The stocks the experts are backing for the World Cup

published 4 June 2014

The 2014 World Cup is now only a matter of days away from kicking off. Traditionally, punters have tried to make a few bob from betting on the winner. But if you'd rather pop down to your broker than your bookie, there are plenty of bets to be had on the World Cup via the stock markets.

Pundits from the investment world and the media have been quick to speculate on the winners and losers. And there's broad agreement among the experts, with sportswear retailers, pubs and bookies featuring heavily, along with broadcaster ITV.

So, here's a roundup of some of the media's picks for Brazil 2014. And just to be clear, these aren't MoneyWeek recommendations - we're not endorsing them.

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The Share Centre picks

ITV (ITV) will be showing the games. And with advertising rates rumoured to be up to £300,000 for 30 seconds' airtime, it should benefit handsomely.

Sports Direct (SPD) should profit from selling replica England shirts (and Brazil shirts in their Scottish stores).

Domino's Pizza (DOM) will be taking advantage of the tournament's late kick-off times, as many viewers will opt to watch from home.

William Hill (WMH) punters gambled £1bn in the last World Cup; this year should also prove to be a bumper payday for the bookies.

Marston's (MARS) pub chains will hope to do well as premises extend their opening hours to cope with late-running matches.

Evening Standard

Standard's Nick Goodway

Imperial Tobacco (IMT) should benefit as nervous punters watch penalty shootouts, Goodway reckons.

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) with TVs now allowed on the premises, the sheer ubiquity of Wetherspoon's pubs should ensure they take a fair proportion of the public's money.

Goals Soccer Centres (GOAL) Goodway is hoping football fever will encourage more people to play five-a-side.

Cineworld (CINE) a contrarian pick here, as non-football fans flee the living room to watch a film in the safety of the cinema.

Hargreaves Landsown

International Consolidated Airlines (IAG)

InterContinental Hotels (IHG)

Dixons Retail (DXNS) should benefit from selling TVs, while barbecue and food sales willbolster Tesco's (TSCO) profits; Domino's Pizza should cater for the non-chefs.

Among pubs, HL picks Mitchells & Butlers (MAB), Punch Taverns (PUB) and JD Wetherspoon; plus brewers Diageo (DGE) and SAB Miller (SAB).

Broadcaster ITV, plus advertising firm WPP (WPP), which should benefit from a "boost to the advertising and PR industry in general".

Kit retailers Sports Direct and JD Sports (JD) hope to sell plenty of shirts, shorts and other paraphernalia.

And finally, Ladbrokes (LAD) and William Hill should rake in the profits as only bookmakers can.

Shares in focus

MoneyWeek

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.