China’s men may again be sitting out the biggest football tournament there is, but that has not stopped World Cup fever driving an almost US$1 billion betting frenzy on the mainland.

Shops have reportedly seen a surge in business, with sales of The Football Lottery tickets reaching 6.8 billion yuan (US$950 million) last week, and outlets reporting daily revenues of 100,000 yuan, some four times higher than normal.

On Thursday, one financial news outlet reported that stores were packed with customers, with many of them young people heading straight from work to study odds boards in an attempt to win up to 5 million yuan in cash prizes.

“There are so many ways to play, from win-draw-loss to handicaps, scores, and total goals,” one customer said. “I’ve bet on almost every match since the tournament began, usually parlaying multiple games for higher odds, but I always miss by one or two upsets.

“I’ve bet on previous World Cups, but I’ve never seen so many surprises and last-minute winners as this one.”

Cabo Verde’s dramatic goalless draw with Spain on Tuesday, and Caleb Yirenkyi’s late winner for Ghana against Panama on Thursday are just two of the results that ruined players’ chances in the state-operated sports betting game that is part of the broader China Sports Lottery.