Calcutta auction

A Calcutta auction (also: Calcutta sweepstake, Calcutta lottery or short, Calcutta ) is a compound from a lottery and an auction.

When the British at the beginning of the 19th century introduced the horse racing industry in Calcutta, developed a special type of bet, the so-called Calcutta auction. This bet enjoys great popularity in the countries of the former British Empire and the United States.

This betting format is used primarily for horses and Formula 1 races, as well as miles bet on ships (ship bet). However, the case of horse racing now dominates the pari-mutuel system. The Calcutta auction is totalizator system closely related, since here the individual betting among participants bet (French pari mutuel ), in contrast to bet on the totalizator, in a Calcutta but only one device can bet on a particular horse.

The terms Calcutta sweepstake (or Calcutta lottery ) are not always strictly distinguished from Calcutta auction, in the following but the difference is to be observed.

First, a description of the original format, as it was practiced by the Royal Calcutta Turf Club ( RCTC ).

  • 2.1 variants and additions
  • 2.2 Pool selling

Calcutta Calcutta sweepstake or lottery

A Calcutta sweepstake (also Calcutta lottery ) consists of two sections: a lottery and an auction.

Lottery

Before the race, tickets are sold (typically 100 shares at 10 rupees ); the proceeds from the sale will be paid into the prize pool ( pool). After the sale of tickets, a lottery is held. For each participating horse a number will be drawn.

For example, to horse Black Dream number 69 is drawn to Cherry the number 6, etc

Auction

Before the start of the race, each horse will be auctioned in random order according to the method of English auction. Half of the auction price is due to the owner of the ticket with the number assigned to the horse in the previous lottery, the other half is paid into the prize pool.

The owner of the lottery tickets can now choose between the following options:

  • He can use to pay off half of the auction amount and end his participation in the game, so he will lose any right to the profits attributable to his horse.
  • He may waive the payment of the amount and remain in the game, he retains a right to half of the profits attributable to his horse. The betting operator who has bought the horse, but then pays only half the sum and auction receives half of the profits attributable to this horse.

Won the owner of the ticket itself the horse, so he pays only half of the auction amount.

Continuing the example: If Black Dream auctioned to the amount of 1,000 rupees, the highest bidder will pay 500 rupees in the prize pool and 500 rupees to the owner of the ticket with number 69 and thus acquires the right to the income attributable to Black Dream.

Should an owner of ticket number 69 on the claim the 500 rupees, the highest bidder will pay only 500 rupees in the prize pool. He has thus acquired the right to half of the amount attributable to Black Dream gain, the other half of the gain is due to the owner of the ticket with number 69

Will Black Dream 69 finally bought by the owner of the ticket number for 1000 rupees, so this pays only half the auction price, so 500 rupees in the prize pool.

Division of the profit pot

  • The owner of the first placed horse receives 40 % of the gain pot,
  • The owner of the second-place horse receives 20 % of the gain pot,
  • The owner of the third-place horse receives 10 % of the profit pot
  • The owner of the unplaced horses received a total of 20% of the profit pot
  • And the organizer reserves 10% of the profit as a pot Commission ( Deduction ), so the payout ratio is 90%.

Calcutta auction

The Calcutta is very often carried out in a simplified form without the initial lottery. This form, referred to as Calcutta auction is common particularly in the context of backgammon, poker, bridge, curling and golf tournaments, as well as fishing competitions, etc..

In the Calcutta auction the full auction price in the profit pot ( Auction 's pool ) is paid, it will be divided after deduction of the Commission for the organizer usually on the same key as the prize money of bewetteten event.

Variations and additions

  • Fields: With a large number of participants several starters are grouped together and auctioned as a package ( Field).
  • Buy-back: If for example, the ticket bought at a backgammon tournament with the name of a player has not itself, but by another participant, that player has the right, up to a 25% share of the ticket with his name on the aliquot share of the auction sum to buy from the owner of the ticket.
  • Highest bidder 's choice lot: In order to increase the appeal of the auction can be auctioned as a so-called first Highest bidder 's choice lot; in this ticket, the Purchaser after the bid on which starter you want to set. In this way there is more competitive bidding, and that has a positive effect on the height of the pot from auction.
  • The Sack: Tickets for which there is no buyer for the minimum bid will be placed in the so-called bag and auctioned as a single ticket at the end.

Pool selling

The Calcutta auction as a bet on horse racing was known in the U.S. at least since the 1860s as a pool selling. Henry Deedes describes in his published in 1869 book Sketches of the South and West: or, Ten months ' residence in the United States this type of betting in great detail, because this is, according to the author, entirely different from the used in the UK form ( there were mainly bookmaker bets usual).

Deedes ' description corresponds exactly to that of a Calcutta auction, with only three lots to be auctioned

The owner of the lot with the winning horse wins everything (The winner takes all ).

An identical content description of the pool selling Junius Henri Browne can be found at the occasion of a race with only four starters, all four lots are auctioned.

The term pool selling can be found today in the U.S. and in Canada in relation to bets in many legal texts.

Miles bet

A popular form of Calcutta auction is the miles bet on multi-day cruises ( Auction sweepstake on ship 's daily run). Such a ship bet is at the center of Roald Dahl's short story Dip in the Pool; in the novel Diamonds are Forever Ian Fleming devotes an entire chapter to this type of bet.

At each lunch, the captain gives his estimate of the number of nautical miles known which will cover the ship until the next noon; eg 730 miles. The twenty numbers 720, 721, ..., 739 are now written on lots, these are mixed in a container and auctioned in the order of their draw. The lot with the number 738 mean about the bet that the ship is at least (≥ ) 738, but (<) will travel 739 miles less than.

After the auction of the individual numbers, the lot will be Choice of high or low field called for auction: the buyer of this lot said after the award if he was, for high field, in this example, " 740 or more miles " or, for low field that is, " Less than 720 miles" decides. Finally, the remaining field will be auctioned; total, there are thus 22 lots.

The owner of the lot with the correct prediction wins the pool (The winner takes all ) of this is before a deduction, for example, 5% deducted.

Sports betting Diamonds Are Forever (novel)
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