Students in the US now have an extra incentive to get good grades- a new website is allowing for students throughout the US to bet on their grades and if they get good grades they win money.

This website allows students from 36 schools across the US to wager on their own grades. The max bet is $25 per class but the more the student plays the higher the limit grows. The company in turn determines the odds by having a look at the student’s grade history, the grade history of their school, their class and even the reputation of their professor.

The betting is not restricted to getting A’s either. Students can bet on whether they will fail a class as well, this is termed “grade insurance”.

And what about the legality of the venture? The CEO of the company assures that it is completely legal because the students are the ones who are controlling the outcome. He also adds that it’s a good way for students to set up their own incentives and motivations for doing well.

To illustrate how this works: a student going into first year, who wagers that he/she can finish university with a 4.0 GPA will pay approximately 100-1, therefore meaning that a $20 bet could escalate to $2,000 by the time the student graduates.

What the company does have on its side is that there are always variables that are beyond the control of the student- illness, hangovers, bad lecturers, etc.  If these variables get in the way the student will lose the bet, and therefore the money they wagered, which will mostly be a minimal amount, but it’s what they stand to win in the long term that might get them to bypass or overcome the variables and get good grades.

Both England and Algeria had BIG goalkeeper problems in their opening matches and many bettors were shocked when England finished their game against the US with a 1-1 tie after the odds being stacked heavily in the English side’s favour.

England should make it through to the next round with the other teams in Group C being Slovenia and tonight’s opponents, Algeria, but given this World Cup’s trend for victorious underdogs, it could be anyone’s game despite the odds being once again, heavily stacked in England’s favour.

The game kicks-off in Cape Town at 2:30 PM ET.

With the World Cup well underway in South Africa we thought it was high time to put a few of our own predictions on virtual paper. With 32 nations taking part, the odds are saying that the top spot will be taken by either Spain or Brazil. 

Europe is the most represented continent with 13 countries entered while there has been a growing interest in the African nations who qualified.

Here’s a look at some of the favourite teams:

Argentina
Argentina has Lionel Messi on their side and therefore cannot be overlooked as contenders. There are, however, some factors against them; they performed poorly during the qualifiers and they had to rely on winning their last fixture in order to qualify. They also haven’t gone past the quarter-final stage since 1986, during which the infamous Maradonna hand-ball incident happened against England.

Germany
This team was unbeaten in qualifying and only stumbled to draws twice. They have a good World Cup record, winning it three times and finishing as runners up four times. Their current team isn’t seen as their strongest but it does contain some of the world’s current greatest players such as Michael Ballack and Lukas Podolski. Podolski has one of the best goal scoring records with a strike rate of 0.7 per game.

England
England has one of the strongest line-ups on paper. With world-class players spread throughout the pitch there is no reason for them not to go far. What might be a set-back is that England seems to be stuck in the cycle of playing the supporting role in the World Cups.

Brazil
Brazil is the ranked 2nd highest in the world according to FIFA and are the 2nd favourites to win the 2010 World Cup. With Robinho and Kaka, Brazil should cruise right through.

Spain
Spain are the favourites and are aiming to follow the Euro 2008 victory with the World Cup title too. Spain has the strongest line-up but they do, however, have a tendency to stumble- they haven’t gone past the Quarter Finals since 1950 when they reached the semis.