World Cup set to be most lucrative ever for bookies

Irish and British Bookmakers are anticipating a rewarding World Cup boosted by younger tech savvy punters utilising mobile live match action and in-play betting options.

Terry Pattinson, trading director for William Hill said the company is anticipating double the turnover of circa GBP 100 million in 2010.

Pattinson identified two “new aspects of customer behaviour” in which it expects more bets to be placed by fans rather than seasoned gamblers and an increased interest in in-play bet types as the action plays out live.

“Most of the popular bet types are around players, whether they score goals, get yellow or red cards. How many corners in a match. It’s about action,” Pattinson told Reuters.

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power expects to double its World Cup turnover to Euro 160 million too. “It will be an enormous, one in four year opportunity, to attract mass market customers,” said Patrick Kennedy, chief executive officer.

Deloitte business consultant Simon Oaten opines that the impending UK Government’s POC tax is behind an increased push for market share during the World Cup as bookmakers seek to grow their business in anticipation of market consolidation following the bills implementation in December 2014.

“A good World Cup will have more of a defining impact on the position of the player in the market. The larger operators have an increasing advantage in the sports betting sector,” Oaten said.

At the heart of the push to be heard during the World Cup is the development and release of sophisticated websites, mobile applications and a strong social presence. Hooks include guest bloggers, live match pages and the increasingly popular accumulator bets.

“The most popular bet will be an eight-fold accumulator on all eight favourites to win their respective groups,” Pattinson believes.