Great British Bake Off bets stopped by Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes has halted betting on BBC reveal the Great British Bake Off after a flurry of wagers stimulated fears the winner's name might have been dripped.
"A run of bets" was put for one entrant, many at stores in the Ipswich area, the bookie stated.
It is not understood which baker prompted the flurry or whether any contestants have connections with the Suffolk town.
The first episode of the yohaig code popular amateur baking contest aired on BBC One Wednesday night.
It is the sixth series of the show, which challenges 12 hopefuls to impress judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.
Each week the amateur bakers are anticipated to tackle a baking obstacle, with minimal directions, and provide a "signature meal".
'Soggy bottom'
The bookie said a flurry of bets came in for among the 12 participants whose chances started at 12/1 and were reduced to 6/1, 3/1 and then evens.
"We offered rates on Monday and, nearly before the ink was dry, an unusual variety of punters remained in a rush to back only one candidate," David Williams of Ladbrokes stated.
"On Tuesday and Wednesday it was more of the yohaig code same one-way traffic. That was enough to set our alarm bells calling and, as a preventative measure, we suspended our wagering.
"Hopefully, we'll return up with modified chances faster instead of later, but we didn't desire to get caught with our pants pulled down and a soaked bottom, so we have actually decided to kick back until we are reassured that Bake Off hasn't gone off currently.
"When you see a run of bets like this promotion code for one entrant at the expense of everyone else that can be a sign to suspend betting for a bit to assess the scenario," he included.
Several of the bets positioned were the optimum the bookie would take for wagers made on the program's result, and 90% were put on one contestant.
The suspension would not affect bets already positioned, the business said.
The first participant to be knocked out of the competition on Wednesday evening was Stuart Henshall from Surrey.
The 11 remaining entrants are from Berkshire, Lancashire, Cambridgeshire, London, West Yorkshire, Manchester, Essex, Swansea and two from Perthshire.
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