India: 3 arrested in connection with alleged illegal gambling

Police in Mangaluru received a tipoff about alleged matka gambling.

India.- Central sub-division police, led by ACP Mahesh Kumar, have arrested three people after they received a tipoff about alleged matka gambling taking place on the ground floor of a building in Mangaluru, Karnataka.

Matka is a form of illegal gambling that originated in India and is popular in some other parts of South Asia. It is a type of lottery game that involved placing bets on the opening and closing rates of cotton transmitted to the Bombay Cotton Exchange from the New York Cotton Exchange.

The game has evolved and is now played with playing cards and involves guessing the correct number or set of numbers to win a prize. Matka is illegal in most parts of India and is associated with organised crime and money laundering.

According to The Mangalorean, those arrested have been identified as Manoj George Noronha (43), a resident of Kudupu Nadumane; Praveen (33), a resident of Kotekar; and Rakesh (47), a resident of Gorigudde Nehru Road in Mangaluru. Police seized items worth Rs 75,000, including Rs 3,000 in cash, two mobile phones, two computers and other equipment. Police have launched further investigations.

Elsewhere in India, the Local Crime Branch of Kolhapur police has arrested 25 people in raids at six locations in the city of Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Officers seized material worth Rs 2 lakh.