Betting: a cat and mouse game

Lahore
While the best teams inthe world battle for the cricket World Cup beginning on Tuesday, Pakistanipolice and bookies will be playing a game of cat and mouse that the bookies looksure to win.All forms of gambling are illegal in cricket-mad, mostly MuslimPakistan but fans are expected to wager huge amounts during the six-week WorldCup that starts on March 13.And the bookies are relishing the prospects."Everyone's a gambler in Lahore," said one bookie in the eastern Pakistani city.A smartly dressed man in his early 30s, the bookie runs his operation from asmall room with a telephone in a bustling city-centre side street.Lahore policehave mounted a crackdown on gambling in recent weeks, raiding 75 gambling densand arresting 431 people, mostly for playing cards, said city police chief MalikMohammad Iqbal.But Iqbal said far more money is bet on cricket than on the cardgames his men have been breaking up."We have to be very watchful during theWorld Cup. The ongoing campaign will effect their morale and their business."The Lahore bookie, who declined to be identified, said he had been laying lowduring the crackdown but he wasn't worried about his World Cup business.
"Thecrackdown will be finished by the time the World Cup starts," he saidconfidently.The bookie said he regarded himself as a medium-sized operatoramong the city's numerous bookmakers. He said he usually made the equivalent ofabout $1,000 during a regular international cricket match.During the World Cup,he said expected to get closer to $10,000 a match.
"It's a big event and thematches aren't fixed," he said.One man associated with a betting operation saidbig-time gamblers could put 10 million rupees ($165,000) on a single match. Manymillions of dollars would be changing hands over the World Cup, he said.

The Lahore bookie also said he wasn't worried about the policebecause he paid them off -- nearly $700 a month."I pay money, why should I bearrested?" he asked. "If the police plan a raid someone in the station will tellme."Iqbal acknowledged some police might be tempted by bribes."Maybe this istrue but I've never received any money," he told Reuters. "If someone is foundindulging in this they'll be taken to task."In the teeming southern city ofKarachi, bookies said they had begun taking World Cup bets."We're expecting aboom because the timing of the matches is such it will allow us to do ourbusiness smoothly," said a Karachi bookie who also declined to be identified.The World Cup is being held in the West Indies, with matches starting in theearly evening, Pakistani time. Sixteen teams, including Pakistan, are competing."Australia is the favourite followed by South Africa," said the Karachi bookie.
"We take all types of bets. The most popular is fancy fixing where a client betson any ball."All bets were made by word of mouth over the telephone, with nopaper trail for the police to find, both bookies said.
"A client is identifiedby a special number and he just calls in and places his bet," said the Karachibookie.Karachi police chief Azhar Ali Farooqi seemed resigned to a wave ofWorld Cup betting."We carry out raids and discourage these people when we getreliable information. Cricket is such a big passion it's natural for people whogamble to also bet on it," he said.
"We've made no advance raids yet but we'rekeeping watch."Cricket fan and gambler Danish Karim can't wait."The World Cupis the biggest cricket event for us because all the teams are involved. It is somuch more fun," he said.He said gambling was particularly popular among brokersat the Karachi Stock Exchange."The World Cup will be a big event for them asalways."