Wager on Sports

Wager on Sports was created to assist the sports bettor in properly handicapping .

Wager on Sports was created to assist the sports bettor in properly handicapping .

In order to profit in from a complex game like baseball, the bettor must be as informed as possible on the ever changing statistics and trends.

Latest News

Weekend of Wagering Possibilities
2009-06-29

The final weekend of Major League interleague play has several natural rivalries on the schedule. The two most well-known are the Yankees at the Mets and the Cubs and White Sox. The Bronx Bombers swept the Mets at home two weeks ago and will be favored on Saturday with A. J. Burnett (5-4, 4.24 ERA) facing on Tim Redding (1-2, 6.08). The Sunday contest is on ESPN at night and runs could be plentiful with Chein-Ming Wang (0-6, 11.20) hitting virtually every bat he faces and Livan Hernandez (5-2, 4.05), not exactly known for low hit games pitched. (Be in the action checking the LIVE ODDS, BETTING TRENDS, and TEAM STATISTICS pages for baseball every single day)

The Cubs and White Sox have good pitching matchups both days this weekend. Mark Buehrle (7-2, 3.17) will challenge Ryan Dempster (4-5, 3.83), with Buehrle one of the very best pitchers throwing in home park. Dempster and the Cubs are deplorable on the road with 1-10 record in last 11 starts. Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 3.48) has been stellar on the road at 3-1 and will see the pitches of John Danks (5-6, 4.43), who has given up 11 home runs in 14 starts in 2009.

In the battle of Ohio, Cincinnati has won 10 of 15 games against the Indians and will try to keep the winning continuing in Cleveland. Though not many will care, Washington and Baltimore will do battle, with both struggling as expected this season. This is one of the few teams the Nationals have had any success against with 8-7 record. After a superb pitching matchup Friday night, Florida and Tampa Bay resume play with the Marlins holding a 4-2 record at Tropicana Field.

The NASCAR Cup series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for the running of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. The Magic Mile, as it is known, has banking of just 12 degrees in the turns and two degrees in the straight-aways, making this what is referred to as flat track. According to Steve Makinen of StatFox, luck and strategy don’t play as important of a role, since typically the best cars finish at the front at flat tracks. Jimmie Johnson, a well-known flat track ace, is the official favorite at a 6-1 price, however hasn’t had as much success here as he has at other similar tracks.

That isn’t the case of Denny Hamlin, who has a win and five Top 10’s in six starts since 2006 in New Hampshire. Other successful 2009 drivers who have fared well at New Hampshire have been Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Kurt Busch. Make certain to review the wagering opportunities at Sportsbook.com.

Wimbledon tennis continues with daily matchups to wager on and the WNBA has four games on Saturday and two more on Sunday to consider. Top teams Indiana, Washington, Seattle and Phoenix will all be action.

Mixed Martial Arts returns, with Brock Lesner and Frank Mir battling for unified heavyweight title match in UFC 100, with Lesner a -215 favorite. A big card is also on tap in Biloxi, MS, for Ultimate Chaos.

For fun, check to see the latest odds on Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest for next Saturday.

It promises to be another outstanding weekend of wagering possibilities.

UK SPORTS MINISTER APPOINTS ADVISORY PANEL
2009-06-26

Fears of the danger of corruption in sports the motivation

The British government's Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has reacted to fears regarding the danger of gambling corruption in sport by setting up an advisory panel headed by former Liverpool football chief executive Rick Parry, reports the Daily Telegraph.

"I am delighted that Rick Parry has agreed to lead this vitally important work," said Sutcliffe. "His expertise in the nation's most high profile sport, along with that of the other panel members, will give this project the impetus it needs to tackle sports betting corruption head-on.

"We cannot be complacent and need to act now to prevent this becoming a real threat to the integrity of sport.

"There are some complex issues involved and this is by no means an easy task, but I have great confidence in the panel and I look forward to hearing the recommendations."

Traditional bookmakers, betting exchanges, the police, supporters groups as well as officials from racing and football are represented on the panel, which will make recommendations to the minister within the next six months.

"I am confident that we can build on the work already done to ensure we have the toughest possible approach to corruption - protecting and preserving the reputation of sport," said Parry.

Previous football betting scares have recently been topped by a possible gambling irregularity on the first round of Wimbledon tennis games (see previous InfoPowa reports), raising fresh fears about the probity of top-flight tennis, and the need to stamp out any corruption in sport.

The government’s panel will address issues concerning the integrity of sport, with particular reference to the rise in new formats of sports betting.

Telegraph Sport reports that the government has concerns about the ability of the Gambling Commission to investigate allegations of match-fixing, and the new panel is intended to bolster the official response to the issue.

The ability of online betting firms, equipped with sophisticated software capable of flagging suspicious betting patterns, to help in the fight against corruption is now widely respected, with several incidents across a range of sports being initially identified and passed on to sport integrity units. This capability constitutes a useful weapon in the fight against corruption and will no doubt feature in the panel's deliberations.

Mark Davies, managing director of Betfair, said: “We have a memorandum of understanding with the Tennis Integrity Unit which allows them to see patterns of all the betting which takes place on our site and we alerted them to this [the recent Wimbledon incident]. They can make a judgment whether there is something more sinister in this or whether it is just a question of people being aware of a player who was already significantly underrated carrying an injury that meant that he was likely to lose.”

The panel will assess rules relating to sports betting, examine ways of improving communication of suspicious betting patterns between bookmakers and governing bodies, and delivering better education of athletes. They will also consider whether some bets should be forbidden.

