24-11-2007 England missing qualification to Euro 2008 will cost UK bookmakers £250m

The Times reports that England’s failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 soccer championship will cost UK high street businesses as much as £650 million. "A successful run to the 2008 final would have led to a £2 billion bonanza for the economy," commented Simon Chadwick, Professor at the Coventry Business School.

Elsewhere, Sportingbet Australia said the federal election was the single biggest betting event for 2007, bigger than the Melbourne Cup.

Rival bookmaker Centrebet said this year's election attracted a whole different group of punters from the normal sporting events. "The betting levels this year is more than double the 2004 level, political betting has moved into a new age," commented a spokesperson for Centrebet.