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Cash and carry -- the story of betting in the capital

Vivek Shukla in Delhi

A bookie, sitting in his posh office in the Greater Kailash area of New Delhi, is busy totting up his balance sheet at the conclusion of the Independence Cup.

And from the smile on his face, it is evident that he and his tribe have little to complain of at the way that tournament turned out.

"The media hyped India as favoured to get into the final," says the bookie, who preferred that his name not be mentioned. "But a week before the start of the tournament, we were already offering odds of 1:8 against India making the final -- and a lot of punters who were attracted by those odds and who bet big money that India would make the grade burnt their fingers."

So there we have it -- the new pundits of cricket, the ones really clued in to the form book, are not the media (analysts, reporters, commentators, whatever) but the bookmakers. And if the cricket media depends on pitch conditions, form and skills of rival players, weather forecasts and past records to come up with their predictions, then the bookies use all these, and more -- they call on the services of past players for objective analysis, and even top of the line astrologers to cast horoscopes and predict possibilities.

"Sure, some of the top astrologers in the capital help us during tournaments, they cast horoscopes of countries, players of both sides and come up with predictions, which we do take into consideration when preparing the odds," the bookie says. "Why," he adds, laughing, "in tournaments and sports events involving women, we even try to get information on which players are involved in love affairs, which players are having their periods at the time, things like that -- all this does influence the way an individual player performs, so it is all crucial information for us when we sit down to determine the odds."

While he admits it is impossible to pin down exact figures, he believes that by any conservative estimate, well over Rs 10,000 million changed hands during the Wills World Cup. And while cricket is still the biggest event on the bookmaking calendar, the trade has gradually widened to cover the entire spectrum of sports.

"Go to a stadium where a Durand Cup football match is being played -- you will see burly Sikh youths supporting a Tamil Nadu team against a Punjab outfit, or a hardcore Bengali football fan rooting for JCT against one of Bengal's own prestige outfits. These are your hardcore punters and for them, state, religion and nationality are irrelevant -- betting rules, above all else," the bookie avers.

And yes, both this bookie and some of his fellows calmly admit that rigging and match-fixing are very much a part of their day to day activities. "Players, umpires, officials, even ground staff -- they all accept money to help influence results," the bookie explains. "A wicket can be doctored to favour one or the other side. An umpire can make a crucial decision or two to swing the game one way or the other. And players, of course, can play crucial roles in determining how a game turns out. And none of them is exempt from the lure of money."

If this bookie is to be believed, then match fixing takes place all the way down the line -- from international cricket matches to even league matches in football, hockey and cricket.

And increasingly, there is no off season. "As you see, I operate from an office, because this is a business like any other. And there is always something or the other that people want to bet on -- whether it is the French Open being played at the Roland Garros, or the way a chappal lands when it is thrown in the air!"

Huh?

"Oh, it is a very popular pastime in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. A chappal is thrown in the air, and bets are made on whether it comes down on the flat side, or the side with the strap -- we call it puthi-sidhi!"