章節 241: Chapter 241: The Three Giants of British Betting
"Boss, I've found them all. They're here."
After a while, Li Xi softly said in her gentle voice as she placed the selected newspapers in front of Xia Yu.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
Xia Yu looked up at Li Xi, offered a smile, and then took the newspapers, adding them to the stack he had set aside.
"Alright, it's getting late. You must be tired after sitting on the plane all day. Go take a bath and rest early."
Xia Yu showed concern for Li Xi.
"Mm, then I'll leave first. Please rest early too, don't overwork yourself!"
Li Xi obediently stood up, and before leaving, she gently reminded Xia Yu.
"Mm, I will!"
Xia Yu smiled and nodded, then continued to lower his head to read the newspapers.
"Click!"
With the sound of a door lock clicking, Li Xi left Xia Yu's room, leaving him alone.
As Xia Yu continued to read the newspapers, he gathered more and more information in his mind, gaining a clearer understanding of many matters.
At this time, the Argentina World Cup was in full swing.
However, the England national football team did not make it to the top sixteen in the Argentina World Cup.
But that didn't mean the British had no chance. The Scotland national football team had made it to the finals.
Many people might be confused by this—when did Scotland become a country with a national football team participating in the World Cup?
This has historical reasons!
In the UK, many people think it is like the United States, called the Commonwealth of Nations or something with "Britain" in the name.
But in reality, "Britain" is just an abbreviation. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland!
The UK is a Western European island nation consisting of England, Wales, and Scotland on the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland on the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, along with a series of附属岛屿.
The England national team is managed by the Football Association of England, and due to historical reasons, the four major regions of the UK—Wales, England, Scotland, and Ireland—each have their own independent national football teams.
Before Ireland gained independence from the UK, the Irish Free State (the predecessor of the Republic of Ireland) established another new football association, while the original Irish Football Association continued to manage the Northern Ireland team. Thus, there were a total of five national teams on the British Isles.
However, the most well-known international sports events do not allow a single country to have multiple national teams competing, so many people are unaware of this peculiar situation in the UK.
Although the Olympics do not allow it, the World Cup does. Therefore, even if the England national team did not make it to the finals, the Scotland national team could still qualify.
So when the Scotland national football team made it to the finals, it could still be said to represent Britain in name. As a result, British public engagement increased significantly, with major newspapers and media providing daily updates on the World Cup.
Since there was a focus on the World Cup, gambling Brits naturally placed bets. Major betting companies mobilized all their resources to attract more people to their betting points.
In these newspapers, there were many soft advertisements for betting companies, such as reports of how certain lucky individuals had won significant amounts, using such examples to suggest that their betting companies had higher winning rates, enticing more customers.
After reading these newspapers, Xia Yu organized the information and combined it with his own memories, finally gaining an understanding of the distribution of the betting industry in the UK.
Watching football naturally involves beer and betting, and since the Brits are known for their gambling habits, much like in the later years when the Premier League became almost a "nation of gamblers," with more than half of the 20 teams having betting companies as their sponsors.
In fact, the origins of modern sports betting can be traced back to the British.
From the medieval period to the 19th century, the craze for horse racing spread from the British nobility to the common people. Although ordinary citizens and villagers could not afford the cost of owning horses, they still eagerly watched the extravagant displays of the wealthy. People discussed and debated the horses, and some would place bets to prove their judgment. The betting money was generally handed over to certain so-called "respected" individuals. These intermediaries ensured that the betting money was distributed according to the results but took a commission.
Thus, the first batch of British "bookmakers" was born.
As horse racing developed, the culture of betting became increasingly popular among the British people and spread to other activities.
With the British inventing modern football, football became an increasingly important market for the betting industry. At that time, the British government had a nuanced attitude towards gambling—abolishing the national lottery that had been in place since the 16th century but not banning public gambling. Laws such as the Betting Act of 1860 and the Gambling Act of 1892 brought gambling into a regulated system, and gambling began to take on a scaled and regulated appearance.
So, from that time on, the British began to "bet with official approval," upholding the banner of liberalism!
The horse racing tracks in Hong Kong were influenced by the British example.
It is precisely because the British are a nation of gamblers and the law permits betting that the betting industry in the UK has flourished, spreading its influence far and wide.
To this day, there are many large betting companies in the UK. Not to mention horse racing betting, in football betting, the three giants of British betting are world-renowned, not only dominant in the UK but also in Europe and even globally.
Among the three giants, the top one is William Hill, the true number one bookmaker in the UK and the most stable one. Founded in 1934, it is part of the William Hill Hotel Management Group and is known as the "spokesperson of bookmakers." It is one of the most influential betting companies in the world.
William Hill operates over 2,300 betting shops across the UK and has around 300,000 customers globally, making it the world's largest telephone betting service company.
The second is Ladbrokes, one of the world's largest sportsbook companies, offering betting services in the UK, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, the United States, and Argentina. Ladbrokes operates offices in nearly fifty countries and employs over 66,000 people.
Additionally, Ladbrokes is a subsidiary of the renowned international hotel group Hilton, so Ladbrokes has set up betting terminals in these hotels. For example, Xia Yu saw Ladbrokes' betting terminal in the hotel he was staying at.
The third is Galacoral, with its main business concentrated in the UK and Italy. The UK has over 1,800 stores, and Italy has 870 stores.
British betting companies are as common as convenience stores. This reflects the true situation of the UK's betting industry.
"They are all giants, with terrifying annual revenues. So my chances of not being discovered while betting will be higher, and I can place larger bets, which will increase efficiency."
"Decided. Starting tomorrow, I'll begin by betting at these three betting companies' outlets. The new round of betting starts tomorrow!"
Having made his decision, Xia Yu finally put down the newspapers, checked the time, and realized it was getting late. He yawned and walked into the bathroom…
Walking in the rain all day, he took 26,000 steps, rested for 20 minutes at noon, finished work at 11:24 p.m., and wrote until 2:01 a.m. To give everyone a specific impression, he had to gather a lot of information and set the background. His brain was exhausted, and he couldn't tell how much he had written. He didn't even have time to check for typos because he had to wake up at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast and work. So here it is. If there are any small errors, please forgive him. He really couldn't hold on anymore. He had originally planned to take a day off today but decided to give it one last push. Life is tough, so we must cherish every moment…
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