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Ireland set to bet on the World Cup
THE World Cup is expected to be the biggest ever betting event in Ireland, according to a leading bookmaker.
Paddy Power is estimating up to €10m will be wagered in his shops alone as football fever grips the country. He revealed that the French victory in 1998 reaped a huge windfall for punters in Ireland but the bookies lost their shirts.
And he expects football fans to spend a small fortune in the coming weeks second guessing the winners of the World Cup.
He said: "We're expecting this year's World Cup to be the biggest betting event ever for us in this country. The last World Cup was the biggest betting event we've ever had and we think even more money will be backed this time.
"The last tournament was hugely unprofitable. We lost a load of money on France. Punters will score every time Ireland win a game over in Japan. We're all up for Ireland but every time Ireland win a game we lose money.
"We think people will put a lot of money on in Ireland. People can now place bets on the internet and over the phone so they can do it from their office.
"The bookies are currently giving odds of 100-1 that Mick McCarthy will resign before the tournament in Japan. But the odds narrow when it comes to predicting the temperament of Roy Keane. There is 5-1 on him missing a match through suspension. Ireland not scoring at all has been given odds of 12-1 while an English premiership player scoring the last goal in the World Cup is 4-1.
Lynne Kelleher
Paddy Power is estimating up to €10m will be wagered in his shops alone as football fever grips the country. He revealed that the French victory in 1998 reaped a huge windfall for punters in Ireland but the bookies lost their shirts.
And he expects football fans to spend a small fortune in the coming weeks second guessing the winners of the World Cup.
He said: "We're expecting this year's World Cup to be the biggest betting event ever for us in this country. The last World Cup was the biggest betting event we've ever had and we think even more money will be backed this time.
"The last tournament was hugely unprofitable. We lost a load of money on France. Punters will score every time Ireland win a game over in Japan. We're all up for Ireland but every time Ireland win a game we lose money.
"We think people will put a lot of money on in Ireland. People can now place bets on the internet and over the phone so they can do it from their office.
"The bookies are currently giving odds of 100-1 that Mick McCarthy will resign before the tournament in Japan. But the odds narrow when it comes to predicting the temperament of Roy Keane. There is 5-1 on him missing a match through suspension. Ireland not scoring at all has been given odds of 12-1 while an English premiership player scoring the last goal in the World Cup is 4-1.
Lynne Kelleher