No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsBusinessWhat gamblers really won betting on Costa Rica

What gamblers really won betting on Costa Rica

For La Sele fans Costa Rica’s 3-1 win over Uruguay was a miracle, but for gamblers willing to take a risk on a long shot Costa Rica’s victory could have been a life changer.

According to OddsShark.com, on average sportsbooks set the odds of a Costa Rica win at +800, or slightly over 11 percent. At these odds, people who hedged their bets on a triumph for Costa Rica would have recouped eight times their investment.

After the game, rumors based on a fake story from a Costa Rica blog spread across the Internet saying that several gamblers won millions in Vegas betting on the exact score, but in truth sports books received very few bets on either side of the Costa Rica and Uruguay game.

The Tico Times interviewed representatives from two Costa Rica-based sports books, both chose to remain anonymous. According to the experts, Costa Rica and Uruguay’s general betting volume is lower than that of other countries, and the skewed odds deterred most of their customers from betting on the game at all, let alone placing large bets. The same is true of large international sports books.

According to Lee Phelps, a television and radio presenter with UK-based William Hill, one of the world’s largest  bookmakers, most of the company’s bets came in from Japan. The largest bet on Costa Rica came from a Russian who put €250 on Costa Rica at 15:2 odds and took home €1,875.

Trending Now

Panama’s Colonial Trade Route Named UNESCO World Heritage Site

The colonial route of Panama, used for centuries to transport the riches of the Americas on mules and boats and considered a forerunner of...

Costa Rica Rescues Endangered Amphibians and Turtles in Store Bust

The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), through its Specialized Section Against Environmental Crimes, carried out an operation at a store in Vázquez de Coronado, San...

Costa Rica Identified as Transit Point in Sinaloa Cartel Drug Network

Ovidio Guzman, the son of drug trafficker "El Chapo," admitted to U.S. justice that Costa Rica was used by the Sinaloa Cartel as a...

Canadian Tourism to Costa Rica Drops Amid Rising Crime Concerns

Canadian visits to Costa Rica have started to drop in 2025, with crime playing a big part in the shift. Data from the Costa...

Strong Earthquake Shakes Panama’s Pacific Coast, No Damage Reported

A strong earthquake struck off Panama's Pacific coast today, rattling the region but causing no reported injuries or destruction. Seismologists pegged the magnitude at...

Costa Rica Shines Once Again in This High-Quality Travel Video

A new 4K video now circulating online offers a fresh view of Costa Rica’s natural settings—one that captures our country's popular as well as...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica