IN a narrow street in one of Karachi’s district south neighbourhoods, an apartment in a residential building is being prepared for a purely commercial purpose — for 44 days only. Business there will begin on Feb 14 and wrap up on March 29.

Yet, the value of this venture — which will have clients from daily wage earners to industrialists — may exceed the returns many businesses manage to earn in decades.

On offer is the chance to bet on the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Also read: World Cup measures: PCB puts ban on social media, wives

“This should be ready by Feb 13, I believe,” says the bookie Jan — the name he is known to gamblers by — referring to the recently rented apartment. “Nothing much is needed. Just a TV set, a couple of laptops, three or four landlines and mobile phones — between 12 and 15 connections — and uninterrupted power supply. Here we only manage the books.”

As the 14-nation event kicks off at the Hagley Oval ground in Christchurch with an encounter between co-host New Zealand and Sri Lanka, the thrill of the biggest cricketing event of the globe is felt for many reasons by bookies like Jan, and hundreds of gamblers in the city.

Where millions will be glued to the television sets for the love of the game, relishing every moment of the tournament jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, many Karachiites will spend these hours over the phone, luring enthusiasts across the city into playing satta.

“It’s all about preparations and making contacts,” says Jan, when asked about the ‘betting fever’ around the Cricket World Cup. “It’s still too early. The rates are not yet open and neither have the people shared how much money they are going to bet. But let me tell you, Feb 15 will be a big day here with Pakistan taking on India.”

The bookmakers are set to see millions of rupees change hands every day. Though illegal in Pakistan, betting remains a major business, raking in millions of rupees during the Cricket World Cup.

However, in the past two years, the hub of the business has moved from the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, say those involved in the business. Those neighbourhoods are no longer hotspots for the gamblers.

Many ‘gambling clubs’ in Kharadar have been closed for more than a year amid growing rivalry between criminal gangs and the tightening noose following the September 2013 Rangers-led targeted operation in Karachi. The Cricket World Cup, however, may rejuvenate many inactive operators, says Muhammad Shahzad, a gambler.

“There are many ways to bet but here we mostly rely on three modes –– fancy, lamby and win,” says Shahzad. “Each mode is different and people who are in the business are well aware of this parlance. In ‘fancy’ we put money on sets of overs while ‘lamby’ is played for an entire inning. The third mode ‘win’ is for those who put their money on one of the two playing teams.”

“But these are not the only defined principal modes,” explains Shahzad, saying that every single ball can attract millions of rupees. Managing it locally over the phone, some big bookies are also linked with punters in other countries, he says.

“The deals are done over the phone and money is exchanged only when the match is over. This style of settling deals is called ‘valan’ in betting parlance,” says Shahzad.

Sounding deceptively simple, the business involves risks to money and life however.

“It’s a purely trust-based business,” says Shahzad. “If anyone defies the set rules, withdraws from a commitment, tries to be too smart, they definitely pay the price that can range from their money to their life. People in this business are ruthless and can go to any extent to recover their amount.”

Those acquainted with the dynamics of the gambling world know that Shahzad’s thoughts are spot on. The murder of a well-known bookie in Karachi’s Defence area just a week after India’s win in the finals of the 2011 tournament still haunts many punters.

This ‘trust-based’ business, as Shahzad calls it, is generally believed to enjoy links with police authorities who don’t tend to consider it a serious crime. It is in fact believed that law enforcement personnel only target small operators.

“We are always vigilant and during an event like the Cricket World Cup we monitor gambling very closely,” says Karachi police chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo. Acknowledging that gambling does take place, Thebo argues that the scale is not very large. “Nor does it happen openly with the connivance of the police.”

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2015

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