William Hill, Paddy Power May be Forced to Reconsider Novelty BetsA report filed by ATE Online suggests that the United Kingdom's Gambling Commission may soon want online bookmakers like William Hill and Paddy Power to cut back on their so-called "novelty bets".
The Commission believes that 'novelty' bets, such as minute of the first yellow card, make corruption easier as it only includes a few people and is more difficult to prove.
This would be a crushing blow to a sector of the UK bookmaking establishment that relies heavily on these types of bets, which can be quite profitable for gaming firms. Likewise, customers love the offerings and the aforementioned bets help to make for a more competitive environment.
According to the ATE report, the government watchdog was responding to calls from the UK's five major sports – football, cricket, tennis, rugby league and rugby union – that have formed a lobbying group to tackle the issue.
Bookmakers are resisting the proposal, claiming that there is no evidence of widespread cheating on novelty bets. They are also saying that as betting is now an international industry and customers will use offshore sites via the internet regardless of restrictions.
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Gambling911.com News Wire
Originally published May 29, 2007 8:55 am ET
