Tag Archives: Europe

Europe-based bettors would do better without the gambling monopolies.

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Right To Bet:

RIGHT2BET has exclusively revealed that throughout the World Cup European state betting monopolies offered their customers, on average, 32% worse odds than those available with private betting companies.

Monopoly customers wishing to back their home nation in South Africa were subjected to 35% worse odds than those being offered by the EU-licensed private sector operators that their governments do not allow them to use.

The startling figures have been revealed in the Right2bet World Cup Report which analysed the odds offered on every World Cup match by seven of Europe&#8217-s biggest betting monopolies, before comparing them to the equivalent prices being offered by other licensed European operators.

The aim of the report was to investigate whether or not Europe&#8217-s betting monopolies were short-changing their customers via the help of legislation which protects their existence and market dominance.

Right2bet is campaigning for the right of all European consumers to be able to bet with the licensed operator of their choice, regardless of the Member State in which they are based.

Right2bet spokesman Ari Last said: &#8220-The figures emanating from this report are quite shocking. Millions of EU consumers who wanted to bet during the World Cup were subjected to hugely inferior prices by the monopolies that their governments strive so hard to protect.&#8221-

&#8220-The protectionist behaviour of certain Member States when it comes to online gambling is a situation that does not conform to the ethos of the single-market, and we hope that the findings of this report will highlight what is undoubtedly an unjust reality.&#8221-

Right2bet World Cup Report key points:

• Monopolies offered their customers 32% worse odds than licensed private operators
• The &#8216-Perfect Bettor&#8217- forced to bet with a monopoly would have made €629 less than they would have done if they were allowed to bet with other EU-licensed operators in the private sector
• On average, a monopoly customer choosing to back the &#8216-favourite&#8217- throughout every one of the 64 tournament matches would have received 38% less value, while one who chose to back the &#8216-outsider&#8217- throughout each game of the tournament would have received 35% less value
• Monopolies offered customers wishing to back their home nation 35% worse odds than private operators
• It is clear from the results published in this report that consumers using online gambling services in the EU are receiving significantly lower value when forced to use a state monopoly provider

Country breakdowns:

• Germany: 48% worse off
• Sweden: 40% worse off
• The Netherlands: 35% worse off
• France: 31.5% worse off
• Greece: 31% worse off
• Denmark: 14.4% worse off

Why the Hollywood Stock Exchange was sold to Cantor Fitzerald. – An insiders account.

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From the Horse&#8217-s mouth (Max Keiser):

Max Keiser is a financial engineer who likes to turn things into markets. After working on Wall Street during the eighties, Keiser turned his hand to Hollywood, where, rather than chase starlets as every other man in Hollywood was doing, he began commoditising those same starlets by trading them on the Hollywood Stock Exchange, a virtual market in celebrities that he created long before the BBC ripped his idea off with Celebdaq. The starlets loved him for turning them into the commodities they always wanted to be and Keiser was awarded three U.S. patents for the virtual specialist technology on which HSX runs. During his weekly NBC appearances on &#8216-Access Hollywood,&#8217- Keiser became the first person since the days of McCarthy to be boycotted by every major Hollywood studio at the same time. When Keiser accurately predicted weekend box office gross for nine weeks running on his HSX segment of NBC&#8217-s &#8216-Access Hollywood,&#8217- the major studios decided that free markets were not so great after all and called for NBC to remove the heretic in their monopolistic midst or lose access to Hollywood &#8216-talent.&#8217- HSX was sold to Cantor Fitzgerald and Keiser moved to Europe where he created Karmabanque, a virtual market in monetising dissent.

Addendum (November 16, 2006): I received this disambiguation note from someone who knows the HSX history&#8230-

Max Keiser was not involved with HSX at the time of the acquisition nor was he part of the process.

Addendum (February 23, 2007): Max Keiser replies&#8230-

To say that I was not involved with the sale of HSX to Cantor is incorrect. I did not endorse the sale of HSX to Cantor – I voted against it – because the deal with Cantor was not, in my opinion, above board.