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It’s here sports fans! Those mischievous little scamps at Paddy Power have launched their brand, spanking new Facebook app. Paddy Power In-Play! is the first EVER real money sports betting app to hit Facebook and we have to say, it’s a pretty cool service.

The app allows users to share tips, view leader boards and follow betting experts. In Paddy Power’s own words, In-Play “gives sports fans from all over the UK an arena where they can beat the bookie and each other!”

Like it!

Of course, Paddy Power already have a strong presence on social media and regularly tweet out promotions and betting tips to its 197,000+ followers, flavoured with their particular brand of lad-friendly banter. However, this is the first toe dipped in the virgin waters of real money gambling via social media.

Facebook has taken a bit of flack in the past for making free-to-play casino games accessible to children. However, Will Collins, Head of Social Casino partnerships at Facebook, welcomed In-Play! enthusiastically:

“Given the popularity of sports betting in the UK, we’re delighted to be welcoming Paddy Power onto the Facebook gaming platform with an innovative gaming experience.”

The Social Bet-work

Another spokesperson, ducking a few rotten tomatoes hurled by an angry crowd of incensed middle-class housewives, had to the following to say:

“Online betting is a popular and well-regulated pastime in the UK. Our carefully chosen partners work within stringent regulatory guidelines to ensure their products and services are used safely and responsibly by adults. These products will be invisible and inaccessible to people aged under 18 on Facebook.”

Age appropriate gamblers who’re bored of Farmville and want to lay down some cold, hard moolah can download the app here.

Read more about: Cheeky Feckers! Paddy Power Launch Facebook App!

Last season witnessed a record number of managers leave the English football league.

League Managers’ Association chairman Richard Bevan expressed his embarrassment at the number of managers and coaches ousted in the 2012-2013 season, which totaled 103. The concept of legacy seems lost in modern football, and with Sir Alex Ferguson now retiring, Arsene Wenger is flying the flag for stamina.

It might be a sad indictment of the modern game, but owners such as Roman Abramovich will argue that a ruthless replacement policy heralds success. Roberto Di Matteo was ousted last season despite winning the Champions League, and Chelsea went on to secure a Europa League triumph under Rafa Benitez

The ‘sack race’, conceived by British bookmakers, is now a staple of soccer speculation.

This Premiership season sees Newcastle manager Alan Pardew start as favourite after a summer of ruptures: Joe Kinnear’s controversial appointment as director of football, and Papiss Cisse’s refusal to train as a protest against the Wonga shirt sponsor.

After a barren, trophy-less spell at Arsenal and a so-far unsuccessful attempt to prize Luis Suarez from Liverpool, Arsene Wenger could also be close to an exit. Arsenal insist that there’s money to spend, but the failed pursuit of Higuain left Arsenal fans disillusioned with the veteran Frenchman.

Mourinho is also tipped to make a shock exit on the basis of his fractious past with owner Abramovich.

Out of the newly promoted clubs, Malky Mackay is a surprise favourite. In spite of his heroics last season, Cardiff might be looking for a more stellar name to cement their Premiership status.

Outside of the domestic club scene, most pressure is on England’s Roy Hodgson. A failure to navigate England through the Autumn World Cup qualifiers is certain to see the former Liverpool and West-Brom man out of a job.

Read more about: New Season, And A New Sack Race

Everyone has a Facebook account; you, your aunt, your kids; I even knew a dog once that had a Facebook account. So there’s no excuse to not be interested in Paddy Power’s new move to get a social betting app on the world’s most popular social network.

Yesterday, Paddy Power announced that they would be bringing the world’s first social betting app to Facebook, and that the beta testing would start in the next few weeks. The idea behind this move is so that you can place bets on all your favourite sporting events without having to leave Facebook, while also being able to talk with your friends and, if necessary, get some advice too.

Putting The Bookies On Facebook

Gamesys was the first to launch a real-money gambling Facebook app with ‘Bingo & Slots Friendzy’, and shortly after that 888Casino made the first full casino suite available on Facebook. Now Paddy Power follows in their footsteps to become the first bookmaker to join the ever-expanding list of Facebook real-money wagering apps. For more information on the impish Irish bookmaker, check out RightCasino’s Paddy Power Casino review.

