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Posted in World Cup<\/a> on March 2, 2010 @ 4:03 pm by Richard Hutchinson<\/p>\n LONDON \u2013 Warren Buffett said today that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc insurance division has sold an insurance policy that will pay out tens of millions of dollars if France win the World Cup.<\/p>\n He told the business channel CNBC: \u201cI think we\u2019re going to lose 30 million bucks or something like that\u201d in the event the French national side wins in South Africa this summer.<\/p>\n The insurance was provided by Ajit Jain, a Berkshire Hathaway employee, to an unnamed client who wanted to protect themselves against potential losses on a French victory.<\/p>\n But betting experts today questioned whether writing such insurance was in breach of strict US anti-gambling laws. One leading European bookmaker told Live Odds and Scores: \u201cThe US law is quite clear. You can\u2019t take sports bets anywhere apart from in Nevada and this sure as hell looks like a sports bet. You tell me what the difference is.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it were legal to offer sports insurance on this sort of event then every bookmaker in the world would set up in the US as an insurance broker and pay insurance taxes on every bet they booked. It would be the perfect way to enter the US market.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously without knowing how the insurance deal had been structured and which state or even which country it has been agreed in, it\u2019s hard to say if anything illegal has been done. But if the contract has been agreed in Omaha I would think the Nebraska authorities might want to have a closer look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n It would be 100 per cent legal for a European-based bookmaker to offer a bet against France winning the World Cup and some bookmakers even have their own insurance divisions. For example, Irish bookies Paddy Power<\/a> run Airton Risk Management.<\/p>\n Ajit Jain specialises in insuring sports-related risks, such as top players\u2019 contracts, prize draws, tournament cancellations and also natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. He is based in Stamford, CT and is touted as a potential successor to Buffett, who has described Jain as \u201can extraordinary manager\u201d.<\/p>\n France are rated 16\/1 (bet $10 to make $160 profit) eighth favorites to win the World Cup; Spain are the 4\/1 favorites, followed by Brazil at 5\/1.<\/p>\n World Cup 2010 Betting Odds<\/a><\/p>\n Share Investor Links<\/span><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n Share Investor Blog<\/a> – Stockmarket & Business commentary Download the 2009 Warren Buffett Letter & 2009 Annual Report to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders<\/span><\/a> Recommended Amazon Reading<\/span><\/p>\n
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