TAB releases special football world cup bets

Don’t know much about football but still fancy a flutter?

The TAB has released a series of Football World Cup special bets ahead of kick-off on Friday June 11 in South Africa, that will not only appeal to serious football fans but also to those who are easily baffled by the offside rule.

The TAB will make the World Cup more enjoyable for less avid football fans with betting options like how many goals there will be in the whole tournament or how many corners there will be in a game or which half will have the most goals.

TAB football bookie Gary Pearn says the TAB’s World Cup special bet options will appeal to a wide cross-section of people.

“We are offering special options that are designed to allow people who may not know the technical side of football or follow a team, to still participate in the excitement of placing a bet on a game or the tournament.”

Special bet options are a growing phenomenon among punters worldwide with bookies overseas predicting the 2010 World Cup to be the biggest-ever betting event.

While New Zealand punters won’t be able to place bets with the TAB on which footballer will be the first to split with which Wag, or the shirt number Mandela will wear first, they will be able to place bets on the more novel aspects of the All Whites games.

For instance, how many goals will this All Whites team score compared to the All Whites team that went to Spain in 1982 for the Cup finals? Will they score more goals, fewer goals or the same number of goals as the 1982 All Whites. Who will score more goals in the tournament, the All Whites or Lionel Messi, the current FIFA World Player of the Year? Or pick the match in which New Zealand scores its first goal.

Pearn predicts the All Whites to score their first group goal in the match against Slovakia at $1.85 and for them to Tie with the All Whites of '82 by scoring two goals in total at $3.40.

Other interesting bet options that will run over the course of the tournament include picking the total number of red cards in the tournament (cards in extra time do not count), selecting the continent you think the country that will win the final comes from or the player to collect the Golden Boot award.

For more betting options go to tab.co.nz/fwc

Wager on the Football World Cup 2010: Be part of the thrill of these historic games.

www.tab.co.nz