MUMBAI: Bangladesh has initiated a crackdown on illegal betting during the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League. Police raids have been carried out at cricket stadia across the country, and at least 77 people have been ‘thrown out of two cricket grounds in Dhaka and Sylhet in the past few days on allegations of betting during the BPL.
An AFP report quotes BPL secretary Ismail Haider Mallick as saying that 10 of the offenders were Indian nationals, and used their mobile phones to place live bets before scores were broadcast on television and online. Betting is illegal in Bangladesh.
The bettors were monitored at the venues, before being caught and evicted with assistance from special branch police, Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP.
“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,” Mallick said.
The BPL, modelled on the Indian Premier League (IPL), has faced allegations of betting since the first two editions in 2011 and 2012 were blighted by a match-fixing scandal involving players and team owners. The Bangladesh cricket board has tried to curb betting, but feels law enforcement agencies should step in with stringent measures. Last year, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission blocked 12 betting websites to curb gambling during cricket matches.
Nearly 50 foreign cricketers, including Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga, the West Indies’ Chris Gayle, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and England’s Jos Buttler are taking part in the seven-team BPL tournament this year.
