To be rich before you reach 18, become a bookie

He was only 13 when he started collecting bets from his schoolmates for the World Cup football tournament.

IT executive Steven Goh recalled that he became a bookie because he loved football and wanted to earn some fast cash.

"My friends would bet RM2 (S$0.80 cents) to RM3 over who would win the matches. I had a notebook to keep track of their names and bet amounts.

"A few bucks is not much but when you bet with many people, the stakes can easily go up to about RM700," said the now 22-year-old, adding that he earned up to RM400 from the bets.

He said that while he only took bets for the World Cup, his schoolmates were bookies for other football events, such as the English Premier League games.

"They were about the same age as me at the time," said Goh, who hails from Malacca.

His gambling days came to an end when he was 16.

His mother found his notebook and punished him.