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European football leagues are still in full swing and there are still more than 2 months left to go until the 10th of June, when the biggest football event of the year will make its debut. Definitely far too early to come up with picks and tips on the tournament, or is it? We couldn’t help ourselves, so here is Rostick’s list of 5 Ridiculously premature predictions for Euro 2016.

1. England will finally have a tournament to shout about

Always favorites coming into the big competitions, England has made it a habit of letting British fans down with exits in group stages or in the 1st KO stage. So why would it be different now?

England was utterly dominant in the qualification tournament, though it`s not the first time it happens and the group was easy. But a similarly accessible Euro 2016 group with Russia, Wales and Slovakia should give them a head start and build their confidence early. They should finish first, which means another very accessible game in the Round of Last 16 against a third placed team. Belgium might be waiting in the quarters. I can see England playing at least a semifinal in France, which will provide three times the money at Unibet.

But what really stands out about this English team is the fact that, for the first time in many years, they seem to have enthusiasm and youth. England is expected to field a starting lineup with no player over 30 years old. The likes of James Vardy and Harry Kane up front are in the form of their lives, brimming with confidence and ambition, which should lift up a team that had trouble scoring in the last few final tournaments.

Not lastly, it tends to be forgotten that England is playing well for some time now. They were unlucky in the 2014 World Cup, creating tons of chances in the deciding match against Uruguay and they won 13 of 16 matches since then, losing just once.

2. Albania has a real shot at qualifying from the group stage

Generally considered to be the weakest team in the tournament, Albania might end up surprising a lot of people. They have an honest chance at qualifying from a group with France, Romania and Switzerland.

Despite the lack of experience and big names, this is a team that finished second in a preliminary group which featured Portugal, Denmark and Serbia,

They can match Romania in quality player for player and Switzerland is not a scary opponent either. It should also not be forgotten that in 2015 Albania defeated a France team which featured most of its stars, 1-0 in a friendly played at Elbasan Arena. With the possibility of qualifying even from the third place, betting on the Albanians to reach the Round of Last 16 with odds 5.50 by Unibet might end up being a very profitable investment.

3. Back the under in France’s matches

The fact that France is by far the top team in group A will determine their opponents to park the bus – especially with the likes of Romania & Albania being known as ultra defensive sides.

As the tournament progresses, the stakes will become increasingly higher and, as it is often the case with top level football, risks will not be taken. France is not an all out attacking team anyway, so expect 0-0, 1-0 and 2-0 all the way for Les Bleus until they get knocked out. They will not win the tournament!

4. It’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s last chance and he might take it

The Real Madrid ace is 31 years old and we know that Portugal is not good enough to be relevant in the next World Cup, so this is the last chance for Ronaldo to impress on the big International stage.

In a group with two high scoring sides like Iceland and Austria, alongside a very poor Hungary, Ronaldo should be expected to score some goals, especially as he`s the undisputed free kick and penalty taker for his team.

Barring injury, Ronaldo could lead Portugal with his goals into the quarter finals or even beyond and he might represent an excellent investment to finish top scorer at odds 9.00.

5. It will not be a tournament to remember

With 24 teams qualified for France, the quality is vastly diluted. Based on common sense and on what we have seen in the qualifiers, teams like Albania, Romania, Hungary, Northern Ireland and some others will be involved in horrible, low scoring matches, parking the bus and hoping to snatch 0-0 draws – or at least keep the score respectable. Sorry fans of these teams, but you did not prove anything different over the last years.

One aspect that may not seem relevant now, but will probably become obvious during the tournament, is refereeing. More matches and a wider variety of teams means more referees, including from 2nd and 3rd tier countries. You saw it happen in the World Cup, you will see it happen again. As a Romanian, I know that we will send one guy to Euro 2016 and he will definitely ruin some matches, as he`s used to stopping play every 5 seconds and penalizing any tiny contact. Top class refereeing is a huge facilitator of quality, free flowing matches and there will be some umpires that will not allow this.

What might end up being the biggest disappointment will be the number of empty seats – which, we can anticipate, will be larger than usual. One reason would be the vast number of teams that don`t draw interest and the other is, well, obvious – terrorist threats. Let’s just hope that it will be safe and I am confident it will be.

