Richard Michael
DeanoHarmoWho the hell is actually trying?
December 3rd 2007 02:03
Category: No Category
UEFA have supplied to police a list of 15 matches with irregular betting patterns. The NBA has suspended a referee for influencing the points spread of games. Tennis is reportedly rife with players not trying. Boxing has had a shadow cast over it by organised crime since Sonny Liston was knocked out by Cassius Clay with a punch no-one saw. Is anybody trying any more?
I am a punter, I bet on most things. Including sports. I need everyone to be trying but this just doesn't seem to be happening 100% of the time. In an age where sport seems to be awash with money from television income, there seems to be an ever increasing trend of those willing to forgo the thrill of victory for a buck.
Perhaps the distribution of television income may be an issue. Cricket, tennis, football, basketball and baseball all have huge television rights deals throughout the world yet all have been embroiled in corruption because of wagering on these sports. Do the players get enough out of the TV rights? Does the money filter down far enough to the lower reaches of the sport? Particularly football where the lower divisions of leagues have been the most affected by betting scandals.
Do the rules of engagement need to be tightened? In Australia, some bookmaking firms are bringing in rules to say all bets on a tennis match where a player retires injured are null and void. The betting exchange, Betfair have signed memorandums of understanding with many sporting bodies including UEFA and the ATP to report any suspicious betting trends on their matches.
Is that going to stop things? I would have to say no becuase a vast majority of sports betting is done illegally. This has been happening for years. The 1919 World Series was rigged by the Chicago White Sox after organised crime got involved. The cricket scandal in the 90's was based in Mumbai in India. Police have hunted down bookmakers without much success. The illegal betting on cricket still goes on but has been driven further underground.
Will there be an end to the madness? I don't think so. In the days of professional sport , greed has surpassed the love of the jumper as the main source of motivation. It is not entirely the players fault though, as club management buy and sell players' lives like cattle. Loyalty to a club or a game itself cannot be cultivated when a player is merely on a merry-go-round of club to club to club with the odd international appearance thrown in. That is why players can be bought off to sacrifice the reason amatuers play the game - the thrill of a victory.
I am a punter, I bet on most things. Including sports. I need everyone to be trying but this just doesn't seem to be happening 100% of the time. In an age where sport seems to be awash with money from television income, there seems to be an ever increasing trend of those willing to forgo the thrill of victory for a buck.
Perhaps the distribution of television income may be an issue. Cricket, tennis, football, basketball and baseball all have huge television rights deals throughout the world yet all have been embroiled in corruption because of wagering on these sports. Do the players get enough out of the TV rights? Does the money filter down far enough to the lower reaches of the sport? Particularly football where the lower divisions of leagues have been the most affected by betting scandals.
Do the rules of engagement need to be tightened? In Australia, some bookmaking firms are bringing in rules to say all bets on a tennis match where a player retires injured are null and void. The betting exchange, Betfair have signed memorandums of understanding with many sporting bodies including UEFA and the ATP to report any suspicious betting trends on their matches.
Is that going to stop things? I would have to say no becuase a vast majority of sports betting is done illegally. This has been happening for years. The 1919 World Series was rigged by the Chicago White Sox after organised crime got involved. The cricket scandal in the 90's was based in Mumbai in India. Police have hunted down bookmakers without much success. The illegal betting on cricket still goes on but has been driven further underground.
Will there be an end to the madness? I don't think so. In the days of professional sport , greed has surpassed the love of the jumper as the main source of motivation. It is not entirely the players fault though, as club management buy and sell players' lives like cattle. Loyalty to a club or a game itself cannot be cultivated when a player is merely on a merry-go-round of club to club to club with the odd international appearance thrown in. That is why players can be bought off to sacrifice the reason amatuers play the game - the thrill of a victory.
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