As the 19th World Cup starts today, soccer fanatics are trying to get the best out of the world event, and many fans say betting is one of the ways that adds excitement to the futa.[break]
“It’s just for fun, though,” said 22-year-old Dilip Dhakal who considers himself “a diehard Manchester United fan,” and is thus supporting England. A “friendly gambling” between friends, family members and coworkers, Dhakal said, “adds extra entertainment to the games and generates a crowd to watch together.”
And at Sturdy, they’re just doing that.
Among the eight staff members, they have divided the national groups, each with four teams, which they have chosen through a draw. During matches, which they are planning to watch together in the office, individual members are going to bet on their teams. The losing team member thus pays the stated amount.
With the World Cup in the air, the excitement is gearing up among people, said Sarita Shrestha, a sports journalist at Avenues Television. And she said she is a part of it.
At Avenues too, the staff have created a game plan for betting. About 90 staff members have contributed Rs 500 each to guess the winning team; the winners will share the collected amount: 50% for the winner and 30 and 20 % for the runners-up who guess the winning team.
“This is to create an interest among people not interested in the game and to make them a part of the excitement,” Shrestha said. “It also helps to create and maintain the World Cup ambience in the office.”
And at Sturdy too, the ambience is building.
Prashant Chalise, another member of the Sturdy team, said the staffs have created a reserve fund wherein the losing member’s amount will be deposited. The team has also created other rules—for a red card, the team members tagged with that particular country pays Rs 20, for a yellow card, Rs 10 and for a hat trick, everyone pays Rs 30.
“The software will thus help to list games, schedules and also calculate the [betting] amount,” said Chalise, who does software development at Sturdy.
Sturdy’s staff plan is to generate about Rs 15,000 in their reserve fund so they can have a party during the final match. And Dhakal sounded excited as he mentioned his plan.
“I plan to bet up to Rs 20,000,” he said.
But it’s not only money that people are betting on their favorite team.
Prabin Pathak, an Argentina supporter, said that he would be betting only on “special matches.”
“Betting is not only about money,” the 16-year-old said. “We bet for food items and lunches. It’s all in the name of the game.”
People also gamble with various agendas: for a winning team, goal differences, and also individual players.
Shrestha said that gambling is “a part of adding fun while watching the games, and it’s in the spirit of the games.” Dhakal from Sturdy agreed.
“Gambling has negative connotations,” Dhakal said. “But as far as this [friendly gambling between friends] is, it’s just for fun and entertainment.”
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