Rugby Increasing In Betting Popularity

Rugby Union is increasingly becoming an option for bettors worldwide as "the game they play in heaven" grows in popularity and access to television broadcasts of international fixtures becomes easier.

Saturday's Wales-New Zealand clash at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium, which the All Blacks won 29-9, drew in more than one million pounds worth of bets worldwide, according to the Welsh newspaper Western Mail. The sum included international bets, online gambling and bets placed in New Zealand.

UK bookmaker William Hill said it expected to take in 200,000 pounds on the match, while other bookmakers such as Ladbrokes and Paddy Power were expecting to take in similarly huge numbers on a game that many Welsh fans were hoping could end in a massive upset, but in the end resulted in yet another New Zealand victory - the All Blacks' 20th consecutive victory over Wales in a 55-year period.

While big international fixtures tend to be seen as fairly predictable, with traditional superpowers New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, England and France tending to dominate against the pack, the improvement of the second tier teams like Wales, Argentina and Ireland has also contributed to the growth in its betting popularity.

According to William Hill, Welsh fans constantly bet on the team regardless of how it is performing on the field. They estimate that Wales' second half comeback against England in the last Six Nations tournament cost the bookmaker around two million pounds.

That big gambling victory would have been an extra source of joy for the Welsh fans, who went on to celebrate their nation's first grand slam (in which a team wins all five games in the Six Nations) since 1978.