Sportsbet Blog

Internet betting is becoming massive business all around the world thanks mainly to their free bet sign ups and  generous odds on almost every sporting event that you can think of. With Sportsalive.com fast becoming known as the premium sports betting site. Although they do offer bets on all kinds of horse racing there are some restrictions. Bets of $2000 are the max for Metropolitan racing , while limits of $1,000 and $500 for are in place for Provincial and Country racing. This makes Sportsalive a good place to bet on the ponies on a whim, but not so great if you are a serious horse punter.

Sports alive was born after the amalgamation of Sports Acumen and Global Sportsbet business with idea of offering punters a wide range of sports betting opportunities. The site itself is packed with news, reviews and tips, and in 2009  Paul “Fatty” Vautin and Robert Walls signed up to give their weekly thoughts on the NRL and AFL.

But the one thing that Sportsalive have monopolised here in Australia and New Zealand is spread betting.

Sports Alive & Spread Betting

Spread Betting has become very popular in the UK because it offers an exciting betting option that can deliver you greater rewards while keeping you involved for every second of every sporting occasion. Sportsalive is Australia’s leading spread betting agency, offering a comprehensive range of markets on the most popular sports and racing events.

Spread Betting allows you to back your judgement and your pick doesn’t have to win for you to win on the bet. If you think that a player or team will do better (or worse) than the Sportsalive quote, then the more accurate your prediction the more you will win.

For example if Sportsalive predict that there will between 30 or40 goals in an AFL match then this is the spread 30 -40. The punter has two options to buy or sell against the spread. If you buy you are betting that there will be more than 40 goals in the game. If you sell you are betting that there will be less than 30.

Special Offers

Apart from special offers to previous Sports Acumen and Global Sportsbet business clients Sportsalive are offering up to $125 if you refer a friend to their site. This will include $25 paid directly in to your betting account while your friend will recieve the same as their first deposit up to $100. So if they deposit $100 in to their acount when they first sign up Sportsalive will match it.

Go to Sportsalive now for early betting on Wimbledon. My hot tip is Rafael Nadal with Sportsalive paying $5.00 for the Spaniard to instantly get over his French Open nightmare. But if my prediction of Andy Murray winning at Roland Garros is anything to go by you are probably best off ignoring me and betting on the Australian elections instead. Sportsalive are offering $2.50 for the Coalition to bounce back from last times embarrasment.

The Twenty20 World cup is only a few days old and already we have seen some fantastic matches and some stunning upsets.

First New Zealand survived a scare in a shortened 7 over match against Scotland and then Australia got off to a terrible start losing to the West Indies by seven wickets. The Australians were put on the backfoot in the first over when Jerome Taylor took the wickets of all rounder Shane Watson and Captain Ricky Ponting. The Australians struggled to get up any sort of momentum after that and they laboured to a pretty measly total of 169 on what was a good batting pitch. It could have been much worse though if David Warner (who is a total superstar in the making) hadn’t come in and hit his 63 runs, the Australians total was also helped along by some terrible out fielding from the West Indies. But when they came in to bat there were no such mistakes, and a fantastic laid back 88 from Captain Chris Gayle helped the West Indies wrap this game up in just 16 overs. While this will put the Australians under lots of pressure to win their next match you can never right them off. Warner has already showed that he is in good touch and if the likes of Ponting, Wastson and Mitchell Johnson can all start to fire then they can certainly still win the tournament, and with bookies now paying out $9.00 for them to do so they are certainly worth a punt. Go to sportsalive.com and sign up to recieve your free bet.

By far the biggest upset of the tournament and maybe of all time was Englands 4 wicket defeat against Holland. England went in to the match with out Kevin Pietersen, who is still resting an achilles injury, and Andrew Flintoff but they seemed not to miss them and were crusing when they lost their first wicket in the 12th over with a score of 102. A mini collapse followed and England finished on 162 thanks mainly to a fantastic 71 runs from 49 balls by Luke Wright. The total still looked beyond Holland, but thanks to a 49 off 30 balls by Tom de Grooth and mistakes by Stuart Broad and wicket keeper James Foster they found themselves going in to the last over needing just 7 runs for victory. A run a ball and an over throw by Broad on the last ball of the innings was enough for Holland to seal an amazing victory. England may have one eye on the up coming Ashes series but there really is no excuses for such a loss. England are paying $16.00 to go on and win the tournament at sportsalive.com, but with Pakistan up next for the Poms I really wouldn’t waste my money.

