As most of you know I do like to have a little flutter at the online casino and play the tables as well as a hand or two of poker, but I occasionally like to have a bet on the horses or fancy my chances at who will be the first scorer at a premier league match. When talking to a mate over a pint the other night he said “are you playing with the bookies money”? No I don’t win that often I laughed and it was then that I got his meaning, free bets not just winning and betting again with that money.

How does that work I wondered, so I did some simple research and found it was very similar to some of the other gaming sites that I use for online bingo, or online poker for example. Although some of the offers for online betting varied, there were some great offers to be seen. With a couple of clicks with the mouse and I soon found the latest free betting offers from the UK’s leading online bookmakers. There are potentially thousands of pound worth of free bets and bonuses just waiting to be claimed. I can now find the very latest free bet offer from the top bookies, as well as full reviews, to help me make the right choice. Fancy joining me in a little free bet on the Carling Cup?

Now that a pub landlady has won her appeal to show Premier League games using a foreign TV decoder in her pub, will it mean that you can watch the Premier League at your local pub, which may not have been possible because the pub could not afford the cost of subscribing to Sky?

The case, which has been reported today, is certainly the talk of our office where we have a lot of people that like watching the game, but are not able to do so without either subscribing themselves, or going to a pub that is perhaps not their local to see a game. The Landlady, Karen Murphy had to pay nearly £8,000 in fines and costs for using a cheaper Greek decoder in her Portsmouth pub to bypass controls over match screening. Karen is clearly a fighter and decided to take the case to the European Court of Justice. The court now says national laws which prohibit the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards are contrary to the freedom to provide services.

Although many think that this can only be a good thing, there is a lot at stake here surely? Love or loathe Sky they have transformed the football league in this country, which is regarded by many as the best in the world, but many think that the money that has been poured into the game has ruined it with the new elite of overpaid footballers. The same could also be said of rugby which through the efforts of Sky, what was largely amateur set up has been turned into a full time professional game. Have both games improved or did you prefer the cosy set up of previous years? Whatever happens it could drastically alter the financial set up of the Premier League and who knows affect the game from the top through to the lower leagues.

Whilst Rupert Murdoch is waiting for the culture secretary to give his verdict on whether his News Corporation should be permitted to buy BSkyB, the man himself has been not waiting around biting his nails far from it! I do not have an opinion about the man but I do know that he seems to get things done and he seems to have been passing the time plotting his next deal. This may come as a surprise to you as much as to me; apparently he has held talks with Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, to launch a consortium bid for Formula 1.

As I understand it F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, is unlikely to be interested, but who knows? However, the question I would like asked is, what does Mr Murdoch and Mr Slim think they can do better than F1 veteran Mr Ecclestone, who turned 80 last October? Mr Murdoch, another octogenarian and the younger of the two by five months, believes he has the ability to transform F1 and attract a younger fan base to the sport.

Well it certainly would be an interesting development in F1; I now find the sport a bit repetitive with the cars and drivers performing like automatons and the races now seeming to have to rely on gimmicks to give it some added interest. Do you remember Bernie Ecclestone’s suggestion that we have artificial rain descending on the track unexpectedly?

I read that Mr Murdoch would seek to widen the sport’s appeal by cross promoting and selling the sport with its other assets. He could even look to scrap the elite nature of a visit to the Grand Prix in his pursuit of a younger, digital-minded audience, I don’t know what you think, but to me F1 lost its appeal a long time ago when race cars stopped looking like cars and became roller skates. Oh dear, that’s dating me isn’t it?

Let me say right from the start that I am not a compulsive gambler, but I do like a flutter now and again, tried my luck last week at the Grand National and as usual I, like millions of others, lined the “bookies” pockets for yet another year. The Grand Nation is described as the “people’s race” and it is a time when most pubs and offices have a National draw and we chance our arms with a £1 each way down at the betting shop or online bookmakers, on the name of a horse we fancy.

In many ways betting on the National is a game of chance; in the same way as trying to predict the number on which the ball will come to rest as the roulette wheel stops spinning. Having said that, when I was away on a business trip last week I was sitting in my hotel room after dinner and as a part of my routine when away, downloaded 888.com for my nightly game of online poker. It was then that I did something which I have not done for, well years. I went to the roulette table and bought some chips through my online account. It was my lucky night and after some initial losing spins my luck turned, and it is luck my friends, when i had some minor wins on black and red and decided to place all my remaining cash on a single number, I hit the jackpot and scooped a beautiful 35 to 1 prize!

Common sense prevailed and I cashed in my chips and went into the online poker room, this is more my style as poker is a game of skill, playing the cards that you are dealt and trying to read what your opponents are going to do. All in all I had a good night at the casino and thankfully I am not the sort of person who has money to throw away, so it may be a long time before I go back to the roulette table again, even though I won this time!

