ISLAMABAD: Betting on the ongoing Indian Premier League Twenty-20 cricket series has reached a fever pitch in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.As teams play in the ground, bookies rake it in. Betting is said to be monitored and controlled by kingpins based in the Middle East through their operatives in Pakistan. The hub of the illegal racket is Sarafa Bazaar and Raja Bazaar in Rawalpindi whereas the business is quietly going on in Super Market, Jinnah Super Market and F-10 Markaz in Islamabad.

Talking to The Post, a bookie in Sarafa Bazaar said that he hopes he will make millions of rupees out of this cricket series. “The money flow will touch a record high towards the end of the series. The market is highly favourable for our business because the city is griped by the cricket fever. The bookies in Karachi and Lahore have helped the twin cities develop into major gambling centres,” he said.A punter said: “The entire operation is high-tech with computers, mobile telephones and a set of code words. Police, too, extort money for letting the illegal racket flourish.””Bookies expect to deal with millions of rupees during the matches. We are seeing interest from all over the world,” said a bookmaker in Islamabad who identified himself as Raja.

He expects to make one million rupees during the matches in which Pakistani players are favourites although the odds can change with every ball bowled and run scored.The illegal gambling business has sparked controversy in cricket circles in recent years following match-fixing scandals involving household names such as former Pakistan captain Salim Malik, banned for life for his part in one such scam.”Match fixing is being replaced by fancy-fixing, which is harder to detect. People bet on how many runs will be scored in the first 15 overs or last 10 overs of a 50-over innings,” said Imtiaz, a resident in Rawalpindi.

Raja plays down the prospect of match-fixing. “This is not match-fixing but gambling, and that is legal everywhere else,” he said.
Gambling has many faces. One such face is ‘number’, which is being taken part by all and sundry without any discrimination. Every one from a labourer to a millionaire can take part in this game. Every month, there is a draw of prize bonds of Rs 200, 750, 1,500, 7,500, 15,000 and 40,000 denominations.Since the common man cannot afford original prize bonds, there are several outlets in the city that sell only prize bond numbers.At Sarafa and Raja Bazaars two or three people are seen sitting under the streetlight, calculating from which number the first prize or second prize starts in the next draw. Zero is the house of five, two is the house of seven, nine is the house of four. Three is the house of eight and six sits in the house of one. There are such minute calculations that a novice can hardly understand. The betting starts from a single digit and then goes right through to the six-figure mark. Akraa, Tandola, Bata, PC and Jalwa PC are some of the most sought after items in the prize bond market. Despite strict vigilance by the police on such outlets, a poor gambler still finds a place from where he can buy his numbers.

“I have been purchasing these numbers for last many years, only thrice I have won some minor bets. It is an addiction, once you win, you think you will win every time and you keep buying and buying,” says Mohammad Usman, a jeweller at Sarafa Bazaar.

Source:thepost.com.pk