CitizenBlogI came in to this past weekend full of confidence having won decent money on the rugby in the last few weeks and although my cycling form has been poor I managed to turn it around with a 9/1 winner in the Giro on Friday.

CitizenBlogLike many Rugby fans I was very excited for the local competition to get going this past weekend.

CitizenBlogSouth Africa has a host of reputable online bookmakers, but they are generally reliant on their overseas counterparts to set markets and betting lines. Globally there is just too much sport for any bookmaker to price up individually and while the odd bookmaker in South Africa sticks their neck out with early rugby prices, they generally follow the markets which are set overseas.

CitizenBlogAs a punter who focuses primarily on Rugby Betting I have at least had New Zealand, Australian and European competitions to wager on over the past few weeks. I must say though that I haven’t really go into it and aside from following some of the shrewd punters on the Goodforthegame Forum I haven’t really got involved.

CitizenBlogThe Tour de France is over and I am exhausted. Doing video previews of each stage and betting every day for 3 weeks running certainly does take its toll.

CitizenBlogIt has been over a decade since I last had a share in a racehorse, but that all changed a few months ago when after the idea was conceived in a YouTube Show and we formed a Goodforthegame Syndicate with Gary Lentin from GGGaming and purchased shares in 2 fillies.

CitizenBlogAbout a year ago I came into contact with someone who calls himself the Betting Stig. For those who don’t know, the Stig is a character in the British Television Show, Top Gear and the character wears a helmet at all times and the concept of the show was that no one would know the true identity of the Stig.

CitizenBlogI used to play cricket when I was younger and it is amazing how many times I would go into bat and things would feel pretty good but when I was out of form I always got that nick through to the keeper or worse still found myself run out. Then one day that would change and the nicks would start flying past the slips and the fielder would no longer hit the stumps direct.

CitizenBlogIt is 8 weeks later than usual, but the Tour de France starts on Saturday and I am incredibly excited for this 3 week race.

CitizenBlogWhen I started Sports Betting many years ago there was no social media and if you wanted to see what experts in any field fancied you had to subscribe to an SMS line.

CitizenBlogAlthough local rugby has yet to return it has been great having the New Zealand and to a lesser extent Australian additions to watch and bet on over the past few weeks.

CitizenBlogThose punters who like me have been betting for many years will know that every now and again you have a weekend which you just want to forget and unfortunately last weekend was one of those for me.

CitizenBlogWhile Rugby Betting has returned thanks to the New Zealand and Australian competitions, some people may be surprised to know that as far as Sports Betting goes I have actually missed cycling more. I absolutely love this sport both from a viewing and also a betting angle.

CitizenBlogIt is not in its regular slot of the first Saturday in July and you can’t go and watch the race this year, but there is no doubt about it that Durban July fever is building.

CitizenBlogIf ever you wanted an example of why Sports Betting can add so much excitement to a game then last weeks clash between the Reds and the Waratahs in Brisbane is a case in point.

CitizenBlogI have always prided myself as having my finger on the pulse of Sports Betting and when Rugby Markets came out I was historically amongst the first to spot the value. The times they are a changing though and it looks like veterans like myself are handing over to a younger generation of punters who are that bit more enthusiastic and more importantly perhaps, have a lot more time on their hands.

CitizenBlogLet me start this article by reflecting on the fact that this coming weekend is usually the biggest one of the year for me. Were it not for COVID-19 it would be the Durban July as well as the Tour de France and there is usually Wimbledon Finals as well as quality Rugby. I am really going to miss the annual get together with friends and family.

CitizenBlogIt is great to be betting on live sport again with the English Premier League and Super Rugby back on our screens. I have also been tempted to dabble on a bit of horseracing as the build up to the Durban July begins.

CitizenBlogThere may not have been any South African interest last week, but it did not stop many of us from getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning to watch the Blues against the Hurricanes in Auckland.

CitizenBlogWe are still short of live sport here in South Africa, but sports punters can take heart that a lot of leagues around the World are getting going again.

CitizenBlogA mate of mine, let’s call him “The Dealer” received an email from a bookmaker last week. This e-mail offered him a free bet to the value of 30% of his first bet of the weekend.

CitizenBlogIt looks as though we are still some way from live sport in South Africa, but around the world things are gradually getting going again.

CitizenBlogAs the country slowly gets used to different lockdown levels punters will be delighted to note that more and more sporting events are starting to get going again.

CitizenBlogAfter weeks of writing on topics like The Bachelor SA and various types of online Betting Games there has been some big news on the sporting front in the last week.

CitizenBlogLevel 4 of Lockdown may have brought some relief as far as exercise goes, but from a Sports Betting perspective the road ahead is still very murky. As things stand, you have to choose between betting on some fairly obscure leagues, playing some of the betting games available or rather just shutting up shop.

