Illegal gambling on Covid-19 in India
In absence of professional sports, gamblers have turned to betting on pandemic statistics.
India.- With professional sports still banned in India due to Covid-19 prevention measures, illegal bookmakers have been taking bets the pandemic itself.
In Delhi, where lockdown began on March 25, gamblers have been betting on lockdown extensions, infection rates and other figures related to the pandemic.
The bets are usually placed by phone calls to illegal bookmakers, Gambling Insider reports.
One bookmaker told the Hindustan Times that clients were using the unlicensed system to repay debts or pump money into their businesses during lockdown restrictions.
Sports betting is allowed only on horse-racing in India, but the International Centre for Sports Security in Doha estimates the illegal sports gambling market is worth about US$150 billion per year. Unlicensed online gaming has also been gaining ground.
