Kurnool: Cricket betting has caught the fancy of youth in Rayalaseema districts. During the cricket season, be it T20, Test matches or anything you name it, betting is rampant with lakhs of rupees placed at stake, a police officer said. The vice of cricket betting is widely prevalent in Rayalaseema towns like Proddatur, Dharmavaram, Tirupati, Kadapa, Madanapalle, Rayachoti and Hindupur, Guntakal as well as Tadipatri. People with easy money like red sanders and mineral resources smugglers are behind this activity, it is learnt.

Kurnool youth are increasingly getting attracted to cricket betting. With the arrest of bookies in Nandyal town on Thursday, betting mania has attracted the attention of people. Kurnool SP A. Ravi Krishna said that all efforts are being made to nab the culprits responsible for the sinister trade in a gentleman's game like cricket. The India-England T20 series had become a rallying point for bookies to attract wagers and cricket fans to make a quick buck. The odds are against the novice betters who are dra-wn to the vice of betting, said the SP.


District Olympic Association Secretary Ramanjaneyulu said that there is no other game that attracts as much attention and hence money as cricket. Activities like betting vitiate the sporting atmosphere, he said. The bookies are generally professional club owners and matka organisers. Nandyal, Adoni, Yemmiganur, Dhone, Koilkuntla and Kurnool city have organised betting gangs that lure and collect money from prospective betters. A police officer, explaining the modus operandi, said that bets are made based on the odds in the game. For example, in India Vs England game, the variables like players' track record, pitch conditions, run rate of the players and teams, bounce on the wicket or weather are taken into consideration by wagers, he said. In Kurnool district alone, at least 60 people have been arrested for indulging in cricket betting, the police said.

SP A. Ravi Krishna said that special teams have been formed to monitor and book the culprits in vulnerable areas like Nandyal, Adoni and Yemmiganur. With the spread of internet and Whatsapp, the bookies are changing their hideouts and it is throwing a challenge to the law enforcement officials to nab the culprits.