As 2016 comes to a close it's time to take a look at the biggest bets of the year, featuring the EU Referendum, US Election and a whole load of sport.
This year has been full of monumental highs (and the occasional low) for Oddschecker users. With the EU Referendum, US Election as well as all the regular sport and TV action to bet on, 2016 has been our biggest year of betting yet. As it comes to a close it’s time to take a look at the biggest bets that the Oddschecker bet slip has seen over the last 365 days.
Up first, and perhaps unsurprisingly so, is a bet on the EU Referendum. We saw masses of bets placed via Oddschecker on this market and the biggest bet in 2016 was a £30,000 bet on Britain to remain in the EU. Let’s move on.
Alongside this in joint first place we go all the way back to January as Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven hosted De Graafschap. One member of the Oddschecker family put £30,000 on PSV (draw no bet) at 1/25. PSV won 4-2, the punter walked away with £1,200 profit and De Graafschap went on to face the dreaded drop.
At number three we’ve got a very shrewd bet indeed. Someone out there placed £29,950 on Stoke to finish in the top half of the Premier League at 5/4. The bet was placed in January when the Potters were in 7th place, four points clear of the bottom half. Stoke finished the 15/16 season in 9th, earning this customer a cool £37,437.50 profit. Hats off.
Liverpool hosted West Ham in the FA Cup fourth round in January and one bettor had £22,500 on the home side to win the game in 90 minutes. Unfortunately, fortune did not favour the brave on this occasion, as the Reds were held to a 0-0 draw with Slaven Bilic’s men. If it’s any conciliation, Liverpool crashed out after extra time in the replay.
April’s El Clásico at the Nou Camp was the venue for our fourth biggest bet of 2016. This punter placed a whopping £19,500 on Messi and co. to beat Real Madrid at 8/13. Gerard Pique put the home side 1-0 up, but goals from Benzema and Bale gave Los Blancos the win.
Following an horrendous Rugby World Cup on home soil, England turned to Eddie Jones and he led a resurgent, young side into the 6 Nations in 2016. With the tournament already wrapped up, England went into their last game against France aiming to become the first English team to secure a Grand Slam in Paris since 1923. One customer had £18,000 on England beating the French at 1/3. Tries from Danny Care, Dan Cole and Anthony Watson earnt England the win and the punter £6,000 profit.
Iceland were the surprise package of Euro 2016, knocking out Roy Hodgson’s England side in the last 16. They then faced France in the quarter-final and we saw a bet of £15,790 on France to qualify vs Iceland at odds of 1/6. They did, handsomely, crushing Icelandic hearts in a 5-2 win which saw the customer walk away with £2,631.67 profit.
Premier League champions Leicester were a couple of months away from securing their remarkable title back in March. They hosted Norwich at the King Power stadium in a bid to extend their lead at the top to five points. Our eighth biggest bet of 2016 was a £15,750 stake on the Foxes to win the match at 4/7. This bettor was made to sweat as Leonardo Ulloa’s 89th minute goal settled the tie.
In at nine is another Premier League match bet. A £15,201 bet backed Man City to beat Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium. The game was 0-0 at half time, but City romped home with four unanswered second half goals from Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero (2) and Raheem Sterling. Probably the easiest £3,378 profit they’ll ever make.
Last and certainly by no means least we welcome the US Election. The tenth biggest bet of the year was on US President-elect Donald Trump to win the Election. The punter placed £15,000 back in October with Trump at 11/4 and collected a huge £41,250 profit.
| Stake | Event | Bet | Odds | Potential Profit | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | £30,000 | Politics | Britain to remain in the EU | 1/3 | £10,000 | Lost |
| T1 | £30,000 | Football | PSV to beat De Graafschap (draw no bet) | 1/25 | £1,200 | Won |
| 3 | £29,950 | Football | Stoke to finish in the top 10 | 5/4 | £37,438 | Won |
| 4 | £22,500 | Football | Liverpool to beat West Ham | 11/10 | £24,750 | Lost |
| 5 | £19,500 | Football | Barcelona to beat Real Madrid | 8/13 | £12,000 | Lost |
| 6 | £18,000 | Rugby | England to beat France | 1/3 | £6,000 | Won |
| 7 | £15,790 | Football | France to qualify vs Iceland | 1/6 | £2,632 | Won |
| 8 | £15,750 | Football | Leicester to beat Norwich | 4/7 | £9,000 | Won |
| 9 | £15,201 | Football | Man City to beat Aston Villa | 2/9 | £3,378 | Won |
| 10 | £15,000 | Politics | Donald Trump to win the US Election | 11/4 | £41,250 | Won |
