Bookmakers in The UK Hope For Record Breaking World Cup Betting Profits

UK bookies are expecting great earnings from betting on the World Cup tournament, happening in Brazil next month, which will hopefully help them survive the extremely competitive market and new tax regulations.

Bookies in the UK have extremely high expectations of the earnings they will gain thanks to the betting fiesta, which comes with the approaching of the World Cup tournament. This year, mobile betting is expected to be big, as advanced technologies are bettors’ new best friends when it comes to gambling.

The excitement around the prime football event is even bigger among bookies in the UK, due to the fact that with the new regulations in the country, they will have to pay additional tax, which is estimated at GBP 400 million for 2015, which definitely will change the betting scene in the country.

The opportunity to save taxes by being based in offshore heavens like Gibraltar or Curacao, won’t be possible anymore, so bookies are really trying to earn as much as they can and cut costs in order to survive.

Profit predictions

UK bookmakers count on sufficient profits from the World Cup betting

• Experts predict double revenues to the ones from 2010 World Cup

• Bookies are hoping to make it up for their increased tax expenditures

• More bets are expected to be placed through online and mobile devices

British and Irish bookmakers consider the potential income to be double the size of the one from the last World Cup and expect this football event to be bigger than horse racing in terms of betting interest among fans.

Terry Pattinson, Trading director for William Hill, prime UK bookmaker, said: “We are anticipating that we will turn over well over GBP 200 million this tournament. In 2010 it was circa 100 million.”

Additionally, bookies predict that more bets on sports in the UK will be placed online from bettors’ homes, and also punters will place multiple bets on various aspects of the game, as the match develops.

Pattinson, added: “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.”

Another major bookie, Ladbrokes, promised to offer more than 250 bet options on each game, so that punters will have the opportunity to bet on all aspects of the game they want to.

Attracting bettors

As the World Cup comes closer, bookmaker houses are trying to attract as many punters as possible, offering amazing variety of bets and great opportunities to win.

Patrick Kennedy, the Chief executive of Paddy Power, is one of the experts who predicted that this year’s World Cup turnover will be double at EUR 160 million: “It will be an enormous, one in four year opportunity, to attract mass market customers.”

Simon Oaten from the financial consultant Deloitte, added for Reuters: “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.”

In order to have as much success as possible, bookies are introducing various technology, so that bettors have easy access to betting platforms – great websites, mobile applications, etc.

Paddy Power set the trend in 2010 before the last World Cup, with introducing betting app available for iOS users. A lot has changed in the last four years, and this form of betting has developed so much, that it’s currently generating 54% of the online profit for bookies.

Other tricks

Other bookmakers like William Hill rely on accumulator bets, through which gamblers bet on series of linked outcomes.

Pattinson commented: “The most popular bet will be an eight-fold accumulator on all eight favorites to win their respective groups. If that goes true to form we might be in for a tough opening.”

It seems that English fans don’t expect too much from their national team, as it’s compiled of young and not very experienced players, but Pattinson still expressed his hopes that the UK team will make its supporters proud.

He concluded jokingly: “If they get through to the final stage and maybe go out on penalties, that will suit me fine.”