Opinion | HK$30 million in the hole as software glitch stings punters
Yesterday’s multi-million dollar betting blunder at Sha Tin might not have been that simple, but a betting software glitch certainly left a searing hole in plenty of punters’ pockets, created an unexpected windfall for others and in the process spawned a host of highly entertaining conspiracy theories online and in the local press.
“Whoops! Wrong button!” – and there goes HK$30 million … Yesterday’s multi-million dollar betting blunder at Sha Tin might not have been that simple, but a betting software glitch certainly left a searing hole in plenty of punters’ pockets, created an unexpected windfall for others and in the process spawned a host of highly entertaining conspiracy theories online and in the local press.
A tierce (first three horses in order) that would have held HK$7 million ballooned to more than HK$37 million before race nine as the unlikely combination of 10-9-8 was repeatedly bet on from numerous accounts apparently all using the same, clearly faulty, bet staking software.
It meant the single combo of HK$11 chance Masquerader for first, into Rumba King (7.2) and Ka Ying Kid (29) was showing just 1.1 at the jump.
It caused pain for the losing bettors, but for those who took the much easier-to-find winning combination of 6-2-11 – Bundle Of Love (6.3), Cosmic Boom (2.7f) and Silver Grecian (15) – it was the real life equivalent of Monopoly’s old Community Chest card: “Bank error in your favour – collect $200”. In this case it was, “collect HK$21,786” at least seven times what this particular Tierce would have paid, if not for the multiple software malfunctions.
All of the major Hong Kong dailies breathlessly reported the stunning and misplaced plunge –they love this stuff – and internet forums were abuzz with imaginative stories of mischievous computer hackers, vengeful mistresses of government officials meddling with their former lovers bets and even a suicidal gambler emptying his accounts before bidding adieu. Yarns about “Ill-advised and silly mainlanders with too much money” were also a common theme of how the bets came to be placed.
Silly bets happen all the time at Sha Tin and at Happy Valley, and it doesn’t take a gremlin in a computer: lucky numbers and all-ups through stables and jockeys contribute to some crazy parimutuel pools. We cant wait for commingling to occur and not just because it will give Hong Kong’s finest taxi drivers the chance to dictate who starts favourite in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and Golden Slipper. The weight of Hong Kong money will leave punters in betting shops around the world scratching their heads and redefine the term market mover. Just for perspective, the accidental HK$30 million was a lot in any language (US$3.8 million) and enough to buy a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl. But it was also less than 2.5 per cent of the total turnover at Sha Tin yesterday: which reached a solid HK$1.3 billion, that’s US$171 million.