Gambling on the Games (CGH)

__TOC__
The distinction between legal and illegal gambling on Athas is simple. If the templars get a cut of the profits, it is legal. If they do not, it is illegal. Most of the time, the templars look the other way while spectators gamble on the matches in the stands.
The spectators have a simple code of honor regarding wagering: if anyone places a bet he cannot cover, he is either ejected from the stadium (preferably over the back wall, to fall the distance to the street outside) or thrown into the arena.
All legal gambling at the games is coordinated through templar representatives called pelfre (singular, pelf). All pelfre are required to be "Followers of the Way." Each pelf negotiates odds for each gladiatorial event based on the amount of money he and the other pelfre have collected. They use their psionic abilities to remain in contact with one another mentally while they collect money and coordinate odds for the matches. Pelfre are skilled in many languages and know current rates of exchange of currencies.
Ten percent of each bet wagered is retained by the pelf. Of that money, 90% goes to fund the arena and the king's coffers. The remaining 10% is a fee for the pelfs services.
It is not unusual or immoral for a templar to command a pelf to lie about an event The lies may be about fighting prowess, physical ability, current injuries, or psychological impairment of a gladiator. A pelf, however, will never lie about the odds or amount of money wagered on a bet. This creates a real dilemma for pelfre; if they are caught cheating or lying to an important figure, they could face death; but to disobey a templar may mean death, or worse, slavery. This puts the pelf in a tenuous position.
A pelf found guilty of cheating or defrauding a bettor is sentenced to armed combat against a champion gladiator. Since most pelfre are unskilled in the art of combat, it is a match usually held early in the day.
Landowners seldom hesitate to bet on their gladiators' lives. Often as not, they will risk part of their estates, vineyards, or slave population against an adjoining landowner. It is not unusual for small parcels of family land to pass back and forth many times during the course of a year. Slaves, always a valuable commodity, are freely traded.
One very popular form of betting with templars is called cention or cempa-emptor. Cention is the "phantom purchase " of gladiators participating in upcoming matches. At the beginning of each match day, a list of gladiatorial champions is posted. Rival templars will group and place "phantom" bids on the gladiators of their choice. The high bid on each gladiator "purchases" them for that day's match. All of the money from the phantom bids, whether successful or not, goes into a single purse. The templars who bid successfully on the winning gladiators collect their share of the purse following the match. The higher the gladiator advances in the tournament rounds, the more the templar wins from the purse.
Occasionally, a bidder who has been shut out by a higher bid will bribe a landowner to order his gladiator to throw a match. This must be done clandestinely lest the high bidder on that particular gladiator discover the plot and initiate retribution. An intelligent landowner may be able to keep himself from being caught in the crossfire of the templar's betting wars, but most are caught in the middle.
When a lot of money is at stake, it is common practice for a templar to bribe his gladiator's opponent into taking a dive during the match. The bribe may take several forms—the promise of a steel weapon, gold, or even the purchase of his freedom. The templar will assure the gladiator to be bribed that his life will be spared at the end of the match. Often as not, the templar then visits his gladiator. The templar will inform his champion of the falsely offered bribe, then order the gladiator to kill the bribed opponent in the ring. In doing so, the templar accomplishes his goals; he doesn't pay the bribe, silences the opposing gladiator, and advances his champion.
More bets take place in back alleys, bars, and markets than are ever placed in the arena. Granted, such wagers are meager, a few ceramics here, a silver there, but in sheer volume, the amount bet on any given match is tremendous. Small gladiatorial wager booking establishments exist throughout all of the cities in the Tyr region—these individuals are called "squints," "w'diares," or "quicklegs." Finding one is the hard part. Some work on street corners—just a lone elf, propped up in a shady spot, for example. A password or hand sign must be proffered before the elf will allow a bet to be made. Disreputable w'diares will simply take the money and move on to a new location in the city or another town. Successful ones are sometimes wanted by local templars, hence the nickname "quick-legs." Some even more disreputable bet takers are actually spies for certain templars. If the betting is very heavy for a particular match, the templar may arrest the "squint" and confiscate the money for himself. After a month in prison, the individual is released (and clandestinely given a little something for his trouble), then returns to the streets to tell of his ordeal.
Shops that have secret wagering are generally more dependable than "street squints"—the inn, shop, or market stall may have a reputation to uphold. Betting in these establishments takes on many forms. An individual who wishes to bet on a gladiator may enter a shop or merchant stall known to accept wagers. The individual wishing to place the bet may begin to haggle over the price of some meaningless item. In the midst of the negotiation, the bettor works the gladiator he wishes to bet on into the conversation. Instead of speaking in first person both parties speak in third person using that gladiator's name.
: Example: Bettor may solicit a bet by saying "Thonkin (a well-known gladiator) would never pay that much for those items! to a market vendor suspected of taking bets. If the merchant is indeed involved in betting, he might respond with, "Thonkin was here last week, and paid more than you're offering!" Then the haggling of the bet verses pay-off odds begins. When the wager is resolved, the bettor gives the merchant the funds wagered. The merchant in return gives the bettor some small token or marker that must be presented in order to claim any monies won from the match.