BANGALORE, June 2: Form in one-day cricket is as unpredictable as in racing and favourites are suspect to the pressures of being one. The unpredictability of these sport, with its violent twists and turns, is a fertile field for both the book-makers and punters to step in. The result is the phenomenal amount of money that is wagered on cricket. Cricket-betting on a single one-dayer in India is much more than one week's turnover on racing.

Cricket betting is the most dangerous form of betting compared to racing. Since only two teams are in the fray, the price offered on each of them is small and hence the minimum bet that is laid is quite high for the returns are small. A punter attempts to balance his investment, going by the trend of the match and more often than not, he ends up losing. There are 600 balls in a one-day match and each ball can suggest of different possibility.

A frequently fluctuating match attracts huge volumes of money. The turnover in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad runs into more than Rs 50 crore though the actual money exchanged could be in the region of Rs 10 crore. Cricket betting has grown by 400 to 500 per cent in the last few years. This is because unlike in racing where you need to know the sport, in cricket people back, going by the trend of the match when watching either on TV or at the Stadium. The mobile phone has revolutionised betting for a person can back from anywhere. The bookies too operate on mobiles after a couple of rides by the police.

Though it is mostly the book-makers who operate on racing who also accept betting on racing, there are also exclusive cricket book-makers. Cricket punters are mostly innocent type of punters who purely go by fluctuations in the pattern of the match. The reason why most cricket punters lose out is because they tend to back favourites because they look like winning.There have been allegations that book-makers fix the match often and players are involved as well. Though it is true that player involvement cannot be ruled out, if a match were to be fixed, all book-makers will not be in the know and the privileged information is not shared. Bookies tend to lose only in matches if it turns out to be totally one-sided.

The maximum allegations of player involvement relates to the Pakistan team. In fact, many book-makers do not operate when Pakistan is playing. There have been two occasions when the match has been declared null and void by the underworld bookmakers in Dubai and all bets refunded!

Nowadays, the punters do ask the book-makers as to which rules will apply, the Dubai one or the one based on official result. About 80 per cent of the turnover is ploughed into Dubai underworld and hence, if they fail to honour, the system which is built on trust will collapse. The Dubai book-makers make payment only after they are convinced that the match is not totally rigged!

Punters get introduced to book-makers through contacts since betting is an illegal operation. The volume of betting also depends on the live relay of the match. While there is betting on cricket matches held elsewhere, the volume of betting is three to four times more on matches involving India. Like in the field of racing, there are many defaulters on the part of both the book-makers and punters. In racing, a book-maker does not accept unlimited betting and there is a ceiling on credit but in cricket, the amount wagered is unlimited because of the fluctuations with a punter backing and re-backing at various prices prevailing at that point of time.The book-makers basically depend on ex-players and sometimes even on cricket journalists for guidance.

Besides, they have a well-organised network which helps them get accurate information about the strengths and weakness of the team and even the weather forecast which plays a crucial role in bets relating to Test matches as there are three possibilities emerging.

There have been instances when book-makers, unable to pay their liability, have committed suicide. A bookmaker at Ghatkopar, who had to pay out in excess of Rs 7 crore, committed suicide.

During the last World Cup quarter-final match involving India and Pakistan in Bangalore, it was alleged that Wasim Akram was not in a position to play because of his rib-cage injury. The announcement of his withdrawal was made when the time came for the toss.

It was said then that this was done so as to gain some psychological advantage. However, many alleged that if Akram had announced about his not playing earlier, Pakistan would not have started favourites. The odds on Pakistan showed a dramatic reverse as soon as Aamir Sohail came out for the toss. And if any book-maker had privileged information about Akram's inability to play, he would have made a killing simply by the difference in the odds before the start and after.

The increase in one-day internationals has made cricket betting a full time job. And surely, with players coming out in the open making against charges against their erstwhile colleagues, cricket results will always have to be taken with a pinch of salt!

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.