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Sports betting is a huge market and the incredible diversity of leagues, presents unique opportunities to punters willing and capable of undertaking research. With so many real games to wager on, it might sound a bit strange that people go out of their way to bet real currency on fictional teams and players. Fantasy Football is contrary to what the name might suggest, well anchored in reality and those who dwell on this activity know that it requires just as much research as betting on actual games. Fantasy Football Takes Shape in the Old Continent For more than three decades, Americans have been wagering on Fantasy Football and turned an amusing pastime into a multimillion business. Fantasy betting started with baseball and it quickly spilled over other sports, with football being now by far the most lucrative market. Participants select a couple of players to set up a starting formation and over the course of the regular season, they trade them and make various acquisition to strengthen their roster. There is an indissoluble link between what happens in actual games and how fantasy football teams fare, with the real matches giving the cues. Player selection is a complex process, and participants need to factor in numerous aspects while making sure that they stay within budget. On the other side of the Atlantic, fantasy football looks slightly different but it is guided by the same proven concepts. With far more domestic and continental competitions, fantasy soccer adds a new layer of complexity. Wagering Real Money on Fantasy Football The concept sounds new and revolutionary for European punters who know very little about American fantasy football. While bookmakers are yet to wholeheartedly embrace this type of betting, virtual sports have been around for quite a long time. Everything from fictional soccer matches, to motorsports and horse or greyhound races is available for betting at many bookmakers. Bet365 is one of them and the graphics and commentary are so realistic that for the untrained eye it is hard to distinguish between real and virtual events. The Perfect Mix of Poker and Fantasy Football The bookmaker also runs a very popular poker room and with the advent of fantasy football, it found the perfect way to pitch this concept to its members. They enjoy the best of both worlds as any real money activity performed in the poker room will allow them to earn coins which in turn can be spent on players. As little as two coins are enough to purchase the first footballer and as players accumulate more virtual currency they will be able to acquire better, hence more expensive players. Poker players can simply focus at the task at hand and go about their daily activity, as the coins are earned automatically. Bet365 uses this smart system to raise awareness of fantasy football a phenomenon that could become the next big thing in Europe. Past performance suggests that fantasy leagues draw large crowds and European punters could be jumping on the bandwagon any day now.
The best league in the world is up and running with games being played across the UK over the weekend. Tonight is the last match of the first week of Premier League action and will see West Brom hosting Man City at the Hawthorns. West Brom finished last season in 13th place with 44 points. They were not strong enough in the later months of the regular season to compete with the top teams, but have made a number of transaction, which Tony Pulis thinks will give them a fighting chance. Over the summer, Pulis signed winger James McClean from Wigan, Rickie Lambert the striker from Liverpool, James Chester the defender from Hull and Serge Gnarby on loan from Arsenal. Manchester City are hoping to have a better start to next week, as they will be without Gael Clichy and Fabian Delph, out with injuries. Good news for City is they will get Samir Nasri, David Silva and Sergio Aguero back from their illness for the last couple weeks. The thing that will be on the minds of all Albion fans is whether or not City made a good choice with their new £49 million asset, Raheem Sterling, evidently the highest amount ever paid for a transfer of an English player. Head-to-head City have not lost a match in their last five at the Hawthorns and have won 5 out of their last 6 opening match days. West Brom will need to play excellent defense against City, eyeing Sergio Aguero, as he has scored nine goals in his last seven Premier League matches. David Silva is also looking for the back of the Baggies net, like he has done so in his last four appearances against them. Online Gambling Odds Everyone is charged up with Premier League energy and online sportsbooks like bet365 Sports are fired up for tonight’s match. City are outright favoriutes at 1.66, while West Brom need a miracle at 5.75. For punters taking a draw, the market is 4.00. There are hundreds of individual props available prior to the match as well.
More and more English Premier League clubs are signing partnerships with gambling operators. Coral Signs Ahead of Merger The latest operators to secure partnerships ahead of the 2015-16 Barclay Premier League's kickoff this weekend include Coral, Betfair and Netbet. On the brink of merging with Ladbrokes, Coral's last independent act looks to be the signing on with Norwich City CF as official betting partner. In a deal brokered by sports marketers BD Sports Rights, the relationship between Coral and the Canaries is set to last at least two years. This is actually Coral's second Premier League Partnership, after inking one with Everton last year. The deal marks the first time Norwich City will share a sponsor's name on the Barclay Stand at Carrow Road. As per the terms of the arrangement, the Coral logo will adorn both sides of the 6,000-seat stand, which from will now be known officially as “the Barclay Stand sponsored by Coral.” The Rest of the Deals Betfair will be Premier League Squad Leicester City's official betting partner, bringing exclusive online betting offers to all Fox fans. Malta-licensed NetBet will join a group that also includes TLCBet and Freebets.com as betting partners for West Bromwich Albion (WBA). As part of the sponsorship arrangement, NetBet will be featured in the pitchside LED display beginning on August 10th. WBA’s Hawthorns stadium will feature NetBet on its pitchside LED system starting August 10. On the back end of this innovative collaboration, SPORTFIVE will provide extensive development strategy and football expertise. This is the first UK sponsorship deal for NetBet after a string of partnerships already established in France. Albion's Sales and marketing Director Adrian Wright cited NetBet's size as a strategic marketing opportunity that will increase the creativity and innovation of the Baggie squad's presentation. Look for potentially a minimum of one more partnership in the Premier League, at Tottenham.
