The Belgian newspaper, Het Nieuwsblad, has reported that the scale of match fixing in Europe, where soccer players and referees have been allegedly bribed, is much larger than first thought.

The match fixing came to light last year, after German researchers rushed to investigate matches suspected of being corrupted. Last Wednesday, they stated that there are currently more than 270 suspected matches on the so-called "black list".

The fixture for the premiership and first division has been announced by the KNVB. You can find the full fixture list for the premiership and first division available to download at Bookmakerspalace.com. The first matchday is scheduled for the weekend of 6, 7 and August 8. On Friday the 6th Roda JC will play at home against FC Twente; the first duel in the new 2010/2011 football season.

The EGBA (European Gaming and Betting Association) and the RGA (Remote Gambling Association) lodged a complaint on Wednesday 23 June with the European Commission against the present Belgian law regarding gaming.

Both agencies protest against the fact that Belgian law prohibits foreign providers of gambling sites via the Internet from accessing the Belgian market. Only companies which are established in Belgium and presently have a license for offline gambling activities qualify for a permit to offer their services online.

We're only 14 games in to the World Cup and already a clear trend is emerging: Europe's biggest state-monopolies are ripping off customers by offering them substantially worse odds than private operators.

The Swedish monopoly Svenska Spel is the biggest culprit, offering 36% worse odds than private operators. This means that if you stuck £10 on the correct outcome of each of the 14 games so far, betting with Svenska Spel would see you £76.80 worse off than if you'd have bet with private operators.