Arrest of three cricket players of Rajasthan Royals allegedly involved in the spot fixing episode is just a tip of the iceberg. Number of betting cases emerged over the years indicates that the Capital is turning into gambling hub in true sense. There are several syndicates involved in gambling particularly in Cricket active in the city. In 2012, total 518 such cases were reported and 1,861 arrests were made under Gambling Act. The number has significantly increased this year, total 208 cases have come to light so far in first four months and 737 people have been arrested till April 30.
A senior police officer said that Delhi and Mumbai was the epicentre of cricket betting and in the past few years. Delhi has emerged as a major hub of cricket betting after 2010 as several of Mumbai’s bookies have retired or switched to the construction business. “Now they have started operating their racket with the Delhi-based bookies and after sitting in Dubai, Pakistan and Mumbai, they are operating their racket from phones and there is chain between Dubai, Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Punjab and Chennai,” the officer added.
Huge amounts of money change hands through hawala operators. The hawala syndicate is run by underworld gangs and nowadays, numbers of teenagers in Capital are involved in betting. “To start betting operation requires little investment. Two cell phones in hand and a few thousand rupees in pocket are sufficient to start off. Within a few weeks, you start getting customers. There is no loss in this business as it is not unlike a stock market because matches or spot in games are fixed. It lures lot of youngsters,” the police sources added.
In 2010, 292 gambling cases were reported and 942 people were arrested for gambling. However in 2011, the number of gambling cases swelled and it recorded almost hundred per cent increase. In 598 cases, 2,406 people were arrested from in the Capital.