c a m e r o n t h o m s o n

AFFILIATE NEWS

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2001

Will Beckham score? - You Bet!

BY RAYMOND SNODDY, MEDIA EDITOR

DURING the World Cup finals millions of television viewers should be able to place instant bets on whether David Beckham will score when he wins a free kick. Of course if England fail to qualify, the bets will be on Argentinaâs Juan Veron or any of an array of international football stars.

The chance to place instant bets will be made possible by two of Britainâs biggest digital broadcasters, ITV Digital and Telewest. The two companies are expected to announce today that they are preparing to offer interactive betting to more than two million subscribers.

They expect the interactive betting service to be available by February in time for the later stages of the Championsâ League and for the World Cup finals.Viewers will be able to place their bets using their television remote control. The service will be extended to other sports, inluding rugby, tennis, cricket and grand prix motor racing.

The usual range of bets will be offered before the start of an event, then perhaps 20 to 30 bets, such as on who which team will be awarded the next throw-in, will be offered as it takes place. Viewers are expected to be able to bet on the outcome of a penalty, a Rusedski serve or the duration of a tyre change during a Formula One pitstop.

Church and gamblersâ support groups are concerned about the effects of interactive betting. A spokesman for Parents of Young Gamblers said: ãPeople arenât aware they are dependent on gambling until itâs too late. Families should avoid this at all costs since it could lead to dependency. That in turn has a social cost. It can lead to petty theft in the home and outside.ä

A spokesman for Gamblers Anonymous feared that children could obtain access to the service and place bets despite the use of personal identification numbers (PINs) or passwords for security.

A Church of England spokesman said: ãOne of the grave dangers is that people are sucked into repetitive gambling. Anything that makes gambling too easy is likely to have an effect on weaker members of society.ä

But the ease with which bets can be placed is one of the selling points emphasised by Global Interactive Gambling (GIG), the company that will make the service available to digital broadcasters.

Cees Zwaard, chief executive of GIG, said: ãPeople will take part provided itâs a one-click play.ä He believes that the service will attract the type of person who plays the National Lottery rather than betting shop punters. ãThe research shows that women will not go into a betting shop but they will play in their own homes.ä

Britain will be the first country to offer interactive gambling to viewers. It was chosen because of the high proportion of homes with digital sets. More than eight million people already have access to digital television.

Those who wish to bet will have to register and deposit a sum of money, probably by credit or debit card. They will have a password or PIN. The size of each stake is likely to be limited to try to address concerns about problem gambling. GIG expects typical bets of between £1 and £10.

Account details and betting propositions appear on-screen alongside live television coverage of a sporting event. The screen can be configured so that betting information runs like a ticker-tape at the bottom.

GIG will use a computer to update the odds constantly on each betting proposition to ensure that balancing sums are placed on both sides of a bet. It will take about 10 to 15 per cent in commission. The stockbroker ABN Amro estimates that by 2004 viewers will wager £1.4 billion a year using interactive digital television.