Goans hope they can bet on the ISL being betting free

A new week brought more news of man’s love for gambling. The police arrested
five people following a raid in Baga. The accused were accepting bets on an IPL
match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The
authorities seized Rs. 25,440 in cash, 15 mobile phones and 3 laptops worth Rs.
2.5 lakhs. This was just the latest in a series of raids that were conducted by
the police in the area over the past couple of months that lead to arrests and
seizures of cash, mobile phones and laptops.
Now Goa it can be said is not really cricket country.  Yes there are fans
for the game without a doubt but the beautiful game ie football reigns supreme
here.
Now the Indian Super League Season will commence in Goa on November 21 and will
go on till March.
Football fans in the state did not discount the possibility that parties could
be interested in earning big bucks by gambling on the matches. Anthony Vaz,
Manager Panjim Footballers said it is quite possible larger groups could be
interested in betting on the result of the game and locals would latch on to
them. He said “Without a doubt cricket is very big and the stakes are very
high. Football on the other hand in India is growing very fast and yes the top
players earn huge amounts of money. Even so I don’t think the gambling can
influence results of games”. He felt if it was to ever happen it would take
place at the level of the owners who may have other calculations in their mind
but even that would be farfetched because they had invested the money and would
want returns for sure with their name intact.
Kabir Pinto former Deputy mayor felt during the current IPL, a number of
cases of betting were  being reported and cracked by the Goa police which
was fantastic. He said “During the ISL which is being conducted exclusively in
Goa this time, this activity will only pick up; hence the cops will have to
maintain a tighter vigil and get cracking on all these syndicates.”
Stephen Fernandes who requested we change his name said it was very difficult
to control betting. He said “Even in England betting is legal and the economy
earns large sums of money via taxes. Over here it is massive and  no one
knows how to control it. We all know people who accept bets and those who place
them. No one tries to arrest them though it is public knowledge. Then you have
articles appearing in the news paper of people being in arrested and then there
is nothing. What happened to those people? No one knows.  If we legalise
gambling it will change the situation on the ground but then that will require
a reorienting of our psyche which is now wired up in hierocracy”.
Another passionate football fan is Timothy Lobo who has watched games during
the world cup contested in Germany. He said “ It is very important to
understand that gambling  can destroy the spirit of the game and the
authorities should clamp down on such illegal activities. One has to only look
at what happened to the game in places like Malaysia and China where gambling
destroyed the league. We don’t need that here if we want to ensure the game
improves and we make it into the world cup finals”.
Omi a passionate football fan, felt betting might feel good in the beginning
but the problem would arise when one started winning.  He said “ Recently
there was news of some betting dens being raided during the IPL & with the
ISL starting soon, the problem might only get bigger. Harm from betting isn’t
just about losing money. Gambling can affect self-esteem, relationships, physical
and mental health, work performance and social life. It can harm not only the
person who gambles but also family, friends, workplaces and
communities”. 
One can only hope the authorities ensure they clamp down hard on such
activities because it is only then the beautiful game will truly soar in Goa
and the rest of the country.