Never before has football betting been as easy as it is today. If a few decades ago you wanted to bet, you had to go to a designated place to fill out a prediction form and submit it manually to the bookmaker. Then, more modernly, you could use your mobile phone to text. Now, you can create an account on various online betting websites, transfer and receive money quickly with many advanced technology systems invested by major bookmakers in the region. The underground football betting networks in Vietnam are becoming more sophisticated and have many attractive forms to lure players. Many betting sites have formed an ecosystem to serve those who want to watch and bet on football matches. They establish websites with servers located abroad to provide live match analysis, professional predictions, and offers for players. Betting on football matches is a huge industry with a dense network of underground systems, illegal betting systems that allow players to bet on any match, in any league, in any country. These websites offer many tricks such as deposit bonuses, becoming regular agents to receive a portion of the winnings, and providing online consulting services with a commitment to quickly and conveniently deposit and withdraw money, helping to make informed betting decisions.
In short, as long as you want, the bookmakers will serve you to the fullest extent, and they will even give you up to millions of dong just to bet on football matches.
Why do people always say that bookmakers always win and players always lose?
Statistics show that 90% of bettors lose money, some even end up with nothing. The first prerequisite reason is that the level of football knowledge is still limited. Many people rely on intuition when placing bets, relying on luck and investment, but in reality, not many people have the knowledge and experience to make money. To get rich, you not only rely on luck but also need to have a deep understanding of the field you choose. Unfortunately, up to 30% of those who participate in betting are not passionate about this sport but only have the desire to get rich quickly without putting in effort. Every lesson must be paid for with money, even a lot of money.
That is the first reason why football bettors are prone to losing. Even if you are a genuine football enthusiast, the chances of losing are still very high. You may understand the teams, player situations, playing styles, form, and confidently hold 70-80% of the chances, but not entirely. Because you are not the master of the game, the ones in control are the bookmakers because they are the ones who set the rules or, more specifically, the odds. Therefore, they can manipulate the results. This is not the result of the match but the result of the scheme.
Bookmakers have a team of experts who understand football very well and offer odds that closely follow the match situation to their advantage. When too many people bet on one side, they will adjust the odds in real-time. The odds are always carefully studied by the bookmakers and can fluctuate according to the match situation, even changing every minute to limit winning bets, making bettors confused and hesitant in their choices. When they are unsure and cannot choose a trend, they will choose the stronger team or their favorite team. At this point, bettors fall into the bookmakers' trap, and their emotional choices only lead to surprises, but the chances of this are very low, so the chances of losing the bet are higher.
Bookmakers often set odds in a way that players never win enough to cover the amount they bet. Even if they win, the losses will be enough to balance out, and the bookmakers will take from the losers to give to the winners and they will enjoy the difference. This profit is not small. In cases where they see someone betting too much on one side, the bookmakers will continue to adjust the odds, providing information that affects the bettors' psychology, and very few people are wise enough to realize this, leading to losses.
For example, a bookmaker adjusts the betting odds when predicting that a weaker team is leading, causing players to lose money. Furthermore, some bookmakers collude with teams to manipulate scores. In such cases, even if players can predict the outcome, they are helpless. There have been many cases of match-fixing exposed, not only in Vietnam but also worldwide. Even in developed football regions like Europe, they are not immune to this, ultimately leading to many players, coaches, or officials going to jail, while gamblers go bankrupt, living in despair.
In another aspect, players' psychology when participating in betting is engulfed by the excitement and hope of making quick money. At this point, the brain produces a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which excites the nervous system. This substance makes players feel euphoric when they win, wanting to play more to earn more money. When they lose, they become confused, desperate, and want to recover the lost money, so they bet recklessly without thinking. The moment they lose their composure and control over their emotions will lead to a lack of clarity in decision-making. Sometimes, a simple issue that goes unnoticed leads to placing the wrong bet, resulting in losing everything and accumulating debts.
Betting shares similarities with gambling in general. "Win and you're greedy, lose and you recover," so very few players know when to stop when they reach their loss limit, especially when facing debt pressure and threats from loan sharks. In the players' minds, the only thought left is to find a way to get money by any means necessary. This mindset drives players deeper into losses, pushing them into a state of defeat, financial debts, bankruptcy, becoming a burden on their families, causing discord between parents, spouses, disrupting their children's lives, leading to black credit, and underworld debt collection, disrupting public order and security. Some desperate gamblers resort to stealing, robbery, or even suicide to avoid repaying debts, resulting in many tragic cases, sometimes innocent victims causing tragedies for many other families.
Not every football betting addict has the financial means to follow the World Cup or Euro season. Many people have to pawn assets like cars, motorbikes, phones from the early matches. The World Cup season is also a time for pawnshops and loan sharks to make money. Along the famous streets specializing in pawnshop services in Hanoi, activities are bustling day and night, witnessing firsthand how pawnbrokers operate during the World Cup and Euro seasons, revealing the fierce nature of football betting.
The owner of a pawnshop system in Hanoi said, "Sometimes at night, people bring in old phones, motorbikes that I don't even want to accept. During this time, I have to rent additional space to store pledged vehicles, especially cars and motorbikes. Capital is always ready to serve gamblers, no matter how valuable the assets they want to pawn."
Another pawnshop owner in a suburban town of Hanoi said, "Since the beginning of the season, there has been a Honda SH motorbike parked and taken out of my shop ten times, each time the amount increases slightly. These days, gamblers are flipping money like a spinning top. If they don't have money to pay their losses, they have to pawn their vehicles at night to recover. If they manage to recover, they take them out, but the next day, they lose again and pawn them back. Many families at the end of the football season have to pawn their red books, bank books to pay off their gambling debts, then their cars, motorbikes, phones follow suit."
For gamblers who do not have the means to cover their losses and do not have assets to pawn, they will easily turn to loan sharks, with loan amounts increasing with each match. If they do not win, the interest will accumulate, and eventually, they will have to flee or burden their families with the consequences. The interest rates of loan sharks can reach 360 - 579.8%. When borrowers do not repay on time, the lenders will make threatening phone calls or even go directly to the borrowers' homes to intimidate them.
As Vietnamese citizens, we need to understand that football betting is illegal behavior. These actions are not considered legal and there are no regulations on licensing in Vietnam. Those who violate the law will be strictly punished because our country has full regulations on sanctions for this behavior. Football betting can be subject to administrative penalties or criminal prosecution depending on the seriousness and nature of the offense. Gambling behavior can be fined up to 5 million dong or imprisoned for up to 7 years, while organizing gambling can be fined up to 10 million dong and imprisoned for up to 10 years.
Football is the king of sports, so it is hard to resist its allure, especially in major tournaments. Never think that you can get rich from gambling. That is the mindset of lazy people, those who do not want to work hard. Enjoy football in the most civilized way, appreciating the original beauty of this sport.