All Approvals Completed

Ladbrokes Company.

"Director, we just received a bet that needs confirmation and verification. It was placed at a betting agency in Greece OPAP."

The director nodded and opened up the bet. Meanwhile, everyone in the office turned their gaze to the television hanging on the wall, where the information about the bet that needed confirmation and verification appeared on the screen.

The office was filled with technicians responsible for calculating odds. When a bet requiring confirmation and verification arose, these technicians would discuss whether to approve it.

"A €3000 bet on Iraq beating Portugal 4-2. This is close to the upper limit of our company's single bet, with odds at 1 to 100, meaning if the customer wins, our company will have to pay the customer €300,000." The director paused for a moment, then continued, "Find out how much total betting money has been received for this match."

"The total amount of betting money received for this match so far is €830,000," someone immediately replied.

The director nodded and said, "So, this €3000 bet has already exceeded the limit ratio."

Legitimate bookmaking companies have a limit ratio that restricts the return of a single bet to a certain percentage of the total betting amount. Some are one-tenth, some are one-twentieth, and the highest can reach one percent. For example, if a total of €1 million is bet on a match and the limit ratio is one-tenth, which is €100,000, then the return amount for subsequent single bets cannot exceed €100,000. Once there is a return amount exceeding €100,000, the bookmaking company has the right to refuse the bet.

Ladbrokes Company enforces a one-twentieth limit ratio for the match between Iraq and Portugal, and the total amount of betting money for score betting is currently €830,000, meaning that according to the limit ratio, the return amount for a single bet cannot exceed €41,500. However, the return amount for Zhang Guan's bet is €300,000, far exceeding this figure.

"Share your thoughts!" the director asked.

Someone immediately spoke up, "Although this bet exceeds the limit ratio, the probability of Iraq beating Portugal 4-2 is zero, so we can disregard the limit ratio and accept this bet."

"I agree with this view," another person chimed in. "Iraq is a country that has just experienced war, and they can't even guarantee their daily training; whereas Portugal's team has several top young European players. The strengths of the two sides are simply not on the same level. Although it's possible for Iraq to beat Portugal 4-2, statistically speaking, it can be considered zero."

The third person added, "We can also illustrate that even if Iraq were to beat Portugal 4-2, we would need to pay out €300,000 to this customer. But the current betting amount has reached €830,000, which means we can still make a profit of €500,000, and the betting amount will definitely continue to increase. We don't need to worry about losses."

"Do you think someone might have insider information?" the director asked.

"It's unlikely. This bet was placed at a betting agency in Greece OPAP. I guess it's probably just a bet placed by a tourist. For many wealthy tourists, €3000 is nothing. This is likely just a tourist hoping to make a quick profit. We can also adjust the odds immediately after accepting this bet."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It seems that everyone agrees to accept this bet. Any dissenting opinions?" After the supervisor asked, seeing no one objecting, he proceeded to confirm acceptance of the bet. Then he continued, "Reduce the odds for this bet by fifty percent, and keep an eye on it. If it turns out to be someone causing trouble, inform me immediately."

"Director! The data monitoring department has discovered something strange. Someone has been consistently betting on a super underdog. Each time the bet is €500, and the current total betting amount is €3000."

"Quickly bring up the data." The director looked up at the large TV on the wall, then said, "Again, it's from the Greece OPAP agency. It seems to be another bet by a tourist. This €3000 should be from the same person or group. The betting target is the men's 100m sprint champion, Chinese athlete Guan-Zhang, with odds of 1 to 80. How could an Asian win the Olympic gold in the 100m sprint! Why are there so many strange things happening today!"

The director furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment, then said, "Let's continue to observe and see if they continue to bet. If the amount exceeds €5000, suspend further acceptance and conduct a review."

...

OPAP Company.

"This account has placed six consecutive bets, each bet being €500, all on the Chinese athlete Zhang in the men's 100m sprint event," an information analyst said.

"I really don't understand what this customer is thinking, putting all his money on a Chinese athlete. There are so many strong contenders in the men's 100m event at the Olympics; how could a Chinese person possibly win! This customer must be crazy," another person remarked.

"The Chinese athlete he's betting on is named Guan-Zhang, eighteen years old this year, the Asian record holder. His current personal best in the 100m is 9.98 seconds, achieved ten days ago."

"Should we pause the bets? He has already bet €5000. According to the odds of 1 to 180 set by our company, if he wins, we'll have to pay him €900,000."

