London – July 2016 – Belgium may have been handed a lesson in football by Wales on Friday night, but according to the latest transaction data from Worldpay, it was the fans that put in a real match-winning performance, with the total value of bets up by 85% compared to the other quarter final matches.

Following the weekend’s quarter-final fixtures, figures from Worldpay, the global leader in payments, reveal that Wales’ clash with Belgium saw a bumper day for betting, peaking at 83 transactions per second as the game kicked off.  During the 90 minutes, the match saw a phenomenal 43% more bets in-play compared to the France vs. Iceland game, when bookmakers saw the lowest interest of this stage in the tournament. Impressively, Wales’ historic victory also saw an average transaction value of nearly £40, one third higher than other fixtures, as punters raised the stakes in hope of making a tidy profit on a Belgian slip-up.

Of course it wouldn’t be an international tournament without some quarter-final drama, and extra time proved to be pivotal for bookies. The Germany vs. Italy and Portugal vs. Poland matches saw a 37% and 38% rise in transactions respectively after the 90 minute mark. Come the semi-finals, bookmakers may be praying for a full time deadlock in hope of making some extra time profit.

Karl MacGregor, Vice President Regulated Gambling, Global eCommerce, at Worldpay said: