true odds about Germany winning the World Cup are actually around 22/1, not the 8/1 or so I recommended taking now.
Of course, I defer to Gary's greater expertise as a football pundit. However, I do stand by my original comment. While Germany's price may be shorter than it should be if it truly reflected their chances of winning the World Cup, I am convinced it will shorten further as the tournament approaches and (especially)if they progress through their not-too-difficult looking first group stage.
My advice therefore remains to back them now and lay them for a guaranteed profit when their price shortens. But taking Gary's point on board as well, once we are into the early stages of the tournament, I would certainly think about laying Germany on the exchanges. While I can see them doing a little bit better than some people are predicting, I cannot see any realistic likelihood of them winning the tournament.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Back Germany for near-guaranteed World Cup profits!
England are now second favourites to win the World Cup after last week's dream draw in Leipzig. Sven's men are in to 6/1 from 7/1 after being drawn against Paraguay, Sweden, and Trinidad and Tobago. In contrast, Argentina have been pushed out from 6/1 to 7/1, following the news that they are in the 'group of death' against Ivory Coast, Holland and Serbia.
However, the betting value at present may lie with with Germany, currently available at a best price of 8.6/1 with Pinnacle Sports Betting.
Germany look to have an even easier first-stage group than England, facing as they do the combined football might of Costa Rica, Poland and Ecuador. They will also have the massive advantage of playing at home, and while some of their recent results have been less than impressive, you can bet that national pride plus the legendary German efficiency will ensure that they are a team to reckon with come next summer.
I don't necessarily expect Germany to go all the way even so, but they are well worth backing now in the near-certainty that their price will shorten after the first group stage (and probably before). You can then lay them for a guaranteed profit on the exchanges.
However, the betting value at present may lie with with Germany, currently available at a best price of 8.6/1 with Pinnacle Sports Betting.
Germany look to have an even easier first-stage group than England, facing as they do the combined football might of Costa Rica, Poland and Ecuador. They will also have the massive advantage of playing at home, and while some of their recent results have been less than impressive, you can bet that national pride plus the legendary German efficiency will ensure that they are a team to reckon with come next summer.
I don't necessarily expect Germany to go all the way even so, but they are well worth backing now in the near-certainty that their price will shorten after the first group stage (and probably before). You can then lay them for a guaranteed profit on the exchanges.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Lazybet Update
Further to my last post, the closing date for Lazybet's Placepot syndicate is Wednesday 14 December. Apparently they have around £4,000 in the kitty now, more than enough to keep the syndicate going for some time. Link: www.lazybet.com.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Lazybet Online Betting Syndicate
If you're fed up of hearing about the Scoop6 and other top prizes being won by big-money syndicates, then Lazybet (www.lazybet.com) may have the answer for you.
The Lazybet website is run by Placepot pundit Malcolm Boyle and colleagues. It aims to offer ordinary punters a chance to join with others in large syndicates to tilt at big prizes such as the Tote Scoop6 and Ten to Follow (TTF) competition.
The minimum stake for any syndicate is £10. All of this money goes on bets and there are no other charges. Lazybet say they will make their money from bookmakers’ commission on bets placed on members’ behalf and (later) from advertising on the site.
One of Lazybet’s first syndicates is targeting the Tote TTF competition. Lazybet members contributed £10,000 to this and the parent company put in another £5,000, bringing the total stake to £15,000. If one of Lazybet’s entries wins, members will be paid at odds of at least 12/1, and they will also be entered in a members-only draw for a top prize of £200,000.
The TTF Syndicate is now closed to new members, but two new syndicates have just been launched targeting the Tote Scoop6 and Placepot. I like the Placepot syndicate in particular, and have put £50 of my own hard-earned cash into this.
If you like the idea of pooling your resources in big-money syndicates benefiting from the expertise of pundits such as Malcolm Boyle, I recommend taking a look now before they close their doors to new members. And no, I'm not involved in the running of Lazybet, and I don't even get a commission for recommending others!
The Lazybet website is run by Placepot pundit Malcolm Boyle and colleagues. It aims to offer ordinary punters a chance to join with others in large syndicates to tilt at big prizes such as the Tote Scoop6 and Ten to Follow (TTF) competition.
The minimum stake for any syndicate is £10. All of this money goes on bets and there are no other charges. Lazybet say they will make their money from bookmakers’ commission on bets placed on members’ behalf and (later) from advertising on the site.
One of Lazybet’s first syndicates is targeting the Tote TTF competition. Lazybet members contributed £10,000 to this and the parent company put in another £5,000, bringing the total stake to £15,000. If one of Lazybet’s entries wins, members will be paid at odds of at least 12/1, and they will also be entered in a members-only draw for a top prize of £200,000.
The TTF Syndicate is now closed to new members, but two new syndicates have just been launched targeting the Tote Scoop6 and Placepot. I like the Placepot syndicate in particular, and have put £50 of my own hard-earned cash into this.
If you like the idea of pooling your resources in big-money syndicates benefiting from the expertise of pundits such as Malcolm Boyle, I recommend taking a look now before they close their doors to new members. And no, I'm not involved in the running of Lazybet, and I don't even get a commission for recommending others!
WLPP Update
Just a quick update on the World Limited Partnership Program, which I mentioned in my last blog entry. They have extended the closing date for the purchase of Vivamin units until 15 December, so there is still time to buy into this program if you wish. Just click on the WLPP link to the right of this message.
Incidentally, WLPP have just announced that their second business investment opportunity will be a call centre in India. Subscriptions are expected to be invited for this shortly.
Incidentally, WLPP have just announced that their second business investment opportunity will be a call centre in India. Subscriptions are expected to be invited for this shortly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
