Bets range from who will win the ‘Golden Boot’, to the number of corners to be taken in a game and what haircut Beckham will display.
LONDON: England’s inspirational striker is still injured less than two weeks before the World Cup begins, and has been ruled out of the opening stages of the tournament.
The England coach, on his last assignment before he steps down, has called up a 17-year-old he has never seen play. His assistant, who guided his club side to a mediocre 14th place in the Premier League with a 7-0 drubbing along the way, has been hailed as the best English manager around and appointed the next national boss.
With this amount of uncertainty, predicting England’s fortunes is not easy, and that means there is a lot of money to be made.
Up to $1.89 billion is expected to be placed through British bookmakers on the World Cup, with bets ranging from who will win the ‘Golden Boot’, to the number of corners to be taken in a game and what haircut England captain David Beckham will display.
Betting in Britain has always been popular but the 2001 abolition of tax for the gambler and the growth of online betting sites has resulted in an increase in annual turnover from seven billion pounds in 2000 to some 50 billion pounds, analysts say.
Although the majority of betting still takes place in high street bookmakers, more and more people are opting to bet via the internet, over telephone or through interactive television.
Access to cable television carrying live sport also allows people to bet from their own home.
Wayne Rooney is a major doubt to play any part for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s team with a broken foot and the uncertainty has been reflected in the number of bets placed in recent weeks.
England still hope the 20-year-old might be available for the later stages of the tournament but is odds-on to miss the whole thing, according to William Hill. The surprise presence of Arsenal striker Theo Walcott, who has yet to make his Premiership debut, has already made up for Rooney’s injury as far as bookmakers are concerned.
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