This is borne out, not just by the fact that cricket lovers are following the matches on television and update this on social media sites, but by the number of IPL betting rackets that the police in Goa have succeeded in busting over the past few days. Much like the virtual cheers that greet the strokeplay of the batsmen or the fall of a wicket in an IPL match, there is a virtual betting racket that has engulfed the league, with people betting on the outcome of the matches and sometime even on how the next ball will be played.
In all there have been six raids – all in North Goa – that have unearthed illegal betting on the cricket matches and that has led to the arrest of mostly non-Goans. Interestingly, most of the raids have been in the Bardez coastal area. Of the six raids, four have been in Calangute-Candolim, one in Morjim and one in Taleigao. In all 23 persons have been arrested and all are from outside Goa, a few of them from Nepal. It is obvious that the busting of one gang has not served as a deterrent to the others who continue operations. The fact that in 14 days there have been six such illegal betting rackets that have come under the police scanner indicates that there is a much larger system at work here.
These raids cannot be viewed in isolation or as the handiwork of just a small group of persons, but as a part of a much larger network that exists across the country, and possibly beyond. Currently, IPL betting raids are also taking place in other parts of the country and are not restricted to just Goa, indicating that this is a much bigger illegal betting racket than it appears to be. In the past days there have also been raids in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere. One cannot dismiss the possibility that the Goa rackets, especially since those arrested in the six raids are all from outside the State, are part of a larger illegal betting syndicate. If Goa Police hopes to break the betting racket in the State then it has to coordinate with its counterparts in other States.
Betting in sports is not a new phenomenon – not even in Goa – and just recently Herald had broken the story of betting and alleged match fixing in football in Goa. The menace of illegal betting in sports exists and cannot be wished away, but the police have to take a strong stand to stop it. While police across the country are swooping down on IPL betting, six raids of betting in a fortnight in Goa leads to the question of whether the State is becoming a nucleus of the IPL betting syndicate. This has to also be seen against the backdrop of another gambling racket busted in the State after Goa opened for tourism following the lockdown and restrictions in travel.
Intelligence needs to be stepped up if the police are going to break the sports betting rackets in the State. The Uttar Pradesh police is reported to have created intelligence units and teams have been alerted in places where betting is known to take place. Following the success of busting six such rackets, Goa Police should now formulate a plan to put an end to the betting. The IPL is still on and one can expect that the betting will not stop, not unless the authorities act on it firmly.
