Mumbai may legalise cricket betting

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government wants to legalise betting on cricket to beef up its finances and at the same time weaken the underworld which has a major stake in the business.
The Mumbai police is keen on pushing through a law to this effect, said a source in the state home department, adding that no decision had been taken yet.
Sources said the police has recommended the amendment of sections 4 and 5 of the Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887.The government has also asked the law and judiciary department to submit a report in this regard.
A senior officer told TNN that cricket betting generated as much as Rs 300 crores annually and turnover shot up to Rs 1,000 crores during the World Cup. The government was worried by the enormous financial clout derived from betting by the underworld.
Betting syndicates controlled by Dawood Ibrahim had operations in Karachi too and this resulted in the largescale transfer of funds to Pakistan through the hawala route. The Chhota Rajan gang also had major stakes in cricket betting.
During the recent World Cup matches in South Africa, the city police had come down heavily on bookies. This resulted in the agents of the bookies shifted base to Navi Mumbai, Thane and other places and continued with their operations.
Minister of State for Home (urban) Rajendra Darda had raided a row of houses in sector 4 of Airoli and caught 17 bookies red handed.
In Mumbai, the police had taken preventive action against several top bookies by detaining them at the police commissionerate near Crawford market during the India-Pakistan match. They were allowed to watch the game on television, but their activities were severely curbed.
An officer lamented that ‘‘there are no stringent laws against gambling. The law allows a bookie to be released on a fine of Rs 1,200 which is peanuts for a person earning crores of rupees in a single match.’’
The officer also complained that most of the 83 police stations rarely acted against the bookies and it was left to the crime branch to tackle them.