Bangladesh Conducts Police Raids In Stadium To Tackle Illegal Betting In BPL
Nov 20, 2017 at 1:12 PM
In an attempt to curb illegal betting in cricket stadiums, Bangladesh has launched a series of police raids; the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) officials confirmed on Saturday (November 18).
The last few days have witnessed more than 77 people being thrown out of cricket grounds in Dhaka and Sylhet after being suspected of betting during the lucrative tournament. Talking to reporters, BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick insisted that the offenders, ten of whom were Indian nationals, used their mobile phones to place live bets before scores were broadcast on television and online.
“Matches go on air four to five seconds or in some cases nine seconds after the original actions take place [on the ground]. Gamblers were using the time gap to do betting,” he said.
Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus said confirmed the news, saying:
“The bettors were monitored at the venues, before being caught and evicted with assistance from special branch police.”
The league was started in February 2012 on the lines of the highly successful Indian Premier League. However, the tournament did not progress on the desired lines as it was dogged by betting allegations since its inaugural edition with players and team-owners also being involved in malpractices.
Leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported last week that betting has become widespread in the country with people leaving no chances to place a bet on the BPL games. When asked about that, Mallick said curbing the menace depends entirely on the law-enforcing agencies.
“We are trying to create awareness … but we can’t stop betting around the country. It entirely depends on the law-enforcing agencies,” he said.
This is not the first time the officials have taken the step of raiding the stadiums. In 2015, at least four suspected bookies were thrown out of cricket stadiums. Last year, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission blocked 12 betting websites to stop gambling. However, the desired results are yet to be seen.
Meanwhile, the likes of Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Lasith Malinga, Shahid Afridi and Jos Buttler are playing in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
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