25 Oct 2011

Rugby World Cup biggest event ever for TAB

4:02 pm on 25 October 2011

The Rugby World Cup was the TAB's biggest-ever betting event with over $30 million wagered on the tournament.

Punters spent $30.2 million during the tournament, surpassing the previous highest spend of $25.6 million on 2010's football World Cup.

TAB bookmaker Mark Stafford says the turnover figures surpassed the agency's wildest forecasts.

The All Blacks-France final was the biggest single sports betting fixture.

Turnover on the final was $3.5 million, $1.3 million more than the previous best, when punters spent $2.2 million on the 2000 David Tua-Lennox Lewis heavyweight title fight.

The record-breaking results for the TAB will also provide a financial boost for rugby in New Zealand, with a percentage of betting turnover and profit going to the New Zealand Rugby Union.

While final figures are still being worked through, a comparison can be found in football, with New Zealand Football banking more than $500,000 courtesy of betting on last year's World Cup in South Africa.