Online punters wager over €40m on World Cup

AN ONLINE betting boom has seen Irish punters wager over €40 million on the World Cup to date.

Paddy Power, the country’s largest bookmaker, has taken €20m in online and telephone bets since the tournament began. Paddy Power expects another 100,000 bets to be laid before and during Sunday’s showdown between Italy and France.

Live betting, or Betting-in-Running, has become the phenomenon of the World Cup. The facility wasn’t available in 2002, but this time round punters have been waging serious cash during games, either online or via telephone accounts.