Want to place a bet on this year's soccer World Cup? In the UK, you can put money on whether a streaker will run onto the field or a band will play the wrong national anthem. And, of course, on which team will win.
The bigger gamble: whether bookmakers will make a profit on the year's biggest sporting event. William Hill Plc, Ladbrokes and others aren't sure they will.
The removal of a tax on winnings and the growth of online gambling will stimulate betting on the tournament, according to Ladbrokes, the largest UK betting-shop chain. It forecasts that ?200 million (US$293 million) will be wagered, up from ?85 million in the 1998 World Cup.
PHOTO: REUTERS
How much turns into profit depends on how lucky punters get.
At the Euro 2000 soccer tournament, when most games were won by favored teams, bookmakers suffered. Coral Group Ltd, the third-largest UK bookmaker, said it lost several million pounds.
"It all depends in particular on how well the favorites do," said Brian Gallagher, who manages 800 million pounds in funds at Gartmore Investment Management, including shares in Ladbrokes' parent company, Hilton Group Plc.
Since the World Cup was first staged in 1930, only seven nations -- Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Uruguay, England and France -- have won. All those teams qualified for the 2002 finals opening Friday and only Uruguay isn't ranked in the top 12 by FIFA, soccer's world governing body.
"There are only eight sides to bet in the World Cup," said Adrian Fitzpatrick, a florist from central England who in 1994 won 500,000 pounds backing Brazil. Of the 32 nations this year, only France, Argentina, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, England and Germany can be seriously considered, he said.
Bookmakers' costs may also increase as they step up spending on advertising to entice new gamblers.
"The World Cup will easily be the biggest marketing spend during our year," Ladbrokes spokesman Sean Boyce said, without giving details. Ladbrokes accounts for more than half of Hilton Group's sales and about a third of its profit.
Research conducted at Euro 2000 showed up to a third of wagers were placed by people who hadn't bet before, Boyce said.
UK bookmakers' sales have risen since October when the government abolished a tax on gambler's winnings.
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