Punters have been backing England to win this World Cup since February 2015.
If successful in their last 16 tie against Colombia, England could be well on their way to the World Cup final. And if they win it – the bookmaking industry stands to lose £100 million.
Following their strong start to the tournament, the Three Lions are now as short as just 6/1 to win the tournament – but they haven’t always been that price.
Bookmakers have been taking bets on England as high as the lofty price of 25/1 since February 2015, and Southgate’s squad only trail Brazil in regards the most backed outright through Oddschecker.
With the high price available on the Three Lions, a source at one of the UK’s biggest bookmakers exclusively told Oddschecker that England’s outright liability is now higher than Brazil.
They also added that since the Panama game, a substantial amount of bets have been placed on England, with patriotic punters backing Kane and co to go the whole way. Added to that, it’s not just outright betting concerning trading floors from a liability point of view.
Following the opener against Tunisia, bookmakers have taken hits on individual England games. With odds-against 11/10 earmarked for England tonight against Columbia – bookmakers may not quite be joining in the street party celebrations if Southgate’s men are victorious.
Oddschecker’s Finance Director Nick Barnett said: “Current defensive pricing is not putting the England faithful off and when coupled with the longer-term accumulation of ‘England-to-win’ liabilities, has left the industry staring at a 9 figure loss.
“That does however pale in comparison to the £2bn cost to the UK economy of any potential bank holiday if the England squad return as heroes – it turns out you can put a price on happiness…”
Oddschecker spokesperson George Elek said: “Despite the optimism surrounding the England team only really rearing its head in the public consciousness in the last few weeks, there has been a disproportionate amount of bets places on them to win the World Cup compared to their price.
“This may have caused alarming liabilities for the bookmakers. Although the days of England’s price shortening purely out of blind optimism are likely over with odds moving alongside liquid exchange market.”
