Madness

This may come as a surprise to many, but Cheltenham is not the only sport in town this week, as over in the USA, the newly expanded college basketball's NCAA tournament tipped off yesterday. 

This was frankly awful for me last year, with losses totalling £3.9k over the three weeks of the tournament, and I have no intention of repeating that. The numbers are worse than they look, given that I lost over £3k in one game, yet another lesson, albeit an expensive one, learned. Previous years have been kinder, although with the best year back in 2006, these markets may be ones that are becoming a lot more efficient with time.

Once the First Four games are done, the games on Thursday and Friday will start at a sensible hour and go on all day. It's hugely popular in the US, and the tournament is one of the "finest spectacles in all of sport: with exciting upsets, unexpected winners, and more drama than a Shakespeare play" with various estimates as to the economic 'cost'. It's also hugely popular for betting...

which has become such a popular part of the tournament culture that in a study released by the NCAA, the FBI estimates that more than $2.5 billion will be gambled illegally on NCAA tournament games worldwide -- despite threats of legal action against illegal bettors in the states of Washington and Idaho. Compare that to only $80 million legally in Las Vegas.

Liquidity on some games on the exchanges is certainly decent, and what else is there to bet on during a Thursday evening, especially with the NBA off limits to me that day.