Eoin Morgan, Joss Butler, Joe Root are well known faces in English cricket. Ordinary Bangladeshis are not supposed to know the name of Philip Salt who played county with them. However, on December 6, around three lakh rupees was bet on a tea shop near the Mawagami bus counter in Jatrabari around this salt.
Philip Salt, 25, played for the Dambulla Giants in Colombo in the Lanka Premier League. Bangladesh pacer Al Amin Hossain was in the opposition team Candy Warriors. By then, Salt had played an explosive innings of 64 off 26 balls.
Salt will be out with the ball of Al Amin ১২ 12 spectators in that shop have bet about three lakh rupees. In the end, Al Amin said Cot and Bold Salt! Ordinary pedestrians are also shocked by the sudden shouts of gamblers who have won the bet. But they also understand that it is a cricket gamble. Cricket gambling has become such a common occurrence in rural and urban areas.
Not only the Lanka Premier League, but also the IPL, BPL, World Cup or national team matches are held in that shop for cash throughout the year. The number of such shops, garages, clubs or hotels is increasing day by day across the country, said the concerned officials of the law enforcement agencies engaged in the investigation of gambling incidents.
The investigation has revealed that besides cash gambling, bets were also caught on various websites. Even ordinary rickshaw pullers, drivers, hawkers, students and businessmen who gamble there will be surprised to know the cricket knowledge. They also memorize the batting-bowling statistics of famous cricketers from famous stars. But there were not many people who swelled their fingers and gambled on the intoxication of money. The number of people who have lost everything and become destitute is more.
A gambler from Jatrabari, who sells his wife’s jewelery after selling his mobile phone, laptop and savings certificate, spoke to Kaler Kantho on condition of anonymity. He said, ‘This addiction has ended my arranged family. I used to do good business, now I am sitting on the road. Many of my friends have also become destitute. Seeing the faces of the two children now makes me feel like a big criminal. ‘
The Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has shut down 16 betting websites in the last three years. However, after a while, the websites have returned to the domain name. The price of each domain is only one thousand rupees. Opening a mirror or alternative site with a name near the original site. Gambling is also played by browsing closed sites or new sites through some unauthorized gateways. In all, there are now about two and a half hundred sites. The domain of the sites is outside the country. Regulators change the IP (Internet Protocol) from time to time. As a result, it is becoming difficult to control them.
Betting: Investigating officers have identified various levels of betting. Which team will lose, who will win – the main bet is on this. Rates are given before the match on different websites. Gamblers also give various temptations. Suppose a website bets 4: 1 on a Zimbabwe-Australia T20 match. Since Zimbabwe is weak, if they win, anyone who bets one thousand rupees will get four thousand rupees. And if Australia wins, one thousand rupees.
Along with the whole match, bets are placed on how many runs will be scored in the first 10 overs, how many wickets a bowler will get or whether a batsman will be able to score 50 runs. Gamblers bet on how many runs or wickets in each over. It will be 4, 6, 2, 1 run or the wicket will be 6 rupees is spent on all these.
Former Bangladesh fast bowler Hasibul Hossain is disappointed with the spread of gambling. “The youth are being ruined by this cricket gamble,” he said. Law enforcement needs to be tougher to prevent this. “
Gambling halls: Some tea shops, saloons and garages are becoming gambling halls for the common people. In Dhaka, Jatrabari, Khilgaon, Old Dhaka, Mohammadpur, Gabtali, Mirpur, Uttara – there are gambling halls everywhere. Betting is done on TV or on Facebook or YouTube. The role of the shop owner is sometimes that of a mediator, sometimes he is the real gambler himself. The shopkeeper has to pay 10 to 20 percent profit of the winning money. Here, too, there are people who encourage gambling. They are basically agents.
According to the investigation sources, middle and upper class people go to different clubs, bars, three or five star quality hotels. Although the casino is closed due to police activities, online betting is being organized by setting up a giant screen in a club and showing the game on a big TV in a club.
When asked, Khandaker Al Moin, Commander, RAB’s Law and Media Branch, said, “We have closed down casinos in Dhaka’s Clubpara, including Mohammedan, Muktijoddha and Wanderers.” But if someone is secretly betting in the club during the match, what can we do there? It should be seen by the club officials. ‘
