Man leaves sporting bets to charity
09 Mar 10
A series of sporting bets placed by an Oxford man before his death could raise more than £300,000 for a charity.
Kidlington-resident Nicholas Newlife, who died a year ago aged 69, was a long-time supporter of Oxfam and bequeathed his entire estate to the charity.
Among the assets were a series of outstanding bets placed with bookmakers William Hill between 2000 and 2005, concerning several players, including tennis stars Roger Federer and Andy Murray, and cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan.
The charity stands to gain nearly £101,840 if Federer claims the Wimbledon title in June this year over a £1,520 bet placed by Mr Newlife that the player would win the men's singles tournament at least seven times before 2020.
The Swiss champion has already fetched Oxfam £16,750 after achieving his 14th Grand Slam. Mr Newlife had placed a £250 bet at odds of 66/1 that he would reach the milestone before 2020.
Graham Sharpe, of bookmakers William Hill, said: "To ensure that a respected charity would benefit from any bets which came to fruition after his death makes him unprecedented in my 30-year experience of the betting industry."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/ (Oxfam)
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