CBS – For the first time since he joined the Miami Heat, LeBron James’ team is an underdog in the NBA Finals. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs opened with a -120 moneyline (5-to-6 odds) to win the NBA Finals Sunday, according to Sportsbook.com. Some books have it as high as 135, and that action could increase before Thursday’s Game 1. San Antonio also opens as a four-point favorite to win Game 1. While -120 isn’t exactly breaking down walls in favor of the Spurs, it does show the doubts about the two-time defending champions as well as the…

Premium Times – Nigeria has been implicated in yet another football match-fixing scandal, with the revelation that the friendly match between the Super Eagles and North Korea on the eve of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was doctored. The allegation, published by the New York Times, opens a fresh can of worms in a series of claims that Nigeria has featured prominently for years in the dubious art match-rigging. Nigeria won the friendly against the North Korean side by 3-1. Besides the result, that match also grabbed the headlines over a stampede that occurred before the commencement of…

Reuters – South Korean casino operator Paradise Co has hired Jose Mourinho, the outspoken manager of English football giants Chelsea, as the face of its new advertising campaign to lure punters from China, where the sport is increasingly popular. Paradise is teaming up with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc to build a $1.7 billion casino resort in the coastal city of Incheon, near the country’s main international airport, with construction to be completed in 2017. It faces steep competition from operators like Genting Singapore PLC and Caesars Entertainment Corp, which are moving to build their own tourist-focused resorts in South…

STV – Almost a third of professional footballers in Scotland have admitted breaking the rules on betting for players, a new survey has revealed. The study revealed the extent and attitudes towards gambling in Scottish football and found that 32% of players admitted contravening strict gambling rules set out by our football governing bodies. The report, by the world union for professional footballers, FIFpro, also revealed that one player said they had played in a game that has since been identified as fixed. One player also admitted they had been approached in the past 12 months to fix a match…

iGaming Business – UK bookmaker Betfred is to review its £5 million (€6.1 million/$8.4 million) ad account with the BJL advertising and PR agency after an internal realignment of the brand. According to the Campaignlive.co.uk website, the bookmaker has begun a tender and has hired agency intelligence provider Creativebrief to manage the process. BJL, which has worked with the bookmaker since 2011, has been asked to repitch as part of the review. Chemistry meetings are due to be held in early June and pitches will take place in July. A winner is expected to be announced around July 7. The…

4 Flush – There are reports that Las Vegas is number two on a list of potential NHL expansion cities behind Seattle. Las Vegas is the largest city in the U.S. that does not have any professional sports teams. There are two reasons for this. The population in Las Vegas could not support a sports team until the last 5-10 years. Sports leagues have also been reluctant to entertain the idea of a Las Vegas team due to legalized sports betting. The major sports leagues have shunned Las Vegas due to its legalized sports betting. The leagues are so against…

NJ.com – Working as a bookmaker for the mastermind of illegal sports gambling, Ron “The Cigar” Sacco, I’ve seen it all. I began clerking for Sacco in Los Angeles in 1986, when his organization was taking in a meager $40 million a year in bets. Raids on his offices in the United States eventually prompted Sacco to relocate offshore to the Dominican Republic, where gambling is legal. The feds were not deterred and Sacco was captured in 1993. By then his business was generating an estimated $1 billion a year in bets. Fast-forward two decades: U.S. News and World Report…

South African gaming company Goldrush Gaming Group has selected technology solutions provider BetTech Gaming to launch its new online sportsbook. Find reviews of all the best betting sites at www.spinathon.co.uk The new GBets.co.za website will mark the firm’s first venture into online sports betting, after having already established itself as a land-based operator of bingo and casino venues in the country. GBets.co.za will offer a range of pre-match and in-play wagering opportunities for domestic and international sports events to online and mobile players. The new betting brand will be supported by an extensive media campaign in South Africa, with G-Bets…