The Telegraph opines that the panel is certain to see some friction, with racing and football both pressing for bookmakers to make a financial contribution towards integrity issues in exchange for running markets on their sports. There is also tension between the traditional bookmaking industry and online betting exchanges such as Betfair.

UKRAINE: PRESIDENT'S GAMBLING VETO UNDER THREAT (Update)
2009-06-10

Gambling has become a political football

It appears that gambling has become something of a political football in the Ukraine, where President Viktor Yuschenko ruffled a few feathers by exercising his veto on a gambling ban last week (see previous InfoPowa reports)

The ban of gambling premises in residential areas was somewhat emotionally carried in the Ukraine parliament following a fire in a gambling premises that took lives. When gambling companies explained the consequences to jobs and businesses that such a sudden unilateral ban could inflict, the president exercised the presidential veto whilst expressing his support for the general idea that gambling should be located in non-residential areas. However, he urged that such legislation should be first carefully researched, considered and fully debated.

In particular, Yushchenko suggested that the licenses of gambling business owners should not be cancelled but merely suspended, and that they should be resumed on the day special zones for hosting slot machines are formed, reports the Kyiv Post.

The president also said that banning the gambling business would mean the loss of over 200 000 jobs, which was impermissible during a recession. The president proposed that state guarantees should be introduced in the law on compulsory state social insurance against unemployment.

This week the political bloc Yulia Tymoshenko agreed that it will support overriding Yushchenko's veto on the law, claims one of the ban's authors, MP Valeriy Pysarenko.

"The president's veto is motivated by the fact that the bill is populist and not balanced enough. Today, the population of Ukraine wants decisive action from the government. The Yulia Tymoshenko will support the overriding of the veto in parliament," the MP said.

Pysarenko said a politician that supports the gambling business could not be described as a moral leader of the nation.

"We are sure that supporting a business that is totally criminalized and makes money for criminal clans not paying any taxes is a crime against the nation," he said.

The MP said that the parliament was working on special laws that would the Ukrainian gambling business into line with international standards. One of the laws would stipulate moving gambling facilities to special gambling zones.

Pittsburgh and Chicago favored as closers
2009-05-12

Two series underdogs did what most thought would formidable challenge to accomplish, win Game 5 on the road of conference semi-finals to take series lead. Now Pittsburgh and Chicago are poised with one more win, to advance to respective conference finals and still be very much alive for the Stanley Cup. Both teams will have home ice advantage with throaty fans looking to cement one more win. Improve your chances of winning by checking out NHL SERIES and PLAYOFF LINES from Sportsbook.com, along with wagering the always popular GRAND SALAMI. Also review BETTING TRENDS and GAME STATISTICS.

For Pittsburgh fans, this is getting to be old hat. Though the players and uniform styles change, the Penguins know how to beat Washington. Pittsburgh will be looking for fourth series come from behind win in 17 years against the Capitals in Game 6. Pittsburgh punched across overtime goal in last contest and are 16-6 following a victory.

For the most part, the best Pens players have been at their best, with Evgeni Malkin having two goals and three assists and Sidney Crosby, five goals and three assists. Pittsburgh players and coaches realized that fear can be a great motivator.

“When you get down 2-0, that fear of not winning and not moving on is there,” coach Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Sunday. “We got the desperation in our game we needed and we’ve put ourselves in a situation to move on. The guys in that (dressing) room know exactly what’s at stake and what’s in front of us for Game 6. We expect a team that’s going to be real desperate … a team that’s good, that’s dangerous, that’s going to be giving everything they’ve got.”

Washington was down 3-1 to New York Rangers in last series and found a way to win and they need to pull out another miracle to survive and their leader believes it’s possible.

Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has seven of Washington’s 15 goals in the series and says this about Game 6.

“Next game is going to be different,” Ovechkin said. “It’s not over yet. If somebody thinks it’s over, it’s not over. … We’re going to come back here (to Washington) again, Game 7.”

Washington is 16-4 revenging a loss where opponent scored four or more goals this season and is 7-1 in road games after three or more consecutive losses.

Sportsbook.com has made Pittsburgh -170 money line favorites to close out the series with total Ov5.5. The Penguins are 16-4 as playoff favorites and 11-2 OVER after two straight games where both teams scored three goals or more. Washington has lost four of last five as postseason underdogs and is 7-3-1 OVER as dogs.

In Chicago, the Blackhawks have moved within one win game of their first conference finals appearance since 1995 after handling Vancouver 4-2 in Game 5. Chicago took advantage of foolish Canucks penalty in the third period with the score tied at 2-2 and Dave Bolland scored the go-ahead goal.

Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said this about Game 6. “We don’t want to get satisfied at all. We’ve got a huge opportunity and we’ve got to take advantage of it.”

The Hawks have won 13 of last 18 and are 5-1 in most recent encounters at the United Center.

Vancouver has to avoid taking unnecessary penalties and turn up the pressure on offense. In the last game, they total only 21 shots, including 10 the first 40 minutes. “There’s no doubt in my mind that we can play better,” Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. “There’s a lot of room for improvement in our case.”

The Canucks are 12-3 in road games revenging a home loss versus opponent of two goals or more since the 2006-07 season and 5-0 the last two years. They are +145 money line underdogs with total listed at Ov5. Vancouver is 8-1 OVER when facing elimination in a playoff series and 9-2 in a road game when the total is five or less.

Chicago is 10-1 as -145 to -200 money line home favorites and is 12-4 UNDER in home games after a win by two goals or more this season.

The intense Game 6 action in Pittsburgh starts at 7 Eastern and 9 Eastern in Chicago. It promises to be quite a night of hockey.