Ex-ICC chief says India is a hub for illegal sport betting

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

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Ex-ICC chief says India is a hub for illegal sport betting

Ex-ICC chief says India is a hub for illegal sport betting - Taipei Times

LEGALIZE, REGULATE:The former head of the world’s top authority on cricket said betting was too endemic in India to wipe the practice out
AFP, NEW DELHI

A former International Cricket Council (ICC) chief yesterday accused India of fostering corruption in the sport, saying illegal betting in the country was the root cause of the problem.

Ehsan Mani, who headed the ICC between 2003 and 2006, estimated that Sunday’s Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan in Dhaka, Bangladesh, attracted US$500 million in bets, but did not say how he had arrived at the figure.

“Unless the betting industry is brought under control in India, you can’t stop match-fixing,” he told the New Delhi-based Mail Today in an interview. “There’s no doubt that India, certainly Delhi and Mumbai, is the epicenter of cricket betting.”

“I’m a strong advocate of legalizing betting in India, and bringing it under control of regulatory authorities so that ... the conduct of bookies can be monitored properly,” he said. “You’ll find that the risk of corrupting players around the world will reduce significantly.”

Mani urged the ICC, headed by Chief Minister of Maharashtra Sharad Pawar, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), to pressure the government to legalize betting.

“It’s a matter of how you control it because there’s no way, I believe, that it can be stamped out in India. So, if [it] can’t be stamped out, how do they control it in a way that it can stop corrupting the game,” Mani said.

Mani, a Pakistani chartered accountant, said India should look at the legal gambling systems in Britain and Australia.

Legal betting firms inform the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit if they encounter suspicious betting patterns, Mani said.

Mani said lucrative Twenty20 tournaments, such as the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash in Australia, had emboldened illegal bookies.

“Obviously, high profile matches like the IPL [Indian Premier League] and Big Bash leave a lot of scope for players to be corrupted; whether they are being corrupted or not, I can’t say,” he said. “I think IPL must have added hugely to the cricket betting industry in India.”

BCCI spokesman Rajiv Shukla was not available to comment on Mani’s remarks.

Cricket has been under a cloud since 2000 when three former captains — the late Hansie Cronje of South Africa, Mohammad Azharuddin of India and Salim Malik of Pakistan — were handed life bans for their alleged dealings with bookmakers.

Three Pakistani cricketers were last year jailed in Britain after being found guilty of spot-fixing. Indian bookmakers have often been accused of underhand dealings with players.

[Hafizzz]

shame on India.

[fd24]

^^^^^^

There are already inquiries being made as regards to the fraud and illegal betting that takes place. The problem is the amounts of $$ is enormous and it the people behind these activities are quite powerful. I believe they have a lot of key figures involved with the administration of cricket on their payroll hence any investigation has to be done carefully - if you are going to achieve success.

The game alone on Sunday had half a billion dollars on it - this is an extraordinary figure.

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Match-fixing: Bookies using Bollywood honey traps to lure cricketers?

Match-fixing: Bookies using Bollywood honey traps to lure cricketers? | News | NDTVSports.com
ESPNcricinfo staff
Last updated on Monday, 12 March 2012 21:08


New Delhi: Illegal Indian bookmakers remain uncowed by successful prosecutions against professional cricketers involved in match-fixing judging by an undercover investigation by the Sunday Times. The UK newspaper has brought yet more claims that corruption opportunities remain rife and have again brought into question the ability of the ICC to police the game without concerted support from the authorities worldwide. (Also read: Home boards should do more to crack down on fixing: Ex-ICC Chief)

The ICC has routinely promised that it will investigate the claims uncovered by the newspaper's investigation. An Indian bookmaker boasted that he and his associates could fix games worldwide, but no specific players or matches were mentioned. (Also Read: ICC to probe county match-fixing charges)

The bookmaker repeated claims that a match in the later stages of the World Cup last year was fixed, but offered no evidence to substantiate rumours that first surfaced on internet websites even as the match was taking place. (Also Read: Was India vs Pakistan World Cup semi-final fixed?)

Among the most startling claims is that bookmakers have now resorted to honey traps by using Bollywood actresses to tempt cricketers into corruption. Players holding discussions with unidentified businessmen are now immediately under suspicion, but beautiful girls have tracked cricketers on tour since the game began and the tactic could prove harder for the ICC to monitor and control.

In the past six months, jail sentences have been meted out to three Pakistan players - Salman Butt, captain at the time, and two fast bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif; Meryvn Westfield has become the first player to receive a custodial sentence for fixing in English county cricket; and, in the High Court in London, Chris Cairns' libel action against the former IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi, has brought allegations about corruption in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League into focus.

Add barely concealed concerns within the international players' association (FICA) about the potential for corruption in Bangladesh's new Twenty20 league and the ICC's anti-corruption unit will be keenly aware that it has reached a pivotal point in its worldwide attempts to clean up the game.

