London Olympics Success for William Hill Sports

William Hill's online sportsbook took in a record number of bets on the 2012 London Olympic Games, as punters took unprecedented interest in the once every four years sporting extravaganza.

The London Olympics were "a fantastic success" for bookmakers, William Hill said, pointing out that it took over 1 million bets during the two weeks of the Olympics. The two most popular events were the gold medal football final between Brazil and Mexico, which attracted 21,700 wagers, and the 100 meter sprint, starring Usain Bolt, which had 17,800 wagers.

Many wagers were also placed on the outcome of the total medal tally, which ended up being won by the United States over The Peoples' Republic of China. Interest was also shown in Team Great Britain's final tally, and optimistic Brits were pleased as Team GB ended up third with 29 golds from 65 medals in total.

William Hill Sports is already looking ahead to Rio de Janeiro 2016, offering 10/1 odds on Team GB bettering its total of 29 gold medals, 2/1 on it grabbing 17 or fewer gold medals, and 7/4 on 21 golds or more. It is also offering 25/1 on the Olympics returning to London in 2014.

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins is a 1/6 favourite to receive a knighthood in the New years honours list. Danny Boyle is also considered a 4/5 chance, Jessica Ennis is quoting evens, and track star Mo Farah is 5/2. Wiggins also leads the BBC Sports Personality of the Year odds at 4/7.