You will find all of our pre – tournament articles, banter, betting talk and predictions in the Euro 2016 topic. When it all starts on June 10th, make sure to check out our Euro 2016 tips, as we will have predictions for all the matches in France.

One of my biggest disappointments when it comes to Betdistrict is how unpopular my Rugby tips are. I love the sport and International rugby betting provided me and the website with fantastic profits over the years. I usually hate pumping myself up, but let me do it just this time.

Look at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, where I had a record of 20 wins and 13 losses, +86.78 units and return of investments of +18,5% in the group stages and +68,5% in the KO stages (link doesn`t include finals, both won). Not bad, right? This years’ Six Nations is also going well – last round I made a profit of +10.1 units, winning 2 out of 3 tips for a ROI of 37,5%.

You`d love a tipster that is so consistent, right? Well, apparently no. During the RWC2015 I was making killer profits, but still got plenty of angry hate mail because of a couple of puny 5-6 unit lost football bets.

Editors’ rugby tips on Betdistrict barely get half of the hits football tips get, sometimes less than one third. But can I really blame you? Probably not. While rugby is such a beautiful sport and hugely popular in many markets, fact is it needs change in order to appeal to wider audiences. In this article, I will focus on a few things that Rugby needs to change if it is to go forwards and gain more popularity at a global level.

1. Reform the Scrum

The defining element of rugby, which even novices recognize, is a hugely important part of the sport and needs to remain so. But in our day and age, scrum management needs to be improved. Scrums have become rugby’s own form of time wasting. Repeated resets are eating time on the clock and the nerves of the fans. It is boring!

Maximum number of resets is imperative! And stop the clock! All sports (except football) are aiming towards less dead moments, while Rugby keeps on going with 10 minute scrum resets. This is the most important thing that needs to change, because it is the easiest. Find ways to penalize teams earlier, penalize them both, but no more 5-10 scrum resets. It`s so easy it hurts, just do it!

2. Make the game easier to understand & to play

Making the game easier is definitely more complex than just ONE thing Rugby needs to change. But I`ll treat it as ONE philosophy, rather than breaking it down in 50 subpoints.

While I did not grow up in Wales or New Zealand, so I did not learn the sport at the youngest possible age, I am an avid rugby lover – and even I learn new rules from time to time. For example, the amount of possible infringements at the breakdown is incredible and I suspect that even some professional players are not aware of them all (in fact, this has been proved). Knock a few infringements off the list. Small changes could make a difference.

For me, it’s all reduced to the inability of casual rugby fans to play the game. When`s the last time you saw kids playing rugby in the park, in countries where it’s not the main sport? How can you expect kids to understand and respect hundreds of rules? And if they don`t play, they won`t love it. They won`t start playing professionally and they will not watch the sport. This is the biggest problem rugby has.

Listen, you can`t change everything. Rugby 7`s is gaining popularity specifically because it`s faster and easier to play casually – Rugby Union needs to maintain its values and, obviously, the number of players on the pitch. But that does not mean changes can’t be made.

3. Change the prehistoric competition format

The fact that, for example, the Six Nations tournament does not have a promotion / relegation system (at least) is mind boggling. It’s understandable that the IRB wants to protect the big boys in order to milk as much money as possible – they need it, as rugby does not appeal to many markets. A Romania – England match in Bucharest will never draw 1/10 of the money and interest a Scotland – England match can produce. But this communist approach is exactly why rugby does not appeal to more markets. A vicious circle that IRB is afraid to break.

To have, in the year 2016, invitational Continental championships is simply out of this world. From this point of view, Rugby is living 2 centuries ago. It is, simply put, discriminatory. There are tens of countries that would benefit immensely from playing against top sides, they would improve and become large rugby nations themselves – drawing additional revenues as well.

Do we have to watch Italy in the Six Nations every year, when it`s obvious that Georgia will beat them at least 2-3 times out of 10 – but they are not allowed to do it? Can countries like Georgia, Romania, Kenya, Tonga, Canada, Russia – hell, any country which wants to play rugby – get some exposure? If they do, maybe they`ll build a couple of rugby fields for people to play casually. Maybe, just maybe, it will improve the sport?

4. Points system

Three points for a converted penalty, Five points for a try, Seven points for a converted try. It sounds reasonable and it is. However, European rugby has become rather boring because of this points system. Southern Hemisphere sides are always going for tries, but in Europe penalties are held in high regard and usually decide the outcome.

