It is a murky world of bookies, the underworld mafia and some cricketers with suspect integrity that has been unveiled by the CBI in its inquiry into the betting and match-fixing scandal. Here are the conclusions contained in the 162-page report prepared by the investigative agency after six months of enquiry:
  • Small scale betting on cricket matches has been taking place in India for a long time. Betting on a major scale started only after India won the World Cup in 1983. betting on cricket matches has been on the upswing ever since live telecast of cricket matches started on a regular basis.
  • Betting on cricket matches in India has attained a measure of sophistication and it has spread across the length and breadth of the country. The use of computer and mobile phone has given a major fillip to this racket.
  • Betting on cricket in India, in terms of monetary turn- over and volume of transactions, is perhaps the biggest organised racket. According to rough estimates, the turn-over, on account of betting on any one-day international match anywhere in the world, runs into hundreds of crores.
    • Bureau Report