PESHAWAR, Jan 22: Gambling on prize bond numbers has been going on unchecked in the city despite official ban across the country.
The military government had placed a ban on sale of prize bond numbers few years back throughout the country. Interestingly, Peshawar happens to be the only city in the country where the government orders in this regard are yet to be enforced.
The big dealers of prize bond numbers approached the higher court against the government decision, but they failed to get a verdict in their favour.
Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani in his maiden speech soon after the oath-taking ceremony had announced complete ban on gambling and use of liquor in the province, but the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government also failed to stop the open gambling dens in the city.
Thousands of people put on stake millions of rupees on every prize bond draw, held twice in a month, to try their luck. But the ultimate winners in the gambling of prize bond numbers are only the organisers of the game.
Elsewhere in the city, including, Saddar Bazaar, Qissakhawani Bazaar and Karimpura area are among those places where dozens of shops are opened for the gambling on prize bond numbers.
There are different types of games devised by the dealers. The prize bond numbers of different denomination carry different prizes, according to the size of the value of the prize bond. The dealer sell out a single number to a 10,000 number serial.
The prize money vary according to the value of the purchased numbers. The dealers also offer electronic appliances, cell phones and cars to the lucky winners as prizes.
“Once I had won Rs100,000 some three years back. But since then I lost the money four times more than the winning prize,” Aqil Shah, who was selecting numbers in a shop in Qissakhawani Bazaar, told Dawn here on Wednesday.
“I know it is gambling and against the injunction of Islam, but I want to recover the lost money,” he said optimistically.
He complained that like the government tax deduction on winning a prize bond, the dealer also deduct 15 per cent on the winning amount.
A price bond number dealer, requesting anonymity, told this correspondent that selling of prize bound numbers also continued in other parts of the country, including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.
“But since the official ban on the sale of prize bond numbers, the other cities’ dealers engage in this illegal practice secretly. And Peshawar is the only city where the numbers game is being played openly,” he maintained.
Another dealer in Saddar Bazaar said most of the prize bond number dealers were also bookmakers and anxiously waiting for the cricket World Cup to be commenced in South Africa from Feb 9.
“All these shops are also match-fixing centres and have been active in making contacts with the big bookies in Lahore and Karachi before the World Cup matches start,” he maintained.
He said the small bookmakers in other parts of the city were also active to start the illegal practice for the World Cup. Some of them had purchased big-screen television sets to attack the people for betting, he said.
“Even the teenagers and college students also stake money on matches,” he added.
The police knew all about gambling, but never tried to shut down the open dens in the city, with the reasons best known to the high authorities.