Hyderabad: Matka gambling or satta, a type of lottery-type guessing gambling game, is being rampantly organised in three cafeterias near the Sanathnagar Police Station, and also at the bus stop in the area, for lakhs of rupees every day, sources said.
Despite being banned in 12 states, including Telangana, 17 different groups have been organising the betting game at bus stops and cafeterias over the past 22 years, with no arrest or complaint, they said.
A. Kumar, a stacker who takes part in the game, said that around 200 organisers and punters and 600 stackers make a daily turnover of over ₹ 3 crore from the cafes, bus stand, an auto stand and at a location near a fruit shop in Sanathnagar.
Man Singh, who works as a driver for a businessman, said: “My boss is addicted to matka. He daily bets over ₹ 4 lakh on Kalyan matka. Once, he won ₹ 8 lakh in a month and another time, lost ₹ 1.12 crore in a month.”
Social worker Ramesh Singh said that the gambling hub is at a walkable distance from the police station, but no action is taken in this regard.
Prasad Rao, a punter, said that the new generation of matka organisers in Sanathnagar are allegedly supported by local representatives. “It's a form of organised crime,” he said.
Matka/satta is a Maharashtrian stacking game founded by Ratan Katri. It involves punters choosing a number, based on the parameters of the game, as it can be single digits, double digits or even triple. Kalyan matka is among the most popular type, wherein bets are placed before the organiser, Kalyan, of Maharashtra, releases the number for the day.
However, stackers claimed that except for local matka organisers, those doing so for the Kalyan matka and in Pune of Maharashtra are cheating participants.
“If majority of stackers have stacked on a single number such as 1, the heads release another number on which a smaller amount is stacked to pocket the cash. They do this once in three to four months so that their MO (modus operandi) is not revealed,” said Santosh Naik, a former matka organiser.
“No stacker has earned in matka so far. Initially, they win to recover and again place stakes, which ends up in a loss and leads to a cycle of betting and getting addicted to matka,” Santosh said.
