INDIA LOSES RS 2 LAKH CR A YEAR AS CRICKET BETTING IS ILLEGAL

India is losing around Rs 2 lakh crore annually because of illegal betting on cricket, according to a rough estimate made by the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF). The AIGF is a not-for-profit entity and an apex body which focuses on policy advocacy, research and forum for discussion among various stakeholders associated with the gaming industry. The huge amount India loses by way of illegal cricket betting can “rather be collected as tax”.

According to the AIGF, around Rs 2,000 crore was wagered on the recently concluded Champion’s Trophy final between India and Pakistan. The amount was 10 times higher than any previous match held between the two countries. “It has been estimated and established by many studies on cricket betting that roughly around Rs 2 lakh crore is betted on all cricket matches that India plays throughout the year,” Rolland Landers, CEO of AIGF, told The Sunday Guardian.

A Delhi-based kingpin of bookmakers, said on the condition of anonymity, “For a number of Delhiites, cricket matches are a way to earn quick money as huge amounts are wagered by way of bets. Delhi alone is one of the biggest hubs of gambling on cricket in the country. Almost 5,000 individuals, from those ferrying money in cash to bookmakers, are deployed during the cricket season.”

Shivkumar Garg, a former senior official of the Special