UK Sports Betting Firms Hopeful for Euro 2020 Frenzy

The long awaited and highly anticipated Euro 2020 is expected to kick off on the 11th of June. After having been put on hold for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UEFA and football fans in Europe – and around the world – are getting ready to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the popular event.

Of course, it is not only the UEFA and fans that are excited for the famous competition. Bookmakers are also eager for this year’s event and are ready with promos attractive enough for Euro 2020 bettors. Many hope that they will be able to cash-in on the famous event and bring in profits comparable to or higher than what they experienced from Euro 2016.

Euro 2016 was profitable for bookies

Needless to say, 2020 was a brutal year in terms of profit loss for the majority of bookmakers, with most suffering a heavy decrease in revenue. Between the shuttering of physical shops, the cancelling of major sporting events and sporting leagues being forced into hiatus because of the pandemic, during the spring and early summer sports betting participation was far lower than usual.

Now, with the upcoming Euro 2020, bookmakers in the UK and across Europe are hopeful that they will benefit from the hype around the event and attract more punters to their sites. If this year’s event is anything like its predecessor in 2016, some bookies may be lucky enough not only to turn a huge profit, but even enjoy record profits.

For instance, the Euro 2016 brought record profit for several brands like Unibet. According to the bookmaker giant’s Q2 2016 financial results, Unibet’s gross winnings revenue for the quarter was £126.6 million, an increase of 57 percent. Of these revenues, £19.6 million (15.5 percent) resulted from the Euro 2016, alone. Other bookies that enjoyed a revenue boost from Euro 2016 included Paddy Power Betfair, William Hill and Ladbrokes.

Naturally, it wasn’t just bookmakers like Unibet that raked in the money from the event. The UEFA made a net profit of €847 million on Euro 2016, with the tournament generating total revenues of €1.92 billion, an estimated €500 million increase over the 2012 tournament.

England remains joint-favourite to win – good news for UK bookmakers

UK bookmakers, in particular, are hopeful that British punters will be especially enthusiastic for Euro 2020 as England is joint-favourites to win which is always good in terms of volume betting in the UK. Presently, England and France are 5/1 joint-favourites to win.

British football fans are hoping that England will live up to the expectations in the upcoming European Football Championship and surpass their fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Cup. To further add to the excitement for Brits, it is possible for England to play five of the seven games, including both the semi-final and final, at Wembley.

If restrictions are lifted and fans are permitted to return to the stadium to cheer on their team, this home support could prove invaluable, which is also likely to further encourage betting, an added plus for the bookmakers.

All that said, is it likely that Euro 2020 will bring in as much money for the UEFA and bookmakers as Euro 2016? Considering the world is still in the clutches of the pandemic, which means there’s less travel and continued restrictions on social gatherings, it is unlikely that this year’s Euro will break records like its predecessor. Still, there’s a good chance that bookmakers will see a much-needed jump in profits compared to Q2 2020.

As of the writing of this article, Euro 2020 is currently slated to kick off on Friday, 11 June, 2021 and run until Sunday, 11 July, 2021. The tournament will be held across Europe for the first time in its history, with a total of 11 host cities, each in a different country. The tournament format will be the same as Euro 2016, with the top two teams in each of the six final tournament groups, proceeding to the round of 16 along with the four best third-place finishers.