The Sports Bookie Blog

Fancy winning a Home Entertainment package just by betting on sports, playing poker or casino games? Popular Australian sportsbook Canbet is giving you the chance…

What can I win?
First up in the Canbet 08 Games Competition you can claim your podium prize:
GOLD: Home entertainment package, including HD TV, DVD player and Surround Sound to the value of £1,200 (€1,500).
SILVER: One year Cable TV subscription, including sports package to the value of £500 (€650).
BRONZE: £250 (€300) cash in your Canbet account.

How do I enter?
You’ll need an account at Canbet and then to register to participate in this promo enter the promo code on the Canbet web site before 24 August 2008 (The Code is OLYMPICS) and then you earn entries to the prize draws as you bet -  it’s a lucky draw though - random - so even a single entry might just do the trick!

Earn an entry into the draw every time you:
- Bet £50 (€65) on Sports or Racing
- Bet £50 (€65) at Canbet Casino (Microgaming Casino so over 350 of the best casino games on the net)
- Play 50 Poker Raked Hands  (Microgaming Poker Network, so a busy and popular poker room)

(Here’s a list of the major events during July and August just to remind you of the tasty sports betting markets that await: Tour de France Cycling, British Open & PGA Championship Golf,  Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Tri-Nations Rugby and of course the 2008 Beijing Olympics) 

AND…
Canbet really got into the swing of stake-back betting during Euro2008 (bets with 3 possible outcomes; you could either win, lose or get your stake back. Cool.) They’re now running Olympics Second Chance Bets too. Here’s the first one:

Olympics Second Chance
Men’s 100m Sprint Final - Saturday 16 August, 2008
If your runner finishes without a medal in the Men’s 100m Final and the World Record is broken in the race, Canbet will refund your bet (win bets only) to £50 (or currency equivalent). To take advantage of this stake-back offer, enter the promotional code: SPRINT on the My Account page of the Canbet website at any time before the start of the race.

ABOUT CANBET
Canbet Limited is UK & Australian licenced and a subsidiary of International All Sports Ltd. Canbet specialises in large limits for US Sports bets. They’ve reasonably recently got into Live betting markets and we’ve personally made some great betting profits through our Canbet accounts!

Check out the latest detailed reviews on Canbet (links below) if you’re looking for a new online gambling site that’s a bit more agile than the traditional bookies & gaming sites (but is still run out of a “First World” country - mind you, with their water crisis I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be able to call Australia “First World” as the place is rapidly becoming uninhabitable! Snakes and bloody great spiders excluded of course!)

>>Canbet Sportsbook Review
>>Canbet Poker Room Review
>>Canbet Casino Review
(Sorry, no USA residents can be members at Canbet) 

The UEFA Intertoto Cup is a European club competition that gives teams a back-door to the UEFA Cup. Fourteen teams negotiated round one, to face opponents given a bye from the first elimination. Norway’s FC Rosenborg and Switzerland’s Grasshoppers are probably the two biggest sides in action in the second round of the Intertoto Cup this weekend (July 5-6), and both will be strong favourites with top handicap sportsbook, PinnacleSports.com, offering Intertoto Asian Handicaps and total goals priced to less than 102%.

The second round of the Intertoto concludes the following weekend (July 12/13) where some of Europe’s less fashionable clubs will be in line to face the likes of Aston Villa, Napoli, Stuttgart or Deportivo, who all lie in wait in the third round.

The first round qualifiers kicked off on June 27th starting the long road to the final, taking place this time around in Turkey at Fenerbahce’s Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium on May 20th, 2009. Last season’s UEFA Cup competition showed the increasing strength of Russian clubs, but Italian giants, AC Milan, will be the team to beat this year round, having failed to qualify for the Champions League, finishing fifth in Serie A.

The group stages of the 51st UEFA Cup starts on October 23rd with the all important draw taking place on October 7th.

Check out PinnacleSports.com for some of the best Intertoto betting odds on the net!

ABOUT PINNACLESPORTS.COM

Pinnacle Sports has been around since 1998 and is licensed in Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles) and have clients in 100+ countries worldwide. They have a reputation as the bookmaker for professional gamblers as they accept large stakes and offer strong odds on most major markets.

1.96/1.96 style Asian Handicap Intertoto pricing (c102%) and live-betting on the major European Football competitions, gives gamblers up to 60% better Intertoto Cup online betting odds. PinnacleSports.com offers commission-free fixed odds online sports betting with exchange style pricing, as well as the web’s highest guaranteed liquidity and fastest payouts.

Oh yeah, if you’ve not got an account with these guys yet you can claim a 10% sign-up bonus, 7% cash back on US horse bets. (Sorry, no USA residents). 

Compare Pinnacle to other top online sportsbooks here at BookieLabRat.com.

A happy family as Serena and Venus set up Wimbledon title clash?
 
Venus and Serena Williams, who boast six Wimbledon titles between them, will clash for the third time in an All England Club final on Saturday.

Venus, the four-time winner and defending champion, booked her place with a 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) win over Russian fifth seed Elena Dementieva to reach her seventh singles final. Serena, the younger of the two sisters, then ended wildcard Zheng Jie’s hopes of becoming the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final with a battling 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) win. The 26-year-old Serena will be looking to complete a hat-trick of Wimbledon wins over her sister having come out on top in the 2002 and 2003 finals.

Venus inists the final will be fully competitive despite scepticism in the past over whether the two perform to the maximum of their ability when they share the same court. “I find the question pretty offensive because I’m extremely professional in everything that I do on and off the court,” said Venus, the holder of six Grand Slam titles. “I contribute my best in my sport, and I also have a ton of respect for myself and my family. So any mention of that is extremely disrespectful for who I am and my family.”

Serena, 11 kilos heavier and more than 11cm taller than Zheng, had too much brawn for the world 133, who had made her mark by knocking out top seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round. “She pushed me and really played a great match,” said Serena of an opponent she had comfortably defeated in the first round here four years ago.

Zheng was left to regret a great opportunity to take the semi-final to a decider when she held set point in the 10th game of the second set but Williams was able to call on her powerful smash to rescue herself. “She played like she had nothing to lose. I was able to hit a smash on that set point. I didn’t really want to go into a third set,” added the American sixth seed who will be facing her sister in a seventh Grand Slam final.
“I’m looking forward to playing Venus in the final. She’ll be the toughest opponent I have faced. “We haven’t played each other in a Grand Slam final for five years but that’s because our rankings fell or we were in the same side of the draw. I guess this is a new start for both of us.”

Serena’s last Wimbledon final appearance was in 2004, when she lost to a teenage Maria Sharapova.

Check out the latest bookie prices on Wimbledon betting live here at BookieLabRat.com.

When this blog was posted BoyleSports and Centrebet had the best odds on a Serena win at 1.85 (5/6), with PinnacleSports offering the best odds at 2.08 (11/10) on Venus beating her sister.

Hewitt faces an uphill task 
Lleyton Hewitt will attempt to halt Roger Federer’s charge towards a sixth Wimbledon title on Monday - and he will use Tiger Woods as an inspiration.

Former champion Hewitt faces Federer in the last 16 knowing his opponent has now won 62 consecutive matches on grass. To add to his task, the Australian is struggling with a hip injury which he admits would have ruled him out of any other tournament. But Hewitt hopes he can follow in Woods’ lead - he won the US Open earlier this month despite clearly struggling with a knee problem which has since ruled him out for the rest of the season.

“I love watching Tiger play, he’s one of my favourite sportsmen,” said the 27-year-old from Adelaide. “What he did was incredible. I don’t really know if anyone else would have been able to do it. Not only to play four rounds but then go out and play a fifth day (for the play-off).

“That’s the kind of stage that was set up perfectly for him. It really was. No-one else on this planet, I don’t think, could have got through with the win.”

Woods was very cagey about the extent of his injury during the event and Hewitt is also keen not to talk up his problem. “I don’t complain about injuries too much, I think that comes from a (Australian Rules) football background,” added the 2002 winner. “You don’t show when you’re hurt. It’s the same out on the court. Very rarely do I give away signs if I’m hurting at all. It’s signs of weakness. I try to play the cards pretty close to my chest.”

