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Hours before the Australian Open started in Melbourne on Monday, a BuzzFeed-BBC investigation showed that tennis authorities hadn’t punished male pros repeatedly flagged for suspicions that they were fixing matches to maximize their or others’ betting profits. Tennis authorities quickly gathered for a news conference responding to the charges, saying they had “thoroughly investigated” any evidence. The report provides a case study of how difficult it is to evaluate what could be suspicious betting activity. Its possible to use data analysis, to raise questions about certain matches and players. As part of the investigation, a data reporter spent more than […]

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is looking at a four-game suspension for a violation of the NFL’s drug policy. The suspension is the result of reportedly missing multiple drug tests, not a failed one. The appeals process is ongoing, which is why the suspension hasn’t been announced. According to the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, a player must miss multiple drug tests before he would be subject to a suspension. A year ago, Bell was suspended for the first two games, for a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy after he was arrested for marijuana possession and DUI in 2014. The Steelers running back maintains […]

There are certain hackneyed terms that are used so often that they seemingly lose all meaning. For sports bettors, “sharp money” is one of these terms and it is frequently used when breaking down line movement. When discussing sharp money, we are typically focusing on large wagers made by single individuals or betting syndicates. To understand why sharp money is important, bettors first have to understand how sportsbooks operate. Many bettors believe that oddsmakers are looking to balance their book by attracting 50% of the action on each side and thereby mitigating any risk. That is pure fiction. Sportsbooks shade […]

We still have tons of time until college football kicks off with California at Hawaii, but oddsmakers in Vegas posted college football season win totals for all division 1 teams. College football season win totals are a good way to gauge the sense of the college football betting market and Las Vegas’ expectations for teams. Here are some early-season win totals betting picks to make for the upcoming 2016 college football season.   Cincinnati (Over 6.5) Cincinnati’s defense might have some trouble stopping the run this season. Then again, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has a great returning hard-hitting safety in Zach Edwards. The […]