Sportsbet Blog

There a two standout games this weekend with Hawthorn and Carton going head to head with both clubs needing to answer to their critics. Hawthorn were less than convincing after a win against a bottom 8 side in the Eagles where they should have stretched the winning margin out alot more than 18 points.

The St Kilda V Bulldogs game is the match of the round with both teams destined to do well in 2009. This will be the biggest test for the Saints this season and the result will show if they can match it with the big teams after a perfect start to the year.

AFL Tip of the Week: For all the punters my tip of the round is Hawks, West Coast and Adelaide to win in a multi that at IASbet will pay around $6.30. You can place this bet on at IASbet and get a $100 free bet when depositing $50 or more.

North Melbourne V Collingwood. Friday night at Etihad Stadium

Selection: Collingwood

The Pies have had an average start to what was expected to be a real contender after making it to the pre-season final. After a disappointing loss to their arch rival Carton last week I think they will bounce back against the Roos and have a comfortable victory. Also with Brett Harvey out for up to 12 weeks through injury it will only make the task tougher for the Kangaroos.

Hawthorn V Carlton. Saturday at the MCG

Selection: Hawthorn

This should be a very high paced, high scoring game. Both clubs have fast game styles which makes for great footy. This game will ultimately come down to which team makes the most of the inside 50 entries that both teams are very good at creating. The big forwards in Fevola, Buddy Franklin and Roughhead will be the key to success and I think the Hawks will come out on top. With premiership players Stephen Gilham, Brent Guerra and Michael Osborne returning for the Hawks their form from last year will start to return.

West Coast V Fremantle. Saturday at Subiaco Oval

Selection: West Coast

West Coast are usually an unstoppable force in Subiaco and with the added hype of the local derby the Eagles should fly high over what looks to be another disappointing year for the Dockers. As I have said in previous tips never to tip Freo. The battle of the WA rucks will be worth a look with both Cox and Sandilands going head to head in the middle. Sandilands dominated the leagues top ruck Darren Jolly last weekend with 46 hitouts.

Brisbane V Essendon. Saturday Night at the Gabba

Selection: Brisbane

This one is tough to make a prediction but I think home ground advantage will come into play at the Gabba. Brisbane should make up for the huge loss to a top class Geelong outfit last weekend. Essendon are showing good spirit with three wins this year and a massive 5 point win against a skilled Collingwood side, but they will find it hard to play enough consistent footy to do it on a regular basis. The Lions will be out to put a stop to Brent Stanton after a gallant 34 touches of the football last weekend.

Port Adelaide V Adelaide. Saturday Night at AAMI Stadium

Selection: Adelaide

The other derby played this weekend is at AAMI stadium know as Showdown XXVI. Both South Australian teams are on 3 wins, 2 losses making this a must win for both clubs. The result will spring board the winner to a two game advantage over their rival and a likely top 4 position at the end of the week, where the loser will drop out of the 8. Tipping between them is hard, but I think Adelaide has enough class in the midfield with 7 players last week getting over 25 possessions and should account for Port in a low scoring match.

Sydney V Richmond. Sunday at the SCG

Selection: Sydney

Sydney should have an easy win over an unorganised Tigers team. The Tigers don’t seem to have a great deal of flow to their game which sees them get caught up in the mid field. Jolly should be the game breaker in the middle giving Sydney first use of the ball at stoppages.

Melbourne V Geelong. Sunday at the MCG

Selection: Geelong

The Cats are the team to beat this year and Melbourne don’t have the players or mindset to overcome majority of teams let alone the leagues top. Geelong should win by over 45 points, anything less would be a disappointing day for them. The umpires will have 3 Brownlow Medal points written for Gary Ablett before the game has started after a staggering 88 possessions in his last two games.

Western Bulldogs V St Kilda. Sunday at Edihad Stadium

Selection: St Kilda

This weeks game of the round will be a huge test for both clubs. I think if the Saints play with the confidence they have been playing with they will blow the game apart early in the match. The Dogs may cause a headache for the Saints across the wings with their speed and tackling pressure forcing errors and turnovers, but the they will struggle with inside 50 marking contests where it counts. Sam Fisher, Lenny Hayes and Jason Gram will be the ones to watch dominating the opposition every game this year

The Australian Government and lobbyists have been discussing banning free bet incentives in bookmaker advertising. The bans would likely cover all types of media including all print and TV.

