5:32pm Tuesday 24th June 2008
ENGLAND'S lack of involvement at Euro 2008 has barely been noticed on the pitch due to a string of entertaining clashes in Austria and Switzerland, where the event is being hosted.
It also appears that the impact has been minimal off the field too in terms of the affect on business to the bookies.
Leading spread betting firm Spreadex says it has been pleasantly surprised' at the level of bets taken during Euro 2008 despite the absence of the home nations from the competition.
The St-Albans based bookmaker has seen a hectic two weeks of activity after initially fearing a washout when the Three Lions and co failed to qualify.
PR Manager Andy MacKenzie said: "We are really happy with the amount of interest generated by the competition.
"We certainly thought the level of trade would drop off by more than it has done without England.
"We have laid a number of large bets through the tournament including a £5,000 bet on Russia to win at the equivalent of 25/1.
"However, the worst result for us would be a Spain win so it is fair to say we will be heartily cheering the winner of Wednesday's Germany-Turkey semi-final.
"There are plenty of similarities between England and Spain in terms of both being sides full of star names who generally flatter to deceive and maybe this is why English punters seem to have adopted Luis Aragones' men as their team for the event."
Mr MacKenzie added: "It's been quite a tournament for the smaller punters with plenty of people profiting by latching on to trends.
"The best match for us was Italy v Spain as it ended goalless and with a low booking make-up."
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