Playtech is looking at expanding its offering of financial betting products, as its shareholders are poised to vote on a merger deal between Playtech PLC and Forex/CFD broker Plus500 Ltd on August 19th. The Vote The deal under consideration is the proposed £459.6 million acquisition of the retail Forex and CFD broker that was approved by Plus500 shareholders in a vote on July 16, 2015. A proxy vote on the proposed acquisition had 60 million Plus500 shareholders voting in favor versus only 5 million voting against. Playtech's General Meeting will host Playtech shareholders at The Sefton Hotel on the Isle of Man. This marks a serious foray in the newly prominent betting category of financial betting. The Deal The terms of the Plus500 acquisition proposal were unveiled on June 1, 2015: Playtech subsidiary Plus500 would acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Plus500. The deal would entitle all Plus500 shareholders to 400 pence per Plus500 share in cash, for a total value of approximately £459.6 million. The deal is expected to complete by the end of September 2015, pending regulatory approval. It marks a serious move of a financial broker into the retail online betting market. Financial Betting Financial betting is an increasingly popular form of betting: unlike stock investments, financial betting represents direct bets based and placed on specific outcomes of potential deals or performance. Sites such as bet365 Financials and Winner Option offer financial betting and options. This kind of financial betting marks the diversification of online betting from games and sports into other areas of interest and publicly visible performance. Playtech already has a foot and hand so to say in the world of shouting brokers and stocks, as it runs the popular Wall St Fever progressive jackpot, played by many at leading Playtech powered online casinos the likes of 7Regal Casino.
Two decades ago when Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Google, few expected the company to become the Internet giant that dominates the market today. Even fewer paid attention to the co-founders claims that Google was not intended to become a conventional company. With billions of dollars being invested into non-core operations, a massive corporate overhaul was in order and that’s how Alphabet came to life. Sundar Pichai Is the New Google CEO The fact that Google turns into a subsidiary of the holding company Alphabet promises to be a good thing, as this will give it more freedom to focus on the core operations. Lenders will no longer have to worry that Google is diverting funds to fuel ambitious and forward thinking projects. Instead, Sundar Pichai will take over and focus on practical issues, while Mr Page and Sergey Brin will become the CEO, respectively the president of Alphabet. Pichai will focus on the central business, which consists of Android smartphones software, YouTube and the celebrated search engine. Alphabet to Focus on Important and Meaningful Projects Alphabet will enjoy more freedom in pursuing the projects under development and the two Google co-founders will oversee these non-core operations. Google Ventures, the research department that goes by the name of Google X and the division dedicated to life sciences will be owned by Alphabet. Impact on Online Gambling? A decision of this magnitude is expected to send shockwaves throughout the market and the news already had a positive impact on Google shares. This is just the tip of the iceberg and new announcements could soon follow, as people will want to learn more about the newly created Alphabet and its projects. It’s too early to say whether this corporate overhaul will also impact online gambling as a whole and online casinos in particular, but it’s hard to believe that this giant industry will be completely unaffected.
The Georgian capital of Tbilisi hosts tonight’s unofficial start to the La Liga 2015/16 regular season featuring Champions League winners Barcelona, facing off against the winners of the Europa League, Sevilla. Spanish soccer fans are eager for the regular season to kick off eleven days from now, but until then this should be enough Spanish soccer action to tide us over. Barca missing Neymar Unfortunately for Barcelona, and to their fans that thought they would see the Brazilian soccer star, Neymar has a case of the mumps and is unable to play tonight. Due to a transfer ban, Barcelona will also be without newly acquired Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal, while Jordi Alba is out because of an injury. Sevilla are in better shape with regards to its injury list, but are still missing Steven Nzonzi, Timothee Kolodziejczak and Adil Rami, whom are doubtful. Sevilla will still be the underdogs to come close to beating Barcelona, especially with the Champions Cup and La Liga winners with so many weapons on its roster. Tonight’s match will be a repeat of the 2006 Super Cup, which was a completely different story as Barcelona lost 3-0 to Sevilla. This will be the first ever rematch of a final and surely the result will be much different after 90 minutes of play. Super Cup Online Betting As expected, bet365 Sportsbook has dozens of pre-match props and competitive betting markets for punters getting in on the cup. Sevilla have a ton of making up to do at 8.50 for the win, while Messi and the rest of the team are favored to win at 1.33. bet365 is offering Asian Lines, Cards Props, Corners, Goals, Half, Player, Specials and First 10 Minutes markets. There are tons of online markets to choose from and live audio of the match so punters can track their bets.
