Chapter 47

Ladbrokes Company.

"Director, we just received a bet that needs to be confirmed and reviewed. It was placed at a Greek OPAP betting station."

The director nodded and opened the bet. At the same time, everyone in the office looked towards the television hanging on the wall, where the information of the bet that needed to be confirmed and reviewed was already displayed.

The office was filled with technical personnel responsible for calculating odds. When a bet needed to be confirmed and reviewed, these technicians would discuss whether to approve it.

"3,000 euros bet on Iraq winning 4-2 against Portugal. This is already close to our company's single-bet limit. The odds are 1 to 100, which means if the customer wins, our company will have to pay out 300,000 euros." The director paused and then continued, "Find out how much total betting money has been received for this match."

"The total amount of bets received for this match so far is 830,000 euros," someone immediately replied.

The director nodded and said, "That means the prize for this 3,000 euro bet has already exceeded the limit ratio."

Reputable betting companies have a limit ratio, which restricts the payout of a single bet to a certain percentage of the total betting amount. This can be one-tenth, one-twentieth, or even one-hundredth. For example, if a match receives a total of 1,000,000 euros in bets and the limit ratio is one-tenth, or 100,000 euros, then the payout for a single bet cannot exceed 100,000 euros. If a bet has a potential payout exceeding 100,000 euros, the betting company has the right to reject it.

Ladbrokes has a limit ratio of one-twentieth for the Iraq vs. Portugal match. With a total betting amount of 830,000 euros, the maximum payout for a single bet should not exceed 41,500 euros. Zhang Guan's bet, with a potential payout of 300,000 euros, far exceeds this limit.

"Share your thoughts," the director asked.

Someone immediately responded, "Although this bet exceeds the limit ratio, the probability of Iraq winning 4-2 against Portugal is zero. Therefore, we don't need to consider the limit ratio and can accept this bet."

"I agree with this view," another person said. "Iraq is a country that has just experienced war, and they can't even guarantee regular training. On the other hand, Portugal has several top young players in Europe. The two teams are not on the same level. Although it's possible for Iraq to win 4-2 against Portugal, the probability is effectively zero."

A third person added, "We can also consider this: even if Iraq wins 4-2 against Portugal and we have to pay this customer 300,000 euros, the total betting amount is already 830,000 euros, meaning we can still make a profit of 530,000 euros. Moreover, the betting amount will likely continue to increase, so we don't need to worry about losses."

"Could someone have inside information?" the director asked.

"It's unlikely. This bet was placed at a Greek OPAP betting station. I suspect it was made by a tourist. For many wealthy tourists, 3,000 euros is not a significant amount. This is probably just a tourist hoping to make a fortune. We can also immediately lower the odds after accepting this bet."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It seems everyone agrees to accept this bet. Are there any objections?" After seeing no objections, the director confirmed the bet and said, "Reduce the odds by 50% and keep a close eye on it. If it turns out to be a problem, inform me immediately."

"Director! The data monitoring department has noticed a strange phenomenon. Someone has been betting on a very unlikely outcome, placing 500 euros each time, and the total amount is now 3,000 euros."

"Get the data immediately." The director looked up at the large TV on the wall and continued, "Why is it from a Greek OPAP betting station again? It seems to be a tourist's bet. The 3,000 euros is likely from the same person or group. The target is the men's 100-meter sprint, Chinese athlete Guan-Zhang, with odds of 1 to 80. How can an Asian person win the Olympic 100-meter sprint? What a strange day this is!"

The director frowned and said, "Let's observe for a bit. If the amount exceeds 5,000 euros, pause the bet and review it."

...

OPAP Company.

"This account has placed six consecutive bets, each for 500 euros, all on the Chinese athlete in the men's 100-meter sprint," a data analyst said.

"I can't believe this customer is betting all his money on a Chinese athlete. The men's 100-meter sprint at this Olympics is full of strong competitors. How can a Chinese person win? This customer must be crazy," another person said.

"The Chinese athlete is named Guan-Zhang, 18 years old, the Asian record holder, with a personal best of 9.98 seconds, set 10 days ago."

"Should we pause the bets? He has already bet 5,000 euros. According to our company's odds of 1 to 180, if he wins, we will have to pay him 900,000 euros."

"I don't think we need to worry. A 9.98-second 100-meter sprint is fast, but at the Olympic level, a time of 9.90 seconds or better is needed to win a medal, and 9.85 seconds or better for gold. Improving by 0.1 seconds in 10 days is impossible for an athlete at this level," the analysts expressed their opinions.

The department head thought for a moment and said, "Find out this customer's information."

"Sure, but it will take some time. We need to request permission from the customer service department, which might take a while," the data analyst replied.

