China’s men may once again be sitting out the biggest soccer tournament there, but that hasn’t stopped World Cup fever from driving nearly $1 billion in gambling on the continent.
Shops have reported a boom in business, with Football Lottery ticket sales reaching 6.8 billion yuan (US$950 million) last week, with shops reporting daily revenue of 100,000 yuan, some four times the usual.
On Thursday, a financial news outlet reported that shops were packed with customers, mostly young people heading straight from work to read the odds in an attempt to win up to 5 million yuan in cash prizes.
“There are many ways to play, from win-draw-loss to handicap, score, and overall goals,” said one customer. “I’ve placed a bet on almost every match since the tournament started, usually playing multiple games to get the highest odds, but I always miss by one or two upsets.
“I have bet on the last World Cup, but I have never seen so many surprises and last-minute winners like this.”
Cabo Verde’s goalless draw with Spain on Tuesday, and Caleb Yirenkyi’s late goal for Ghana on Thursday against Panama were just two of the results that damaged players’ chances in the state-run gambling game that is part of the China Games Lottery.