The Sunday Times investigation reported the bookmaker's claims that "tens of thousands of pounds are on offer to fix matches, typically £44,000 ($70,000) to batsmen for slow scoring; £50,000 ($80,000) for bowlers who concede runs; and as much as £750,000 ($1.2m) to players or officials who can guarantee the outcome of a match."

The bookmaker, surreptitiously captured on low-quality video, boasted that he could fix big international events such as Test matches, Twenty20s, games in both the Indian Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League, and county matches in England. The person reportedly told the paper that English county cricket was a growing market for fixing since the matches were low profile.

Suggestions that English county matches are particularly vulnerable "because nobody monitors them" accentuates the belief that county cricket faces one of the most crucial seasons in its history.

A Delhi bookmaker was reported as saying: "English county cricket is a good new market. They are low-profile matches and nobody monitors them. That's why good money can be made there without any hassle if we can get the players to play for us."

The ECB has already strengthened its anti-corruption education programme in the wake of the Westfield affair with all players instructed to complete an awareness course before the start of the 2012 season and the establishment of a hotline at Lord's to report suspicious activities.

Another bookmaker claimed that he had worked with players from most of the main cricketing nations to fix games, but that he had turned down the chance to work with New Zealand players because it was not worthwhile with more lucrative match-fixing opportunities on offer in the IPL. "I was invited to strike a deal with some New Zealanders but I didn't go," he said. "The IPL starts on April 4; then everyone will be doing it." (Also Read: New Zealand Cricket slams 'baseless' fixing claims)

The newspaper quoted an ICC spokesman as saying: "Betting on cricket in the legal and illegal markets continues to grow rapidly and, with many, many millions of dollars being bet on every match, the threat of corrupters seeking to influence the game has not gone away."

[eowyn]

Ehsan Mani's gone mad after losing bet on Pakistan ..

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

^^^^^^

There are already inquiries being made as regards to the fraud and illegal betting that takes place. The problem is the amounts of $$ is enormous and it the people behind these activities are quite powerful. I believe they have a lot of key figures involved with the administration of cricket on their payroll hence any investigation has to be done carefully - if you are going to achieve success.

The game alone on Sunday had half a billion dollars on it - this is an extraordinary figure.

What is your view on the above quoted text!!! Do you think Pakistan was involved on the fixing specially looking at their fielding, bowling and batting performance towards the end???

[fd24]

What is your view on the above quoted text!!! Do you think Pakistan was involved on the fixing specially looking at their fielding, bowling and batting performance towards the end???

Its difficult to say. My heart would say the players of both sides would not bow to the arms of bookies but the monies involved are extraordinary. It is said by the bookies that it would cost in the region of "$100,000 to have the openers in the bag".
Considering the amounts they get per year ($60,000) for a prime player per year - the temptation is their. Their life span in the team is probably 3 to 4 years on average - becomes very tempting for people that have limited education and those that dont have any family $ to fall back onto after cricket.
I think the source and the almost "mafia style" of bookies has to be looked at. We know its happening and we know where it is - lets see what the Indian hierarchy do about it.

[indianrabbit]

Corruption happens where money is, if u got what I mean.

[lem34]

I would say India is the epicenter of illegal cricket gambling activity

[zer_0]

HATE TO ADMIT IT BUT ITS TRUE.................

any1 who watch the WC 2011 final will admit that the match was fixed.....

sri lanka never put much effort in this match.

[INDIAISM]

I would say India is the epicenter of illegal cricket gambling activity

If India is a Epicenter of illegal gambling Then Pakistan is the Epicenter of Match Fixing.....

[sarthak]

HATE TO ADMIT IT BUT ITS TRUE.................

any1 who watch the WC 2011 final will admit that the match was fixed.....

sri lanka never put much effort in this match.

Yeah yeah , everything is fixed. Even the world cup 2003 final was fixed. Didn't you see how India let Australia get past 300 and were all out on 234.
Even the world cup 2007 final was fixed. They want us to believe it just rained. Seriously? Is it possible that it JUST rained on the day of the final. I'm sure the bookies knew it was going to rain and that australia would win by D/L

Even the world cup 1983 final was fixed. How can a team NOT chase 183 in 60 overs. Is it humanly possible? I'm sure west indies team took some form of bribe.

Even the Asia cup is fixed. How can 2 teams just have simply lost to Bangladesh. Basically , everything is fixed.

[hinduguy]

I support what he is saying. We should make betting legal. Most govts still are running on old ideas that alcohol, gambling, prositution are vice and should be banned. But many other countries have got better success by controlling it rather than banning it.
If we allow betting, legal betting agencies will open shop which will improve transparency in betting, remove criminal and underworld control from betting and reduce match fixing. Govt will also earn lot of revenue.

[BATMAN]

Ehsan Mani's gone mad after losing bet on Pakistan ..

He is drawing connection with betting-lorgat-India!!

Lorgat being insider has made Indians rich!

Terrorists and Lorgat both are partners in decline of Pakistan cricket.

[Mattrixx]

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Corruption is the piller of success