UK pubs and bookmakers await lucrative World Cup
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-05-25 15:33
LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - Success for England in this summer's soccer World
Cup could lift sales at some UK pubs by 10 percent, but for bookmakers it could
mean payouts totalling nearly 10 million pounds.
Sven Goran Eriksson's team might be struggling with injuries, but UK
bookmakers are already predicting their biggest ever event, with turnover
forecast to reach 1 billion pounds, and margins more than offsetting any payouts
on England.
"Turnover in general -- and on England in particular -- is set to be
unprecedented," said Ladbrokes spokesman Robin Hutchison. "We're bracing
ourselves for a huge pay-out," he added.
Betting companies say technology will make this year's World Cup different
from any other.
State-owned bookmaker The Tote is launching a text betting service to
coincide with the Cup, as is British smallcap Interactive Gaming.
"We see mobile technology as an extension of the Internet at this stage,
allowing you to place bets when you're round at a friend's house or in a
restaurant," said Interactive Gaming Chairman Tom Taule.
This year, a raft of UK-listed Internet gaming companies like BETonSPORTS and
Sportingbet will also be cashing in on the World Cup.
"They're likely to get loads of misguided bets from Americans backing their
own team, and that's exactly what they want," said analyst Greg Feehely at
Altium Securities.
But the sudden influx of casual gamblers will not benefit the bookmakers as
much as the regular gamblers who see the World Cup as an extension to the soccer
season, said analyst Paul Leyland at Arbuthnot Securities.
"A lot of companies waste a lot of money advertising to those occasional
customers," he said, adding the companies that profit most are often those that
waste least on advertising.
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