2011-03-31

Cricket hype leaves its impact on betting

ISLAMABAD, March 30: The hype created in the media and in all walks of life for the cricket semi-final between India and Pakistan on Wednesday had its impact on the betting sector too, as even a large number of non-players had entered the arena to invest in gambling.

However, for the first time in the ongoing cricket World Cup, two rates were floating in the grey market. The high-end bookies were following the international market trend on the lines of betting rates being offered in London and South Africa for their routine clients while the localised bookmakers and the new emotional entrants were going heavily with their best bet for Pakistan.

As the semi-final between India and Pakistan was already considered the biggest betting turnover match, bookies based in Lahore and Karachi and Mumbai in India were signalling that betting would possibly be the all-time high in the one-day history of the match. However, as betting is illegal in both the countries, the bookies had special setup in Dubai and South Africa.

Panicky and exchanging SMS from both the phones at the same time was the condition of Mr X when the Indian closed their innings at 260 runs as he had invested heavily on the Indian side.

The international rates were clearly in favour of India and key bookies in Pakistan had declared that the rate for India was between 52 and 55 paisa per one rupee, whereas that for Pakistan was Rs1.50 per rupee.

However, the rates at the localised setup changed in the beginning of the Pakistani inning, as the good start led to the drop in the Indian rating to 80 paisa per rupee and a decrease of Pakistani team rate to 100 paisa per one rupee.

“The rates keep fluctuating with the fall of wickets and the runs scored over by over," said Mr X, who is an executive in the private sector with a passion for betting.

The mobile phones are used for getting the rates of the match which are announced after the toss and the fluctuations start as the game continues.

"But one should keep in mind that this is not an ordinary kind of business," said Mr AT, a punter. "The minimum betting got to Rs100,000 due to the frenzy."

Due to the illegality of the business, the bookies remained at low profile and hid from the clients, while the bulk of activity was done by the punters.

However, despite the excitement, not many new players could enter the betting business for the semi-finals due to stern actions taken by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) who raided a setup in federal capital on the eve of the match and confiscated a large cache of books.

According to sources, an official was sent in plainclothes to place a bet of Rs500,000 under the guise of a customer who wanted to directly approach the bookies. This led to some direct contact with the bookies which paved way for the raid.

The raid also discouraged the punters who operated with other bookies but the other side of the betting continued unabated, that is the localised betting/gambling operated by the punters by themselves or some shopkeepers involved in the lottery business, which too is illegal.

These bets placed by the ordinary citizens were all heavily in favour of Pakistan.

"I won Rs1,500 for placing my wager on India," said Imran. But for the majority of Pakistanis the result of the match was disappointing. However, for those who placed their stakes on the national team the loss was not only emotional but also financial.

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