Bookmakers are betting they will make a killing in this year's football World Cup if Germany wins the final on Sunday.

The odds on Germany winning are now 6-4, from 7-2, with bookmaker Coral after they defeated South Korea in their semi-final.

Favourites going out is generally a good result for us

Sean Boyce Ladbroke's

"Germany were on offer at 14-1 before the tournament began, and even at that price we saw very little support for them," said David Stevens from Coral.

"We now find ourselves in the unusual position of hoping for a German win, in order to complete what has been a great tournament for bookies," he added.

Favourites fall

Bookmakers were boosted by England's early defeat, the success of outsiders such as Turkey and South Korea and the swift exit of favourites such as France and Argentina.

"Favourites going out is generally a good result for us," Sean Boyce from Ladbrokes, Britain's biggest bookmakers, told the BBC's World Business Report.

"France is a good example. They were 3-1 favourites before a ball was kicked.

"The fact that they've gone out means we keep all the money from those people who made France favourites by backing them."

But he admitted that if Brazil, who have gone from 8-1 before the tournament to 2-1, win then the company stands to lose money on the World Cup.

Bookie bonanza

A German win could make a difference of more than �1m in the profits of gaming groups such as William Hill or Ladbrokes according to Dresdner KW.

"The quirky nature of this year's World Cup, with the favourites out of the running, has seen much of the increased turnover fall right to the bottom line," said one analyst at WestLB Panmure.

"These results should be excellent for Hilton Group, William Hill and Stanley Leisure, which have already benefited from tax changes and potential deregulation," he added.

Even if Germany lose, the bookies will have had a good year because of the number of outsiders winning at Ascot, Cheltenham and other race meetings.

On-line boom

On-line gaming, in particular, is expected to get a boost from the World Cup.

Betinternet.com confirmed this optimism on Monday, saying its World Cup trading to date is ahead of expectations.

It said that in the second three months of this year, customer accounts had increased by 40% compared with the first quarter.

And the number of transactions per match day had exceeded 10,000.

"On-line gaming is a massive growth area and is expected to be a significant source of revenue," said David Briggs, Business Development Director at Ladbrokes.

"For example, the World Cup has provided a massive opportunity, with on-line betting expected to account for around 20% of the estimated �200m being placed on the World Cup in the UK alone."