Thursday 16 August 2012

Betting at the Aintree Grand National


In the early days of the Grand National the largest bets usually took place between wealthy rival owners. However, bookmakers who appeared on English racecourses in the early 18th century were very much in attendance at Aintree from the very start. The Grand national itself soon became immensely popular with the on-course punters, although it remained a relatively small gambling event compared with the Epsom Derby.
Today, however, tells a different story. The Grand National generates at least six times as much betting compared to the Derby. The National, as a single sporting event, attracts the biggest turnover of all the major horse races, with a average of £250 million-plus. The money gambled on the Grand National is only surpassed by the likes on monies placed on collective events such as The World Cup, The Cheltenham Festival, and Glorious Goodwood.
This may never have come to be if it hadn't been for the establishment of the Horserace Totalisator Board which operated a new pool system, more commonly known as the Tote, or in disrespectful terms as the Nanny. This enabled punters, for the first time, to have an alternative to betting against the bookmakers. Under the new Tote system they could effectively bet against each other, with their bets going into a pool, and with the odds continually fluctuating in response to the pattern of bets laid down, resulting in the total sum finally being shared between the successful punters.
Despite betting flourishing illegally off-course, the Grand National only became the biggest betting event of all from 1961 onwards. This followed on from the legalisation of off-course betting shops which grew dramatically as a result. Betting continued to flourish despite the reintroduction of the betting tax, in 1987, which was confined to off-course betting shops. The betting tax was again introduced in 2001 but by this time the money spent on betting on The Grand National in 1987 had doubled to over £100 million.
Over the years the National has suffered many set backs, not least bomb scares and the introduction of the National Lottery, which the organizers claim cost them £120 million a year in turnover. However, despite these setbacks, the Grand National, in keeping with the first ever winner, Lottery, continues to be a major money spinner, and is growing every year.
In keeping with all other sporting events, the Grand National went technological in 2000, when for the first time, punters were able to place their bets via the internet. This enabled them to take advantage of the tax-free betting available from offshore operatives. The success of internet betting continued to grow and in 2001 it was estimated that the overall profit made by bookies on the race was £20 million. This was mainly due to the bets being placed by punters in over 200 countries world wide.
Three enterprising internet bookmakers offered to pay out on the first five finishers which had never happened before. It may also have been that due to the cancellations of so many other race meetings of that year, due to the foot and mouth crisis, more punters were keen to have one flutter. To top it all, for the first time also, The Grand National was being shown live on television in mainland China with an estimated 200 million viewers. Some viewers were able to have a bet via the internet, but with betting still illegal in China this cut the numbers able to bet dramatically. In 2007 the Grand National was estimated to have made between £250 and £275 million for the day.
Pamela Mitchell has contributed to numerous sports betting sites and has authored several 'How To' articles at Betting Today [http://www.bettingtoday.co.uk] addressing topics that include horse racing events [http://www.bettingtoday.co.uk/horse-racing/top-horse-racing-events], online bingo and casino games.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2051196

Sunday 27 May 2012

Golf and Betting go Hand in Hand


It is quite an unknown fact that betting and golf have gone hand in hand like fish and chips. What Saturday or Sunday morning fourball would be complete without a little wager, be it for a golf ball, a fiver or the four and five figure sums that are regularly placed at the great gambling clubs like Sunningdale?
In times gone by great hustlers like Titanic Thompson regularly made a handsome living out of the game of golf before the start of World War II. This took place mostly in Florida, by tricking millionaire tourists into big money golf matches which they had no chance of winning. In more recent times two Major champions, Lee Trevino and Raymond Floyd, both started out by playing matches for a hundred dollars when they only had ten in their pockets.
With so much money being wagered on golf it has often been a major concern that punters could change the course of an event by shouting at the top of someone's backswing or by treading balls down it the rough. In the past bookmakers were not permitted onto a course and this is still the case with the Open Championship. However, on the European Tour this changed in the 1970's when the barrier was removed and bookmakers were allowed to pitch their tents and promote their wares.
The people that have been mentioned as making a killing through being cavalier when playing against others, are either very clever, or simply struck it lucky. In general, in order to beat the enemy on a regular basis you certainly need to know your golfing onions. Research is the major part of knowledge. Watching dozens of hours of golf on tv every week to check on a golfer's swing or putting ability would be a useful starting point.
It is possible to acknowledge when someone doesn't have the confidence in one or two areas of their game and cannot replicate a good score for three more days. In order to win at golf you need to be at least up with the pace, and better still, be ahead of the game. Just like with football, you need to know about which players are carrying injuries, which players have poor or great records on certain courses, which players do well at certain times of the year, and know which players target certain objectives and use minor tournaments to experiment or build up to the major tournaments and other lucrative weeks.
A frequently asked question is; is there a secret to backing regular golf winners? The answer in simple terms would be that like any sort of betting is that the more you put into it, the more you are likely to get out of it. A very basic requirement is judgement. It is crucial that you know when a bookmaker is making a mistake. It is far less likely to happen in today's market than in the past when golf was very small pickings indeed. Nowadays, it is the second biggest betting sport after football thanks to television coverage which has enabled golf to become a much more available sport for the general public.
Pamela Mitchell has contributed to numerous sports betting sites and has authored several 'How To' articles at Betting Today [http://www.bettingtoday.co.uk] addressing topics that include betting on golf [http://www.bettingtoday.co.uk/sports-betting-online/betting-on-golf], sports betting, online bingo and casino games.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2029101

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