CitizenBlogWith quality live sport apparently still a long way off, I continue to look for leisure betting opportunities and local Bookmaker, World Sports Betting provided some good news for punters last week.

CitizenBlogI have always complained that we do not get enough Darts coverage here in South Africa. The sport is entertaining to watch and really lends itself to betting and when you look at the atmosphere in the Ally Pally in the UK it is hard not to want to attend something similar.

CitizenBlogIt has been a couple of weeks since I wrote my first article on The Bachelor South Africa betting and my 10/1 pick to be the girl chosen by Marc appeared to have been knocked out that very night.

CitizenBlogAnother week without sport has passed and if you followed my advice on last week’s Bachelor South Africa show you will, no doubt, be in agreement that I should stick to Sports Betting.

CitizenBlogI have had to adjust to life without Sports Betting and, I can tell you, it hasn’t been easy.

CitizenBlogHaving successfully come through a weekend without any sport and by definition without any betting, I have been watching the behaviour of some of my fellow punters as they look for alternative outlets for their disposable income.

 

 

 

 

 

Last week I mentioned the advent of Betgames and Lotto Numbers, but the market with the closest correlation to Sports Betting is probably E-Sports.

Popping onto the World Sports Betting Website there are a host of E-Sports listed many of which are absolutely Greek to me. I do recognize the top one on the list though, namely “Call of Duty” as my teenage son has played it on occasion.

The next Call of Duty Tournament is in Dallas on 28 March and Dallas Empire are priced at 7/4 favourites with the Chicago Huntsmen 2/1 and you can get 11/2 and better about the balance. I have, of course, absolutely no clue as to the form heading into this event, and it may well be prudent to spend some more time with my son as he plays his X-Box.

To find out more about E-Sports Betting and to see whether there has been growth post COVID-19 I made contact with the Marketing Director at World Sports Betting, Ryno Du Plessis who advised that “E-Sports has been a growing betting sport for a while now and although the growth has been slower in SA than other countries, there has been a telling migration as the Generation Y kids enter the working market and start earning more disposable income. With the COVID-19 pandemic, E-Sports suddenly finds itself at the forefront though and we are seeing an increasing number of bets on these sports by patrons who would not have been betting E-Sports a couple of weeks ago”.

I have long suspected that E-Sports is the market of the future, but never really had the inclination to get involved, but it looks as though the time may well be ripe though.

This will likely be my last article for a while as we enter the lock down (it is of course meant to be a sports betting piece) and I wish all of the Citizen readers and regulars to this column a safe and trouble free isolation period and I cannot wait until we are back talking about and betting on top class domestic and international sport.

Twitter: @BrentGraham.

This article was written for the CitiGaming supplement of the Citizen Newspaper and was published on the 26 March 2020.

Brent Graham is a blogger on www.goodforthegame.co.za and sends a free weekly e-mail list just CLICK HERE to register

CitizenBlogI put a post out on Facebook last week that I would be summonsing all my will power and would be giving up Sports Betting for a few weeks. There was a wide range of reactions with most people asking if this was a cry for help and I had perhaps been kidnapped, while others commended me on having the discipline to make this move.

CitizenBlogThere was a time when I used to bet on the PGA Golf every weekend which meant plenty of late nights especially when my fancies were in contention. These days I tend to focus on the bigger events like the Majors and with the US Masters on the horizon, I am looking to get involved in the Players Championship, the event many call the 5th Major.

CitizenBlogThe only thing that has gone right for me in this season’s Super Rugby is that I have not been able to watch many games due to school sports commitments. After a strong start in Week 1, my form has slumped considerably and to give you an indication of where it stands, I am currently sitting 64th out of 69 players in our “Pay To Play” Pool in SuperBru.

CitizenBlogAfter a short break Sevens Rugby returns to our screens this weekend for the 5th round of the IRB World Rugby Sevens Series.

CitizenBlogI have somehow found a way to make a profit these last two weekends of Super Rugby. I say “somehow” because if you have been reading my betting previews on Goodforthegame you would be forgiven for thinking I am talking absolute rubbish.

CitizenBlogAfter a quiet opening weekend of Super Rugby, I had more opportunities to watch games in Round 2 and I am pleased to report I came out ahead of the bookmakers, but only after some serious close shaves.

CitizenBlogThere were 7 Super Rugby matches in Week 1 and if you add together the amount of rugby I watched over the course of the 7 matches you would not even get a full game.

CitizenBlogFor many rugby punters things get real this weekend with the start of Super Rugby and Six Nations.

CitizenBlogA friend of mine was out from New Zealand over the holiday period and although now a fully-fledged All Blacks supporter he does follow my social media accounts and we got to talking about rugby and betting.