Punters have more ways to enjoy the Cup

For football fans, the World Cup is the most anticipated sporting event since it comes only once every four years, and is a must-see for fans who long to see 32 of the world’s very best teams compete against each another.

The World Cup is a particularly choice event for fans who like to bet. As with domestic sports and European football matches, sports fans will be able to wager on the scores of the games as well as the winner of the entire tourney through Sports Toto, a sports lottery gaming commission.

The most basic game will allow bettors to estimate the halftime score and the final score of a combination of games of their choice. Sports fans can place daily bets on as many matches as they like.

Bettors can also choose a team of their liking and estimate the total score of the team’s group phase matches. For Korean football fans, that will give them an opportunity to predict if Huh Jung-moo and the boys can reach round 16 for the first time off home turf.

Lastly, football fans will get a shot at attempting to guess who will win the entire tourney. A bet can be placed at the start of the tourney or at the start of each round, with adjusted odds for the round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals.

The current prediction by media and sports gaming experts is that Brazil and Spain are the favorites to win the tourney.

According to a survey conducted by International Sports Press Association on its media members, 28.3 percent voted for Brazil, 23.9 percent voted for Argentina and 19.6 percent voted in favor of Spain.

However, a survey conducted by a domestic football magazine, “Best Eleven,” had a large minority, 42.7 percent of its readers, voting in favor of Spain winning the cup.

Brazil is the most successful team in the history of the World Cup with five titles to its name. Spain, on the other hand, is coming off a Euro 2008 title.

[estyle@joongang.co.kr]