Mumbai: The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches seem to have taken the steam out of betting on Lok Sabha elections, said sources in Mumbai police. While investigators said that there were “no active” speculations on elections, the poll results scheduled on May 23 could steam up betting activity.
Sources however said that bookies were gung-ho about the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance, with 1:1 returns indicating 100 per cent money on amounts placed on the saffron alliance.
The police’s crime branch units had been keeping a watch on illegal moneymaking activities of betting. The crime intelligence unit, property cell and regional units of the crime branch had tapped into the network of bookies, which revealed that the IPL was stealing the thunder from the Lok Sabha polls.
Officials said that further tightening of the informers’ network would be carried out ahead of the poll results. While officials said that the bookies chose to stay away from metro cities, bookings in star hotels in Mumbai would be scrutinised. One of the popular modus operandi had been booking hotel rooms to take bets in a bid to avoid attention.
“Generally the elections, including polls and results, draw enough attention for betting to take place, however this time it seems to be different due to T20 cricket. One of the units busted a betting racket from the western suburbs and its probe also revealed betting on cricket,” said a senior crime branch officer.
“The clarity on poll percentage will also pave the way for the likelihood of betting taking upswing during the results of the polls,” added another officer.
