Technology

Not that it's my usual style to comment on corporate stories, but the news which has been published on various blogs, and formally announced on the official website, of a deal which puts Betfair onto Samsung televisions, is one of the more exciting releases I have seen in a long time, and in my view a huge personal success for the amiable and extremely capable head of Betfair TV, Simon Miller.

The wider picture here, though - following on so soon after the equally exciting launch of Betfair's iPhone application, which was downloaded 20,000 times in the first month - is the same as I was making when I was interviewed the other day as part of the BBC's coverage from the Aegon Championships at Queen's. Asked by John Inverdale what should be done about people betting on laptops court-side, I commented that there is little point in dealing with any 'issues' perceived to be associated with betting by trying to hold back technology. It's far better to address them through transparency and co-operation.

On that track, I recently spent some time with a number of sporting Chief Executives, who gave up some of their time to come and understand how betting is tracked today. I think it is fair to say that they were wide-eyed about what they described as 'almost anti-terrorist style' means of tracking any problematic betting. We agreed that the biggest deterrent to malpractice is getting the message out there that the proliferation in online betting has tipped the risk/reward ratio dramatically in favour of risk, by virtue of the trackability, and not - as is commonly perceived - in favour of reward.

The more sports leaders who understand that, the better for all of us, because the message will be easily communicated to the players and officials (who are the only people who can genuinely impact the outcome of a sporting contest). I'm very encouraged that organisations like the Professional Players' Federation and the British Athletes' Commission are so willing to engage in the subject. It's good news for everyone - except the would-be corruptors.

That was the week that was

I've been a bit quiet this week on the blogging front, partly because I've been out of the office a bit. My first week into my new decade has been interesting, starting at the one racecourse in the world which fights Goodwood for a place in my heart as my favourite horseracing venue: Chester.

I went up on Tuesday night to catch up with the racecourse's MD, Richard Thomas, who treated me to dinner at a fantastic new on-course restaurant (well, new since I last went) called 1539. We chatted all things racing, over a good meal and a decent bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

If you're of the view that racing is short of progressive thinkers, I recommend you make a visit and fish Richard out. Over the years, I've grown used to discussing ideas which in my view would do no more for racing than start the game of catch-up on time that has long-since passed; but on Tuesday evening, I enjoyed listening to some genuinely strategic thoughts designed to get ahead of the curve. It made for stimulating conversation.

I stayed overnight at the new Abode Hotel overlooking the racecourse (genuinely new this time: it had been open a week; and very nice it was too), and on Wednesday did something that you can't claim to do every day: I sat next to Sir Alex Ferguson for lunch.

I kept my BBC history quiet in case it meant he didn't speak to me, and I found him very friendly and down-to-earth, if for some reason remarkably more difficult to understand in real life than he is on the telly. I don't think that was because we chatted mainly about racehorse ownership, although with my limited knowledge, that's always possible. Still, it didn't seem appropriate to grill him for footballing wisdom, tempting though it was. It was, after all, a day off. For him, I mean. :)

A large part of Manchester United's squad came with him as guests in our box, while in the box immediately next door, Michael Owen was hosting family and friends, including our very own Bert, who has, of course, gone into partnership with him at Manor House Stables. They sponsored the opening race of the day, and won it, to great celebration across the two balconies. No-one was booked for taking off a shirt, though.

It was a shame to head back down south, particularly as doing so also meant a trip back down to earth. From relative glitterati, I was soon back in the world of French forums, which are inevitably buzzing with chat from consumers planning to get around French legislation. That and the Higgins snooker story have dominated the questions I've been asked by people this week. I suspect my personal view of neither will come as a surprise to anyone who has spoken to me or has been a regular reader of this blog, because I've written in the past about the issues which form the basis of both stories. If you've missed them and are wondering, you can see them here and here. I'll save the rest of you on-going repetition!

Fostering support

While we wait for the second round of the leaders' debate on television tonight, and exchange views on the Chancellor and his shadows squabbling yesterday, it's nice to see that the agreement between the betting industry and the Professional Players' Federation to help raise awareness among players of the issues in sport gets a positive airing in the Sports Ministerial equivalent in today's Independent.

Another gambling initiative with sport

Good to see another section of the gambling industry forming a voluntary agreement with sport - this time in Europe.

It looks like it's modelled broadly on the agreement that we put together as a consortium with the PPF, which I blogged about in February.

Proves that voluntary agreements do work. Not that that will stop SROC continuing to lobby for their levy, I shouldn't think.

Education, education, education

I'm delighted that we've signed a deal with the Professional Players' Federation, for a number of reasons.

First of all, it was fantastic that we were able to form a coalition with other members of the betting industry very quickly. They turned around the request to join us in very short order, which says a lot for intra-industry relationships, and for their commitment to working with sport. Hats off to Clive Hawkswood at the RGA, Mike O'Kane at Ladbrokes and John Coates at bet365.

Second, I'm looking forward to working with the PPF. Over the years, I've had a number of meetings with Simon Taylor and Brendon Batson in the hope that one day we'd get something done between us, and now that we have, I've got high expectations of what relationships we might forge with the CEOs of the other sports players' bodies. We already have a good working relationship with Kevin Darley at the Professional Jockeys' Association, whose doctor we fund in conjunction with the Injured Jockeys' Fund.

And third, I think that this deal will be the major driver towards fulfilling what, for me, was the major recommendation to come out of the Parry report which was published at the beginning of last week, and which I have been told off for not having yet commented on!

I'm surprised there has been as little reaction to that report as there has. I think it's fair to say that the meetings of the panel were more fractious than Rick Parry himself would have expected when he accepted the job of chairing it at the request of Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe.

But, despite there being moments when I think we probably all felt we would never achieve consensus, we ended up with what in my view was a good report. Certainly, I think it is one which the betting industry will do all it can to make a success. And for me, the single most important recommendation that came from it was the need for education of players. As Brendon Batson says in the PPF's press release, "would-be corrupters...can only access sport if they can find away to get to participants". So today's announcement, of a deal which has been worked on for a little while and which was signed just before the report's publication, is, I think, an extremely positive step.