by Ryan D. Jaeger
This year's World Cup will be bigger and better than previous years in many
ways - including the number of wagers placed on the event.
This is according to Chris Bell, the Chief Executive Officer of leading UK
bookmaker, Ladbrokes.
Bell predicts that there will be a 50% rise in the number of bets placed on
the last World Cup by UK punters, where market experts estimated that £500
million was wagered.
Bell believes that punters are expected to stake £750 million on bets with
UK bookies and exchanges.
"It's statistically proven that each World Cup is bigger than the last," said
Bell. "This one will be particularly good because it's in the right time zone -
South Africa is an hour ahead of the UK - so all the matches will be on TV."
While Ladbrokes will be taking a good chunk of the wagers, Bell would not go
so far as to predict exactly how much money will be wagered through its site and
retail outlets on the World Cup.
Ladbrokes' predictions are especially uplifting, considering that the world
is only now coming out of a global recession.
In that vein, Bell said that trading conditions would remain difficult
throughout this year.
Last year saw Ladbrokes profits fall 32% (pre-tax) as a result of the
recession, which had UK players placing fewer bets.
Late last week, Ladbrokes announced that it had entered into a strategic
joint venture with the South African based KaiRo group to launch an online
betting service in the country ahead of the World Cup.
