Lahore: Besides the spectators and cricket fans, cricket gamblers were also among the worst sufferers by the calling off of the fourth Test between the two sides at the Oval on Sunday, following the “ball tempering” allegation against the Pakistani side.
Once the match was called off and awarded to England, the bookies first refused to return the bets amounts to the gamblers, and in some cases they returned after cutting ten per cent of the amount.
Gamblers at Lahore’s almost 350 gambling dens had made bets to the tune of Rs 93 million in Pakistan’s favour after the team’s spectacular performance in the previous innings, the Daily Times quoted sources as saying.
Gambling rates changed as soon as the new ball came in, as the bookies tried to lure the gamblers back into new bets over whether the match would continue, but did not succeed, they added.
One Asim, a regular gambler, who had placed a Rs 1,30,000 bet on Pakistan’s victory, said: “I have no clue to what just happened. My money has gone down the drain”.
Another gambler said that he had placed a bet for Rs 90,000 on Pakistan but feared he would lose his money. “I don’t know what the bookies are going to do but I’m sure they’re not going to return our money. We can’t even involve the authorities because gambling is illegal,” he said.
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