At sportsalive.com they are also offering great odds on individual matches, as well as top run scorers and who will hit the most sixes. Get your money on David Warner to score the most tournament runs for Australia.

The French Open will head in to its second week without defending champion Rafael Nadal after he was dumped out of the competition by 23rd seed Robin Soderling. The three sets to one defeat was the world number ones first ever loss at Roland Garros and easily one of the biggest upsets in tennis history. Nadal’s shock exit also leaves the tournament wide open with a number of contenders looking to take his French Open crown that he has owned for the past four years. Here at sportsbetblog.com.au we will be looking at the most likely winners  for you to place your free bet on  from Sportingbet

Roger Federer $2.10

Roger Federer is now the hot favourite to win his 14th Grand Slam title and understandably so. The Swiss master has looked good so far and with his arch nemesis eliminated as well as dangerous Serb Novak Djokovic it would take a brave man to bet against him.

Andy Murray $4.50

Ther is no doubt that Roger Federer’s air of invincibility has gone in recent years thanks mainlyRafael Nadal’s dominance of  him, proving that Federer is human and therefore beatable. Andy Murray is one of those players that has seized on this confidence and beaten Federer on regualr occasions. Murray is one player with the skills that can break the strangle hold that the top two of Federer and Nadal seem to have on the game. His only down fall so far in his career has been a lack of stamina to play top tennis for two full weeks in a Grand Slam, but he has looked fantastic so far disposing of Mario Cilic, Janko Tipsarevic, Potito Starace and Juan Ignacio Chela in fine style. Get your free bet on the tough Brit, this is his year.

Andy Roddick $67.00

American number 6 seed Andy Roddick has travelled well in the first week. But then again he always does, it is the second week of Grand Slams when he faces up against much tougher opponents that he seems to fall flat on his face. He is definately a good bet to get through is fourth round tie against unpredictable Frenchmen Gael Monflis at $2.22, but I am afraid that winning the tournament is probably beyond him.

The Ladies

Maria Sharapova $26.00

Men all over the world are thanking the tennis gods because Maria Sharapova is back on the court and looking like she could cause an upset. She was un seeded for this years Frech Open after a lengthy spell out of the game through injury, and has been taken to three sets in each of her ties so far because of a tough draw. It would be a dream come back for her, but I would save your free bet from betfair for Dinara Safina at $2.26 you can still make a nice little profit.

Samantha Stosur $85.00

Seeded 30th Aussie Samantha Stosur upset 4th seed Elena Dementieva in the third round, and she did it pretty comfortably winning 6-3 4-6 6-1. We would all love a fellow Aussie to win , and at $85.00 Stosur could just be worth a couple of dollars.

Melbourne may be sitting at the very bottom of the ladder with just one win to their name, but they are certainly showing enough to suggest that last place is not where they will end up.  In round 8 against the Western Bulldogs Melbourne were the better tean for the majority of the game. It took a dissapointing third quarter and an inspired performance from veteran Jason Akermanis to give the Bulldogs a 104 to 97 victory. Akermanis turned back the clock scoring four goals and taking 19 touches adding to the call from Doggies fans for him to continue playing for a few more years yet.

Akermanis to win the Brownlow? Get your free bet from sportsbet now.

Round 8 saw reigning premiers Hawthorn put their season back on track with an 87 to 65 victory over Fremantle. Last years 100 goal man Buddy Franklin looked back to his best scoring four majors. While both Stuart Dew and Brent Guerra showed their amazing technical skills helping to pick apart the Fremantle defence almost at will. The only up side for Fremantle was the continued good form of captain Matthew Pavlich, but the man can’t do it all on his own.

You can get odds of $6.00 for Hawthorn to retain the title as well as a free bet at sportsbet.com.au

Even without Garry Ablett Geelong look pretty much unbeatable. In this round 8 demolition of North Melbourne the Cats scored 18 goals with 10 different goal scorers. In the first term alone they amassed 137 touches destroying The Kangaroos with their creativity and guile.

At $2.00 they are the hot favourites  to reclaim the flag and it would take a brave man to bet against them.

The Bribane Lions continued their good form under new coach Michael Voss with a 119 to 83 victory over The Adelaide Crows. Despite being behind at half time an amazing performance by Justin Sherman and four goals in the 3rd quarter from Daniel Bradshaw saw The Lions Collect their 5th win of the season and cement their place in the top eight. There was a downside for Voss’s boys though as Daniel Merrett, Jed Adcock and Joel Patfull all finished off the field. Adelaide will have to pick up their game in the coming weeks as they now have a 3 and 5 record and sit 12th on the ladder.

Adleide are $26.00 to turn their season around and claim the flag. Get your free bet at sportsbet.com

The round 8 tie between West Coast and Sydney promised alot, and in keeping with the great games we have seen so far this year the two teams didn’t disappoint. Only a few poinst seemed to seperate the sides all night before Sydney came out with a noarrow 106 to 101 victory. Adam Goodes was back to his devastating best for the Swans with three goals and 26 possesions. Josh Kennedy proved to be a handful all night and bagged three goals, but it wasn’t quite enough to get the Eagles what would have been an excellent and much needed 4 points. West Coast are now two places outside the 8 in 10th, while Sydney have jumped in to 9th.

You can get odds of $5.50 on West Coast missing out on the 8 all together and a free bet at sportsbet.com.au

Warren Tredrae put in a stella performance against a luckless Richmond side who not only lost the game after Tredrae scored his 7th goal in the dying seconds, but they also lost their star recruit Ben Cousins after he broke his hand. Cousins had only just returned from a hamstring injury and is now certain to miss round 9 after an operation to put a metal plate on the broken bone.  Tredrae’s seven goals gave Port Adelaide a 102 to 99 victory, which keeps them in the top four.

Richmond are at $2.35 to gain their second win of the season against Essendon in round 9

Carlton youngster Bryce Gibbs feels that captain Chris Judd is in Brownlow medal winning form and after his performance in round 8 against Collingwood many people agree, as Judd grabbed himself one goal, 32 possesions and four goal assists. But Judd wasn’t the only great performer for the Blues who sent a resounding message to the rest of the teams with a 104 to 53 thumping of Collingwood, on their day they are as good as anyone.

Carlton are at $2.50 to finish in the top four. Well worth your free bet at sportsbet.com.au

St Kilda remain top of the ladder with an unblemished 8-0 record, but this was certainly their toughest test of the season. Essendon found them selves 28 points down after the first quarter but they never gave in. Captain Matthew Lloyd caused the Saints back line problems and scored three goals as did rising star Jay Neagle, but it wasn’t enough and the Bombers end round eight in eighth place.

Get your free bet on The Saints winning the flag at sportsbet.com.au

Betfair is the brain child of Andrew Black and Edward Wray. Together the two helped develop unique betting technology and in August 1999 Betfair was born. Since then the company has expanded from the UK and now has liscences in Malta, Italy, Austria, Germany and now here in Australia.

Betfair have built themselves up to be one of the market leaders in internet betting due innovations that simply can’t be found on any other site.

Back or Lay

The “back” or “lay” system allows you to bet on two outcomes winning or losing. When you “back” a selection (be it an individual, a team, horse or dog) you are betting that it will win. This is called traditional betting.

When you ”lay” a selection you are betting against it winning. For example, if you’re betting on which team is going to win the Premiership and you ”lay” Man Utd, if they end up winning the league you pay out. This is something that is usually only done between bookmakers, but Betfair gives you the opportunity to do it with other punters.

Choose you own odds

One of the great things about the “back” or “lay” system is that it allows you to choose your own odds. If a horse you fancy is showing odds of $3.00, you can put an order in for $4.00, and if someone is willing to “lay” off against that bet then those are the odds you get. The thing with this is to not be greedy. Choose realistic odds or you are likely to miss out all together.

In play betting

Another of Betfair’s great initiatives is its in play betting service. This allows you to bet on a number of out things within most sports as they are taking place. This includes sports like baseball, darts (yes you can even bet on the fat guys chucking things at a small circle while drinking their weight in beer) and cycling. Lance Armstrong is at $8.00 to win his eighth Tour De France by the way.

The Betfair website also offers a comprehensive guide and results system. Showing stats on trainers, jockeys and horses as well as the Betfair TV guide so that you will never miss your favourite sporting event ever again. They have even introduced a hotline. So if there is no way of making it to the internet you can give them a call and still get your bet in.

Betfair is easily one of the best betting websites around as it offers unrivaled features, and if you sign you up right now you are entitled to a free $50 bet. Just go to the site to claim it, but make sure you stick it all on the Aussies winning the Twenty20 World Cup, at $4.50 you can’t go wrong.

