Matka Gambling

Matka Gambling or satta is a form of betting and lottery which originally involved betting on the opening and closing rates of cotton transmitted from the New York Cotton Exchange to the Bombay Cotton Exchange.

It dates back to before Indian independence, when it was known as Ankada Jugar ("figures gambling"). In the 1960s, the system was replaced with other methods of generating random numbers, such as drawing playing cards or pulling slips from a large earthenware pot known as a matka.

Matka gambling is illegal in India. Both betting establishments and satta matka houses were outlawed under the Public Gambling Act of 1867. Whoever is discovered playing will be punished.

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History 

In the original version of the game, wagers were placed on the opening and closing cotton rates transmitted from the New York Cotton Exchange to the Bombay Cotton Exchange via teleprinters.

In 1961, the New York Cotton Exchange discontinued the practice, prompting punters to seek alternative means of sustaining the matka business. Ratan Khatri, a Sindhi immigrant from Karachi, Pakistan, introduced the concept of declaring the opening and closing prices of fictitious goods and playing cards. On pieces of paper, numbers would be written and placed in a matka, a large earthen pitcher. One individual would then draw a slip of paper and announce the winning numbers. However, the name "matka" remained.

In 1962, Kalyanji Bhagat started the Worli matka. Ratan Khatri introduced the New Worli matka in 1964, with minor modifications to the game's rules and more favorable odds for the public. Kalyanji Bhagat's matka ran every day of the week, whereas Ratan Khatri's matka ran only Monday through Friday, and as it gained immense popularity and became synonymous with his name, it came to be known as the Main Ratan matka.

During the heyday of textile mills in Mumbai, many mill workers played matka, resulting in the opening of bookies' shops in and around mill areas, primarily in Parel and Kalbadevi in Central and South Mumbai, respectively.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the matka industry reached its peak. Each month, wagers in excess of Rs. 500 crore would be placed. The massive crackdown on matka dens by the Mumbai Police forced dealers to relocate to the city's outskirts. They migrated to Gujarat, Rajasthan, and other states. With no major betting establishments in the city, many gamblers turned to online and zhatpat lotteries for entertainment. Meanwhile, some wealthy gamblers began to wager on cricket matches.

In 1995, there were more than 2,000 large and medium-sized bookmakers in the city and surrounding communities. Since then, that number has significantly decreased to less than 300. Throughout the 2000s, the average monthly turnover remained close to 100 crore rupees. The modern matka industry is headquartered in Maharashtra.

Matka Kings 

Kalyanji Bhagat 

Kalyanji Bhagat was born a farmer in the Kutch, Gujarat village of Ratadia, Games Wala. Kalyanji's family name was Gala, and the title Bhagat, a modification of bhakt, was bestowed upon them by the King of Kutch in recognition of their religious devotion.

He arrived in Bombay as a migrant in 1941 and initially worked odd jobs such as selling spices and managing a grocery store. In the 1960s, while operating a grocery store in Worli, Kalyanji Bhagat initiated the earliest form of matka gambling by accepting wagers based on the opening and closing rates of cotton traded on the New York wholesale market. He formerly conducted business from the premises of his building Vinod Mahal in Worli. After his passing in the early 1990s, his son Suresh Bhagat succeeded in his business.

Ratan Khatri

From the early 1960s to the mid-1990s, Ratan Khatri, also known as the original Matka King, controlled a nationwide illegal gambling network with international connections that involved several lakh gamblers and dealt in billions of rupees. 

Khatri's matka syndicate began in the busy business district of Dhanji Street in Mumbadevi, where idlers would wager on the fluctuating cotton prices from the New York market. As the number of wagers and bettors grew, it gradually became a major gambling hub. As a result of a dispute over a winning number and the New York market's five-day week schedule, compulsive gamblers began to seek alternatives. Khatri founded his own syndicate in response to requests from his friends and began drawing three cards to determine the daily number. Khatri drew three cards twice a day, at 9:00pm (the 'open') and 12:00am (the 'close').

The sum of the open and closed card values would determine the winning number. The numbers would be transmitted to all domestic and international betting hubs. Returns for a 25-price wager were at least 2.25 rupees. It was believed that Khatri's betting was more legitimate because the cards were reportedly opened in front of customers. During the emergency in India, Khatri was imprisoned for nineteen months. In the early 1990s, he retired from the gambling industry and moved to Tardeo, but he continued to wager on his favorite horses at the Mah alaxmi Racecourse. He passed away on May 9, 2020.

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