The World Cup has certainly been a "Bookies World Cup". The games have been timed perfectly for the European sportsbooks punters, and the punters are getting slaughtered!

So far results have very much gone in favour of the fixed odds firms, with Spain, Germany, France all beaten, and England and Italy succumbing to draws. Even the spread firms have been cheered by low goal and shirts make ups (traditionally more buyers than sellers).

This week a Sportsbook Trading Director said to Hyperion's Trading consultant: "if we're not making money we are in the wrong business"!

Hyperion has a foot in both camp's. Most of us are avid punters and it's fair to say we are blooded! The notable exception being our resident punting guru James Faux who on his blog tipped Argentina up at 8.6 (currently 5.5), one of only two sides to win both openers.

However on the flip side of the coin if the layers do have a rip-roaring competition it is ultimately good for Hyperion (and candidates) as many Sportsbooks will logically have an increased budget for hiring new staff. Whether punter or bookmaker comes out on top, ultimately football will no doubt be the winner (and the fella who is selling all the Vuvuzela's!).
 

The concept of insurance has been around for centuries, as has the term hedging.

For UK bookies England getting knocked out is a negative result for the events turnover, as the presence of the three lions always boosts interest among the betting public.

Along with a general fall in expected betting turnover, many bars and supermarkets will experience the absence of mass sales of lager, pizza and vuvuzela’s. It makes you wonder why bar owners and Tesco’s and co didn’t lob a few grand as a hedge on Germany to beat England. With the typical pricing bias towards England it would perhaps even have been a value punt. The feeling is that Mr Whitbread and Mr Sainsbury missed an opportunity, after all there wasn’t a value bet on “Somerset rain” for the Glastonbury wellington boot stall owners!
 

At Hyperion we have to confess to being big fans of Paddy Power's marketing, the term tongue in cheek is often apt.  This photo taken at the local shop during a lunchhour!

Is an excuse needed to post a picture of late 1980's Boston boy-band New Kids On The Block?

Check out James Faux's blog on the World Cup New Kids: Betting and Gaming Blog.

We are finding the job market seems to be responding very positively to the economic upturn. Although entry-level roles are not as prevalent as in Q1 2008, overall numbers through our agency have returned to pre-recession levels. We have seen jobs created in all the following areas.

Retention: In times of continued economic uncertainty, retention rather than acquisition seems the order of play; at least until the egaming rollercoaster is over any double dips.

Compliance: Monopolies are now starting to open up, regulatory bodies are becoming more proactive, scandals like Eurolinx will be less and less tolerated.

Social media: In the know about 2.0, SM-savvy marketing professionals are in vogue.

New territory Country managers: Post-UIGEA, the big operators focused big money on Europe and new territories, the land grab may be slowing down but it certainly is not abating. Marketing staff with local contacts are commanding big remunerations.
 

Sportsbook customer profiling: A large and growing area, arbitrageurs and shrewd punters are assigned ratings and liabilities are adjusted accordingly. Frequently ISP profiles are filtered to make sure limited customers cannot out-flank any Chinese walls, and often to block the access of smart personal money from other rival trading firms. Quantitative analysts are in demand.

‘Prop’ trading: Traditionally there have been a couple of established players in this vertical but as sports betting becomes more liquid and over-rounds tighter, there has been a marked increase in new-to-market prop trading businesses hiring graduates.

Scratch cards: Operators continue to expand into often unexposed demographics and the sector is growing exponentially.
Anti-corruption: Rick Parry’s Gambling Commission has been rattling sabres about corruption in sports betting, and firms are increasingly looking to self-regulate, fuelling an interesting job avenue for traders with an analytical bent.

Consolidation: As the industry matures and B2B relationships flourish, white label marketers are sought-after commodities.