The UK could bet £500 million within in a week with two World Cup games for England and five days of punting at Royal Ascot. 

Betway predicts up to £40 million will be wagered every day at Ascot, nudging total bets placed towards £200 million. England's World Cup games  on Monday and Sunday could see total stakes rise to £500m.

“Every four years, the collision between Royal Ascot and the World Cup results in one of the biggest betting weeks of the year but this year is extra special," Alan Alger, Betway’s head of public relations, said. “With England games both kicking off and closing a week that has Royal Ascot sandwiched in between, we could be set to see around half a billion pounds bet in just seven days.”

England gets their World Cup underway when they face Tunisia at the Volograd arena later on Monday. They have recorded just one victory in their last seven matches when coming up against lower ranked teams. Despite their shortcomings, Paddy Powers have priced England at just 2/5 to beat Tunisia.