This is a guest contribution by Matt Harris is head of sports content at 90Digital.com. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

We’ve all seen stories relating to this rather niche area of the betting markets: A proud parent with a talented child gambles on their future sporting success whether it’s a full international football cap, a slot as an England test cricketer or, in the case of Rory McIlroy’s father, a punt on his son to win the Open Golf Championship.

In the news

It’s fascinating to look back on the winning bets and the near misses while future gambles frequently make the headlines. Back in August, the press ran a story on four year old Billy Carroll – a promising cricketer who is already showing some precocious talent. Billy has already made his local cricket club’s under nine team prompting his father Paul to bet that he will one day play for England.