
Medals Aren't Everything: Germany Named the World's Top Athletic Producer
Germany tops a new global ranking of elite-athlete production, ahead of Sweden and France, while the US leads overall Olympic medal totals.

Simon has been part of the sports betting fabric for more than a decade, delivering content, tips and feature articles for blue-chip companies, including Racing Post, bet365, TonyBet, LiveScore and many more besides, over the course of his career.
If you’ve been an avid reader of betting content over the past ten years, chances are you’ve seen Simon’s work more than a couple of times. A multi-sport fanatic, Simon is a big believer that any writing in this realm should both inform and entertain.
Away from the grind, Simon likes to spend as much time with his family as possible on hikes, trips to the beach, cafes, restaurants and other adventures (as long as the Irish weather plays ball!).

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2017 – Freelance – Creating content for Oddsdigger, Catena Media (Squawka), Bloomberg Sports, Bleacher Report, These Football Times, SB Nation, Colossus Bets etc.
2018 – Spotlight Sports Group – Sports Journalist - delivering content for Racing Post (print & digital), FST, Soccerbase, Paddy Power Times, bet365
2021 – North Star Network – Sports writer – producing content for company’s stable of sports betting websites.
2021 – Bookmaker Ratings – Content consultant, strategist, editor, trainer.
2022-2026 – Freelance – Creating content for MansionBet, TonyBet, LeoVegas, LiveScore, FanWave Digital, RAD Media, GDC Group and more.
"When I have some spare time, I enjoy hitting the gym, getting out and about with my family, walking the dogs and travelling. One of my favourite places on earth is Achill Island in the west of Ireland. I also love to read and I’m developing a love of gardening too."
Simon likes to combine strong statistical research with a casual, informal writing style, believing that the best sports betting content can be entertaining as well as informative. He isn’t keen on fluff however, and he only ever aims to include information that is relevant and actionable. He endeavours to make his writing easily digestible, though there is always room for a little fun along the way.
During his decade-long career in the industry, Simon has covered virtually every niche and angle in sports betting, and indeed, in igaming. Though he has specialised in football content in the main, Simon has covered most other major and minor sports at different times, while also reviewing/rating brands and penning strategy guides. Here are his top areas of expertise:
Full Reviews - Simon knows how to put bookmakers through the wringer with full and exhaustive testing processes. He is also adept at packaging what he learns into useful review articles that readers can trust.
Sports Guides – Simon has an encyclopaedic knowledge of how to navigate sports and sportsbooks, how to find the best value as well as the pitfalls to avoid when betting. He has written extensively on the topic.
Industry News - With his finger firmly on the pulse, Simon has been keeping his readers up to date on the latest, breaking gambling industry news for a decade.
Tips & Strategies - Simon’s main forte. He’s written thousands of event/match preview articles, sports predictions and strategy pieces that aim to equip readers with info that they can take to the markets.
"Nothing gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling like delivering a winning tip or prediction to my readers. From individual matches to accumulators with massive prices, I’ve filled my readers’ pockets plenty of times over the years, which is a very satisfying thing to be able to say. I’ve had Premier League seasons where my tipping accuracy has been 65%+."

I’ve always been sports mad, so a career that allowed me to watch, think and write about it always seemed like a good fit. I kind of stumbled into sports journalism by accident initially, but it soon felt like my vocation in life.
I love watching football the most, particularly my beloved Manchester United and my local club here in Ireland, Wexford FC. I used to play a lot of 5-a-side too, and hope to get back into competing soon.
I was at Old Trafford for Man Utd’s final Premier League fixture during the 1998/1999 season. They came from behind to beat Spurs 2-1, clinching the title in the process. It was an incredible thing to witness.
Away from writing, I lead a pretty quiet life. I like to spend time gardening, reading, walking my three dogs and spending quality time with my family.
My social feeds are packed solid with sports and betting news daily, which allows me to keep fully on top of developments in both industries. We’re lucky to live in an age when so much information is so readily available.

Germany tops a new global ranking of elite-athlete production, ahead of Sweden and France, while the US leads overall Olympic medal totals.

The world’s biggest sports stars can earn just as much, or even more, away from competition as they do on the field. From endorsements and appearances to licensing and business ventures, some athletes have built huge commercial incomes, with Shohei Ohtani topping the ranking ahead of LeBron James and Lionel Messi.

Some of the world's biggest cities have plenty of parks and trails on paper, but that doesn't always translate into an easy active lifestyle for the people living there. A new study looks past the raw numbers to find out which cities actually make it simple to stay active day to day, and the results don't always match expectations.

Only 29 of the 76 athletes studied are actually projected to reach billionaire status at all, the rest, including Chris Paul, who holds the highest net worth of any non-billionaire in the study at $253 million, are classified "unlikely under current trajectory." The model also has a blind spot for young stars: 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz isn't projected to hit $1 billion until age 62, longer than almost anyone still on the list.

Not every sport follows the same pattern. Ice Hockey is the only one of the 15 sports studied where resale tickets actually come in cheaper than face value, while Tennis's average premium hides a split result: Wimbledon fans pay thousands more on the secondary market, but US Open tickets are typically cheaper resold. The data suggests ticket markups are driven less by a sport's overall popularity and more by single standout events.

A small, high-spending core can outscore a wide fanbase. Canada's soccer fans make up just 15% of the population, yet they stake more per person than anywhere else in the top 10, while Uruguay's near-total fan engagement (90% of the population) still only lands it in the middle of the pack on spend. The data suggests obsession isn't about how many people care, it's about how much the ones who do are willing to put down.

It all comes down to this. Spain, chasing a first title since 2010, face defending champions Argentina at MetLife Stadium with Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi centre stage. Finals are rarely loose, so we back Spain's control and a low-scoring script with live 1xBet odds and a 3.19 Best Combo.

