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| Satta operators make a killing during major sports events |
Jamshedpur, March 15: An influential bookie of Ranchi has made his entry into the satta market of the steel city. He is set to make the most of the cricket fever that has gripped people of all ages.
The Indian team’s victory over Pakistan in the pulsating opening one-dayer at Karachi has made the bookie go for the kill with a vengeance. He is operating in tandem with local satta operators and has made a fast buck in no time.
Sources in the satta market told The Telegraph that the bookie’s network spreads across Calcutta, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and other important cities of the country.
The rates are finalised in Dubai and are subsequently transmitted to the markets spread across India.
The entire network is controlled by a bookie in Dubai. “Bhaiyaji, as he is known in the betting circles, has arrived with all the gadgets — mobile sets, computers and so on — necessary to strike a deal with interested parties,” they added.
Efforts to contact the Ranchi-based bookie failed to materialise as he is learnt to have left for the capital. He will come to the city tomorrow morning, a satta operator said.
Mukhtar Singh (name changed), a Jugsalai-based satta operator, said the bookie from Ranchi is an experienced man in the field of cricket betting and has a firm base in cities like Mumbai and Calcutta.
“He used to operate from Mumbai but has shifted base to Ranchi, where some of his old acquaintances, that is, satta operators, reside,” sources said.
“The bookies here had a meeting with him on March 9. The modalities were worked out and we were explained the logistics of registering bets for or against the two teams,” they added.
A bookie said betting worth Rs 50 lakh took place in the city before the first one-dayer. “The stakes are going to be much higher now, especially after India’s victory in Karachi on Saturday. It will be beyond our expectations,” the satta operator, who also runs an STD booth, said. He added that the odds are in favour of the men in blue.