For me, the points system is Ok, but if it’s abused, something needs to change. European rugby games are now featuring 1-2 tries and are often going scoreless. I would score 2 points for a penalty and make the conversion just 1 point. That means 2 points for a penalty, 5 points for a try, 6 points for a converted try. Just a thought.

5. The Olympic committee needs to go f*ck itslef

The fact that rugby is not an Olympic sport is beyond words. I mean, pole dancing will become an Olympic sport in 2020, but Rugby will not. Yes, Rugby 7`s is on the list starting with 2016, but that only means that Rugby Union (rugby in 15) will not get in. One (the only?) explanation for its absence would be the lack of time, as you can’t play rugby every three days, but that could be managed pretty easily.

All in all, it can be all summarized in 5 words: Don`t Be Afraid To Change. It`s not like the IRB is doing a bad job, but they need to keep conceding symbols and traditions in order to make the sport more appealing to a wider audience. Just look at how well video worked. TMO has become, similar to tennis, a thrill for fans (though it tends to be overused). Nobody says to take the spirit out of the game, but compromises are needed and can be done. And maybe then I can post rugby tips without sacrificing hundreds of hits.

Does a betting community with good people and good punters, including you, sound nice?

>> Join our (not so) new facebook group

As some of you might be aware, our facebook page has been suspended about a year ago, just because we are a gambling related website. If you didn`t already know, gambling and betting websites are considered worse than porn nowadays, the scum of society. Did I say good people earlier? Oh no, we are bad, bad men. Horrible people. Degenerates. Idiots.

Anyway, we didn`t bother with facebook anymore and we talked our gibberish on our popular twitter page, as you might have seen in our “latest tweet” section on the right of our main page. However, we have a group on facebook opened way back in 2007, when we were operating in our local market. It was a tight community at one point, but faded away in the last few years due to lack of involvement. We`re bringing that group back!

So, yes, we are now back on facebook and we`re obviously waiting for you there, if you want.

As of now, you can join Betdistrict’s facebook group. Hopefully we can create a nice community there, everybody can post their own thoughts, as long as it`s in English and it’s not spam. We want a community for betting. So, why not join?

I hope they don`t suspend this one as well, it would be funny. Rostick.

Saturday night / Sunday Morning, March 6, no earlier than 03:00 GMT, big event at UFC 196.

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Their experts have been kind enough to provide us with a unique preview for the main event of UFC 196, which will feature Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.

McGregor vs Diaz

McGregor vs Diaz is taking place in the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas. The Irish superstar and the newly crowned UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor is facing Nate Diaz in the main-event. It will be McGregor’s debut at Welterweight, as he decided to move up in weight.

Conor McGregor is stepping up two weight classes to fight Diaz, who is a late replacement! Diaz stepped in with just 10 days notice when the UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos pulled out from the fight early last week.

Nate Diaz will have the size and reach advantage, and he has fought many times at 170lb, UFC welterweight division. However, he is considered the underdog against the smaller opponent McGregor. The fact that Diaz has insufficient preparation coming into the fight may be a factor, yet Diaz is not that type of athlete that drops the training regimen between his fights, he is always ready to scrap!

McGregor favorite – Diaz provides nearly five times the money!

Last time McGregor fought, he knocked the former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds, and he comes into this fight with 15 straight wins in the luggage. McGregor is the big favorite and betting on him gives 1.20 times the money, while Diaz is a heavy underdog that provides 4.81 times the money at Ohmbet.

Interestingly, Conor McGregor is also considered a great betting tipster! He has so far predicted the results of his previous fights in the UFC with precision and he backs up his talk, he claims again that this fight will end in first round KO.

Odds:

Conor McGregor 1.20
McGregor by KO 1.40
McGregor in Round 1 2.45
Nate Diaz 4.81

Of course, more betting types and odds are available on-site at Ohmbet.

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You can read more about the new tipster competition sponsor in our Ohmbet review and decide for yourself if they are worth a register, but two things stand as facts – they have the best MMA odds and the best MMA betting coverage. They are the best in the market on MMA.

Ohmbet, welcome to Betdistrict! Betsafe and Betsson, former tipster competition sponsors, thank you for the 15 months of working together.

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*Sorry, Roger, for using your image without permission 🙂