Money's on the sublime to the ridiculous

World Cup Betting: Paddy Power to referee the World Cup final next month in Germany? You can have a punt on it. Someone's already backed him to do so after seeing him slip out of the sports department in Arnott's, carrying a little black number.

Those who prefer a little eccentricity to the banal in terms of soccer World Cup betting markets will be facilitated by the major bookmakers. They provide a book on which English wife will be seen with the most shopping bags on any single retail expedition in Germany during the tournament while also offering odds on how many times Wayne Rooney's name will be heard in the BBC commentary should the Manchester United player line out against Paraguay.

Boylesports don't shy away from the quirky markets as evidenced by listing England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson at 3 to 1 to "do the robot", presumably a reference to Liverpool striker Peter Crouch's goal celebrations.

John Harnett of Paddy Power confirmed that interest among the punters is huge. "We'll have a turnover of about €40 million, well over twice of what we had for the last World Cup.

"Our biggest loser would be if England or Poland were to win the World Cup while at the other end of the scale we have just €21 invested on Saudi Arabia. One punter staked €50 each way on Angola to win the tournament outright (750 to 1)."

Leon Blanche of Boylesports said England would represent the biggest loser for them as Irish punters appear to be ruled by the head rather than the heart. Support for Eriksson's men has seen a point shaved off their odds from 8 to 1 to 7 to 1. "We are offering the best value on Brazil (11 to 4) while we haven't taken a single cent on Angola."