Have you ever bet on fixed matches? Do you know how to identify a match if it’s to be fixed or not? In this article, we will be speaking about how to skip being fooled by the Fixed Match Tipping Scam and will be discussing on fixed matches.
By making it clear from the start you should definitely ignore the kind of messages that you can receive on social media posts, on text messages or email. They are just trying to sell information for an upcoming event that they claim to know is already fixed. You should be ignoring those mails, don’t even try to reply nor send money. If they really know that the result is fixed, why they are wasting their time online sending fixture tips instead of claiming amount of money on those fixture results for themselves?
But you know, they would expose themselves that way to any authority looking to investigate the fixing of sports events by becoming vulnerable to criminal prosecution.
“The Fixed Matches Game” Scam
How to bet on fixed matches – learning to bet
You may have come across some Facebook pages offering and promoting tips for fixed matches, but the offer of information on fixed matches in exchange for money is already a scam. These people have no knowledge either possess any inside information. That’s why you should be very aware of these online scammers.
It’s pretty simple how the scams work if that’s your next question.
For given information, each scammer is paying on an upcoming football match. Let’s say they receive 100 responses that they claim to know it’s fixed. To a third of their respondents, they spread the information that the home team is going to have a victory, to another third they give out the information that the away team is going to be the winner and to the final third they give the information that the game will end in a draw.
After the match has been played and it’s over the thirds of the respondents will naturally lose and will have feelings of cheat by the scammers, but don’t forget that one third have won the betting tip and now will believe that the scammers may really have some inside information that proves to be helping. This scam grows with receiving new emails of new upcoming matches but with doubling the price for the information. The dividing of the respondents happens all over again, third for the home team, another third betting on the away team and a third for a draw. So the chain
These are the reasons why you shouldn’t be replying to any emails, text messages or social media posts so you don’t get involved in this fixed game scam. And keep your money in your pockets.
How To Identify A Fixed Match
With having said all of this there is no doubt that match-fixing does occur. In many other sports like basketball, cricket, tennis, and football for sure have been cases of an explosion and that have been reported on a number of occasions. But now the question is how can we identify if the sporting events are a fixture from time to time?
#1 Irregular Pre-Match Odd
How to bet on fixed matches – learning to bet
If, for example, Arsenal are listed at odds 2.30 to defeat Chelsea and then a stream of money starts flowing by being bet on Arsenal in the upcoming days until the match day, then the bookmakers will cut Arsenal’s odds accordingly. With the options of “buying” and “selling” for particular match outcomes, the betting market could be easily regarded similarly to a financial market. And this market adjusts as more punters “buy” Arsenal’s odds to win the match. As the demand for Arsenal’s odds of winning goes up, their odds go down. As you can see it’s very simple. Betting odds are typically a reflection of the money that is being bet on a certain outcome.
So how can all this information help us spot a fixed game?
The match odds should be an accurate reflection of the true likelihood of an outcome occurring if we already know that betting odds are a reflection of demand and supply. At the end of the Serie A season this can be seen, where the odds for draw results are quite irregular by often being listed as shorter than even money. As we all know the “tradition” in Serie A football with clubs assisting one another mutually so they can have beneficial results at the end of the season matches. The odds for a draw were favored at 76 ends of season matches, resulted with 30 matches of those 76 listed to draw at kickoff at less than even money since the Serie A season in 2000/2001 where 22 out of these 30 matches ended in a draw.
There has been some kind of agreement between the teams that are competing to ensure a desirable result for each, but there are situations with a sudden drop in the odds for a drawn result. And does not necessarily mean the match has been fixed in the pure sense of the term. In such cases the best way to make a profit is to back the draw before casual punters come hunting, wait for the money to come pouring in and for the odds for the draw to drop. And once the odds for the draw drop you should lay the draw shorter odds on Betfair or another betting exchange and secure sure profit for yourself.
#2 – Irregular In-Play Odds
How to bet on fixed matches – learning to bet
It has been noticed an irregular in-play odds that suggest that something is not quite right which is very similar to pre-match betting. It’s obvious that the match-fixers have taken advantage also in In-play betting. There have been a number of instances in the recent years where irregular in-play odds and betting patterns have alerted authorities to the influence that brings this match-fixing syndicates.
When a Swedish Superettan match between Jönköpings Södra and Syrianska in 2014 saw irregular in-play odds for the over 3.5 goals market, is one of the examples. Typically the odds for this betting option are in the range of 2.50 to 3.00, and for this match, the odds for over 3.5 goals (l.e at least 4 goals) were low as even money. the fact that just fifteen minutes into the match and the game was still at 0-0 without a goal scored, the weight of money saw the odds for Over 3.5 goals drop to as low as 1.50, which was the most glaring moment that was an indicator curious enough in itself. Then when the home team scored in the 21st minute the odds for Over 3.5 goals rose to 1.70. When in the 51st minute the second goal was scored, money has been bet on the Under 4.5 goals market, a clear suggestion that the fixers knew the game would end up with just four goals scored. With Jönköpings Södra winning the match with 4-0 indeed it did.
#3 – Irregular officiating
How to bet on fixed matches – learning to bet
Referees make mistakes often because being a referee means you will make mistakes for sure. As sports fans we know some days the decisions fall your way and we may complain about poor officiating, but other days these decisions simply don’t so we accept a degree of a human error. These poor decisions generally are just errors of judgment.
Another thing altogether is the irregular officiating. So how can we separate what’s an error of judgment from irregular officiating that may suggest that the referee is attempting to fix a result?
Do you remember the Bundesliga referee scandal in 2005 which saw referee Robert Hoyzer confess to both betting on and fixing matches in the German Cup and Regionalliga? When two controversial penalties awarded to Paderborn the game was determined in large part by the referee Hoyzer. After 30 minutes Hamburg led 2-0 and seemed to be in control of the match, but in the 35th minute the first penalty was awarded to Paderborn with Mpenza sent off minutes later. The other penalty was also unreal, so to suggest that the penalties were soft would be an understatement. Paderborn would win the match 4-2.
As a result of this criminal investigation, Hoyzer has been sentenced to 2 years and 5 months in prison and by being banned for life from giving any role in football. Another referee caught up in the scandal Dominik Marks, was likewise banned for life and received 1 year and 6 months prison sentence. Hamburg was awarded €2 million in compensation due to their elimination from the German Cup.
Four referees approached the German Football Association raising their concerns regarding Hoyzer’s officiating.
There have been more cases of referee scandals that aren’t just limited to football. One of the biggest was with the assistance of the FBI in 2007 in the NBA refereeing drama.
#4 Irregular Performances
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A player can make an error, a dropped catch, a poor pass, an unruly attempt on goal, for sure, but from time to time we see players doing the thing that really makes us wonder. Especially those moments that make you wanna say “What the … did just happened?”.
The greatest suspicious goalkeeping moment was Ferhat Kaplan’s “attempted save” of a Wesley Sneijder strike back in 2015. That was a bit suspicious don’t you think so?
But the point shaving scheme was uncovered back in 1980. It all started when Boston College basketball players were intimidated by and paid off by associated underworld figures and gamblers to win basketball games but by less than the point spread. Hill turned informant and alerted authorities to the Boston College point-shaving scheme seeking to escape prosecution and jail time.
#5 – Irregular Results
How to bet on fixed matches – learning to bet
Upsets happen when sometimes teams that everyone thinks are certainly going to win, don’t always win. In 2011, as an example Blackburn defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford, Barcelona lost to Hercules 2-0 in 2010 has started the match at odds of 29.00 to get a victory. Still, Hercules won. While the result was unlikely it doesn’t fall in the range of suspicious or outrageous. But when speaking about irregular results we talk about results that simply don’t make any sense and appear absurd in the context of a genuine sporting contest. The most glaring example occurred in Nigeria in 2013. Following a farcical final match day relegation battle that saw two key matches end 67-0 and 79-0 as clubs attempted to enhance their goals difference, referees and officials were banned for life with the clubs suspended for 10 years.
Conclusion
How to bet on fixed matches – learning to bet
No matter what measures of detection or laws authorities may implement, the match-fixing is here to stay, unfortunately. But we can still employ common sense and identify when a sporting event may, in fact, be fixed.
So finally we are going to say this again if anyone is claiming to offer you inside information on fixed results in exchange for money, just walk away. Simply walk away.