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Thu, 05 Jul 2018 – 5:50 AM
Shanghai
In a smoky Parisian shop in downtown Shanghai, hordes of young men gather around computer banks , like bets and a huge The world cup painting adorns the walls and a projector make beams on a makeshift screen.
China may not have qualified for the World Cup in Russia, but that did not stop players from exceeding the last tournament in Brazil four years ago.
Energetic bets on these matches are technically illegal, but officially sanctioned stores reflect the prevailing attitude towards the sport, considered a chance to win as much as a show.
Before the first playoff match between France and Argentina last Saturday, bettors – known as caïmin, or "lottery citizens", in Chinese – were lining up to place big bets.
Gao Liushun, 55, previously lost a pack on Argentina, so doubled on an Argentine win because "I need to win back what I lost, no?" He lost 1,000 yuan (206 €) after France's 4-3 win, his biggest loss of the World Cup until now.
Xia Junmin, a 25-year-old freelancer, lost five times more
The rise in World Cup-inspired betting is confirmed by official figures.
Players in China bet 28.6 billion yuan in football bets in the three weeks leading up to July 1, well above average. According to China Sports Lottery Management Center figures, less than 5 billion yuan bet in the previous three weeks.
This is more than double the 11.5 billion yuan bet during the 2014 World Cup and does not take into account China's illegal gambling networks are often cited as an incitement to match-fixing incidents in the country. worldwide, usually in obscure leagues, but also in Italy, Serie A and sometimes World Cup.
Although all games of chance are technically illegal in China, they are allowed in the hundreds and thousands of lotteries in the country.
They are run by the China Sports Administration and some of the proceeds are donated to finance stadiums to train the next generation of Chinese athletes.
However, the government remains vigilant and dozens of unauthorized "lottery ticket" applications, allowing bettors to bet with one click, were closed the first week of the World Cup.
Xia Lugen converted her car dealership into a "lottery shop" six years ago and business exploded during the World Cup, with hundreds of thousands of yuan a day – more than 10 times the stakes.
Despite the absence of national interest, the World Cup "brought out the passion of people who were not interested in football before," he said. "Everyone is watching, people who have not bet are betting now," said the 59-year-old Shanghai local, who also has cashiers taking bets on the phone.
Like bettors around the world, many players China lost a package during some of the most surprising results of the tournament, including the defeat of the defending champions, Germany, who did not win. has failed to break out of the group stage for the first time since 1938. Li Feng, a player He said he lost 1,000 yuan by betting on Germany to beat South Korea in the group stage.
But in one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history, South Korea beat the best players in the world. team 2-0 with two late goals to break the German hearts – and Mr. Li. "No reasonable person would have bet on South Korea to win," he complained bitterly.
Gao Liushan, a regular bookmaker, said he was disappointed that China did not qualify for the World Cup this year. 19659003] "To be honest, China does not make it hurt us," he said. "But President Xi Jinping said: do not forget your first love, the Chinese dream will come true someday, I also believe in Chinese football, the dream will be realized in the near future". AFP
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