With the 2011/12 Barclays Premier League season commencing on Saturday, the Gooner Gambling Scheme is back in its quest for £1000. We started with a £100 float at the end of January and ideally I’d like to turn this in to our £1000 target by exactly a year after but if this isn’t the case than it should easily have been achieved by the end of the season - our current float should be around the £360 mark.

In what has been a positively underwhelming transfer window to say the least many pundits are predicting us to fall outside the top four this season. Even Paul Merson fears the worst but the bookies still have us as fourth favourites to win the league at odds of 12 and fourth favourites to achieve Champions League qualification at odds of 1.82. However with the inevitable loss of both Fabregas and Nasri over the next week or so I’m sure these odds will drift out.

Now if there’s one team in the Premier League who have had a worse transfer window than Arsenal you could argue it’s Newcastle. Just like us, they’ve now lost their starting left back as well as their driving force in midfield so maybe there’s no better team for us to play.

Anyway this week I’m joining Wigan and Bolton sponsors 188bet. Use this link and complete the simple sign-up procedure (selecting ‘Euro’ as preferred odds view). In order for me to deposit first I had to enable pop-ups from 188 and then I transferred £25 from my Moneybookers account. We are going for a slight variation to the usual matched bet offer but it’s the same as we used at Betclic. If our first £25 bet doesn’t come in we are refunded the £25. So once the deposit is done go to “Football”, “Saturday 13 Aug” and then you’ll see the Newcastle v Arsenal match, click on the “+14” to open up the full market. With Newcastle still yet to add another striker and the current outgoings in the Arsenal camp I can’t see this one being a particularly high scoring game so I’m opting for 1-1. Click on this and place the £25 which you’ve deposited. It had odds of 7 as I placed the bet so it will bring in £150 (£125 profit). NB – At this stage you should make a note of the bet ID by hovering your mouse over the ‘i’ (information) icon once the bet has been placed as you will need this (see second last paragraph)

As ever though it’s all about ensuring a guaranteed profit so I’m going to lay this outcome at Betfair. Find the Newcastle v Arsenal match and lay the 1-1 which has odds of 8.2 as I did this with £13. (Ed’s note – 8 when I laid it, which is even better as our liability is less. So stick with the £13 as it won’t vary that much before the game starts) This left the following outcomes...

It ends 1-1: +£31.40 (+125 profit at 188bet, -93.60 at Betfair)

Any other scoreline: -£12 (-25 at 188bet, +13 at Betfair) BUT we will be refunded the £25 if we lose so we’ll make a profit in Part 2.

*Important to Note* One thing that you will need to do (according to the small print in the terms and conditions) is e-mail [email protected] with your username, the bet ID, and promotional code ‘NU125’. Be sure to e-mail from the same address you used to sign up with and the bet ID which can be found by holding your mouse over the information icon on your betslip. The wording in the terms and conditions states – ‘To get your free bet, email [email protected] with your User Name, the Bet ID, and Promotion code 'NU125' – and 188bet are probably relying on you not reading the t’s and c’s. It’s a slightly different format to other bookies and a little bit more hassle but ultimately a chance to make a profit no matter what. Remember, "Why gamble when you can win!"

Ed’s note – here’s some text to copy and paste into your email to 188bet…
Subject –
Details for free £25 bet promotion
Message -
Dear 188bet,
According to the terms and conditions of your current £25 free bet promotion, I need to email you with my username, bet ID and promotion code to qualify. They are as follows…
Username – FILL IN YOUR OWN
Bet ID – YOU WILL HAVE NOTED THIS WHEN YOU PLACED THE BET
Promotion Code – NU125
I trust this is all you require for me to qualify for the free £25 bet.
Thank you – FILL IN YOUR NAME