Underdogs weren't the only winners of Euro 2016 – the bookies also cleaned up
Low-scoring games and poor performances by the favourites helped bookmakers rake in even more cash.
EURO 2016 WAS a tournament filled with underdog success stories, but the head honchos at the big betting companies will also be rubbing their hands with glee.
Only a relatively small share of the favourites won their matches at Euro 2016, with the overall tournament win going to dark horses Portugal.
France and Germany were both billed pre-tournament as likely winners, followed by Spain and England – which famously bombed out to the lowly ranked Iceland.
All of that was good news for bookies, according to Goodbody research analyst Gavin Kelleher, since the majority of people tend to lump for the favourites if they decide to have a flutter.
“Naturally most people bet on favourites because they have a higher probability of winning, which means more weight of money is placed on favourites,” he told Fora.
“Looking at the competition as a whole and comparing to the World Cup in 2014 and to Euro 2012, a lower percentage of games were won by the favourites at Euro 2016.”
Over the 51 games at Euro 2016, only 41% were won by the favourite, which is less than both the 2014 World Cup (50%) and the previous European Championships (58%) four years ago.
Portugal celebrate winning Euro 2016 after edging out France in extra time.
Paddy Power head of PR Feilim Mac An Iomaire said low-scoring games specifically helped contribute to a successful Euros for bookies.
“It may have been a tournament for the underdogs, but it was the bookies who came out on top in their battle with the punters,” he said.
“Stacks of draws and low-scoring games made it difficult for bettors to get the edge in the big games while Portugal winning would have been an excellent result for the majority of firms. The final itself was a perfect storm for the bookies with the winner coming from a substitute in extra time.”
However a good tournament from a bookies’ perspective will have relatively little direct impact on their bottom lines given the huge number of bets they take across all sports each year.
“Sporting results, be they positive or negative, over time will trend to an average. Essentially it all levels out,” Kelleher said.
Customer acquisition
Of greater long-term impact for betting companies is the ability to use a big tournament to lure punters away from other firms or attract new customers.
Special offers such as free bets when matches are drawn are one of the preferred tactics the major players employ to boost their appeal to the public.
Ladbrokes’ Hayley O’Connor said the final’s 0-0 result after normal time triggered a record payout for free bets.
“When those type of offers click, it boosts our customers’ affinity for the Ladbrokes brand, so what might appear as a short-term loss can often be a long-term gain in terms of customer satisfaction and longevity,” she said.
Even though a lot of people lost out to the bookies during Euro 2016, Kelleher said this is unlikely to discourage new and veteran customers from betting again.
“People bet for entertainment and even if you didn’t win at Euro 2016, does that mean you won’t come back? No it doesn’t.
“The Premier League starts again in just over a month and football punters will be looking forward to it with interest – particularly given what is likely to be a very busy transfer period.”
