NEW DELHI - Spot-betting at the centre of allegations against Pakistani cricketers is widely prevalent and harder to detect than a fixed match, regular gamblers in India said yesterday.
India, the home to millions of fanatical fans and the lucrative IPL Twenty20 tournament, is thought to host much of the worldwide network of illegal gambling on cricket.
"Betting happens in every match and does not always have to do with the end result," a regular gambler based in New Delhi told AFP yesterday.
"People bet on almost every delivery, whether it will be hit for a four or six, or whether it will be a no-ball or a wide, or if it will fetch a wicket.
"People like me just like to bet, and we ring our bookmakers constantly during a game. We have nothing to do with players, but it now seems obvious some big bookies are in touch with them."
The gambler said he makes many different spot bets during a match, often building up winnings or losses of several thousand dollars.
Betting on sports is illegal in India except at horse races, but major betting syndicates have been in operation for many years.
Cricket offers endless options for gambling on small incidents in the match, and the IPL has massively increased the amount of money in the game. Pakistani bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif are in the spotlight after a man was arrested on match-fixing charges in London and later bailed.
Britain's News of the World tabloid said it paid £150000 pounds (R1,7million) to a middleman in return for details about the timing of three no-balls in the fourth Test between England and Pakistan. The report said Aamer and Asif delivered no-balls at the exact points in the match indicated by the alleged fixer in advance.
"It is not easy to catch spot-fixing," another gambler said. "In some ways, the Pakistanis were unlucky. They were caught in a sting operation." The ICC's anti-corruption and security unit said that illegal betting was a multi-million-dollar industry.
Spot bets plague Pakistan
NEW DELHI - Spot-betting at the centre of allegations against Pakistani cricketers is widely prevalent and harder to detect than a fixed match, regular gamblers in India said yesterday.
India, the home to millions of fanatical fans and the lucrative IPL Twenty20 tournament, is thought to host much of the worldwide network of illegal gambling on cricket.
"Betting happens in every match and does not always have to do with the end result," a regular gambler based in New Delhi told AFP yesterday.
"People bet on almost every delivery, whether it will be hit for a four or six, or whether it will be a no-ball or a wide, or if it will fetch a wicket.
"People like me just like to bet, and we ring our bookmakers constantly during a game. We have nothing to do with players, but it now seems obvious some big bookies are in touch with them."
The gambler said he makes many different spot bets during a match, often building up winnings or losses of several thousand dollars.
Betting on sports is illegal in India except at horse races, but major betting syndicates have been in operation for many years.
Cricket offers endless options for gambling on small incidents in the match, and the IPL has massively increased the amount of money in the game. Pakistani bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif are in the spotlight after a man was arrested on match-fixing charges in London and later bailed.
Britain's News of the World tabloid said it paid £150000 pounds (R1,7million) to a middleman in return for details about the timing of three no-balls in the fourth Test between England and Pakistan. The report said Aamer and Asif delivered no-balls at the exact points in the match indicated by the alleged fixer in advance.
"It is not easy to catch spot-fixing," another gambler said. "In some ways, the Pakistanis were unlucky. They were caught in a sting operation." The ICC's anti-corruption and security unit said that illegal betting was a multi-million-dollar industry.
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