The two beaten semi-finalists meet in Miami for the bronze medal, and a third-place play-off tends to be an open, attacking affair. France and England both have a Golden Boot chaser to keep motivated, so we lean into the goals with live 1xBet odds and round it off with a 3.36 Best Combo.

The second World Cup 2026 semi-final sends England against Argentina at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. We break down the last-four clash with live 1xBet odds, a low-scoring lead angle and a 4.30 Best Combo.

The first World Cup 2026 semi-final pits France against Spain at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. We break down the last-four clash with live 1xBet odds, a lead both-teams-to-score angle and a 4.21 Best Combo.

Defending champions Argentina meet a stubborn Switzerland in the Kansas City quarter-final. We break the tie down with live 1xBet odds, a lead Under 2.5 pick and a 4.06 Best Combo.

The World Cup 2026 quarter-finals roll on in Miami as England meet a Norway side racing to shake off a squad-wide sickness bug. We break the tie down with live 1xBet odds, a lead Asian Handicap pick and a 4.24 Best Combo.

The World Cup quarter-finals continue as Spain meet Belgium in Los Angeles. We break down the 1xBet odds, the best value angles and a 2.83 Best Combo.

The World Cup quarter-finals reach Boston as France meet a Morocco side unbeaten in 34 games. We break down the value with live 1xBet odds and a Best Combo.

The hosts meet Belgium with their top scorer suspended and De Bruyne short of full fitness. Here are our 1xBet picks and the closing leg of the weekend Best Combo.

Mexico back themselves on home soil against an England side missing key men. Here are our 1xBet picks for the Round of 16 and the running Best Combo.

The Round of 16 rolls into MetLife Stadium as five-time winners Brazil meet a Norway side riding the Haaland-Odegaard axis. Here are our 1xBet picks and the day's Best Combo.

Three knockout ties headline Day 24, from Colombia against Ghana in the small hours to co-hosts Canada facing Morocco and a drained Paraguay trying to contain France. We pick a different market for each and tie the safest reads into a 4.25 Best Combo.

Three Round of 32 ties on 3 July with knockout football firmly underway. We break down Switzerland vs Algeria, Australia vs Egypt and Argentina vs Cape Verde with live 1xBet odds and a 3.55 Best Combo.

The Round of 32 rolls on with three heavyweight knockouts. USA chase a famous win over Bosnia, Spain face Rangnick's stubborn Austria, and Portugal meet a battle-hardened Croatia. Here are our 1xBet picks and a 7.07 Best Combo.

The Round of 32 hits full stride on 1 July with Mexico hosting Ecuador at the Azteca, England meeting DR Congo in Atlanta and Belgium facing a dangerous Senegal in Seattle. Here are the picks, the value and a Best Combo paying out over 5x.

Day 20 serves up three Round of 32 ties with very different shapes. A cagey Netherlands-Morocco in Guadalupe, an open Ivory Coast-Norway in Arlington, and an in-form France against Sweden in New Jersey. Live 1xBet odds, three top picks and a 5.47 Best Combo.

The Round of 32 hits full stride on Day 19 with two heavyweight ties. Brazil meet a stubborn Japan in Houston before Germany face a Paraguay side who welcome back their playmaker in Boston. We break both down with live 1xBet odds and a 3.75 Best Combo.

Group J reaches its final matchday, and the qualification maths shapes both bets. We break down Algeria-Austria, a straight shootout for the second knockout spot, and Jordan-Argentina, where a rotated Argentina face an eliminated Jordan, with live 1xBet odds and a 2.86 Best Combo.

Three groups settle their fate on Day 17, with all six fixtures kicking off in simultaneous pairs and the qualification maths driving every market. We run through Groups H, G and L with live 1xBet odds and finish on a 4.96 Best Combo.

Group D and Group I close out on Matchday 3. We break down all four games with live 1xBet odds, from a cagey Paraguay-Australia decider to a goal-soaked Norway-France clash, and pull it together in a 5.13 Best Combo.

Day 15 closes out Groups A, E and F with three second-place shootouts still live. Germany and the Netherlands are already through and likely to rotate, while South Korea, Ivory Coast, Japan and Sweden all play for their tournament lives. We mix a moneyline, two handicaps, a BTTS and an Unders into a 3.94 Best Combo with 1xBet.

Two groups reach their final matchday on Day 14, and the qualification maths shapes every bet. We break down all five fixtures with live 1xBet odds, from Colombia's Group K decider to Brazil's date with a must-win Scotland, and round it off with a 4.01 Best Combo.

A five-game Day 13 with two group deciders in Norway vs Senegal and Panama vs Croatia, plus England and Portugal expected to cruise. We blend BTTS, a win pick and a handicap into a 4.82 Best Combo with 1xBet.

A compact three-game Day 12 with two of the favourites, Argentina and France, in action and a Group G decider between New Zealand and Egypt. We mix a BTTS angle, a handicap and a goals line into a 6.43 Best Combo with 1xBet.

Five group-stage fixtures on 21 June, headlined by Spain and Belgium chasing routs while Tunisia and Japan scrap for a knockout place. We line up handicaps, goals markets and a 5.99 Best Combo with 1xBet.

Matchday 2 heats up on 20 June with Brazil chasing a comfortable win over Haiti, two must-win sides meeting in Turkey v Paraguay, and group-deciders for the Netherlands and Germany. Here are Simon's best 1xBet bets, top picks and a 4.83 Best Combo.

Three Matchday 2 group games close out 19 June, with USA, Mexico and Morocco all chasing results. Here are the 1xBet picks, the value angles and a 7.80 Best Combo.