Federer has a 13-7 win-loss record against Hewitt, including the last 11 in a row. Two of those wins have come at Wimbledon - the 2004 quarter-finals and the 2005 semi-final.

Attractive
But Hewitt does have at least one advantage - he is now coached by the legendary Tony Roche, who also coached Federer for two and a half years until they split in May last year.

“Rochey’s obviously going to know a lot,” Hewitt added. “There’s no doubt about that. But you’ve still got to go out there and execute it as well and not play into Roger’s hands too much. “It can only help but it’s not the absolute key to success. You’ve still got to go out there and do it.”

While Federer-Hewitt is arguably the pick of the fourth-round matches, all of which are due to take place on Monday, there are plenty of other attractive clashes to look forward to.

Second seed Rafael Nadal faces a potentially-tricky clash with Mikhail Youzhny on Court One. The Russian has given Nadal plenty of problems in the past andhas won four of their previous 10 meetings. He was also close to toppling the Spaniard when they met at the same stage here last year when Youzhny led by two sets to love before Nadal stormed back to win in five.

Youzhny amazingly won their last meeting 6-0 6-1 in Chennai earlier this year but has needed five sets to win each of his last two matches here and could pay the price for those exertions against Nadal. That match will be followed by another Russian, Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Marat Safin, up against Switzerland’s 13th seed Stanislas Wawrinka.

On Court Two Janko Tipsarevic, who accounted for Andy Roddick in the second round, takes on his good friend Rainer Schuettler, while former semi-finalist Marcos Baghdatis and Spain’s Feliciano Lopez will fight it out on Court 18.

Croatian fans will be heading to Court 11 to see Mario Ancic take on Spain’s Fernando Verdasco and Marin Cilic up against France’s Arnaud Clement.

Compare LIVE WIMBLEDON TENNIS ODDS across the top online sportsbooks here at BookieLabRat.com

After thirty games and almost 3,000 minutes of soccer action the Euro 2008 betting market boils down to just two teams – Spain and Germany. Though the Germans were the outright favourite most sportsbooks before the tournament kicked-off on June 7th, it is the Spaniards who come into the final of Euro 2008 as favourites.

EURO 2008 FINAL ASIAN HANDICAP BETTING PRICED TO 101.7%

Spain 1.690*
Germany 2.350*

Germany were fancied to do well at Euro 2008 on account of relatively easy group, a relatively comfortable route to the final and strong support. Though they have succeeded in reaching the final, some of their performances en-route have raised eye-brows. Germany were beaten by Croatia at the group stage and gave a lacklustre performance against a severely weakened Turkey at the semi-final stage. These concerns have led bookmakers such as PinnacleSports.com, to push Germany to under-dogs for the final in Vienna on Sunday, but as all soccer fans know, Germany don’t know the meaning of the word under-dog.

EURO 2008 FINAL THREE WAY BETTING PRICED TO 102.85%

Spain 2.400*
Germany 3.300*
Draw 3.230*

Spain’s appearance in the Euro 2008 final is an historic moment for a soccer nation that has consistently under-achieved on the world stage. During their 3-0 semi-final defeat of Russia, the side visibly grew with confidence and the cries of ‘Ole’ became more triumphant from their ecstatic supporters. Coach, Luis Aragones, has been dealt a blow by the injury to David Villa (the tournaments current top-scorer) which keeps him out of the final. However, Aragones has La Liga’s top-scorer, Dani Guiza, and Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas - who has made a huge impact when used as a substitute – ready to step into the breach.

On performances so far, Spain are worthy favourites with PinnacleSports.com to lift the Euro 2008 trophy, the question punters have to ask is whether they can deal with the pressure in the final, and deliver on their undoubted potential.

Go to PinnacleSports.com for a full range of Euro 2008 final match markets including corners, red & yellow cards, and total goals, all priced to 60% better than traditional bookmakers.
*All odds subject to change.

For more on PinnacleSports and detailed reviews of the better online sportsbooks, visit BookieLabRat.com. It’s run by punters, for punters.

Compare Live Euro2008 Final Odds across top online sportsbooks here at BookieLabRat.com. 

Ready to place your bets on the final? Check out these stake-back deals first!

Absolutely Fabregas! - Euro 2008 Final - Sunday 29th June LIVE ON BBC1/RTE2
Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast single bets on this match if Cesc Fabregas scores at any time in 90mins. If Cesc Fabregas plays no part in the match special will revert to if the last goal is scored from outside the box. Max Refund €300/£200 per customer/bet.

Euro 2008 Final  - Sunday, 29 June
If your bet loses and the match is tied 0-0 at the end of 90-minutes, Canbet will refund your bet (Correct Score Only). To take advantage of this offer, enter the promotional code: EUFINAL. Maximum refund £50 (€65)

Last Action Hero - Germany v Spain - Euro2008 Final, Sunday 7:45pm
If Fernando Torres or Michael Ballack scores the last goal of the game (90 mins play only) Boylesports will refund losing First/Last/Anytime Goalscorer, Correct score & Scorecast single bets on this match. Max Refund €300 (or Currency Equiv) per customer

Nil All?  BET365 Bore Draw Offer
Place a pre-match correct score, double result or scorecast bet on ANY FOOTBALL MATCH and Bet365 will refund losing stakes if the match finishes 0-0.

Fred’s Euro2008 Cashbacks
Scorecast Cashback Offer: Place a scorecast bet on any Euro 2008 match and if ‘half’ of your scorecast wins but the other half lets you down, BetFred will refund your losing stake (to £100 max).

First Goalscorer Cashback Offer: Place a bet on any Euro 2008 First Goalscorer market and if your selection misses out on the first goal but goes on to score the last goal, BetFred will refund your losing stake (to £100 max). 

Victor Chandlers Cashbacks
Money for Nothing: Place a bet on the Correct Score, First Goalscorer or Double Result (HT/FT) on
the EURO 2008 final and if it finishes 0-0 VCBet will refund your losing stake as a free bet. Max refund £100 (€120) per offer per person per match. Applies to singles only. Does not apply to in-running bets.

1st Scorer 2nd Chance: Place a First Goalscorer bet on the EURO 2008 final and if your player fails to score the first goal but scores at any other time in the match VCBet will refund your stake as a free bet. Max refund £100 (€120) per offer per person per match. Applies to singles only.

Here’s a bookie offer that may be of interest to you. Costa Rica-based JustBet.com has just launched their annual “Baseball Win-Fall” promotion.

It only runs until July 7th, so check it out early…

New and Existing JustBet customers - claim your 50% Baseball Win-Fall Free Play!

Here’s the “Fine Print”
 
It’s a 50% Free Play (ie they’ll match your deposit with a free bet to 50%, so if you deposit and wager $500, you’ll score a $250 free bet - which, by the way, is pretty awesome - and I’ll certainly be taking advantage of this sportsbook’s generosity!)

It’s for new and existing JustBet Customers
 
They’ll pay it on all deposits of $100 and higher
 
Just rollover the deposit and free-play monies 8 times before withdrawal
 
Winnings can be cashed out after rolling deposit and free-play monies 4 times, No hold-time is applicable

Use one of the links on this page <<like this one!>> for more information on this sportsbook freebie.

For more info on JustBet.com check out the latest JustBet Sportsbook Review at GoonersGuide.com (here’s a link to their JustBet Casino Club Review too in case you’re interested…)
Mike Maus

Here are the next set of bookie Euro2008 money back specials (stake-back betting offers, free bet deals… whatever you like to call them). First up I’ve listed those specific to the semi finals and final matches, then I’ve included some more generic sportsbook offers applicable on these games (they’ve run throughout the UEFA Euro 2008 event).

Heading to Vienna! - Euro 2008 - Semi-Finals, Germany v Turkey and Russia v Spain
Money-Back Special: Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast singles on either of the above matches if the last goal in that match in 90 minutes is a header. Max Refund €300/£200 per customer/bet.

Too Klose for Comfort! - Germany v Turkey, Euro2008 Semi Final
If Miroslav Klose scores the last goal of the game (90 mins play) Boylesports will refund losing First/Last/Anytime Goalscorer,
Correct score & Scorecast single bets on this match.
Applies to single pre-kickoff bets only, max refund is €300 (or currency equivalent) per customer.

