"A thing like that would be in the domain of the Paralympics perhaps, or a new sporting activity that does not yet exist, " he says.

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Cycling is, according to one study, the seventh most popular sporting activity in the nation, with more participants than skiing, golf and tennis put together.

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"It's like anything else, any sporting activity, " Benson said.

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But over and above this there is the point that the extra activity of the sporting event is just displacement of activity in either time or space.

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In 2006, the FIFA World Cup in Germany tackled that with big police numbers, but restraint in their presence, setting environmental targets as part of the tournament while investing in transport improvements, and they tied in increased sporting and voluntary activity.

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The companies targeted by the U.S. Attorney in Baltimore engaged in more than just online poker operations, however, offering customers the opportunity to bet on sporting events, an activity that is clearly in violation of U.S. law.

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This is a global activity trying to take advantage of a very successful sporting operation.

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