Round seven brings up two games of interest with Essendon V Hawks on Friday night and Collingwood V St Kilda on Monday night. The Hawks are looking like they are returning to their 2008 form with a very close win against a classy Blues outfit but the Bombers can show brilliance in big games and Friday night footy doesn’t get much bigger. A odd Monday night game will be played out against two of the leagues toughest teams in the Saints and Pies that will be well worth a look. The Pies know they are a half a chance to knock off the league leaders and will play a high pressure game.

Essendon V Hawthorn, Friday Night at Etihad Stadium

Tip: Hawthorn

This should be a interesting game. I think Essendon will play a very defensive game and will send alot of numbers back to fill the open areas in the Hawks attack stopping Buddy and Roughhead in the process. But as we have seen in the last 12 months it is easier said than done, and if the Hawthorn forward line can take only a few of the contested marks they will kick a winning score. Jobe Watson will be out to have another great game for the Dons after great 36 possessions last week.

Geelong V Sydney, Saturday at Skilled Stadium

Tip: Geelong

The Cats will eat the Swans alive at Skilled Stadium. Geelong match up Sydney all over the ground with an exception to Michael O’Loughlin who may cause some headaches for the Cats. I can see another 35 point plus win here.

Richmond V Brisbane, Saturday at the MCG

Tip: Richmond

Richmond are running out of opportunities to turn their disappointing start to the season around and I think this will be the game to make or break the Tigers. They have a decent list and the $2.05 odds Sportsbet are offering is a pretty good price. The Tigers play well at the MCG and if Jack Riewoldt can get into the game early they should be able to have a win even without the injured Matthew Richardson. Ben Cousins horror return to the game may continue with a sore looking Ben during his VFL game with Coburg. As pictured here Ben’s knees and calf were heavily iced up which Richmond officials said was for a precautionary measure only, but who knows.

North Melbourne V Port Adelaide, Saturday Night at Etihad Stadium

Tip: Port Adelaide

Port have the ability to play decent footy when it counts and these away games against middle grade teams are important for a top 4 finish this year. Both Kane and Chad Cornes are the keys to Port winning this weekend and I can’t see North having the answers to stop the skilled brothers.

Carlton V Fremantle, Saturday Night at the Gold Coast Stadium

Tip: Carlton

Fremantle will have to contend with both a strong Blues team and one of the longest flights for an AFL team when they play at the Gold Coast on Saturday night. This will be one of the deciding factors when they line up against Carton. Depending on how they have recovered during the week I think they will run out of legs towards the end of the game which should see Carton run over the top for a good win. Carton will also be out to make up for last weeks very disappointing loss to one of the best games so far this year after big Fev hit the post right on the siren handing the Hawks the victory. Watch out for a big bag of goals from Fevola (im sure he will be practicing his set shots this week!)

Adelaide V Western Bulldogs, Sunday at AAMI Stadium

Tip: Adelaide

Anyone who plays at AAMI stadium against the Crows will take a good part of a quarter to get started and I think this is where the Crows will set the play on their terms for the remainder of the game. The Crows will have learnt from the disappointing loss to Port last week in the “show down” and I predict they will bounce back with a win at home. Nathan Bock has not let recent assault charges effect his game since returning after a weeks ban. He has had a handy 26 possessions in both games giving them the depth they need in the half back line.

West Coast V Melbourne, Sunday at Subiaco Stadium

Tip: West Coast

West Coast at Subiaco are near unstoppable even when they arn’t playing well and once again Melbourne will continue to have trouble holding down the opposition. Dean Cox will dominate as the Deamons struggle to find a decent full time ruckman. Arron Davey continues to put good games together for Melbourne and will be one to watch as he weaves his magic in the middle.

Collingwood V St Kilda, Monday Night at Edihad Stadium

Tip: St Kilda

St Kilda have been near perfect which wont give Colloingwood enough chances around the ground to cause turnovers. Saints will again be very hard at the ball and will try to get the winning margin early in the game as they have done on all occasions this season. Brendon Goddard is having his best year at the saints including a match high 33 possessions last week and should once again rule the defencive 50 mtr arc. Goddard maybe worth a small wager for the Brownlow Medal now that Ablett will miss a few weeks with injury, at the moment he is paying $17 at IASbet. IASbet also give a $100 free bet with a deposit of $50 or more which would be pefect for this Brownlow bet.

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.