Second Chance Special - Germany v Turkey  - Wednesday, 25 June 20:45 CET
If your bet loses and a penalty kick (a direct free kick from the penalty mark) is awarded during the first half of this match, Canbet will refund your bet (Correct Score Only). To take advantage of this offer, enter the promotional code: EUGAMES1. Maximum refund £50 (€65)

Second Chance Special - Russia v Spain - Thursday, 26 June 20:45 CET
If your bet loses and David Villa scores the first goal in the match (excluding in a penalty shootout), Canbet will refund your bet (Correct Score Only). To take advantage of this offer, enter the promotional code: EUGAMES2. Maximum refund is £50 (€65)

Second Chance Special - EURO 2008 Final - Sunday, 29 June 
If your bet loses and the match is tied 0-0 at the end of 90-minutes, Canbet will refund your bet (Correct Score Only). To take advantage of this offer, enter the promotional code: EUFINAL Maximum refund £50 (€65)

Nil All? - BET365 Bore Draw Offer
Place a pre-match correct score, double result or scorecast bet on ANY FOOTBALL MATCH and Bet365 will refund losing stakes if the match finishes 0-0.

Euro2008 Cashbacks - Scorecast Cashback Offer
Place a scorecast bet on any Euro 2008 match and if ‘half’ of your scorecast wins but the other half lets you down BetFred will refund your losing stake (to £100 max).

Euro2008 Cashbacks - First Goalscorer Cashback Offer
Place a bet on any Euro 2008 First Goalscorer market and if your selection misses out on the first goal but goes on to score the last goal, BetFred will refund your losing stake (to £100 max). 

Money for Nothing
Place a bet on the Correct Score, First Goalscorer or Double Result (HT/FT) on any EURO 2008 match and if the match finishes 0-0 VCBet will refund your losing stake as a free bet on any future match. Max refund £100 (€120) per offer per person per match. Applies to singles only. Does not apply to in-running bets.

1st Scorer 2nd Chance
Place a First Goalscorer bet on any EURO 2008 match and if your player fails to score the first goal but scores at any other time in the match VCBet will refund your stake as a free bet on any future match. Max refund £100 (€120) per offer per person per match. Applies to singles only. Does not apply to in-running bets.

>>For the latest join bonuses and June ratings of these top online sportsbooks check out the review directory at BookieLabRat.com.

Euro 2008 betting was turned on its head after some surprising quarter-final results. Bettors now have a few days to recover from the excitement, before the Euro 2008 semi-finals take place on Wednesday and Thursday. The tournament favourites – Holland - tumbled out in the last eight, in one of several shock results, including the amazing scenes at the end of the Croatia v Turkey game, with two goals in the final minute of extra time.

Semi-Final One – Germany v Turkey, June 25th

Turkey pulled off another Euro 2008 great escape, scoring with the final kick of extra-time against Croatia in the quarter-finals, to take the game to penalties, where they came out on top. The Turks’ joy was tinged with some misgivings as they approach a Euro 2008 semi-final against Germany without four key suspended players. Goalkeeper, Volkan Demirel, Emre Asik, Arda Turan, and Tuncay Sanli – the backbone of the Turkey side – will all watch from stands at St.Jakob-Park in Basel. Turkey are the outsiders of the four Euro 2008 semi-finalists priced 15.500* at PinnacleSports.com in a yes/no market priced to less than 102%.

In stark contrast, Germany cruised passed Portugal into the last four, oozing confidence, and carry only one injury into the semi-finals. Midfielder, Torsten Frings, is a doubt with a rib injury, otherwise Joachim Low has a full squad to choose from looking to repeat the success of national side at Euro 96. Germany are now favourites in the outright Euro 2008 betting at PinnacleSports.com priced 2.500*, strongly fancied to overcome the weakened Turkish on Wednesday night. The quarter-finals did however, make a mockery of the formbook, so bettors should think twice before piling on Germans. PinnacleSports.com price Germany 1.746 (-1)* with Turkey 2.240 (+1)* - a market priced to less than 102%.

