The world’s view of gambling has very much changed over the last ten years, with your ‘average’ gambler more likely to be sat at a PC than walking to their local bookmaker to put a bet on. As online security gets tighter and customers start trusting sites with their credit card betfair alternative details the numbers of those joining the sites as opposed to visiting stores increases. Indeed the ‘fair-weather’ gambler who may have at one time only had a bet on the Grand National once a year now has the opportunity to put bets on for fun whenever they want to without the stigma of visiting a bookmaker which they may feel uncomfortable doing.
Overall the largest betting company in the uk and largest retail bookmaker in the world is Ladbrokes who own over 2, 400 retail betting shops divided between the UK and Ireland, with more shops in Spain and Belgium. It is one of the FTSE 250 listed companies and is over 125 years old – indeed after the war they were the first betting company to allow for fixed-odds football betting; a strategy that backfired when they lost £1 million on one day in 1963 due to a particularly predictable run of results in the first Division!
When i first got interested in online gambling I thought it strange that the free Ladbrokes bet was just £10 as a matched offer. With recently formed bookmakers offering introductory bets of upwards of £200 at times, and a £50 free bet seeming to be the average for new customers, I wondered whether this was a mistake.
However, looking at the site it obviously prides itself as being one of the more established bookmakers, with markets available on all sports, and many markets being available in-play during the events. The site also has links to other gambling games for those who wish to play on casino or poker games for a bit of fun. The branding for the company is also prominent throughout the site, with the unmistakable red background and white lettering being as bright as the signage that adorns their shop fronts.
In 2008 Ladbrokes became the first betting firm to offer customers a loyalty scheme which rewarded punters with free bets via points gained. When launched as ‘Odds On’ customers got a point for every £1 spent although this has now been reduced to 1 point for every £2. As a marketing scheme this has allowed Ladbrokes to specifically target promotions specific to the betting patterns of the card holder. The loyalty card can only be used in store.
And maybe that’s the key; Ladbrokes see their stores as their company flagship – one of those companies that will be diverse enough to have interests both online and on the high street but see their betting shop strategy and overall history as something they want to keep intact. And to be honest that’s something we should be encouraging these days. There are not many environments like you see at a great college basketball game. When Duke University and the University of North carolina clash every year, it is truly an epic battle. The teams have been playing long before the current players were even born and they will continue to battle long after they graduate and leave their respective schools.
One thing that makes the college game so exciting is the raucous home crowds. The fans really get into the games and they pour their heart and soul into every shot, every bad call and every great play. The student sections of these home court crowds have a major impact on the outcome of the game. Their role is to cheer as loud as they can and intimidate the other team along the way. This gives the home team a major advantage and is one of the reasons home teams fare so well in college basketball.
Knowing who to pick in online sports betting can be next to impossible. Even most so-called experts are lucky to get 50% of their bets correct. The odds makers know so much information on the games, that the average person can pretty much just make a guess at who will win. However, what if there were people out there like their odds makers, who know so much information, they can accurately predict the winner way more than not. These people would be highly sought after to find out their secrets. Well John Morrison’s Sports Betting Champs claims to do just that.
Sports Betting Champ system using past statistical analysis to help accurately pick the outcome of sports bets for baseball and basketball at a 97% accuracy rate. In reviewing their system, it will not give you a bet everyday. If you want to have such a high success rate, you have to just wait for the game or two a week that are their “locks” to win. Then you bet those and win big money. you don’t even have to know anything about the sports or spend a lot of time researching them.