"I don't think we need to worry. Although 9.98 seconds in the 100m is fast, at the Olympic level, you need to run under 9.90 seconds at least to have a chance at a medal, and under 9.85 seconds for gold. It's highly likely that a world record will be broken to win. It's impossible for an athlete at this level to improve by more than 0.1 seconds in ten days."

The analysts expressed their opinions.

The department head lowered his head in thought, then said, "Look up information on this customer for me."

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

European regulations on the protection of customer personal information are extremely strict. Regardless of whether it's at the EU level, national level, or company level, there are clear regulations on protecting personal privacy. Even at OPAP, even department heads need to go through a process to access customer information, obtaining relevant permissions before they can view it.

"The people in the customer department are too slow. By the time they give me permission, this customer might have already bet tens of thousands of euros. We can't wait like this," the department head said anxiously.

"Then maybe we should temporarily pause and enter the review process," someone suggested immediately.

The supervisor shook his head, vetoing the proposal. Then he said, "Check the location of this account's bets."

"It's at the Commercial Street betting center in the Olympic Sports Complex, at machine number 7." The analyst quickly found the address, then continued, "This location, I guess this customer is almost certainly a tourist."

"Inform the security department; I need surveillance footage from the Commercial Street betting center," the supervisor said. Watching the surveillance footage of their own company's betting stations is an internal management matter and does not violate relevant customer privacy protection regulations.

The staff immediately contacted the security department, which promptly responded and allowed access to the surveillance footage.

"Supervisor, I've retrieved the surveillance footage provided by the security department. Look, this is machine number 7; this man should be the customer placing the bets."

The supervisor immediately approached the computer, the video surveillance wasn't very clear, but it was still possible to see that the customer was an East Asian man with black hair and yellow skin.

"He's Asian from East Asia. He's betting on a Chinese athlete winning. So, this customer is almost certainly Chinese. So, his behavior can be understood as supporting his compatriot. Although this behavior is somewhat foolish," the supervisor analyzed.

Then, he sighed with relief. His biggest concern was that it might be a competitor or another company maliciously betting, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

"Let's continue taking bets! Anyway, it's impossible for a Chinese person to win the Olympic gold in the 100m sprint. Him continuing to bet is just giving money to the company." The supervisor smiled slightly, then said, "I really want to remind this customer that in competitive sports, it's the athlete's ability that matters, not nationality. Perhaps this customer hopes to express support for his compatriots in this way, but it's definitely an irrational behavior."

Zhang Guan continued to place bets without any restrictions from the bookmaking company.

If someone says that a Chinese person could win the Olympic gold in the Athens 100m sprint, that person is either crazy or foolish. The analysts at the bookmaking company are certainly not crazy or foolish. In their view, the possibility of an Asian winning the Olympic gold in the 100m sprint is zero, even with unexpectedly high odds. The bookmaking company did not restrict Zhang Guan's bets.

During the Olympics, there are always some strange people doing strange things. Zhang Guan's bets were categorized as such.

Zhang Guan placed the remaining nearly €100,000 all on himself. He used a diversified betting method to avoid scrutiny from the bookmaking company and to smoothly claim the prize money. If he had placed all this nearly €100,000 in one company, when it comes to nearly €10 million in prize money, the bookmaking company might have some means to avoid paying out. But now, with multiple bookmaking companies involved, each receiving tens of thousands to over a million euros, the bookmaking companies aren't worth using any unsavory means to avoid paying out.

...

In front of the betting station, a reporter was holding a microphone with the letters "BBC" prominently displayed. Across from the reporter, a cameraman was dragging a camera, its lens aimed at the reporter.

"The Athens Olympics are about to begin. Now, a large number of tourists are flocking to Athens, greatly boosting the local economy. While watching exciting matches, many tourists don't mind trying their luck a bit. For Athens' betting industry, it's clearly a harvest season."

The reporter pointed to the betting station behind him and continued, "I'm now standing in front of a betting center near the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. Many of those who come here to bet are tourists. Now let's see which events and athletes the tourists favor."

The reporter pushed the door and walked into the betting station, scanning the people coming and going in the station, looking for his interview subject.

In the eyes of East Asians, Westerners all look the same; when a Caucasian stands in front of you, an East Asian would not know which country he's from. But Europeans can distinguish Caucasians by appearance, clothing, accent, etc.

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.

Just then, a tall figure appeared in his line of sight. This person had just finished placing a bet, holding a thick stack of tickets.

"Black hair, yellow skin, an East Asian. This person is definitely a tourist! Let's go interview him."