To beat Vegas bookies at the World Cup, these statisticians turned to artificial intelligence

When it comes to sports betting, most people lose. But during the 2014 World Cup, a team of statisticians beat the bookmakers. They correctly predicted Germany -- their home country and 6-to-1 underdogs -- as the final champions and raked in a 30 percent return with bets placed on regular matches. This year, the team, led by Andreas Groll of Germany's Technical University of Dortmund, is back with an artificial intelligence program with even better odds. As of Friday morning, it had correctly predicted 15 of 24 games -- the winners, the losers and those who tied. As for the ultimate victor, their new model has picked Spain, but only if Germany falters before the final.