Leicester’s fairy tale saddles bookmakers with biggest loss in Premier League history

Wednesday, 27 April 2016 00:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: The bookmaking industry faces its biggest loss in Premier League history with Leicester City just one win away from clinching a shock first title, major bookmaker William Hill said on Tuesday.

So unexpected was their title chase that William Hill had quoted Leicester as 5,000-1 outsiders at the start of the season. Now the loss to bookmakers stands at some 10 million pounds ($14.55 million), William Hill said in a statement. A man from Guildford, England stands to earn the highest individual payout after he wagered 75 pounds at 1,500-1 just a few weeks into the campaign, it said. He has not cashed out and so now stands to win 112,500 pounds.

In total, William Hill face a final payout of a little over three million pounds if Leicester beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

“We stand to lose a small fortune if Leicester do what everybody must now be expecting them to do. 5,000-1 is the biggest priced winner in betting history!” William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly said.