Saturday, July 08, 2006

Despite an earlier than expected exit by the US men's national soccer team
in this year's FIFA World Cup, Americans are still interested in 'the
beautiful game'. Bettors at Sportsbook.com, the world's largest online
sportsbook and casino are wagering on the outcome of what should be a
thrilling finale between Italy and France this Sunday in Berlin, Germany.
Odds makers have listed the Azzuri as a narrow 2.71 favorite to win the
final game and bring home the country's fourth World Cup. Italy, who beat
Germany earlier this week in an emotional semi-final match-up, is getting
enormous support from bettors in the US and has received 71.2 per cent of
total wagers placed on the game. Although France's odds sit slightly below
the Italians at 2.97, Americans are not confident that Les Bleus will
triumph over Italy as they have only received 7.8 per cent of all wagers,
despite France's historical dominance of Italy in previous World Cup
encounters, including a quarter-final loss in 1998 and a second round defeat
in 1986. The rest of the money is resting on a tie should neither team win
the Cup in 90 minutes of regulation time.

"Italy and France have given blood sweat and tears just for the opportunity
to win a World Cup for their country, and you can guarantee that soccer fans
around the US will be watching to see who brings it home." said Alex
Czajkowski, Marketing Director at Sportsbook.com. Everybody bets, and with
all of the wagering options available at Sportsbook.com, customers get the
chance to bet on all kinds of World Cup action, like who will score the
first goal of the game, what will the exact score be, or how many total
goals will be scored."