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Date: Jan 16 2008

Shane Warne Joins 888.com Team

888.com has been at the forefront of online gambling news over the past week.  First, the major announcement that the company is moving fast forward into the Asian market courtesy of EntertAsia.com and now comes word 888.com has brought on Cricket superstar, Shane Warne.

Warne is a former international Australian cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the finest leg spin bowlers in the history of cricket.  In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only bowler selected in the quintet.

888.com announced that Warne will be seen playing their online tables while warming up for bigger events in the future, according to PokerNews.com. Warne will also join the ranks of celebrity bloggers by adding his dose of chatter to a poker blog, to be found at 888poker.com. The poker blog is planned as a diary of his experiences as the captain for the 888.com team. Warne is no stranger to writing about his experiences, as he is credited as co-author of three books: Shane Warne: My Official Illustrated Career, The Complete Shane Warne, and Shane Warne: My Own Story.

888.com announced that Warne will be leading his new poker team into four major events: the New Zealand Poker Champs; the 2008 World Series of Poker; the United Kingdom Poker Open; and the Poker Nations Cup.

Shane Warne Controversies

Despite nearly universal recognition of Warne's talents, his reputation with fans and cricket authorities is mixed, owing to a succession of intemperate actions in both his professional and his private life.

In September 1994 during the Singer World Series in Sri Lanka, an Indian introduced himself to Mark Waugh as 'John' a bookmaker who wanted information about games during the current series and the Australian summer. The following evening Waugh introduced John to Warne who received A$5000 'no stings attached'. John contacted Warne by telephone three times during the Ashes series in 1994/95. Warne supplied John with information on the composition of the team and the likely state of the pitch for certain matches.

In February 1995 Ian McDonald, the Team Manager had questioned both Warne and Waugh after being tipped off by a journalist. Both made admissions to McDonald, Alan Crompton (the chairman of ACB) and Graham Halbish (the CEO of the ACB) and both were fined — Warne A$8,000 and Waugh A$10,000.

Having been kept secret by the ACB (although they had informed the ICC), it was only revealed in December 1998 when the Sydney Morning Herald reported that both were involved in passing information to bookmaker.

A report by Rob O'Regan QC described the fines as "inadequate" and suggested that a "suspension for a significant time" was more appropriate. Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka all called for life bans but the ICC couldn't act as "you can't be tried twice for the same crime." Former Australian cricketer Neil Harvey also called for bans.

Warne was given a one-year ban for breaching the ACB's drug code in 2003 and was charged with bringing the game into disrepute in 1999 following his comments about the Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga.