Ssb - wpbsa probe white bets

[ferret]

The WPBSA is to investigate a story in the Daily Star on Sunday which alleges an associate of Jimmy White made money betting on him to lose matches.


John Callaghan is reported by the newspaper to have made more than £5,000 betting against White.


However, the Star also makes clear he also bet on White to lose matches he went on to win and do not make any allegations against the former UK and Masters champion.


It appears Callaghan is a regular gambler, betting on many players, including White. The Star reports he lost as many bets as he won.


But the WPBSA said: “The WPBSA takes very *seriously any allegations of betting irregularities in *relation to snooker.


“Where any such information is received we will carefully *examine the circumstance and liaise with the betting industry and Gambling Commission to decide whether an investigation is merited.”


There has been a culture of betting in snooker ever since there’s been snooker. It has not been uncommon for friends and managers to bet on or against their players, usually in all innocence.


But clearly those within the snooker world have to be very careful to avoid the impression of collusion or corruption.


Betting on your own player, particularly to lose, is therefore not a good idea.



More...

[Neil Taperell]

Oh......that's a shock.

[Particle Physics]

On the surface of it, I don't see a problem. Maybe he knows that White is out of form and bets against him, no big deal. Folk in stock markets get early information, folk at stables have information about horses. Folk use superior information for the own use to make money - shocker!

The key question is how close this Callaghan is to Jimmy? If it's his mgr or coach, that would be a conflict of interests, which is more serious than betting against a mate. And it's not as if he's made any money out of it either, so it's not as if Jimmy has thrown a match has he? Unless someone knows something about Jimmy I don't; I've always assumed that he's a straight guy.

[jrc750]

Doesn't sound like there is any story here at all
He bet on him to lose, which he won, so what is the point of the story ????????????????

[ferret]

I know John and have done for many years, he is a honest and down to earth guy I am sure any bets placed were with out Jimmy's knowledge.

For some people with contacts within Snooker it is easier to make a judgement on a match than those with out the inside gossip, I have heard gossip and placed bets based on that gossip does that mean I have done anything wrong? no of course it does not it just means I have reacted to a rumor which yes have given me a advantage in making a prediction on a match.

I hear stuff all the time and if I had placed a bet every time a close friend with a player has said X is playing crap or they are ill at the moment then I would be down thousands.

Is there a story? no I don't think so, has there been any wrong doing? again no I don't think so, Jimmy wants to win everything he plays in he is not going to loose a match to make £900, to put it in perspective away from the main circuit Jimmy is very active doing exhibitions all over the world and in my estimations makes £250-£350 a year from those, is he going to loose a match for a split in a £900 bet? if the winnings were £10k+ then yes there would be something to look into but we are talking about winnings of £900

[beechy1212]

White probably earns more now than he did 10-15 years ago. What an appalling bit of journalism. Talk about running out of idea's for a story lol

[chasmmi]

I think there is clearly no story here but just because a particular player and gambling has been mentioned the WPBSA needs to investigate it and show people that they are willing to investigate anybody in relation to gambling patterns.

[LittleMissAlexa]

do you think he got jimmy drunk the night before a match

[ferret]

I have spoken to John today and he has given me access to his betting accounts, from which I can confirm there is no wrong doing at all, yes there were a few bets against Jimmy winning a match but those bets make up less than 1% of the total number of bets places and are just a few of the hundreds of bets placed on Snooker, the amount of money he has lost betting on Snooker outweighs the amount he has won.

As I said before I have no reason to question John's integrity, he has never done anything in the past to lead anybody to believe that he would do anything wrong and he has said he will cooperate with The WPBSA in anyway he can to resolve this matter which has arisen from poor journalism.

[sharkster63]

I think you are a good mate to clear this up so wisely to all tsf members, I sure wish some of the governing bodies could see this thread. Well Done

I have spoken to John today and he has given me access to his betting accounts, from which I can confirm there is no wrong doing at all, yes there were a few bets against Jimmy winning a match but those bets make up less than 1% of the total number of bets places and are just a few of the hundreds of bets placed on Snooker, the amount of money he has lost betting on Snooker outweighs the amount he has won.

As I said before I have no reason to question John's integrity, he has never done anything in the past to lead anybody to believe that he would do anything wrong and he has said he will cooperate with The WPBSA in anyway he can to resolve this matter which has arisen from poor journalism.

[FOXMULDER]

The sad thing is, many people will read the words "betting pattern" and "Jimmy White" and immediately assume he's guilty of something.

It's a shame we live in a world where "journalism" like this is allowed to exist. The Star is owned by billionaire, Richard Desmond, who apparently also owns OK! and NEW! magazines and Television X, Red Hot TV porn channels.

Scum.

[chasmmi]

The sad thing is, many people will read the words "betting pattern" and "Jimmy White" and immediately assume he's guilty of something.

It's a shame we live in a world where "journalism" like this is allowed to exist. The Star is owned by billionaire, Richard Desmond, who apparently also owns OK! and NEW! magazines and Television X, Red Hot TV porn channels.

Scum.

Agree with this. Even if we only use the Daily Star article and no other evidence for or against, this article is essentially saying:

Man sometimes thinks that low ranked friend will lose snooker matches.


There should be a law against misleading headlines.