Online gambling has gained a lot of traction in CIS countries and now these nations need to tackle the same sensitive issues that caused major debates in the West. This is why the Gaming Congress is scheduled to take place on August 20 in Kazakhstan, with the city of Almaty being the gracious host for the event. The conference is expected to bring together some of the industry leaders and also casino representatives, affiliates and a plethora of legal experts. Prominent Speakers Expected to Attend The lineup of specialists that have announced their presence at the Gaming Congress Kazakhstan includes high profile speakers. They are expected to shed some light on delicate issues, such as taxation, legal frameworks for bookmakers as well as the use of crypto currency as payment methods. Bitcoins are routinely accepted by some online casinos and the advantages and shortcomings of using them for deposits and wagering will be discussed at the convention. Aigoul Kenjebayeva, Denis Zheltovsky and Ruslan Suleymanov represent prominent companies, such as Dentons, Casexe Ltd and Tennisi.kg, so their input is particularly valuable. Latest Technologies and Equipment on Display The Gaming Congress Kazakhstan sets out to cover all the topics of interest and will also feature a Demo Area, where the newest gaming equipment will be showcased. One day after the convention, the delegates will have the chance to tour the local casinos and interact on a more direct level with their managers. There are more than 40 casinos nationwide and their number is growing at an accelerated pace, which appeals to prospective investors. The Kazakhstan gambling market is clearly on an expansion and valuable lessons can be learned from the experience of neighboring countries, particularly Kyrgyzstan. The business tour is scheduled for August 21, while the congress will be hosted by The Royal Tulip Hotel
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Forget about fireworks because this week the night sky will lighten up as the Perseid meteor shower will be reaching its peak. The natural phenomenon is already in full swing, but for two consecutive nights, it will reach its climax and those watching will get the chance to see more than 100 meteors per hour. This year, you won’t have to worry about the moonlight either, as the new moon will allow the meteors to spend more time in the spotlight. A Night to Remember The Perseid meteor shower is a dazzling display and it is definitely worth the effort of driving half an hour away from the city. You wouldn’t want the city lights outshine the racing meteors and once you reach your destination, it pays off to spend a couple of hours admiring the night sky. The only thing that could ruin the show for you would be a clouded sky, but as long as the weather forecast is positive, this should be a night to remember. The science behind the Perseid meteor shower states that these are the debris of the Comet Swift-Tuttle, orbiting around the sun. The Final Frontier in Video Slots Online casinos have plenty of space-themed slots, which appeal to sci-fi fans as well as gambling enthusiasts. NetEnt is one of the most prolific software developers in this line of work and games like Alien Robots, Starburst and Space Wars have their dedicated communities of fans across the entire network. Whether they pit players against vengeful robots or invite them to push the boundaries of space, they exercise the same attraction. Online casinos including Casino Cruise, Tivoli Casino and Noxwin Casino have embraced them and their members can play any of these titles on desktop computers as well as a broad spectrum of mobile devices.
To say that making big time deals a few weeks ago was a questionable move for the Jays would be ridiculous. Since making major acquisitions like star pitcher David Price, Toronto have gone on a ten-game win streak, including a series sweep of the New York Yankees, currently in first place in the AL East Division. The Jays were eight games behind the Yankees just two weeks ago, but have come within 0.5 games of taking over command of the division. The Jays hosted the Athletics at Roger’s stadium in the first game of the best-of-three series and ended up beating them 4-2. Blue Jays right-hander Drew Hutchison finally made it to the eighth inning and Roberto Osuna came in to record his eleventh save. The Jays are on a tear for the second time this season. In fact, this is the first time in franchise history that they have recorded two streaks of nine games in a single season. The Athletics are in dead last in the AL West and do not look like the team of a few years ago. The problem is a mix of unfortunate defense and offense not living up to the needs of the competitive American League. They will need to count on their new ace Aaron Brooks (1.0, 1.26 ERA in two starts for the A’s) to get them a win tonight, but it will be very hard with the Canadian fans at Rogers Stadium. The Blue Jays are starting their 40 year old knuckle baller, R.A. Dickey on the mound. The Jays have been an incredible 4-0 in Dickey’s last starts and he has already lowered his ERA by .60. Online MLB Betting Markets at bet365 Baseball is one of the most covered sports by bet365 Sportsbook. In fact, they offer live streaming of tonight’s game to all registered players and live in-play props throughout the game. The Jays are big time favorites tonight at 1.42, while the struggling A’s are at 2.90.
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