AN INVESTIGATION into a huge betting plunge on the Cowboys to score first in an NRL match has identified many of those who made cash bets in pubs, clubs and TABs by matching the times of the wagers with CCTV footage. It was August 21, the day of the federal election, and the adage ''vote early and vote often'' was replaced with ''bet early and bet often''.
There was a deluge of money for the lowly ranked Cowboys to open the scoring with a penalty goal against the Bulldogs. Two minutes after the 7.30pm kick-off in Townsville, a Bulldogs player, Ryan Tandy, was penalised for preventing a Cowboys player getting to his feet. A penalty was awarded in front of the posts. But the Cowboys opted to take the tap rather than kicking for a goal. In that split second, the hundreds and thousands of dollars wagered by punters as far afield as New Zealand went down the gurgler.
Five hours before kick-off, Scott Woodward, a league analyst, who had been monitoring NRL prices, sent a text message to the league great Peter Tunks who was on air at radio 2SM.
''This looks a hot game,'' said Woodward. Bookmakers clearly thought so, too, suspending the betting on the Cowboys to score first.
The NRL was alarmed at the betting plunge and called in horseracing officials to help with their investigation.
The chairman of stewards, Ray Murrihy, traced almost every wager on this ''exotic'' bet to terminals in pubs, clubs and TABs across the country. Once they established the time of the bet, they matched it up with CCTV footage. They recognised some familiar faces.
Of particular interest were the bets that had been put on as early as the Wednesday before the game. Racing officials discovered that some of the bigger punters had cleverly disguised their bet by having a ''multi''. This entailed betting on five different sporting outcomes. The other four parts involved sure things such as tennis star Roger Federer to beat a qualifier.
When Murrihy gave the NRL his report, it was so concerned at what he had uncovered, it called in the NSW Police. Among those to have placed bets on the Cowboys to score first were Tandy's manager, Sam Ayoub. CCTV footage from the Duke of Gloucester Hotel in Randwick shows that Tandy's friend Michael Cook, a professional punter, also had a wager on the game.
There is nothing illegal about either Ayoub or Cook having such a bet. Both are regular punters and there is nothing to suggest either had any prior knowledge or involvement in what later took place.
But Cook at least is no stranger to betting controversies. In 2007 he was questioned by Murrihy in relation to an ''unhealthy maze of calls'' among jockeys, punters and trainers involving a race won by Interfere.
The rest of the story here.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/bulldogs-bookies-and-big-bucks-20101001-1611q.html
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