Euro 2004 Takes Center Stage
"Odds & Ends" takes a special look at the role betting played in one of the world's largest sporting events, Euro Cup 2004.
Greece, which had never won a single game in an international tournament, much less an entire event, surprised punters and fans alike with their improbable victory over host Portugal in the championship match. The victory was the second defeat of Portugal by Greece; the two teams met in the opening match of pool play to start the tournament.
Published reports claim that £350 million was wagered on the outcome of Euro 2004, making it the biggest ever sports betting event.
Upsets Boost Profit for William Hill
William Hill Plc CEO David Harding pointed out that with every new Euro 2004 upset came a boost in profits for bookmakers. Top-ranked teams including France, Italy, Spain and England were eliminated early, while a pair of long shots--Greece at 100/1 and the Czech Republic at 14/1--made the semifinals. The upsets pushed tournament revenues at the more than 1,500 William Hill shops throughout the United Kingdom to more than £50 million. The group brought in £40 million in revenue during the 2002 World Cup. "When outsiders win, you can assume bookmakers are having a good time, and I'm certainly not going to complain,'' Harding explained. "That said, we'd have liked England to have gone all the way because that would have kept domestic interest up.''
Malaysian Police Bust Betting Ring
Law enforcement officials in Kuala Lumpur arrested four Singapore nationalists in two raids during the Greece/Czech Republic semifinal match. The individuals were accepting bets on Euro 2004 action and were working for two different betting rings. They were apprehended with more than $157,000 in cash they had collected in bets on the game.
Greece Inspires Totalbet Punter
Inspired by Greece's surprise run, a Totalbet customer has put heavy money on two long shots for the upcoming 2006 World Cup in Germany. The online punter placed £100 each way on Saudi Arabia to be crowned world champions at 2000/1 and £200 each way on Chile at 200/1. "He obviously thinks that if Greece can win Euro 2004, then another outsider can go all the way and lift the Jules Rimet trophy in two years time," said Totalbet's Grant Williams. The bookmaker also had to reduce the odds on Greece to win the World Cup in 2006, but Otto Rehhagel's side is still a 100/1 long shot after starting out as a 150/1 dark horse.
"Greece winning Euro 2004 was a superb result for the bookies, and punters are already looking forward to getting their own back in Germany," Williams said. "The Greek defense was simply awesome in Portugal, and if they can qualify for the finals in Germany, they will certainly be one side to watch out for."
Euro 2004 Benefits BetandWin
An aggressive Euro 2004 marketing campaign translated to significant gains for Internet bookmaker BetandWin.com. The Austrian sports book had 56,000 new registrations, 41,000 new active customers and 8,000 reactivated accounts during the tournament. Thirty-two thousand customers used the site daily and placed a combined average of 1.3 Euro 2004 bets per second. The company said the tournament was a smashing success with great inroads made in core markets in Austria, Germany, Turkey, and Greece. "We successfully employed an innovative mix of television, radio and print advertising in our 'classical' core target markets, in the promising markets of France, Scandinavia, Spain, Poland and Italy we scored principally with an attractive, carefully coordinated sequence of e-marketing activities," the company stated in a press release.
Costly Clichés
With the simple phrase, "these are nervous moments," only 69 seconds into England's Euro 2004 quarter-final match against Portugal, BBC commentator John Motson cost bookmakers big money. Unbeknownst to Motson, bookies began taking action on which popular cliché he would use first in the match, and punters responded in mass. Motson, a long-standing BBC television football commentator with a highly distinct turn of phrase, had no idea the bets were being taken.
Darren Haines, a spokesman for Ireland-based Paddy Power, told the Sunday times that Motson's "nervous" phrase, at 40-1, cost his firm over £10,000. Haines said they reckoned on "nervous moments" being saved until late in the match. "You'd think it'd be the kind of thing you'd say before a penalty shoot-out or in the final seconds, hence the generous price," he said.
Paddy Power's favorite, at odds of 10-1, was "boy wonder," a reference to teenage England striker Wayne Rooney, who had already scored four goals in the preliminary stages of the tournament. David Beckham fans could place bets at 16-1 on Motson referring to him as "Captain Marvel" before any of the other phrases, while the more cautious could take a 25-1 punt on: "What will Sven be saying at half-time?"--a reference to England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. Also at 25-1, the brave could bet on Motson holding out until almost the end of the game on June 24, before starting to talk about "dreaded penalties" to decide the game.
Hong Kong, Take 1: Soccer Betting Profits for Jockey Club
The first 11 months of legalized soccer betting brought profits of $423 million to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and Li Tak-nang, a spokesman for the club, said Euro 2004 upsets pushed the figure over the $400 million mark.
Anti-soccer betting activists maintain that legalized soccer betting has increased the overall soccer gambling market without squeezing out illegal operators. "They're not necessarily absorbing people who are wagering illegally," said Wong Hak-lim of the Hong Kong Gambling Watch.
Hong Kong, Take 2: Underground Bookie Thumbs Nose at JC
Days before the Hong Kong Jockey Club touted the success of legal soccer betting, an underground bookmaker was claiming to have made $250 million from Hong Kong bettors during Euro 2004. The unnamed head of the offshore soccer betting syndicate said they took an average of nearly $11 million a day during the three-week tournament. "Illegal bookies are laughing all the way to the bank," he told the South China Morning Post. Illegal bookmakers have made a killing by offering better odds and taking bets right up to kickoff in the matches, most of which start at 2:45 a.m. Hong Kong time.
Betsson.com Launches Poker Room
Add Betsson.com to the growing list of online bookmakers to add poker to their Web sites. Betsson became part of PokerNetwork's affiliate program last week. PokerNetwork has a customer base of more than 2 million users through its affiliate sites. The software is a no-download system based on the Java user interface.
Net Entertainment Teams Up with Admiral Sportwetten AG
Austrian interactive betting firm Admiral Sportwetten AG will enhance its betting site by adding casino games developed by Net Entertainment of Sweden. The partnership was announced this week. Pontus Lindwall, CEO of Net Entertainment, said the deal strengthens his company's standing in the industry. "The contract with Admiral is further acknowledgement that we are well positioned and that we have a market leading solution," Lidwall said.