It is the second greatest event in the world after the Olympic Games, some would argue that it is the greatest event, I cannot argue either way however, what can a person do if they are not interested in football? I watched the England game on Saturday with interest and along with many millions of England supporters was disappointed by the result, but there is a long way to go. The problem for me and for those that I have spoken to at work and in the pub, is the blanket coverage of the event on every TV and radio station at just about every hour of the day and night! Can we not restrict it to the specialist Sky sports programmes, BBC2 and ITV2 and one of the many radio stations that specialise in football and allow those who want to watch or listen to radio that they are used to the chance?

I do not have a particular problem as I have a great pastime that I pursue at times like this and when I am away on a business trip, the online casino at 888.com. It is here that I can play online poker as well as all the popular casino games such as blackjack, slots, baccarat, roulette and craps. The online casino room is also the home to online betting, so you can bet on the football world cup games, but tops with many people is the 888bingo and 888ladies. So if you are one of the many that wants to get away from the world cup, go to the online casino room and get some fun.

It is only six months ago that we thought that we had seen the last of the British Grand Prix when the preferred option of Donington’s bid to stage the British F1 race collapsed, it was never my choice having attended Silverstone many times as well as Donington Park for a classic car meeting of the TR Register. The man who decreed the change was none other than Bernie Ecclestone who seems to have no regard for the tradition in the sport.  I would remind everyone that it was at Silverstone that the Formula 1 world championship was launched 60 years ago and for it to be moved or at one stage to be lost forever was unthinkable. The area around Silverstone is alive with motor sport and many of the most successful team are associated with it, I found out that even the great Mercedes has their F1 engine made just down the road from Silverstone!

Well from adversity often there comes triumph and it is the same with dear old Silverstone which has undergone a major upgrade to the track. We F1 fans will finally get a glimpse of the new layout when the track is put to the test his weekend where I will be watching the FIA GT1 World Championship. The Duke of York is to open the track and we shall see the changes that have been made, the major one being at Abbey where the track now detours to the inside of the circuit to a new long straight where the cars will power down to give average speeds of around 157 MPH. I simply cannot wait for this weekend to see the new layout and the improved spectator facilities, which everyone would agree needed a major upgrade. Happily the Silverstone G.P is safe for another 17 years at least, get your camping gear out folks, and see you there.

Mobile phones are common place nowadays, but there still some areas where you cannot be seen to be using them, possibly even carrying them with you, yes it’s true! One of the strictest places on this fair globe of ours is the course at Augusta National Golf Club, where spectators and journalists must leave their phones in safe storage and it would seem, this applies to the players as well.

So who was the guy that thought he was a law unto himself, well none other than Tiger Woods. Tiger whipped out his mobile phone on the 10th green at Augusta National yesterday, despite a ban on carrying phones on the course.  He was using the phone, according to his long time pal and 1992 Master champ Mark O’Meara, to help him as he was having trouble with his putting stroke. Tiger was using the ‘phone’s camera to film him because he had a loop in the stroke and thought it might help him overcome the problem if he could see it on video.

This set me thinking about some of the places where mobiles cannot be used and I have to say that it was difficult to think of any. When you walk down the streets of any Town or City it seems that just about everyone has one of their hands clenched in position on their ear! That’s not just here in the UK either; it applies in most parts of the world. No doubt the authorities at Augusta will overlook this current indiscretion by Tiger, unlike the previous ones that his wife has not come to terms with! I wonder what the betting is on the Masters Championship, I’ll have to take a quick check at the odds on the online betting sites, and Tiger might just be worth a punt.

Is it possible that Jenson Button will join Mclaren for the 2010 season of the Formula 1 World Championship?

I have a few thoughts on this,

His wage, Jenson took a £5m wage cut down to £3m to keep his drive at brawn this season, so I’m sure that he’ll want a full wage for the 2010 season, chances are Mercedes will easily offer  him his original £8m where as brawn might struggle to raise the extra capital even more so if Virgin aren’t going to sponsor them for the 2010 season. Mercedes have a £60m sponsor ship deal with Vodafone so a £3m extra isn’t that much, although i feel he’ll want to be closer to Lewis’s £15m wage.

Car Strength, well the Brawn GP has faded over the last half of the season, so it’s good to say that the rear diffuser situation definitely helped them in the beginning of the season.  McLaren have had bit of a poor car this season but it has gained traction in the last few races.

Its hard to say who i’d drive for, if McLaren offer him enough then i think he’ll be going but if Brawn GP offer him his £8m wage i think he’d stay, but what’s to say the Brawn GP car will be as competitive for the 2010 season.

Jenson Button Brawn GP 2009