The internet gambling operator PartyGaming said its online casino business had continued to drive strong growth, helping to offset the impact of a slump in poker players during the football World Cup.

The spread betting company IG Group forecast a 25 per cent leap in profits this year after recent stock market turbulence boosted business.

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The boss of Britain's biggest spread-betting company plans to forgo his impending pay rise despite the company reporting a 30 per cent surge in pre-tax profits before one-offs. IG's chief executive, Tim Howkins, said he would forgo the rise as "it didn't seem right to be taking one at this time".

As suspicious betting patterns cast a cloud over Wimbledon, Rick Parry, the outgoing chief executive of Liverpool FC, was yesterday appointed as the chairman of a new "anti- corruption" panel set up by Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe. The panel's job is to assess the threat of betting-related corruption in British sport and recommend ways to combat it.

Match-fixing and corrupt sports betting is cheating at its worst, often perpetrated by people whom you should suspect the least. It is corrosive in all levels of sport and that is why the sporting community takes it so seriously. From the spectator to the social player, from the punter to the professional, the damage it causes is inestimable.

David Hughes wrote a simple email, which read: Daihatsu Copen, Smart Roadster or Ford Streetka? Further prodding revealed that he owns a Mazda MX5, but now wants better fuel economy, reliability, build integrity and the obvious fun factor. He is considering models over five years old for £5,000 or so.