It may soon become harder to lose money on ridiculous Football Bets

These are the golden days if you are the type that likes to wager on the truly absurd. If you want to bet on the numbers of yellow card that will be shown in Saturday’s Euro 2008 game between my beloved Kazakhstan and Armenia you can (I have $20 on 4). If you want to bet on the number of corners in a match you can. If you want to put a few quid on Tony Blair becoming the next manager of Newcastle you can.

Indeed, if you want to give your pension money directly to the bookmakers you can.

That might change a bit if the Gambling Commission in the UK has its way. It is proposing changes that would make it much more difficult to wager on how many people Joey Barton will beat up in his next match. The impetus behind the proposed change is that some people think it might be a bit too easy for football players and athletes to manipulate results like how many throw-ins there are in a game.

Tim Payton, from AS Biss, said: “This is an evolving debate. We come from a culture where you can bet on anything – and we are just about the only country in the world to allow this.

“The number of wides is a very good example of the sort of bet we are concerned about, as is the first yellow card. Two individuals can fix that, just as if you want to be sent off in a football match that is very easy to arrange.”

The bookmakers strongly reject the calls for controls on what they can offer bets on.

The good news is that the proposed changes would only affect sports so you can still get rich by betting on things like the next flavor of Coke in the UK and what Paris Hilton will be allowed to do in prison. Those 69-1 odds that she will film an adult movie with a prison guard are looking pretty good.

Some Related Stories:

Category: England, World Football