Behind the glitz and glamour of the IPL lie the “daddies” and the “dabbas”.

The onset of T20 season is also the time for the country’s clandestine betting syndicate to pad up and start their innings, up for grabs is a jackpot worth crores.

Betting in cricket — or for that matter in any sport — is illegal in India, unlike in several other countries where it is a legitimate practice. But betting has exposed the seamier side of cricket with reports of match-fixing and spot-fixing tarnishing the image of the game.

In Patna, betting in IPL has caught on over the past couple of seasons with crores changing hands.

The Telegraph tracked down the modus operandi of the extremely well-oiled betting network in the city which is still a relatively small player in the gambling galaxy. A bookie explained to The Telegraph the working of the network.

A command centre based somewhere in west Asia regulates the rates of betting across the world. The rates, the bookie stressed, are the same across the globe. There are various operational centres in India, including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Jaipur.

“Dabba” is the code word used by the bookies for wireless local loop (WLL) phones for which they have to pay Rs 3,000 monthly. The WLL phones are provided to the bookies by the operational centres.

The punter — the person who places the bets, the bookie, the command centre and the operational centres are connected through WLL phones. The operational centres are sub-categorised into zones — Patna being one of them. Every zone is provided with a unique universal WLL number on which they are asked to leave a missed call when the match is about to start. Around five or six punters are connected to each WLL phone.

Just before a game starts, the man from the command centre will open the day’s play with an offering: for example, the team batting first will score at least 80 in the first 10 overs. Now the punters are asked to lay down their bets, which are carefully noted down.

“Every zonal number is connected to the unique universal WLL number and the betting starts. The person on the other side of the phone never discloses name or location. The same rates are applied all over the country. Last year, 50 WLL phones were used in Patna for betting. This year, the number of WLL phones is between 100 and 125 at different locations of the city,” said a bookie, who regulates betting from Mumbai.

Each operational centre has a “daddy” or the boss. All bookies in zones under an operational centre report to the “daddy” concerned. This is the person who ensures all monetary transactions are carried out without a hitch – all payments are strictly in cash.

The first 10 overs of an IPL innings are coded as “sessions”. After the “session” is over, bets are offered on each delivery. The duration of a “session” is reduced to the first five overs in semi-finals and the final. The punter who wins six bets back to back is offered 20 per cent over and above the winning amount.

It is compulsory for every punter to place bets for the entire duration of a match — one who doesn’t will have an amount equivalent to the lowest sum bet for that particular session or delivery, deducted from his accumulated kitty.

The rates too have been coded. “Quarter” is used for Rs 25,000; “half” is used for Rs 50,000 and “full” for Rs 1 lakh. The bookie source of The Telegraph added that the last two overs of an innings witness high and frantic betting.

“In my circle I have punters from every possible professional field. We keep in touch through SMS. There are a number of bookies working for me from different states. Patna has got a huge potential in terms of betting. My bookie generally approaches them through some acquaintances or in club parties,” added Sanjay Singh (name changed), a resident of Patna and who is a bookie operating from Bangalore.

Giving details about the cash transfer, he said the bookies all across the country get the winning amount next day till 12noon through a human carrier. The bookies are supposed to transfer the winning amount to the punters.

“Usually we transfer the money physically; we don’t use any account number or wire transfers,” added the bookie.

The Patna administration said it was unaware of the betting syndicate. “Till now we have not planned any action as there is no such information available with us,” said Jayant Kant, city superintendent of police, Patna.