It wouldn’t be too shocking to see some of the other big names in betting to follow suit, especially since this is likely to be quite a successful venture.

Paddy Power has already expressed their concern that underage gambling might take place, so they’re enforcing strict age verification to make sure that no one underage is affected. This will probably be done by ensuring that Facebook player’s also have an account with Paddy Power before they’re allowed to use the app.

We know we’ll be playing from the LiveBetting Facebook account, why don’t you join us?

Read more about: Bet With Paddy Power On Facebook

We’re on to the semi-finals now, and the bookies are predicting that we’ll have both Djokovic and Murray fighting it off in the final. But first, they have to get past their semi-final opponents. For the time being, here’s what happened in yesterday’s match:

Agnieszka Radwańska fought valiantly, and the two girls were neck and neck with 1 set each after 2 sets, however it was Sabine Lisicki that took the game. Lisicki won with 2 sets out of three, scoring 4-6, 6-2 and 9-7, moving her to the finals.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to stay on top of the ball. With so few player’s, there are also fewer matches. Hare are today’s two big matches:

Don’t Forget About These Special Offers!

Paddy Power

 
If you bet with Paddy Power then you can get your money back on losing bets, but only if Andy Murray wins Wimbledon! Any outright bet of less than £100 will be returned to any losing players as long as the Scottish Slammer wins in the finals.

BetFair

 
You can win several £10 free bets if you play with BetFair. Bet at least £25 on any Wimbledon match and you’ll be entered into the draw. You can do this multiple times to give yourself a better chance of winning and also win multiple times. There will be two draws on the 1st of July and the 8th of July, each with 100 names being announced. Just remember, you can win more than once!

BetVictor

 
Take part in BetVictor’s ‘Fifth Set Insurance’ offer, and have your losing bets returned to you if your player losses in the fifth set! You’ll receive a maximum refund of £50 as long as your selection losses the match during the fifth set.

Read more about: Wimbledon Bets: Day 11

Put together by our team of tipsters, The Daily Live Bet is your one stop shop for the day’s sports news and betting tips. You can follow us on Twitter for Live Betting updates.

Can Vicente Complete The Lot In The Confederations Cup?

Vicente Del Bosque may be a man who can count the World Cup, European Championship, Champions League and Uefa Cup amongst his many accolades but the one glaring omission from his CV as an international manager is the Confederations Cup.

There can be no doubt that he is taking this tournament extremely seriously, showing real animation in Thursday’s Semi-final against Italy when his side laboured to a penalty shoot-out victory in stifling conditions in Fortaleza. His side are 0.91 with William Hill to lift the trophy, whether that be in the 90 minutes or the lottery of penalties.

The obstacle facing a Spanish side who have never previously made the final of the Confederations Cup is the tournament hosts, Brazil. Despite the concerning backdrop of social unrest and political protestations, the Brazilian team has progressed to the final utilising a more pragmatic gameplan – evidently Scolari’s approach when the World Cup is played in 12 months time.

The tournament’s top scorer thusfar Fernando Torres is 1.75 to score at any time with William Hill. He will be intent on putting a poor club season behind him with the golden boot award here.

His major rival for the gong is rising Superstar Neymar. With 3 goals in the tournament to date, he will need at least 2 goals to beat Torres outright. William Hill are offering 5.0 for Neymar to score 2 or more. Will this be the game when the Spanish defence is finally punished for their paucity?

The popular money is on Neymar netting in a Brazil win. Join in at 4.0 with Paddypower.

Four Figure Heaven

Limerick to beat Dundalk in the soccer 1.625
Vettel to win Silverstone Grand Prix 1.2
Spain to win the Confederations Cup 1.7
Italy to beat Uruguay 1.75

£25 bet returns £1,071.98 on Paddypower

A smile from the usually solemn Bosque-man

Read more about: The Daily Live Bet

Put together by our team of tipsters, The Daily Live Bet is your one stop shop for the day’s sports news and betting tips. You can follow us on Twitter for Live Betting updates.

Wimbledon Hospital Championships

In a tournament which has seen an unprecedented number of injury withdrawals and more slips than a Superbowl half-time show, only two of the favourites still remain standing in the men’s Draw.

With Federer, Nadal and Tsonga all departing SW11 by the midpoint of the first week, the path to the final has seemingly been cleared for Andy Murray and World Number 1 Novak Djokovic.

But as we have seen from the first 3 days at Wimbledon, you can take nothing for granted and 2010 Finalist Tomas Berdych is a tantalising bet at 45.0 with William Hill to win the Championship outright. The powerful Czech player, ranked 6 in the world, is a handful for anyone on his day and thrives on these fast courts.

In the women’s draw, Serena Williams will hope to put a turbulent week off the court behind her when she takes on French world number 99 Caroline Garcia. Despite being 40.0 to win with Paddypower, Garcia realistically has no chance of halting the monstrous game of Serena.

Having bludgeoned her was to 32 consecutive wins, this should be a formality for Williams. However should Garcia put up any semblance of resistance, then 1.25 from Paddypower for there to be more than 16.5 games in total played in the match is definitely worth a punt.

Confederations Cup Cruise For Spain

In a repeat of the final of Euro 2012, Spain meet Italy in the second Semi-final of the Confederations Cup – a surprisingly entertaining tournament which has seen more than 60 goals scored (albeit Tahiti are responsible for shipping most of them).

Given the imperious performances of Spain thus far, William Hill’s odds of 0.4 for Spain to win against a disjointed Italian side looks a very generous bet. With Italy missing the impressive Mario Balotelli through injury, they may struggle to test the Spanish defence who have only conceded one goal in their first three matches.

The Italians won’t be the only ones missing Mario as it is safe to say that the tournament will be more sedate in his absence. When he wasn’t tormenting opposition defenders, he was apparently visiting some of the local favelas to assist in charitable work. Although the jury is out as to whether their lives would be greatly enhanced by Mario’s offerings of a Scalextric set, a trampoline and a quad bike.

If you are a fan of sporting symmetry then BetVictor are offering 19.0 on a 4-0 victory for Spain, which would be a repeat of their emphatic Euro 2012 performance. BetVictor are offering 3.2 on midfield magician Andres Iniesta scoring in a Spanish victory which represents a cracking return from what in all likelihood will be a comfortable Spanish victory.

Tahiti do the canoe celebration. They’ve shipped a lot of goals.

Four Figure Heaven

Spain to beat Italy 0.4
Williams v Garcia – More than 16.5 games in the match 1.25
Andreas Seppi to beat Michael Llodra 1.25
Kaia Kanepi to beat Angelique Kerber 2.4

£50 bet returns £1,204.87 on Paddypower

Read more about: The Daily Live Bet

Put together by our team of tipsters, The Daily Live Bet is your one stop shop for the day’s sports news and betting tips. You can follow us on Twitter for Live Betting updates.

Crunch Time In The Confederations Cup

The eagerly anticipated Confederations Cup Semi-final between South American giants Brazil and Uruguay promises to be an open encounter with Uruguay a massive 9.0 to emerge victorious with Paddypower.

Despite keeping clean sheets against Japan and Mexico, the Brazilian defence has flattered to deceive and with the attacking triumvirate of Suarez, Cavani and Forlan, Uruguay will undoubtedly prove to have more bite than previous opponents.

If the Brazilian defence has come under scrutiny then the Uruguay backline has been more suspect than Donald Trump’s barnet. All of this makes William Hill’s offer of 0.91 for both teams to score more appealing. If the total match goals exceed 2.5 then you will bag odds of 1.38.

If you are finding it just too difficult to pick a winner, the tournament hosts are 14.0 to win on penalties (that’s one for you Chris Waddle – clearly too traumatised by his own Italia 90 spot-kick failure to be able to pronounce the word correctly ever again).

Will Suarez bite Brazil?

Wimbledon Hotting Up

Wimbledon never fails to amaze and amuse, sometimes simultaneously. Yesterday’s dose of hilarious insanity featured the well-tanned German Philipp Kohlschreiber who apparently found the London heat too much to bear and had to retire “tired” from his First Round match with Ivan Dodig. In the process he may have become the first German ever to voluntarily pack up his towel and leave a prime summertime location.

