KOCHI: The Fort Kochi and Mattanchery areas have become a hub for the gambling dens. According to the reports, there are a number of gambling centres operating in the area without any interruption from the authorities.Usually, these dens are populated by the daily labourers who, in charm of some quick money, put their earnings at stake. The most popular gambling game at these dens is Cotton Kali, which uses single and two digit figures to bet.“In West Kochi alone, there are around 30 places where people play Cotton Kali on a regular basis. It is played using numbers,” says a native of Fort Kochi on conditions of anonymity.The main attraction of the game is the huge prize money. “In the cotton figure game one can win Rs 70 on betting Re 1, which means betting Rs 100 can lead to winning Rs 7000. There are labourers and construction workers who work for daily wages. If they earn Rs 500 a day, they gamble at least half the amount,” he said.There are a number of petty shops and provision stores where the gambling takes place.The shop-owner gets a commission for this and the locals allege that police is also involved in this. “They have their share and take no action,” said the source.Every day, there will be three games - one around 11 am, the second around 4 pm and the last around 7 pm. “We play for Rs 50 or 100 every day. There is no guarantee and there have been no regular winners. But we play thinking that one day will turn out to be our lucky day. Now it has become a habit for most of us,” said a gambler.But according to the police, there has been no reports of gambling in the place recently.“There used to be Cotton Kali centres and gangs in the past but as of now there are no cases or issues related to gambling here,” said Fort Kochi police officials.
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