Europe has strict regulations on protecting customer personal information, both at the EU, national, and company levels. At OPAP, even department heads need to go through a process to access customer information.

"The customer service department is too slow. By the time they give me permission, the customer might have already bet tens of thousands of euros. We can't wait that long," the department head said anxiously.

"Then let's pause the bets and enter the review process," someone suggested.

The head shook his head, rejecting the suggestion, and said, "Find out the location of this account's bets."

"It's at the commercial street betting center in the Olympic Stadium, machine number 7," the analyst quickly found the location and continued, "I suspect this customer is likely a tourist."

"Contact the security department. I need the surveillance footage from the commercial street betting center," the head said. Viewing the surveillance footage of the company's betting stations is an internal management matter and does not violate customer privacy laws.

The staff immediately contacted the security department, which promptly responded and allowed the retrieval of the footage.

"Head, I have the surveillance footage from the security department. Here is machine number 7. This man is likely the customer who placed the bet."

The head leaned over to the computer. The video was not very clear, but it was still possible to see that the customer was an East Asian with black hair and yellow skin.

"He is from East Asia. He bet on a Chinese athlete winning, so this customer must also be Chinese. This behavior can be seen as supporting his compatriot, although it's quite foolish," the head analyzed.

He sighed in relief, as he was most worried about malicious bets from competitors or other companies, but that was not the case.

"Continue accepting the bets. A Chinese person can't possibly win the Olympic 100-meter sprint. His continued betting is just giving money to the company," the head smiled and continued, "I really want to remind this customer that in competitive sports, it's about the athlete's ability, not nationality. Perhaps he hopes to support his compatriot this way, but it's an irrational behavior."

Zhang Guan continued placing bets without any betting company imposing a review or restriction.

If someone said a Chinese person could win the 100-meter sprint at the Athens Olympics, they would either be crazy or foolish. The analysts at the betting companies were clearly neither. They believed the probability of an Asian person winning the Olympic 100-meter sprint was zero, so they did not restrict Zhang Guan's bets, even with the extremely high odds.

During the Olympics, there are always some strange people doing strange things, and Zhang Guan's bets fell into this category.

Zhang Guan bet the remaining nearly 100,000 euros on himself, using a分散 betting method to avoid review and to ensure a smooth payout. If he had bet all 100,000 euros with one company, the potential payout of nearly 10 million euros might have led the company to use some underhanded methods to avoid paying. However, by spreading the bets across multiple companies, each receiving several hundred thousand to over a million euros, the companies would not resort to such tactics.

...

In front of a betting station, a reporter was holding a microphone, with "BBC" clearly visible on it. Across from the reporter, a cameraman was holding a camera, the lens pointed at the reporter.

"The Athens Olympics are about to open, and a large number of tourists are flooding into Athens, boosting the local economy. While enjoying the thrilling matches, many tourists don't mind placing a few bets, which is a bountiful season for Athens' betting industry."

The reporter pointed to the betting station behind him and continued, "I am standing in front of a betting center near the Athens Olympic Stadium. A large portion of the people here are tourists. Let's see which events and athletes the tourists are betting on."

The reporter pushed open the door and entered the betting station, scanning the crowd to find an interview subject.

To an Easterner, all Westerners look the same. A white person standing in front of you would not reveal their nationality to an Easterner. However, Europeans can distinguish white people by their appearance, clothing, and accent.

However, the reporter hoped to find someone who clearly looked like a tourist to make his interview more authentic and preferably someone who had already placed a bet.

At that moment, a tall figure appeared in his line of sight. This person had just finished placing a bet and was holding a thick stack of tickets.

"Black hair, yellow skin, an Easterner. This person must be a tourist! Let's go interview him."

---

Chapter 3 delivered. Regarding the issue of athletes participating in betting, I did extensive research before writing this plot. I found that the Premier League prohibits athletes from buying football lottery tickets, but I couldn't find specific rules from the Olympic Committee. I also found a case where an Irish athlete at the London Olympics bet on his opponent to win and then lost the match to make money, which was considered illegal. From this, I inferred that athletes are allowed to bet on events not involving themselves and are also allowed to bet on their own victories. As someone with a background in history, I have a bit of a compulsion for plot realism, so there might still be some small bugs. However, I will try to research as much as possible to ensure accuracy. I also want to thank the readers: tao2shuai, shishifengge, gigiliu5277, xinweixue, Loli Green Town, qianyuan, fengxuepiaolin, xiaobai, wuruishucong, shuyou151028122651876, honglouyan, kuaiaak, and baidu360weishi for their support. Thank you for helping me reach the new book chart. I appreciate your support! Finally, I request your votes to keep the book on the chart.

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