Punters, sports nuts, insiders, outsiders, and everyone else. Think you have heard the last of sports betting scandals, fixes and all that stuff down under in Australia? Think again. Just when you though Aussie sports betting scandals in the NRL might have been history new evidence has come to light that appears to implement at least one Australian NRL player. Media Man and Gambling911 clothesline and crash tackle the situation with this special report...
An up and coming National Rugby League star player has been catch into rugby league's latest and very ugly betting scandal after being caught on closed circuit TV placing a suspicious wager on the dubious, some say, rather rigged, match this year between Canterbury Bulldogs and North Queensland Cowboys.
Front and centre...Brad Murray. The spotlight is on you son. The 20 year old played for the Bondi Beaches favorite sons, the Sydney Roosters last season, and then jumped ship to join the Parramatta Ells, committing for the next three years. He also had the prestige of being named (in a positive way) in the 2010 Toyota Cup under-20s team of the year.
Murray, talked about as a potential Eels first-grade halfback for next season, is currently the second league figure to be filmed on CCTV placing a "highly irregular" bet on the match. Another key figure in the betting investigation has also been caught on 'candid camera' placing at least 5 wagers on the Cowboys - Doggies match in a time duration of less than 5 hours. So readers, that's about 1 bet per hour, using a spread on bets and money (and clothing)... more on the clothing later.
The wagers are understood to have involved a bet being placed on a penalty goal being the game's 1st scoring option. This kind of specific occurrence bets are the ones that seem to most attract the dark side of betting - fixing, players doing the wrong thing, and so on.
Our sources indicated by all accounts that Murray placed his wager on the game at 1pm on the 19th August in a Flemington hotel on Parramatta Road, in Sydney's western region.
Then, on the following 2 days an unusual amount of similar type bets were placed with punters in line to win more than $250,000. Folks, the average yearly wage in Australia is about $60k, so that's not bad money, but it comes with risk, as folks are finding out the hard way.
"We didn't go into the specifics but, yes, I have spoken to Brad," said Parramatta chief executive Paul Osborne. "It is a difficult time for him and his family but I've encouraged him to fully co-operate with police."
Quizzed about would his club consider firing Murray's ass, Osborne replied "It's too early to say."
Murray is managed by the well known player agent, Sam Ayoub, also the 'go to' man for Doggy Ryan Tandy, who has denied any wrongdoing in the scandal despite infamously losing the ball from his grasp with his first hit-up of the match and then going on to concede a penalty in front of his side's goalposts. Folks, you're smart enough to join a few dots we think.
Ayoub has been silent on the matter thus far, but if he speaks on it we'll let you know.
The figure who placed the 5 wagers in 5 hours cannot be named for legal type reasons but is known to have strong links to the NRL and some current players.
Police have released images of a man (looks like a stocky footy player) who placed 1 of the first suspicious bets on the game.
Over the next two days a suspiciously high number of similar type bets were placed, with punters standing to win more than $250,000.
Doggie prop Ryan Tandy famously lost the ball with his first hit of the match and then gave a penalty away in front of the posts.
But the Cowboys rejected the opportunity for a penalty goal and instead scored a try as the first play of the match.
"As this was one of the earliest bets placed on the game we believe he may have information that can assist our investigation," said Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, commander of the Firearms and Organised Crime Squad.
He advised more than 80 people had so far been interviewed! They include relevant players from the match, along with the mystery man identified in the CCTV footage one of the last unidentified people under investigation.
It's not a good look for Australia sport, and he give his thoughts on the situation.
"If true, the allegations go to the heart and the integrity of the game," Det. Supt. Katsogiannis said.
While he would not be drawn on if or when charges would be pressed, he said he was "very optimistic" about the chance of success.
Media Man and Gambling911 are hopeful that the NRL can be cleaned up.
"It doesn't mean some sort of insider information and hot tips has to disappear from the league, but we need to get rid of the ugly aspects of Australian sports betting", a Media Man rep said.
Read About Another Famous NRL Sports Betting Scandal...
'Australian Sports Betting Scandal: NRL Melbourne Storm'
http://www.gambling911.com/sports/australian-sports-betting-scandal-nrl-melbourne-storm-042310.html
Awards...
Last month was a big month for casino awards. Let's have a look...
PartyGaming's PartyCasino has also come back with seconds, picking up another Media Man 'Online Casino Of The Month Award' for November, and also the parent company, PartyGaming, picked up the prestigious EGR Slots Operator Of The Year Award ...Some other top picks of ours who picked up awards at the EGR night of nights were:
Virgin Games (Affiliate Programme)
Betfair (Innovation, Mobile Operator and UK Sports Betting Operator)
Bwin (European Sports Betting Operator
PKR (Poker Operator)
Oh, we almost forgot...Media Man and Casino News Media 'Casino Babe Of The Month': Jenny Woo, 'Poker Babe': Kara Scott, 'Gambling Babe Personality': Pamela Anderson.
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Wrap Up...
Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? What else can be done to help stop the rot in Australian sports? Tell us in the forum.
If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis. They also publish Australian Sports Entertainment http://www.australiansportsentertainment.com
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