Great British Bake Off bets stopped by Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes has actually halted wagering on BBC show the Great British Bake Off after a flurry of wagers stimulated fears the winner's name might have been leaked.
"A run of bets" was placed for one entrant, many at shops in the Ipswich area, the bookmaker stated.
It is not understood which baker prompted the flurry or whether any entrants have connections with the Suffolk town.
The very first episode of the popular amateur baking contest aired on BBC One Wednesday evening.
It is the yohaig code sixth series of the show, which challenges 12 hopefuls to impress judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.
Every week the amateur bakers are anticipated to tackle a baking difficulty, with very little guidelines, and provide a "signature meal".
'Soggy bottom'
the yohaig code bookmaker said a flurry of bets came in for one of the 12 candidates whose odds started at 12/1 and were reduced to 6/1, 3/1 and then evens.
"We provided rates on Monday and, nearly before the ink was dry, an unusual variety of punters were in a rush to back just one entrant," David Williams of Ladbrokes said.
"On Tuesday and Wednesday it was more of the very same one-way traffic. That was enough to set our alarm bells sounding and, as a safety measure, we suspended our wagering.
"Hopefully, we'll go back up with revised chances quicker instead of later on, however we didn't wish to get caught with our trousers took down and a soggy bottom, so we have actually chosen to kick back till we are assured that Bake Off hasn't gone off currently.
"When you see a run of bets like this promotion code for one candidate at the cost of everyone else that can be an indication to suspend wagering for a bit to assess the situation," he included.
Several of the bets positioned were the maximum the bookmaker would consider wagers made on the show's outcome, and 90% were put on one participant.
The suspension would not affect bets already positioned, the company stated.
The very first entrant to be knocked out of the competitors on Wednesday evening was Stuart Henshall from Surrey.
The 11 staying participants are from Berkshire, Lancashire, Cambridgeshire, London, West Yorkshire, Manchester, Essex, Swansea and 2 from Perthshire.
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