By Maureen Koh

HE had hoped to make a killing and thought he was playing it safe by placing his bets on the stronger teams.

But in a series of upsets that have plagued the World Cup, the 25-year-old undergraduate lost more than $8,000.

Money that he could not afford.

With the illegal bookie pressing for payment, he had to resort to selling a brand new laptop, a digital camera, a Nokia mobile phone and a brand new iPhone to a reseller to raise the money.

And this is an arrangement that bookies have made for their debtors. They would introduce resellers to the debtors, who would sell them their electronic items and use the cash to pay the bookies.

Four resellers, who spoke to The New Paper on Sunday on condition that their real names are not used, claimed that their business has spiked by up to 40 per cent.

Increased calls

Addy, 35, said: "Usually, I get fewer than 20 calls a day but since the World Cup started, I get about 30 to 35 calls -and these are only the 'cold calls'." He advertises his services in newspapers, on flyers and on the Internet.

He added: "Then there are those who are referred by the network of bookies and their runners."

Like the NTU undergraduate, who wanted to be known only as Beng.

He said: "I don't have a choice. My parents (who are hawkers) will kill me if they know I've lost so much money. It's too late for regrets."

Beng blamed tournament favourites such as Italy, France, England and Spain for his "downfall".

"Who'd expect these teams to fare so badly in the Group Stage rounds? Even when they held on to a draw in some matches, I still lost money because I had given a one-ball or two-balls handicap," he said.

Most punters prefer betting on tournament favourites and would often concede a handicap. When these teams lose or draw in a game, the punters turn out to be the biggest losers.

Beng said when the final whistle blew for the 1-1 draw match between defending champions Italy and underdog New Zealand last Sunday, he knew he was in deep trouble.

He said: "I'd taken Italy with a 11/2-ball handicap, so that meant I ended up losing my bet."

When he tried to plead for more time to extend the payment deadline, the bookie offered him a solution: If you have the goods, I'd arrange for you to meet a reseller.

Finally, Beng's girlfriend, a secretary, bought a new laptop on an instalment scheme using her credit card - "after much begging". He also borrowed money from a friend to sign up for a new iPhone with a telco.

Beng got only $3,450 for all the items. He and his girlfriend cleaned out their joint account of $3,000, and he borrowed the remaining sum from two other friends.

Addy, like most resellers, offers easy access to quick cash by buying over items such as mobile phones, laptops, game consoles and even jewellery.

Others offer cash for new phone line sign-ups.

In a report published in The New Paper on Jan 20, lawyers pointed out that these businesses are legal.

Addy also runs three stalls at Clementi, Bedok and Toa Payoh which buy over second-hand mobile phones, and reported " an increase in sales". He estimated that the collection from all three stalls has gone up by about 30 per cent.

Reseller Nicky, 44, claimed those selling their items included students, who offered mobile phones and laptops as collateral. Said Nicky: "They'd usually ask if I can hold on to the goods and not resell them until the World Cup is over."

Adult customers make the same requests too because pawn shops don't accept them.

He said: "I also do it for the adults but only if they are recommended by the bookies or our regular customers."

Nicky added: "Many of them actually still think there's a chance they can recover some of their losses."

Bus driver Tan LK, 48, is one of them who thinks "there's still hope in winning money".

This, despite the fact that he has lost nearly $6,000 on bets in just under two weeks - that is about three times his monthly salary of $1,800.

But Mr Tan said: "I'm confident that the big upsets are over now."

All forms of football betting are illegal unless they are placed with Singapore Pools and its authorised agents.

So far, three people here have been nabbed for illegal online World Cup betting. The alleged bets ranged from $8,950 to $25,000.

Anyone convicted of illegally accepting bets can be fined $200,000 and jailed five years. Punters can be fined $5,000and jailed six months.

maureenk@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The New Paper.