World Cup 2014 – As predictable as a Gary Lineker tweet, an Alan Hansen denouncement of anyone who “writes off the Germans” and a limp quarter-final exit in a major football tournament by England, is the collective media clairvoyance predicting an imminent billion-pound betting bonanza at the World Cup in Brazil.

Brazil 2014 kicks off on June 12 in Sao Paolo as 31 of the best teams in the world—and England—battle it out amid the heat, unfinished stadia and street crime to lift the coveted trophy. And sports-betting fans across the world will have their laptops, tablets and PCs at the ready.

When the last World Cup in South Africa had finished—won by bookies’ favourites Spain—hundreds of millions of pounds had changed hands, with major player William Hill recording a £135 million profit for the first half of 2010.

For once, the red-tops’ £1 billion predictions may be—to borrow a betting term—bang on the money.

As long as the event actually goes ahead (preparations have been far from ideal, with protests about the cost of the thing and FIFA’s Secretary General Jerome Valcke issuing an ultimatum to host cities who are months behind schedule), Brazil 2014 looks set to break all betting records, especially if one of the longer shots triumphs in South America.

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