Several bookmakers offices have confirmed that the last World Cup in South Africa in terms of sales was the best tournament in the last forty years. Especially the subsequent loss of Spanish world champions in their first game against Switzerland turned out to be beneficial for bookmakers.

Bookmaker William Hill, said that the World Cup turned out to be very good compensation for the losses the company made during this year's Royal Ascot. William Hill claims that this year's Royal Ascot result for bookmakers was the worst in history.

The resulting loss for Spain in its opening game against Switzerland meant that fewer gamblers placed bets on the favourites to win the tournament. This produced a fine profit for the bookies. What also benefited the British bookmakers enormously was patriotic bets on the English national team, as performances below expectations and a relatively quick departure from the tournament after losing to Germany meant a good return for British bookmakers.

The most popular World Cup games with Bwin customers with the largest number of bets placed included the semi-final with Germany against Spain, followed by the final with Netherlands against Spain and the semi-final with Uruguay against the Nether-lands. The most popular bet was the three-way bet (1-X-2) in the Round of 16 with Netherlands against Slovakia.