There has been a surge in the volume of betting around international cricket series in India since the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal unearthed.
MUMBAI: There has been a surge in the volume of betting around international cricket series in India since the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal was unearthed more than six years ago. Conservative estimates put the turnover of the illegal industry today at Rs10,000 crore (more than $2 bn) per annum.
Confirming this, a bookie told DNA: “During the India-South Africa series in 2001, total bets placed on individual matches ranged from Rs200 crore to Rs400 crore. Compared to that, the recent India-West Indies series yielded between Rs500 crore and Rs700 crore per match.”
Of course, these figures see an upward revision during the World Cup, especially for matches involving India. “In the last World Cup, for instance, Rs800 crore to Rs1000 crore was wagered on every match,” the bookie said. “Higher bets were reported when India or Pakistan figured in the tie. In the final, bookies accepted bets of Rs3,000 crore.”
Mumbai Police Commissioner Anami Roy dismissed the arithmetic: “It’s only an estimate being bandied about by the media,” he said. “The quantum of betting is not evident.”
Roy said police launch a concerted effort to drive bookies and their local contacts out of the city in the run-up to a cricket tournament. “We have come to know that bookies are rushing to Thane and Pune or even shifting base to Gujarat because of intensive policing,” he said.
According to the commissioner, police are keeping bookies on the run by keeping a database of operators and monitoring them. Confirming Roy’s assessment, the bookie told DNA: “Rather than risking it in Mumbai, bookies now prefer the chilly climes of Lonavala or a drive down the Mumbai-Pune expressway when they are accepting bets.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}