This is a guest contribution by Martin de Knijff of Metric Gaming. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

This Friday the Fifa World Cup draw takes place in Moscow ahead of the greatest sporting show on Earth.

For football fans who love the quadrennial fiesta, six months of waiting until the tournament’s opening games in June might seem like a lifetime. Although many of us may be able to conjure up memories of Diego Maradona swooning past England’s defence and great Brazilian teams, the betting industry perhaps has a less romanticised view of the tournament. With the 64 games offering an opportunity for record turnover and double-digit jumps in revenue in the second and third quarters, all of a sudden six months does not seem long enough.

Just as the coaches leading their teams in Russia will have very clear plans for the final stages of their build up and then the tournament itself, betting companies that want to maximise their performance in June and July should also be on top of their preparations.