Ladbrokes Advent Promotions

Ladbrokes have got into the festive spirit this year with an advent calendar full of offers, leading right up to Christmas. Click the banner below to be taken to the calendar where you can see today's offer. Check back daily to see what's new.

Real Madrid v Barcelona

It's the big game in Spain this weekend when Real Madrid face Barcelona. If you fancy a bet on this game, VC Bet and Gamebookers have some special offers to make it a little more interesting.

VC Bet - Sign up now for the following two offers

Have a bet on the First Goalscorer and if your player scores twice they’ll double your winnings, three times and they’ll TREBLE YOUR WINNINGS!

Have a bet on the Correct Score and if the match finishes 0-0 they’ll refund your losing stake!

These VC Bet offers also apply to all Premiership matches this weekend (19-20 Nov 2005)

Applies to internet, telephone and betting shops. Max refund £200 per person per match. Max bonus £500 per person per match. Credit and bonuses within 48 hours.

Gamebookers - Sign up now for the following offer

Bet on the first goalscorer and gamebookers will payout if your player scores first or second!

Premiership season 2005/2006 update

The season is now well underway with most teams having played 9 games, but is the race for the title already over? Some bookies seem to think so with one high profile bookmaker paying out on Chelsea title bets already, however this was a bit of a publicity stunt and they are well known for pulling this kind of thing. The fact remains though that Chelsea are 9 points clear of Spurs at the top of the table having a 100% winning record and are looking unstoppable at the moment. VC Bet currently have chelsea at 1/12 to win the premiership outright.

Arsenal and Man Utd are the traditional challengers for the title in recent seasons. Man Utd seem to have got their season back on track to some degree after an average start for their standards and are pushing Spurs for that 2nd spot. They had key players injured at the start of the season but most are now back and points are being picked up. Arsenal too have had their continuing injury problems and seem to have been affected badly by it. The loss of Viera in the summer and Henry's injury have made them look a very ordinary team, especially compared to the one that went on that long unbeaten run!

Spurs, Man City and Charlton are the surprising early pushers for the Champions league spots. Charlton seem to have faltered slightly after their promising start. Of the 3 Spurs look most likely to maintain their current run with a good young squad who are hungry for success and are winning without really playing anywhere near their full potential. They could be a good bet in the markets that don't include Chelsea.

At the bottom Everton are well and truly rooted to it, and looking unlikely to rise anytime soon. Many had them to repeat their good run of last year but much of that was based on purely defending rather than actually scoring goals. Without Graveson their form was poor in the second half of last season and it is continuing. Where their next win, or even goal, will come from is a mystery! Sunderland, Fulham, and Portsmouth are down there as expected. One absence is Wigan who were widely tipped to be down by Christmas but are currently getting a nosebleed up in 6th place.

The premiership is still interesting if you look away from Chelsea. There's still lots to play for and lots to bet on. Many games aren't giving the expected win and good prices can be found if you go against expected results. Check out the Free Bet Guide to find bookmakers and their latest offers.

Watch Racing Live on the Internet

You can now watch racing live over the net! No more waiting for results or listening via web radio, watch the action as it happens! VC Bet and Ladbrokes have both introduced live viewings of all UK and Irish races to their sites.

To watch the action with VC Bet;

• Place your bets via the VC Bet website in the normal manner. Your total stake must be at least £5 for each race you wish to view
• After you have placed your bets return to the Horse Racing index screen and you will see a small Horse Racing icon by each race you have qualified to watch live
• Click on the icon and a pop-up window will launch (if you have a pop-up blocker make sure it is switched off)
• Sit back and enjoy the race!
  

To watch the action with Ladbrokes;

• Place your bet of £5 or more at
  Ladbrokes for the race you wish to view
• Click the View Race button at the top of the racecard
• Sit back and enjoy the race!

What's more, if you open a new account with VC Bet you can get 50% cash back up to £50 on your first bet!

For more information on these and other great offers visit the Free Bet Guide Bet4Free

Champions League Preview

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – GROUP STAGE

This week sees the commencement of the group stage of the Champions League and the British clubs will all be looking to start with convincing wins in their matches this week. Free Bet Guide Bet4Free.net has lots of free bets on offer, including VC Bet who will give you 50% cashback up to £50 on your first bet! Also in the Chelsea v Anderlecht, Real Betis v Liverpool and Rangers v Porto games if the first goal is scored in the first 10 minutes they will also pay out on the second goalscorer as a winner!

Chelsea are rated at 1/6 with VC Bet to overpower Anderlecht (11-1) at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday with the draw offered at 9/2 and Rangers (6/5) will be looking to get over the disappointment of dropping points in the SPL last Saturday with a win over Porto (7/4) at Ibrox on the same night.

Holders Liverpool have a tough task when travelling to Spain to take on Real Betis also on Tuesday evening and will do well to take something from that away tie. They are offered at 17/10 with VC Bet with Betis at 11/8 and the draw is priced at 2/1.

Manchester United are also Iberian visitors and will be looking to get a result against Villarreal on Wednesday. VC Bet rate them a 11/8 chance with the home side at 13/8 and the draw at 21/10.

On the same night Arsenal play hosts at Highbury to the Swiss runners-up Thun and will be anxious to get over Saturday’s defeat against Middlesborough and the injury setback over Thierry Henry. They are 1/5 with VC Bet to start their European campaign on the right note. The Swiss minnows are available at 11-1 and the draw is rated a 4/1 chance.

VC Bet’s Neal Wilkins commented “Both Chelsea and Arsenal look virtual penalty kicks in their ties although the opposition will no doubt throw ten men behind the ball. Rangers were unimpressive in their 1-1 draw with Falkirk at the week-end and will be looking to improve on that performance. You would imagine that both Liverpool and Manchester United would be happy to settle for a draw in their respective away ties”.

Great new gamebookers offer

The new season is rapidly approaching and gamebookers are offering a free premiership shirt if you bet £30 outright on a team win the premiership. click here for more details

Premiership Season 2005/2006

The new English Premiership season is almost upon us and free bet guide Bet4Free.net have compiled odds from some leading bookmakers including who will win it and who the top scorer might be. So what can we expect from the forthcoming season, will it be exciting or as dreary and predictable as the last one? Here we have a quick look at what may happen.

The Champions

Chelsea are the title holders and obvious favourites to win it again. Odds on them retain the title are generally around the 5/6 mark. With the stars they have at their disposa, the tactical talents of Jose Mourinho and the Russian billions backing them up they look almost invincible. There are a few possible, though faint, cracks though that could lead to them coming in 2nd. Defending a title is difficult as Man Utd and Arsenal have found in the past, is the expectation they have to try and live up to. The fact that they are champions will lead to them being the ones everyone wants to beat so it wouldn't be surprising to see the odd draw or even defeat against smaller teams. Last season Chelsea used the 4-5-1 formation to great effect, this was made more devastating by using talented and pacy wingers to support the front man, the purchase of Wright Philips will make them stronger in this department. However part of the success of the formation was that it hadn't been used to any great length in the past so teams weren't quite able to get used to it straight away but may be able to cope better with it this season.

Man Utd and Arsenal will be pushing Chelsea all the way to the end of the season. The loss of Viera could hinder the gunners though and currently Man Utd seem to be much the same team as last time round.

Outside the Top 3

Several betting sites offer odds on the league without the top 3. This could be more interesting as there were a host of teams pushing for the UEFA/4th Champions league spot last season. Most bookies seem to put Liverpool as favourites to win this league with Spurs in 2nd spot. Liverpool will undoubtedly be pushing for the Champions league but their domestic form often doesn't match up to expectations.

Tottenham have built a good young team and are starting to look like they actually do something this year. However their woeful away form in the back end of the last season and a rubbish history in the London derbies makes them a slightly dodgey bet, thought they may just pull it out of the hat this time round.

Everton will be expected to do well again this year after getting 4th last time. However they may have the added pressure of champions league stretching their squad and distracting from the premiership campaign. Their form in the 2nd half of last season dropped without the excellent Graveson and they would have to hope that didn't continue.

Newcastle are hyped up before every season but fail to produce the good almost every year, this year is unlikely to prove any different. Souness is favourite to be first for the chop which would lead to yet more unstability at the club.

Other teams likely to be pushing for the UEFA spots are Bolton and Man City both of whom had good seasons last time.

Relegation

Will Wigan, Sunderland and West Ham survive in the premiership this season? The bookies seem to think Sunderland may just scrape through at the expense of last season's survivors West Brom. It's likely that West Brom could just do it again but it's going to be tight again this year. Expect Portsmouth, Blackburn and maybe even Charlton to be dragged into the dogfight.