Betting Frenzy hits World Cup

FIFA World Cup 1020

The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world as billions of people tune in to view the event.  And since it only comes once every four years, gamblers are finally able to pull themselves away from playing texas holdem poker long enough to bet on a few World Cup matches.  

Perhaps ‘a few’ matches is a huge understatement since UK bookmaker William Hill has already predicted that over £1 billion will be wagered at its site alone.  William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said that even football fans that don’t normally place wagers during the regular season are likely to look for some action during the World Cup.  Sharpe stated, “Those unfamiliar with football often become converts for that month…like non-tennis fans become experts during Wimbledon.” 

Much of the World Cup gambling action figures to take place in England so bookmaking giants like the aforementioned William Hill, Ladbrokes, and Paddy Power all figure to benefit significantly from the action.  Conservative estimates figure that £3 billion will have been wagered when everything is said and done.  But one has to assume that these estimates are very conservative if William Hill alone expects to see £1 billion wagered at their site. 

Whatever the case may be, the 2010 World Cup will no doubt be one of the most heavily bet on events in sports history – if not THE most bet on event in history.  And people will certainly have a lot of options to choose from when placing their wagers. 

One of the biggest bets offered so far involves which team is most likely to win the entire World Cup.  Leading bookmaker Bodog.com has both Brazil and Spain as the favorites with 4-1 odds.  Argentina (6-1 odds) and England (8-1 odds) are also amongst the favorites to win.  Bodog had pegged Honduras (1000-1), New Zealand (1000-1), and North Korea (2000-1) as the biggest long shots to win the World Cup.
 

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