Following “Super” Steve Darcis’ startling victory over Rafael Nadal in Round 1, all eyes will be upon the plucky Belgian in his Second Round match with Polish player Lucasz Kubot. Having made the Fourth Round of Wimbledon in 2011, Kubot certainly enjoys playing on grass and, although mainly a doubles player, he is a menacing opponent.

BetVictor are offering 1.2 on Kubot emerging victorious – a great price given that history dictates that following a major upset, the underdog usually succumbs in the following round – Lukas Rosol last year can testify to that.

It has been a typically underwhelming performance from the raft of British players with no fewer than 8 falling by the wayside in the Opening Round – although we should really have expected this annual lemmings leap from the First Round Draw.

Today’s patriotic bet must be on British male doubles pairing, Colin Fleming and Jonny Marray. Jonny, who triumphed in last years doubles event with former partner Frederik Nielson, is 0.28 to win his first round match with British Davis Cup player Colin Fleming against unfancied Slovak pair, Klizan and Zelenay.

Four Figure Heaven

Luis Suarez to score at any time 2.25
Brazil to win but both teams to score 2.0
Tommy Robredo to beat Nicolas Mahut 1.625
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to beat Ernests Gulbis 0.22

£50 bet with William Hill returns £1,002.60!

Read more about: The Daily Live Bet

Put together by our team of tipsters, The Daily Live Bet is your one stop shop for the day’s sports news and betting tips. You can follow us on Twitter for Live Betting updates.

Cream Of The Wimbledon Crop

The Wimbledon fortnight may have crept up on us more sneakily than Senor Berlusconi at one of his famed bunga bunga parties but the will he/won’t he question has been looming for some time… Will Julian Assange make a guest appearance in the Royal Box on Finals Day?

Paddypower are offering a generous 500.0 that the agoraphobic WikiLeaks founder may extricate himself from the Ecuadorian Embassy in time to view Andy Murray collect his first Wimbledon Crown.

If you are seeking another underdog victory like Rafa’s straight sets defeat to unheralded Belgian Steve Darcis, look no further than fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers. He’s12.5 with Betfair to overcome the erratic Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who is 9th seed.

Gasquet may have a decent record on grass but Granollers is a very stubborn opponent, and is ranked 41 in the world.

Assange…a surprise appearance?

T-20 Solace For England?

Fresh off the back of an agonising defeat to India in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday, England’s cricket team attempt to bounce back to winning ways with the first match of the T20 Series with New Zealand.

Given the multitude of Test and One Day games they have contested in the last 12 months, the two sides must be more familiar with each other than Salman Butt is with his prison cell.

New Zealand are 1.1 with Betvictor to win the first match; enticing odds given England’s frailty with the bat on Sunday against India. New Zealand boast an aggressive batting line up and are well-versed with the English conditions by now.

4.0 odds on middle order batsman Ross Taylor being New Zealand’s top scorer is an intriguing offer given his prowess in this form of the game. I fancy New Zealand to prove too strong as they did in the One-Day Series between the sides just a few weeks ago.

Just How Good Are Lions Without Their Mane Men?

The British and Irish Lions face their last midweek run out of the Tour today against new franchise the Melbourne Rebels. Realistically most of the Lions players involved know their chances of making the Test team for Saturday are not much greater than Steven Hawking’s and if there is a lack of intensity or application in their performance then the Rebels could prove a genuine threat.

Betvictor will give you 14.0 for a Rebels victory by 5 points or less, whilst if both teams score (practically a given on this Tour), you can bag 0.33.

Whilst the Bookmakers strongly tip the Lions to be too strong for the Rebels, we cannot underestimate the influence of the hostile Aussie crowd and the determination of the home players to inflict damage on the tourists. Should this rebellion come to fruition, 9.0 from Paddypower on a Rebels victory is definitely worth a punt.

Today’s 4 Figure Heaven:

Heather Watson to beat Madison Keys at Wimbledon 1.25
Bernard Tomic to beat Sam Querrey at Wimbledon 1.1
New Zealand to beat England – T20 Cricket 1.0
Melbourne Rebels to beat Lions 9.0

All with Paddypower – £20 bet returns £1,890.00

Read more about: The Daily Live Bet