World Cup Billion Pounds Bet Bonanza

Bookmakers William Hill believe that if England - currently 7/1 - go all the way to the Final in the World Cup, betting turnover could reach a staggering £1 billion (£1000m). 'The longer England stay in the tournament the bigger the betting turnover will be - and the bigger our potnetial payout if they win - which would be likely to cost the industry £50million - ideally we'd like to see England beaten in a penalty shoot out in the Final, but after the Rugby team won the World Cup and the cricketers won the Ashes, we're bracing ourselves for the worst case scenario.' said Willaim Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe, 'If England win the tournament it will be the worst day in betting history - even allowing for the 'Magnificent Seven' disaster when Frankie Dettori rode all seven winners at Ascot in one day in 1996 - costing bookies £40 million.'