Australian Government tightening the screws...

[AussieVamp2]

Fedya,

Carlton is good.

Better than Adelaide or Port at the moment

That makes sense, if you are talking about the races, and you went to Atlantic City.

My dad is the racing man, my strategy is more like 'dad, what are you betting on - here's some money, double your bets' when I go with him, as he knows what he is doing and wins money.

Sport is my thing, as that is what I have some clue about. Footy being the only thing I bet on by feel, really.

You gotta love Natasha S-D too

[boris]

aaahhh, Natasha Stott-Despoja......

Why do politicians parcel sports and race gambling in with pokies and casinos?
They are poles apart!

Find me more than one sports gambler in every 100 problem punters and I'll be very surprised. Why do we need 24hr pokie venues, or 24hr casinos for that matter? Weekends perhaps, but 6am on a Tuesday morning for example. Totally pointless.

And who were the bloody idiots that voted that useless, spineless git Howard in anyway???? Certainly not moi.

[AussieVamp2]

Yeah, NSD for PM

Yeah, you can shoot me too if I went insane and voted for them.

Very good point. Put 11 p.m. licences on everywhere but the casino - because they would scream too much. That would cut problem gambling significantly.

I've even blown a dollar change from some coffee on poker matchines at 5:55 a.m. while waiting to watch an FA Cup game at a pub.

Obviously would be more problem racing punters too, so if serious about gambling problems you need to shut down poker machines, casinos and TABs - and only allow race gambling at racetracks.

[Fred]

AV2

I’m very much in the southern hemisphere. Been camping in the beautiful Southern Highlands of NSW for the Easter/ANZAC break. Hope you had a game of two-up or two before they ban that as well.

FWIW regarding the footy, I’m a one-eyed Roos fan with answered fan mail from Malcolm Blight (mid-late 70s) to prove it!

[AussieVamp2]

doubt that ever gets banned on Anzac Day, been legal for a long time then

and the odd evil casino will still have it...

[AussieVamp2]

still not big on stuff I am not likely to win at

[AussieVamp2]

Not sure if I can find my autographed letter from Wayne Harmes around the same time though

Anyway, if you are going to be in Melbourne, lemme know

[Fred]

Thanks AV2

Are you OS at present?

Saw your post -- (***********.proxy.aol.com) from O S B ?

[AussieVamp2]

Nah, not currently in any foreign joint

am in Melbourne

could post from a few different countries though I guess

[AussieVamp2]

you should get ICQ too Fred

[OZ]

$200million punt
By NICK PAPPS
28apr00

AUSTRALIANS are about to take a $200million punt on the Sydney Olympics.

The performance of every athlete and the outcome of every event will be open for bets.
Tabcorp plans to double its outlets in Victoria and use the Internet to cope with an expected gambling avalanche.

And the Herald Sun has learned two interstate bookmakers already have taken tens of thousands of dollars in bets and expect local and overseas punters to wager $160million.

Olympic betting will be twice the size of the Melbourne Cup, on which punters last year bet $94million.

The hottest Games favorite, according to bookies yesterday, is swimmer Ian Thorpe in the 400m freestyle.

A winning $1 bet will return just $1.10.

Cathy Freeman is the shortest Australian bet in athletics. A $1 bet will pay $2.75 if she wins the 400m final.

Punters are also betting on combinations including Essendon winning the Grand Final and Michael Johnson winning the 200m athletics final.

One bookie said he faced a $5million payout if favorites Michael Johnson, Maurice Green, Marion Jones and Svetlana Masterkova win gold medals in their running events.

Bookmakers said soccer was expected to be the most popular team sport, with up to $500,000 wagered on each game.

Tabcorp will launch Olympic betting through its Sportsbet program in the next two months.

This will include doubling to 160 the number of Victorian retail outlets taking Olympic bets.

The company also plans to introduce its long-awaited Internet gambling site, which will feature Olympic betting.

"Interest will be high," Tabcorp spokeswoman Tricia Wunsch said yesterday. "There will be something to interest everyone."

Hundreds of New South Wales punters have already flooded interstate agents with bets.

Gambling on the Games in the state where they are held is traditionally banned by the International Olympic Committee to allay fears of event fixing.

A ban also exits on Australian athletes betting on the Games.

To cope with overseas interest, Northern Territory bookmaker Centrebet is taking bets in foreign currencies and uses several languages on its Web site.

"We are going to take bets on practically everything apart from synchronised swimming," spokesman Gerard Daffy said. "We don't have any synchronised swimming experts to work out the odds."

Mr Daffy said up to 90per cent of Olympic gamblers were expected to be from overseas.

Punters will be able to gamble on everything from Australia's gold medal tally to winning times and placings.

Tabcorp and bookmakers such as Canbet are expected to take up to $40million in bets on the Olympics, with Canbet to launch its Internet site in the next few months.

Darwin Allsports spokesman Darren Bardsley said the company expected to hold up to $50million.

The company was using agents in Europe and the United States to promote its Olympic betting, with obscure sports such as handball attracting money.

One punter had even put $10 on the Australian women's handball team to win a gold at 1000-1.

The major bets so far being offered include Ian Thorpe, who is $1.65 in the men's 200m freestyle, and Michael Klim at $1.85 in the men's 100m butterfly.

The Australian team is favorite in the 400m freestyle at $2.30, while Grant Hackett is favorite in the 1500m at $1.12, with Kieren Perkins second favorite at $5.

NO WAY IN THE WORLD CAN JOHN HOWARD STOP INTERNET BETTING IN AUSTRALIA