The IPL has, over time revealed itself as a bit of cesspool involving match fixing, systemic corruption in the highest echelons, involvement of bookies and criminals, and widespread illegal betting. Most worrying is the recent trend that has come to light: children betting on the IPL. A recent reference made to this by KKR captain Gautam Gambhir in an article raises some very serious concerns.
Came as a shock to Gautam Gambhir
Meeting a school principal in Pune shed light on a serious problem: research conducted by Anita Pauline Dey, school principal and research scholar in conjunction with the authorities revealed that kids of classes 6 to 10 were found to be placing bets on IPL fixtures in several states. Typically these were rich kids using their allowance money and phones to place bets via online syndicates.
Gambhir was shocked at these revelations and via his article, he appealed to parents everywhere to keep a check on how their kids were using their phones and their money. The captain of the KKR team hastened to clarify that this should not be blamed on the IPL however. What with the water crisis and all the other controversies, the cricket event has quite enough to contend with in any case.
Kids betting on IPL is not new
A popular British Daily had reported the incident of betting on IPL among school kids back in 2013. Kids from top schools in Delhi were found to be involved in betting through bookies and via a mobile app. Several children had been withdrawn from their institutions after these incidents. Supposedly it works like this: the main bookies have their punters or go-betweens, typically kids of classes 11 and 12. These kids get in touch with other students either interested in cricket or those who play cricket and get them hooked onto betting with the promise of easy money.
Some kids would even steal from their parents or sell their gadgets and their bikes to feed their gambling habit. Kids bet amounts in the thousands and while some kids’ betting was discovered others successfully managed to evade getting caught because parents did not keep track of what they did with their pocket money.
Author – Reena Daruwalla
