Ahmedabad: Unexpected twists and turns, underdogs as winners and favourites as losers - the DLF Indian Premier League has all that a cricket bookie would dream of.
Yet the Twenty20 tournament has not ignited any betting frenzy.
Twenty-eight-year-old Samir Surti, who used to bet on cricket matches regularly, for instance is more worried about the stock markets, where he has lost Rs 12 lakh, leaving him with no money to place bets on.
“Once I recover my lost money in the stock market, only then will I think of cricket satta (betting) again,” he says.
There are many like Samir, who are at odds with the satta market, as they do not have the liquidity or the courage to take any more financial setbacks. The bookies also are not taking chances.
“People have no money left and we have to be vigilant with punters. Yes, business has suffered in the IPL season,” says a bookie RK.
Among the few who are still in the business, Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders, with two consecutive wins, have emerged the most favoured team.
The odds for the Knight Riders in the current market are 1.5 to 1.
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