You may have noticed that Euro 2020 (other titles are available) begins on Friday 11 June. It’s not just going to be a feast of football but a paradise for those who love to have a bet on football. Entain believe there will be over three million people around Europe placing a bet or two on the championships.
If that is the case, then it will be twice as many as placed wagers on the 2018 World Cup. The most bets are being placed in the UK. That’s not too surprising with three of the home nations taking part in the month-long Euro 2020. There are plenty of people from other parts of Europe living in the UK. That will see a fair few bets on countries from Eastern Europe, France and Italy.
Now you might be expecting the UK bets to be on England finally becoming European champions. Well, that isn’t the case, it seems people are betting with their head not their heart. France to win Euro 2020 is the most popular bet according to Entain.
Their global database reveals that 28% of bets made by around 1.5 million bettors in the first five months of the year chose France. One in five bets on the outright winner are going for England to win the title. In third (which is where they finished in the 2018 World Cup) are Belgium with 12%.
That database of theirs also reveals that it is the smaller European countries who are betting on their team to win Euro 2020.
Nearly half of the bets that have been made around the world have been on the outright winner. That seems logical as people will wait for the tournament to begin before betting on the individual matches. 47% are betting on the outright winner and next up is top goalscorer with 15%.
Not surprisingly, UK fans are making the most bets on Harry Kane to be the top scorer (23%). He’s only just ahead of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku who has been the subject of 22% of bets on this market.
As Euro 2020 progresses, Entain will be able to use their technology to gather information. They say that this will produce a “unique insight into the expectations and betting behaviours of fans across the majority of countries taking part in the tournament, which it can then use to tailor its offers and their experiences accordingly.”
Their Chief Executive is Jutte Nygaard-Andersen who says most betting will take place once the tournament begins. They expect twice as many people making wagers which reflects “the growth of our business in the past three years.” The company owns bookmakers such as Coral, Ladbrokes and Bwin.
