The "Undercurrent" Storm of the World Cup: Part 1: Caught in the Whirlpool

(Baonghean) - Unlike previous World Cups, with the support of high technology, bookmakers and gamblers this World Cup are hiding quite well to avoid legal punishment. To get a close look at the gambling activities of the 2014 World Cup, we had to "join in" like the "real" gamblers...

INTRODUCTION

Within the province, Vinh City is always the most vibrant during World Cup seasons. At 11 pm, when the matches begin, visiting large cafes, it's not difficult to spot gamblers. However, most of them are intently watching, expressing joy or disappointment, rather than placing bets with each other like in previous World Cups. Perhaps occasionally, they're fiddling with their phones...

Ph's message included a bet on the Argentina vs. Switzerland match on July 1, 2014.

After many late-night encounters, right up to the end of the World Cup group stage, a few hours before the Portugal vs. Ghana match, we were lucky enough to be introduced to Ph, a bookmaker with a "guaranteed" deal, by D, a young man from Hue who worked as a barber on Dinh Cong Trang Street. We met at a cafe on Hong Bang Street. Ph, about 45 years old, from Vinh City, had a rather scholarly appearance. D introduced us: "We work at company B, we love football, so we want to 'do a little' to 'boost our excitement'." Hearing this, Ph was quite enthusiastic. He said: "Many officials and civil servants participate, they play very cleverly so they rarely lose. You 'white-collar' guys are also very good at it." Then Ph introduced each betting method. From betting on the whole match, betting on each half, betting on live goals (betting on goals scored in the final minutes of the match), betting on the final score...

In short, there are countless forms of "betting." At the same time, Ph didn't forget to instruct us on how to "turn the tables" to "lose less whenever the team we bet on has a chance of losing completely." Once he saw that we understood the rules, Ph said: "What are your needs? Playing with me is guaranteed. Wins and losses are settled at the end of the next day. I'm just an employee working for the boss, I don't dare to be greedy..." How much can you bet each time? "It depends on your ability. The minimum is 1 million dong per match. But it's best to bet moderately, don't let it affect your family, it's a lot of trouble. We don't want any complications either. It's different with people from the 'underworld'..." - Ph sincerely advised. And we agreed to bet 1 million dong on Portugal with a handicap of 3/4, 10/8 against Ghana. That means if Portugal wins 1-0, we get half the bet money (500,000 dong); If the team wins 2-0, they receive the full payout (1 million VND); if the two teams draw, they lose the entire payout.

That night, we lived in the suspense and anxiety of gambling addicts until the very last minute of the match. And, thanks to Ronaldo's frustrated and somewhat careless last-minute shot, Portugal won against Ghana 2-1, meaning we won half the money, 500,000 dong. Right after the match ended, Ph texted from a burner phone: +500. OK. The next afternoon, Ph called: You got 500,000 dong, let me know when you want to collect it so I can have someone bring it. We replied: Leave it for tomorrow. OK. Ph said and hung up.

We took a day off, and when the World Cup entered the Round of 16 knockout stage, we continued texting Ph to get bets and played five more matches: Brazil vs. Chile, Netherlands vs. Mexico, France vs. Nigeria, Argentina vs. Switzerland, and Belgium vs. the USA. The result was two wins and three losses, totaling a loss of 650,000 VND. At this point, our relationship with Ph had become much closer. In a conversation before the World Cup quarter-finals, Ph said: "If you guys like to play live, I'll give you the password to my website. If you have any friends, invite them to play too, because this isn't convenient for either of us." What did he mean by that? "Well, my website has all kinds of bets. Just enter the amount you want to bet, click on it, and press Enter."

Winnings and losses are transferred to the account. Later, when the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, and Spanish La Liga seasons start, you can still play like that..." Then Ph suggested: "My boss is in Hanoi; they create accounts and always deposit 100 million dong into them. If players win more than that amount, they'll transfer more. And if players lose, I'll transfer money to them every few days. In short, it's very fair, convenient, and safe. You can play, or if you want to make a little extra, I'll set up a betting table for you." How would I get that? "If players win, they'll give you a little bonus, but you don't get anything from the bookmaker. But if players lose, for every million dong lost, you get 20,000 dong. Like us during this World Cup season, every match has at least several dozen players. In the qualifying rounds, some people played all four matches in one night." "Whenever they win, they bet tens of millions, so the money we earn from staying up all night is a couple of million dong..." But what if they run away? Moreover, what if the police find out? We're dead! The cheerful atmosphere suddenly turned cold upon hearing the mention of the police: "There are rules to play, you know..."

Hearing what Ph said, and knowing we couldn't get any more involved, we pretended to regretfully say that we had to go south for training soon and therefore couldn't accept the offer.

99% "GO TO THE DIKE"

Many people have asserted that staying home from gambling is the safest bet, while those who get involved in betting are mostly doomed. We verified this in Dien Chau town with the "guidance" of a breakfast shop owner. During a trip to the Dien-Yen-Quynh area, when we stopped at a breakfast shop near the Dien Chau District People's Committee, we heard the owner sigh and say, "World Cup, World Cup... Business is terrible." We asked, "Why is that, ma'am? Everything seems fine." She replied, "It looks calm, but it's all boiling over. People stay up all night, spending every penny on gambling. They don't care about work or food anymore..." Then she added, "It's the same everywhere, not just Dien Chau. Every World Cup season, everything goes downhill. Only the bookmakers and pawnshops get rich. If you don't believe me, just go to a pawnshop and you'll see, the motorbike parking lot is packed with vehicles..."

SH pawn shop in Dien Chau town.

Thanks to a member of the Dien Thanh Commune Police, we obtained the address of the SH pawn shop, located right in the center of Dien Chau Town. Upon entering, the shop looked like a mobile phone store. Seeing customers arriving by car, the owner eagerly asked: "What do you need?"

Is this a pawn shop?

- Yes, we mainly provide pawnshop services.

- Can we pawn these things for some money? But why don't I see any pawn items here?

- The storage area behind the house is full of vehicles, there's no more space. Now, even if someone brought their motorbike, we wouldn't have anywhere to park it!

- So how do you hold it here?

- Then take the valuable items.

- I wanted to ask how much profit there was.

- One million dong a day, 3,000 dong.

- Can we hold onto your vehicle documents?

No. No paperwork is required here, but cars are allowed.

- Well, so be it. Just give us 10 million dong. We'll transfer the money to our account this afternoon and come back to get our car back.

- Borrowing 10 million VND means paying back 200,000 VND!

- An interest rate of up to 60% per month? Why are you being so stingy?

- That's how it is with a quick loan. If you don't want to borrow, then don't. Make your decision now so I can process the paperwork...

The first piece of the receipt shows a quick loan with a 2% daily interest rate at the SH pawn shop in Dien Chau town.

Cao Trong Tai and the evidence seized by the Dien Chau police.

Money and other evidence seized by Dien Chau police in the gambling case involving Cao Trong Tai.

While the owner of the SH pawn shop busily wrote out the receipt, we managed to gather quite a bit of information confirming the repercussions of the World Cup on this area. According to the owner, at pawn shops in Dien Chau, gamblers have pawned many valuable items such as motorbikes and mobile phones, and she asserted that many will not be able to redeem them. To prove her point, she showed us a storage room of about 40 square meters crammed with motorbikes of all kinds. "See? When pawning items, you have to sign a commitment agreement. If the loan is overdue, we have the right to sell them..." the owner of the SH pawn shop said. A few hours later, returning to the shop, the owner generously reduced the price by 50,000 dong, returned the motorbike, and didn't forget to borrow back the receipt, tearing out the loan details and saying: "If you need to buy a motorbike after the World Cup, just call the number at the top of this receipt. Then you'll have plenty to choose from..."

The internet cafe in Hung Xuan hamlet, Tay Hieu commune, Thai Hoa town, is where Nguyen Van Cong organized football betting.

Working with the Dien Chau District Police, officers and soldiers there said that football betting in the area is quite complex, and it is not uncommon for those participating in betting to pawn their belongings or borrow money at exorbitant interest rates. At the same time, we received information that in the 3-2 town area of ​​Quy Hop district, police forces had raided a large gambling ring operating through football betting...

(to be continued)

Ha Giang - Le Viet