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AC Milan have been fined 100,000 euros for wearing a shirt with Bwin, a sponsor outlawed in Bavaria during their Champions League match with Bayern Munich according to a council spokesman said on Thursday.
Milan’s shirt sponsor, private Austrian oddsmakers bwin, are not allowed to advertise in Bavaria and other German states because sports betting is restricted to federal companies in the country.
The fine will likely not hurt the Italian giants, as their semi- final berth from a 2-0 win Wednesday was worth a bonus of 3 million euros from the controlling body UEFA.
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William Hill has announced that it will be applying for a licence to run betting shops in Greece , considering that recent ECJ decisions are favourable on the basis of the free movement of services and freedom of establishment under EU law.
Greek gambling monopoly, OPAP, has a monopoly to operate sports betting in Greece until 2020, but in 2006, the company’s CEO, Basile Neiadas, said the loss of the monopoly was not a threat but an opportunity. “The liberalization of the European market means that, instead of having a market of 10.5 million people, we will have of 350 million.”
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A report published by the research group MECN predicts that Italian Gambling market will grow with 64% until 2010. Internet Betting is one of the biggest growth driver !
Accordingly with the new decisions of the European Court of Justice, at the
beginning of 2007 nearly 14.000 new betting licenses (for sports and horse race betting
shops/terminals) were awardedm, including major companies of global gambling:
Ladbrokes, Intralot, William Hill, Betfair, Gala/Eurobet, etc.
Also more than 30 new online/interactive gambling operators obtained a license and will push the market forward to new heights.
The study identifies several reasons why Italy is perceived as so attractive:
- Another phase of liberalisation is expected in the near future – Two-thirds of the experts surveyed expect another phase of liberalisation in the near future that will go even further than the steps planned for 2007.
- Growing relevance of foreign operators – A large majority of the experts believe that by 2010 international operators, such as Ladbrokes and Intralot, will capture a relevant share of the gambling market.
- Growth potential, especially for retail betting and interactive gambling – Overall, Italy’s gambling market is expected to grow to Euro 61 billion in turnover by 2010 (+64 percent). By 2010, the retail betting market is expected to grow to ca. Euro 14 billion, which is about 200 percent its current size (CAGR of 32 percent).
- Another growth driver will be interactive gambling, which is expected to reach ca. Euro 3.7 billion by 2010, a growth of ca. 240 percent over the current level (CAGR of 40 percent).
See the summary of the report.
Buy the entire report – Italian Gambling Market – A Forerunner in the Liberalisation of European Gambling Markets
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The most important Czech betting companies will move to Malta, after being discriminated from their own national government, that want to pass a law that will make illegal online betting. The Czech online betting market was estimated at 190 million USD in 2006 and is on the rise, but the Czech Ministry of Finance is expected to submit to Parliament later this year a new gambling bill that doesn’t include the legalization of online betting.
Based on the recent Plancanica Decision of the European Court of Justice (presented by us in an earlier post) the two main actors on the market Tipsport and Fortuna have begun looking at ways to establish betting branches abroad so they can penetrate the Czech online market.
According with Czech Business Weekly Jana StudniÄková, spokeswoman for Czech and Slovak private equity firm Penta Investments, the group that controls Fortuna said :’“We’ve repeatedly failed in our request [to the Ministry of Finance] to receive a license for online betting, so we’re forced to consider other options“
According to Maltese sources, Penta has already submitted a request for an online betting license in Malta, where it could start another online betting company – Fortunawin, that should receive the same treatment as any other European company.
Tipsport is considering moving to Slovakia where online betting is legal and where they have acquired in July 2006 theSlovak Doxx-Stávkové kancelárie betting chain.
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The famous rowing race between Oxford and Cambridge crews will take place this year on 7 April 2007 at 4:30 PM.
Oxford have won four of the last five races but Cambridge lead the series by 78-73, since 1829 being considered the favourites by the bookies this year, with a slight advantage.
Today’s odds from Gamebookers show the Cambridge crew with a stake of 1.55, meanwhile Oxford has a 2.30 odds.
Both crews are making the latest adjustments, with Cambridge’s stroke man Thorsten Engelmann weighed in as the heaviest oarsman the Boat Race has ever seen. The 25-year-old German rower tipped the scales at 110.8kg.
According with unofficial sources, a Cambridge based bettor has wagered £15,000 – the biggest bet in Boat Race history- on a Light Blue victory this Saturday. He also staked £1,000 on the course record – 16 minutes19 seconds- being broken, prompting bookies to cut the price from 10/1 to 8/1.
See below more info about the Boat Race :
Read more »
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A new contest sponsored by Gamebookers can send you to the Champions League Final ! Just bet who will be the next winner of Champions League and you will be entered in the prize drawing.
Don’t have a Gamebookers account ? Click here and get also a 100% bonus on your first bet up to an amount of Eur 20.
See below the official announcement : Read more »