When doing some study on the topic I came across an article from a leading newspaper. Its talks about banning free bet incentives from ads and includes comments from Centrebet’s Neil Evans saying “Its the right thing to do”. After reading the article I noticed on the right of the page was a completely contradicting advertisement from Centrebet which made me laugh out loud, check it out here! It features Neil Evans promoting a promo for a “free betting bank”. The banner goes on saying that a $100 free bet will be given!

The ad is randomly placed on different pages of the newspapers site and slaps all what the article has to say in the face.

I really can’t see the government stopping the adverts anyway. The current economic headaches and the downturn in advertising revenue to Australia’s major media outlets has seen bookmakers fill the gap and in some cases hold the industry up.

The issue of free bets in advertising originated from the recent relaxing of advertising laws for corporate bookmakers. Bookies can now advertise in Victoria and NSW to the disgust of TabCorp. The TAB have said that “A national ban on the advertising of free bets is needed”. This is obviously a money grab on their behalf with corporate bookies slowly but surly taking a large share of the TAB’s market.

Senator Nick Xenophon has also commented on the issue saying that he would introduce a private members bill in the next few months to stop the practice of free bet incentives altogether. Little does he know that there are 1000′s of bookmakers outside Australia that welcome Australian residents and offer free bets. As they operate outside Australia there is nothing the Government could do to regulate this. If the bill did make it to Government they would be crazy to allow it and watch the gambling dollars fly out of the country, tax free.

Personally I think free bet offers are good. I’ve had some nice wins from them and its a great way to sample the services of the bookmaker. The main reason that free bets were originally introduced is that the competition between bookmakers become very fierce as they all try to outdo each other for your business. I can only see this as a win for the consumer and can see the offers only getting better for punters in the future.

The Top 3 Biggest Offers are

1. IASbet: A $100,000 Betting Bank to play with on Sydney Cup Day and keep the profit of the day!
2. Canbet: $1000 Free Bet
3. Bet365 $500 Free Bet

Canbet was established in 1995 and licensed both in the Northern Territory and the UK. They are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and turn over around a massive 1.2 billion dollars a year.

In my opinion Canbet would be the best place to go for horse racing bets. They cover all race meets in Australia and around Asia including Singapore and Hong Kong.

They are known for their excellent racing promos.

1. They have 25% cash rebate on losses for each month. This is a first for any Australian bookmaker and a welcome one. For example if you lose $100 on race bets during a month you get a $25 return!
2. Canbet also encourage horse owners and trainers to bet on their own horses in return giving them an extra 10% on all winnings!
3. Another horse racing deal they have is call “protest payout”. What happeneds is if your horse wins the race and a protest is called and the horse is then relegated from first place the win still stands!Its deals like this that keep people going back to Canbet.

They have also made their mark in the bookie industry with a superior support team including a live chat facility, telephone support and super quick email responses.

Canbet cover all Australian and International sports events ranging from the not so known sports like Snooker and Yachting to the high profile sports like the AFL and English Premier League. You would be amazed how interesting Snooker can be to watch once you have some money on it!

Canbet’s sign up bonus is one to take advantage of.Use the promo code FREEBET when signing up and make a deposit of $50 or more and a $100 free bet will be awarded. I checked out the conditions on this offer and found that $50 worth of bets must be made before the free bet is given. Also the free bet winnings must be turned over twice before a withdrawal can be made. As I said in my Centrebet Review earlier, it means if you win $50 from the free bet you must make another $100 worth of bets before you can withdraw any money into your bank account. This is pretty usual for signup bonuses with all Australian online bookies. An easy way to get around both of these conditions is make the bets on markets with really short odds that are almost sure to win and then you will be able to withdraw at any time after that point.

With all the promos Canbet has on offer not only on sign up but throughout the year and the support that is a click away I recommend Canbet. I haven’t had any issues with their services and find their odds among the best.

I gave them a 5 out of 5

For more info on Canbet’s offers or to signup checkout the website here.

Sportsbetblog have received some betting vouchers and we have decided to give them to the people!

Comment And Win!

At the end of each month the Sportsbetblog team will choose a comment made on any of the blog entries on the Sportsbet Blog site and will award the winner with a $100 free bet. We are looking for the most interesting comments that will add to the blog topics.

To enter simply use the comment system on every blog and once your comment has been made you are automatically in the draw for the prize and the more you make the more chance you have of winning!

The winner will be notified by email and will be published on the site at the start of each month. So start commenting and good luck!

Australia’s largest online bookmaker Sportsbet has been around since the early nineties and is credited for being Australia’s first online sports bookmaker.

Sportsbet is known for the ease of use and a fantastic support team including a live chat feature where questions can be answered there and then with a real person. This is a first for online bookmakers in Australia and a very useful tool for newcomers.

Sportsbet put the fun back in betting with numerous features and promotions.
1.    Soccer Super Coach is where you take the role of a soccer Manager and choose the ultimate soccer team from Europe’s best players with a budget of $115 million! The top scorer get a nice $10,000

2.    2009 Million Dollar Tipping Competition where the winners of both AFL and NRL seasons get a cool $250,000. It’s free to enter and the top 500 place getters also receive cash prizes and there are plenty of weekly prizes to even keep the losing tippers interested. I entered this last year and didn’t come anywhere near winning but won $50 during the season for being around 80,000th place!

3.    The promotion weekends that Sportsbet run are usually on a monthly basis and called Super Saturday. They run deals on these days that include 10% refunds on losses, 20% extra on winnings and 100% extra on deposits made on that day.

4.    If you are really unlucky when picking winners at the horse races then Lucky Loser may be what you are looking for. Sportsbet has created an enormous amount of interest where punters can actually bet on horses that DONT finish in the top 3 places. It’s a laugh to actually be willing a horse to slow down as it comes down the straight!

5.    Sportsbet’s free Black Book feature allows you to follow your favourite horses and greyhounds and receive email or SMS notification when your selections are scheduled to race. This is very handy for the serious punter to never miss a race where a favourite horse in running.

With all these products it’s hard to pass up an account with Sportsbet and equally as hard to pick anything wrong with their service. The odds are among the best and they offer a huge range of Australian and international events. However I did find that their credit service a little too easy to apply for it only took a few clicks and $200 was granted instantly into my account, this could catch a few people out so care must be taken.

Like most bookies they have an initial signup bonus. Unlike others, Sportsbet offer a high 100% extra on your first deposit of up to $200. So if you deposit $200 you get a $200 free bet. The winnings of the free bet must be turned over once before a withdrawal can be made. For example if you win $150 from the free bet then $150 worth of bets must be placed before you can withdraw funds into a bank account.

I give Sportsbet 4.5/5

To signup with Sportbet or find out more info checkout the site

Centrebet has been around since 1992 and was Australia’s first online bookmaker. They are licenced and based in the Northern Territory like many other Australian bookmakers and are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange

Centrebet provides the most easy to use website out of all the online bookies. They have a colourful layout that is very inviting and simple to navigate.  Centrebet’s help section is clear and precise, answering all the simple and technical questions. Although they lack a live chat facility they make up for it with quick email support replies.

They have recently launched a new service called Centrebet Mobile. It’s a new and easy way to make bets on the go. All newer model mobile phones can install the Centrebet Mobile software. From there you can login to your account via 3G or Wi-Fi internet and make bets anywhere at any time. I’ve used this service a few times and found it very fast and well worth having for when you’re at the cricket or footy and want to get a quick bet on rather than using the TAB and getting much lower odds.

The main reason I use Centrebet is that they always have a full range of entertainment and quirky markets ranging from TV makerkets like American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, to the quirky markets like the sex of a pregnant Celebrity baby! They also have very competitive odds on the main sports including AFL, NRL and horse racing markets.
Unlike other bookies Centrebet also cover a large range of football leagues from around the world for the football mad punter including Denmark’s SAS Ligaen league and Norway’s Tippeligaen league as well as the major leagues of the English Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga.

The signup bonuses they offer are a great chance to get a kick start with Centrebet. Currently for signing up with them you can get a free bet bonus of double of whatever your first deposit is. For example if you deposit $50 you get a $100 free bet.

I checked out the term and conditions of the offer thinking that they would be very strict. I found that other than the free bet must be used within 45 days after being issued the only other condition worth mentioning is that the free bet must be turned over twice before you can withdraw. This means if you get a $100 free bet you must make another $200 worth of bets before you can withdraw any money back into your bank account. This is pretty usual for signup bonuses with all online bookies. An easy way to get around this is make the bets on markets with really short odds that are almost sure to win and then you will be able to withdraw at any time.

All in all I think Centrebet isn’t the most popular bookmaker in Australia but they do have the most to offer in a clean and well set out site. They are great for people who are just starting out as they explain things in a step by step process. If you have any stories or opinions about Centerbet please leave a comment, I would love to hear them!

I give them 4.5 out of 5

To signup or find out more about Centrebet check out their site.