Olympics Give Big Boost to Betting

UK bookies note a big increase British bookies have big smiles on their faces these days, as the numbers they report in betting on the London Olympics keep growing, especially related to football, tennis and swimming. The business triggered by the Olympics has been doubled at betting exchange Betfair, while estimates arrived from William Hill that a record GBP 30 million will be staked across the industry over the two weeks of sporting competition. It was noted in the media that "While this only equates to an average Saturday during the Premier League football season, it is far in excess of levels during previous Olympics and most predictions made before the Games." And according to Mark Maydon of spread betting firm Sporting Index, "London 2012 levels of business, measured by number of bets we've taken, is up by a factor of nine versus Beijing. Indeed, just as the Olympics has dominated the media, so it has also dominated the minds of our customers: 70 percent of our clients who have been active betting with us in the past two weeks have had at least one bet on the Olympics". One of the most popular bets is the number of gold medals won by the British team – at the moment Sporting Index is predicting 27, three more than at the beginning of the Games.