The summer of 2012 is expected to be a bumper one for British Online bookmakers. Just to quote some figures from Government research, over 70% of the adult population in the UK, gambled at some point during the year of 2012. That is over 35.5 million punters. What was happening in 2010? The FIFA World Cup of course, which will have helped drive up the number of casual punters across the nation, as patriotic bets went to wards England’s campaign in South Africa. The summer of 2012 is expected to bring an even bigger influx of wagers because along with the Euro 2012 Finals, there is also the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee.
What does the Queen’s Jubilee have to do with anything? Well, the celebrations will attracts attention to the Royal family and bookmakers are happy to provide odds on happenings surrounding the Royal Family. There was a wealth of betting last year when Prince William wed Kate Middleton for example, and now the big trend is towards Kate being pregnant. So the Royal family will even take their share of the summer betting, in a competitive year of major sporting events.
Euro 2012 will naturally be a high draw for punters, as England try and make amends for their poor World Cup campaign. But before they even hit Poland and Ukraine 2012, there is the popular betting market of who will be the next permanent England manager to look at. Ever since Fabio Capello walked out of the job, just who will lead England for the future has been completely up in the air, and the FA don’t seem in any particular hurry to name who will lead England at Euro 2012. But the summer’s top soccer event will be a huge bonus for bookmaker profits this season and really , the extra football betting is just the tip of the iceberg.
Patriotic British punters will no doubt get behind the home grown talent appearing for Team GB at the Olympics as well. The British soccer squads will probably be a big draw, along with top athletes like Paula Radcliffe, Jessia Ennis, Victoria Pendleton, Keri Ann Payne and Tom Daley to name but a few. So the interest will be high at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and British bookies will no doubt see a higher return on margins because of the location of this year’s event, compared to the degree of interest from say four years ago in Beijing. It is all pointing to a summer bonanza of betting.
But even on top of those markets, bookies will also be targeting the big annually recurring events like Wimbledon, the FA Cup final and there is also a Ryder Cup in September, along with the next instalment of the Africa Cup of Nations and the cricket T20 World Cup. So the high quality sports events which will keep attracting seasoned punters and new, will mean that British Bookmakers will be in for a very busy summer of 2012.