Semi-Final Two – Russia v Spain, June 26th

The Russian soccer renaissance gathered pace as Guus Hiddink attack-minded philosophy helped them to a 3-1 extra win over Holland, who were the favourites in the Euro 2008 betting at PinnacleSports.com. Having been huge outsiders at the start of the tournament, Russia are now as short as 4.620* for overall glory, and 1.249* to fail - market priced to less than 102%. This has already been a phenomenal sporting year for Russia, after Zenit St.Petersburg lifted the UEFA Cup, CSKA Moscow became Super League Champions and the Russian national team won the Ice Hockey World Championships.

Spain stand in Russia’s way, as two of the under-achievers meet on Thursday night for what promises to be a engaging Euro 2008 semi-final. Spain were frustrated by an intensely defensive Italian side in the quarter-finals, but came through a tense penalty shoot-out, to reach the Euro 2008 semi-finals that their performances so far certainly merit. The attack pairing of David Villa and Fernando Torres remain a potent threat, while Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas will be pushing for a place in the starting line-up against Russia, having impressed as a substitute, and scoring the winning penalty against Italy. PinnacleSports.com price Spain 2.750* overall second-favourites in their Euro 2008 outright betting market, and 2.120 (-0.5)* on their Euro 2008 Asian Handicap for Thursday night, with Russia 1.820 (+0.5)* - a market priced to less than 102%. 

*All odds subject to change so check out the latest bookie prices Live here at BookieLabRat.com

ABOUT PINNACLESPORTS: 
1.96/1.96 style Asian Handicap pricing (c.102%) gives gamblers up to 60% better Euro 2008 odds & live-betting and the same outstanding value on the major European events. PinnacleSports.com offer commission-free fixed odds online sports betting with exchange style pricing, as well as the web’s highest guaranteed liquidity and fastest payouts.

At present new bettors can claim a 10% sign-up bonus, 7% cash back on US horse bets and the best odds on all major sports. (Sorry, no US residents can be members).

>>Compare PinnacleSports.com to other popular onlinr sports betting sites here at BookieLabRat.com.
 

Euro 2008 betting will be soon be whittled down to the last eight teams, as the quarter-final line-up starts to take shape. Both the Euro 2008 hosts are out, leaving most of the power-houses of European football to face-off for an all important place in the semi-finals.

Euro 2008 Quarter-final 1: Germany v Portugal (June 19)

The first quarter-final of Euro 2008 sees Germany play Portugal in Basel on Thursday night, for what is an intriguing encounter between the 1996 winners and 2004 finalists. Germany came into the tournament as favourites with top handicap bookie PinnacleSports.com, but having finished second in Group B, they now take a more difficult route. The Germans are now priced 7.000* for outright success behind the Portuguese who are now 6.000* to lift the Euro 2008 trophy on June 29th.

Portugal have a more fluid passing game with the likes of Ronaldo and Deco, but lack an out-an-out striker. Germany are more solid defensively, have proven strikers, but lack the service. PinnacleSports.com are offering 1.96/1.96 style Asian Handicaps, and live-betting for the game.

Euro 2008 Quarter-final 2: Turkey v Croatia (June 20)

Four years ago at Euro 2004 Greece captured the neutral supporters’ vote, emerging as unlikely winners. This time around, following two last gasp victories, Turkey have become everyone’s favourite Euro 2008 under-dog. It would be some story were Fatih Terim’s side able to make it all the way to the final, having looked down and out after opening with a 2-0 defeat to Portugal. They now face Euro 2008 Group B winners Croatia, but are without first choice goalkeeper Demirel, sent off the amazing conclusion to their 3-2 win over the Czech Republic.

Croatia bring a 100% record into the last eight, and have shortened in the Euro 2008 outright betting at PinnacleSports.com to 9.000* with the win over Germany of particular significance. The Croatians have grown in confidence, and coach Slavan Bilic had the luxury of resting key players in the win over Poland. PinnacleSports.com are offering 1.96/1.96 style Asian Handicaps, and live-betting for the game.

*All odds in this blog are subject to change but were correct when published. Check out the best bookie odds live for Euro2008 betting here at BookieLabRat.com.