A SPOT-THE-BALL competition might not be everyone’s idea of a game of skill, but it is proving lucrative for a company that has found a captive audience among air travellers.

Supercar stands are springing up in airport terminals all over Britain, offering bored travellers with £60 to fritter the chance to win the £100,000 vehicle on display by playing spot-the-ball on video screens.

The competition runs for two months and then a former Premiership referee decides where the ball should be. The nearest competitor wins the car, typically an Aston Martin DB9, Ferrari F430 or Bentley Continental GT. For a smaller stake, entrants can aim for less exotic prizes: it costs £10 to try to win a superbike or £25 to aim for a car such as a Porsche Boxster or Audi RS4.

The competitions are run by the London-based Best of the Best company, which is now making enough money from its punters to seek a listing on the stockmarket. It is hoping to raise £2.5 million from investors and join the Alternative Investment Market later this year.

Possibly the most impressive aspect of the company’s success has been persuading travellers to try the game. A £60 top entry fee for a spot-the-ball competition is high. Winners could get back about 1,800 times their stake, but the odds against winning are about 5,000 to 1.

These are long odds compared with most other forms of gambling, although the chances of winning the Lottery have been put at about 14 million to 1. According to William Hill, the Best for Best gamble is about the equivalent of an accumulator on the winners of the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup, 2000 Guineas, World Cup, Wimbledon and the Premiership.

David Hood, a spokesman for William Hill, said: “5,000 to 1 ranks as bad value to me, but if they are looking to float then there must be enough people prepared to give it a go.”

Best of the Best has games running at 12 sites across Britain, including Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 and 4, and made a profit of £615,000 last year. It will use the money raised when it floats to set up five more sites over the next two years. It also operates on the internet, which accounts for about a fifth of its competition entries.

The company is also spending some of its cash to hire the Five motoring presenter Tiff Needell, who will act as a brand ambassador and hand over the cars to winners.

The company is not regulated by the Gaming Commission because spot-the-ball is categorised as a game of skill. William Hindmarch, 32, the company’s chief executive and former City banker, said: “The odds depend on how skilful you are. The better you are at judging where the ball will be, the better your chance of winning. We are providing some entertainment and fun in airports, as well as the latest top cars for people to look at.”

THE 5,000-1 BET

To win an Aston Martin or Ferrari on spot-the-ball would be, according to William Hill, the equivalent of a winning accumulator on six of the biggest sporting events of the year:

Cheltenham Gold Cup: War of Attrition 15-2

Barclays Premiership: Chelsea 4-7

Grand National: Numbersixvalverde: 11-1

FIFA World Cup: Italy 8-1

2000 Guineas: George Washington 6-4

Wimbledon men's singles: Roger Federer 4-7

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