Betting racket: Many students, white collar employees, businessmen get addicted

Hyderabad: Students, traders, businessmen, and even white collar employees from all over the city have become bettors for the IPL, which attracts more bets than any other cricket tournament. The police are focussed on arresting organisers, and only a fewer punters have been arrested so far.

Senior officials say most bettors become addicted to gambling during the cricket season. “Most bettors are habitual gamblers. They want to take a risk and earn a large sum quickly. When the cricket season begins, they all pick up their phones and dial their bookies,” said DCP B. Limba Reddy from the Task Force. “Students who place bets often take money from their parents by lying. We have come across a few such cases in the past,” he added.

While betting, the odds are always stacked against the weaker team, as there is a higher risk associated with putting money on them; and so, if they win, the returns are also much larger. Some punters risk lakhs of rupees and bet on the weaker team, in hope of winning a large sum if luck favours them. Otherwise, they end up losing their entire amount.

Apart from bets on the winning team, bets are also placed on batsmen scoring over 50 runs, the number of runs made per over, the total individual score for each batsman, and the number of wickets earned by each bowler.