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Huge bets on Swiss win revives concerns.

The international governing body of world football, FIFA, approved the start of investigation into a match game between Switzerland and Moldova after suspicions surfaced the casino game may have been rigged by the Russian mafia.

The widely-read Russian sports newspaper Sovietsky Sport reported that authorities were early on alerted because of the unusually big number of bets placed on the Swiss winning by a 2-0 score which was the eventual result of the game between the two countries.

The total amount of bets placed reached some 1.50 million euros which forced Russia’s betting authorities to drastically change the odds from 1.8 : 1 to 1.2 : 1 in a span of just two hours for the impending Swiss 2-0 victory.

The new Asian gambling markets are booming, but old fashioned American standbys like Atlantic City are suffering from the American lack of cash. While the online gambling industry has posted reliable gains throughout the recession, live destinations like Atlantic City and Las Vegas have taken major hits as Americans have tightened their wallets. A recently released report by the independent credit analysts at Moody’s suggests that an immediate comeback is unlikely.

While a new wave of small, local gambling establishments has meant more casino choices for East Coast gamblers, it has also tarnished the appeal of large-scale operations like Atlantic City, and dwindling finances among the city’s main investors means an overhaul is out of the question. Gambling revenues have dropped for the third year in a row, inspiring many gambling groups to delay or outright abandon plans to build or expand in Atlantic City. Sadly this news isn’t surprising to the analysts who have been predicting hard times for Atlantic City for years.

Tourism as a whole has been hard hit by the stagnant world economy, and gambling-related tourism has been an especially hard sell on Wall Street where it was recently reported that June saw an overall drop in American gambling stocks after two months of steady gains.

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Chelsea odds remain favorable following the confirmed signing of what many consider to be the "Russian Ronaldinho", Yuri Zhirkov.

Prices at Sportingbet.com have Chelsea at 7/1 odds to win the Championship League outright and nearly 3/1 odds to win the next Premiership. 

Zhirkov was signed away from CSKA Moscow for a reported £18m.

He joined CSKA Moscow on January 2004. Zhirkov won the 2004-05 UEFA Cup with CSKA Moscow scoring in the final itself. His goal against Hamburger SV in the UEFA Champions League 2006-07 was chosen as best goal of the competition by UEFA Magazine "Goal". He made six appearances in the group stages, scoring once.

Zhirkov has played 28 times for the Russia national football team, and was named to the UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament.

In October 2008, Zhirkov was named as one of the 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or award, given to the top player in Europe.

The 25-year-old completed his medical in London on Monday and has agreed a four-year deal

New Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed the Zhirkov deal was complete during his inaugural press conference at Stamford Bridge on Monday morning and said he was looking forward to exploiting the Russian’s versatility.

"Zhirkov is naturally on the left, Ancelotti said. "I think he can do all the work and can play in defence and in between.”

Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com