If there’s a game on television, people are going to bet on it. And with the proliferation of soccer being delivered to our high-definition sets, the sport has grown into a significant chunk of business for the sports books in Las Vegas.
So the town’s bet shops wasted no time before putting odds on their boards for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil, which is expected to be the most bet-upon soccer tournament in Vegas history. Betting interest in the sport – and therefore, handle – has been growing steadily with each quadrennial.
“The handle should just go through the roof, bigger than any World Cup ever as far as betting goes,” Adam Pullen, senior trader at William Hill U.S., told The Linemakers on Sporting News.
The books have television networks – ESPN in particular – to thank for the World Cup business they write. Micah Roberts, a Vegas veteran who for years ran the sports book at Stations Casinos, points to 1994, when the Worldwide Leader took over coverage of the event and started giving it the treatment it deserves, as the year in which the sport started taking off in Vegas.
Since then, it’s gotten “bigger and bigger each year,” said Roberts, now part of The Linemakers' team.
Added Pullen, “I remember in the mid-90s, booking soccer – any soccer – just wasn’t around. One of the guys in our office, Doug Beil, was about the only one doing them (while working at Bally’s). ... Now, pretty much every book is having to do it – there’s that much call for it.
“Just about everywhere you look, there’s soccer on TV, and that has translated into betting handle.”
Mexico gets in, books win
Mexico barely snuck into this year’s World Cup, needing to beat New Zealand in a two-game play-in to punch its ticket to Brazil. Count the Vegas books among the many that are mighty thankful for the business the Mexican fans will bring.
“It’s huge (for the books),” said Roberts. “They’re getting an audience that doesn’t bet much else except soccer.” Mexicans wager on the country’s top soccer league “religiously,” he said, and the team's presence gives books the opportunity to introduce more folks to the thrill of the sports betting pastime.
But you won’t find any bargains on El Tri – or the U.S., for that matter – at the bet window. Bookmakers have already been taking wagers on these countries, know there’s plenty more to come, and have adjusted their odds accordingly.
“We know we’re going to take action on Mexico and the U.S., so that’ll be factored into the price, definitely,” Pullen said. “ ... The biggest loser we have is going to be the U.S. In the city, we’re going to get buried if the U.S. wins. So their true odds are higher than what we have. We have them at 50-to-1 (to win the tournament), and we’re still writing tons of bets on them at 50-to-1, but their truer odds are in the triple digits – 150 or even higher.”
To read our complete report on World Cup betting in Las Vegas, including a list of current odds at William Hill, head over to The Linemakers on Sporting News.