Season 3 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is turning out to be profitable for the bookies.
While the IPL this year is expected to generate revenues of about
Rs. 4,500 crore, it will fetch the bookies a turnover 10 times over that amount.
The bookies have already done business of
around
Rs. 23,000 crore, with every match witnessing bets of about
Rs. 650 crore to
Rs. 700 crore. They expect the turnover to be between
Rs. 45,000 crore and
Rs. 50,000 crore by the time the league ends.
IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi had last month said the league is likely to generate revenue of $1 billion (over Rs. 4,500 crore).
“As the IPL is getting good response, bets are also flowing from all over the country,” a Mumbai bookie said, requesting anonymity as betting is illegal in India.
With the IPL reaching mid-way, the bookies are favouring Mumbai Indians to win the cup. The team has been quoted at Rs. 3.4 for every rupee on bet. This means, if Mumbai Indians win, a punter will earn Rs. 3.4 for every rupee he bet, besides getting his rupee back.
As per betting terms, the lesser the rate, the more are the chances of the team winning.
Delhi Daredevils are the second favourite of the bookies at Rs. 4.2, followed by Royal hallengers Bangalore at Rs. 4.7. The bookies have almost rooted Kings XI Punjab out of the tournament, quoting it at Rs. 100.
The bookies are also placing bets on teams how many runs teams can score in the first nine overs and then in the remaining 11. “The first nine overs are called first session while the remaining are called lambi pari (long innings),” the bookie said.
To dodge the police, the bookies are avoiding talking on cellphones as much as possible. “The schedule for the next day is sent through SMSes along with the opening rates for those matches,” the bookie said. The bets are, however, taken on phone.
He added that the semi-finals and final are expected to see bets of higher amounts.
Bookies expect each semi-final match to fetch business of about Rs. 1,500 crore and the final about Rs. 3,500 to Rs. 4,000 crore.