World Cup Bookmarking Betting Boom Expected To Reach $2 Million

The World Cup has its biggest eight games left and it is already a huge betting event for British bookmakers.

Bookmaker William Hill said industry income was expecting to take a record $2.04 billion Cdn in bets by the time the quarter-finals, semifinals, third-place playoff and final were over.

"We have taken bets from gamblers in a record number of countries thanks to the Internet," William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said. "We now have clients in 200 different countries."

The previous record was the almost $1.02 billion Cdn staked on the 2004 European Championship.

"With England still on course to reach the final and possibly playing an old rival like Germany or Argentina, new betting records are still likely to be created on individual matches," Sharpe said.

Argentina's second-round win over Mexico attracted the most money of any single game so far, with the lowest turnover coming for Costa Rica's first-round match with Poland.

One William Hill customer stands to collect $2.8 million Cdn if England wins, after risking $400,000 at odds of 6-1.

William Hill rates the teams' chances of winning as follows: Brazil 9-4, Argentina 7-2, Germany, 9-2, England 11-2, Italy 13-2, France 11-1, Portugal 16-1 and Ukraine 50-1.

June 30, 2006
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!

Germany Pulls Off Win vs Argentina in World Cup Quarterfinals
C4-Sports Show to Host Sports Book Summit
Odds from Top Sportsbooks Posted for Next NHL Season
Online Sportsbook Still Has Brazil As World Cup Favorites
Bets Already Being Taken For Next Years Stanley Cup