It feels like ive coped a stab in the gut and the bleeding hurts. all my president bush win is far gone.

Good on Casey, deserves to win, thought anthony had the fan base but its good to see people are voting for better singing.

Casey was 4.50 when i backed anthony at 1.60
damn.

tough blow doc

if you want a tip then back san diego tonight in NFL if you wanna make some $$ back..

Bad Luck DC. I thought he had it, stupid me i saved on him. It just goes to show you why i like to bet on animals rather then humans you can never know who everyone likes how much they vote etc.

Great! my missus now points out my two best wins this year(as far as she knows, he he) have been Trev on bb and now Casey on ai, both her picks. She picked Casey with eight left and Trev on day one. Not quite in punting spirit but with a form guide like her....

From The Herald Sun:

Idol bungle traps internet punters
By Danny Buttler

PUNTERS have cleaned up on Australian Idol after Queensland gamblers watching a delayed interstate telecast continued to bet for an hour after the winner was declared. Punters on controversial British internet betting exchange Betfair could not believe their luck when fellow gamblers placed thousands of dollars on Anthony Callea after he had already lost to Casey Donovan. It is believed the bets came mainly from Queenslanders who, despite being an hour behind other eastern states, thought their telecast was live. Betfair, which allows punters to act as bookmakers by offering odds to other online gamblers, did not close wagering on the event for several hours after it had finished.

"Basil", a Melbourne punter who did not want to be named, said he could hardly believe it when money continued to be placed on Callea after Sunday's 10.20pm announcement. The punter, who made several hundred dollars by accepting late-night interstate bets, said he felt uncomfortable about accepting the bets, but could not resist the "money for nothing". "I just thought it was too easy," he said. "I thought for sure that the bets would be voided."

But it was not just "past-the-post" punters who cleaned up. Several big last-minute bets created suspicions of a leak. Basil said he watched as 16-year-old Casey was backed from $4 outsider to favourite. One gambler offered even money on Anthony, collecting $50,000 after punters swooped on the odds. "I think someone had leaked it out," Basil said.

Messages posted on Betfair's internet forum on Sunday night showed the anger of those left out of pocket. "This is ridiculous. If they want to keep the integrity of the exchange, then why didn't they suspend betting once the lines had closed?" one message said. "Somebody on the inside knows something," said another message.

Centrebet, which was the only other bookmaker to bet on Idol, said such shows were a risk. Manager Gerard Daffy said Centrebet closed its books on all TV competitions three days before results were known. "I'm assuming someone works for those companies (which collate votes); hence, it wouldn't be hard to go and have a look (at the result)," he said. "That's why we take the precaution of turning that off three days before the event."

Mr Daffy said Betfair should have been monitoring the event and closed betting before the winner was announced. A Channel 10 spokeswoman dismissed suggestions the winner could have been leaked before the live announcement. She said only a handful of people at the station and Legion Interactive, which controls the polls for both Australian Idol and Big Brother, knew the result before the announcement. Legion Interactive and Betfair could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

Herald Sun



[ This Message was edited by: sportznut on 2004-11-25 08:12 ]

Well, I don't really have a lot of sympathy for any Queenslander DUMB enough to think it was 'live' up here, but the fact that betting wasn't shut down as soon as the result was known is a total joke. In fact, I reckon the way Centrebet does it is far better.... stop betting on it a few days before they announce the winner.


[ This Message was edited by: sportznut on 2004-11-25 08:20 ]

You might not have put money on Casey thefan, but you can claim first on thread to tip the underdog & eventual winner, Casey.


No doubt all looking forward to the next edition from the yank tank.

Paddy, Im putting it this way. Why I thought casey would win
- PPl will vote for Casey cuz shes not some skinny bimbo
- She Lives in Sydney NSW the biggest state so if ya didnt know who to vote for go for ur state.
- every guy thinks Anthony is an A..hole
- Shes better than Anthony.

Thats pathetic on behalf of Betfair, they aren't doing much for their credibility allowing things like that to go on.

Well, apparently, they're going to go back and work out exactly when all the bets were placed and cancel all the ones made after the announcement. But it shouldn't have been able to happen in the first place.