There have been a handful of tennis betting scandals over the last few years and each of them had connections to certain Russian gamblers and gangsters with ties to Online Poker Cheating Scandals. The Russian cheats, who have also become the dominant force in worldwide brick and mortar poker cheating, may again be mixed up in the lastest Wimbledon tennis betting scandal that came to light yesterday.
Tennis authorities have launched an inquiry into insider trading after suspicious betting on a minor first-round match at Wimbledon that drew more than $1.5 million in wagers from online gamblers.
The Tennis Integrity Unit, an anti-corruption group set up by the international tennis authorities, was tipped off yesterday over "concerns" about a Wimbledon match involving Jürgen Melzer, an Austrian ranked No 30 in the world, and Wayne Odesnik, a South African-born American ranked 109. Melzer was the clear favourite to win, but bookies were alerted by the strength of betting on a proposition bet of a straight set victory. Melzer eventually won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
Betfair, the internet betting site, reported that around $1 million was bet before the match started, with another $600,000 flooding in during play, the vast majority of wagers on Melzer. Ladbrokes and Paddy Power were among High-Street bookies who suspended betting before the match, as did many online operators.
The Integrity Unit will focus on whether gamblers were privy to any insider information. Odesnik had suffered a minor muscle injury on Monday, although the player insisted that he was fit and well and that he had not told anyone of his injury, nor had he been approached by a potential match-fixer. But on Betfair alone, $500,000 was bet on a straight-set Melzer victory with odds falling as short as 1-9. This was a low profile match between relatively unknown players on an outside court with little public interest that would normally attract about $15,000 worth of bets.
News of the inquiry at the All England Championships came after UK newspapers revealed that the Tennis Integrity Unit was already investigating a match played in a pre-Wimbledon tournament involving Daniel Kollerer and Oscar Hernandez. Betting on the match was voided after bookies spotted suspicious betting patterns.
Hernandez crashed out of Wimbledon Tuesday, losing 6-0, 6-0, 6-4 to Argentinia's Leonardo Mayer. The Spaniard was clearly unhappy and refused to speak to reporters afterwards.
I will tell you one thing: The Russian online poker cheats are getting their dirty hands into everything!
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