Thaindian News

Panaji, July 21 (IANS) After consistently campaigning for the closure of offshore casinos on moral grounds, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday demanded the immediate regularisation of matka, an illegal but popular form of gambling in Goa.
Speaking during the monsoon session of the Goa legislative assembly, former agriculture minister Dayanand Mandrekar said that if gambling in casinos for the rich was legal, then the poor too should be allowed to indulge legally in matka gambling.

“The government should now regularise matka without delay. In Goa, the lives of thousands of families are linked to matka. They should be allowed to gamble just like the rich are,” Mandrekar, the BJP legislator from Siolim said.

Matka is an illegal form of gambling which gained immense popularity in Mumbai in the 1970s. It functions six days a week, virtually like a lottery, where lucky numbers are generated twice every day.

Matka’s popularity stems from the fact that one can wager a bet of even Re.1 and the gambling is pegged as a multi-million rupee industry in the state.

“Poor men can earn with matka. Why is the government being partial to the rich alone? Getting a number right on one slip, a poor person can earn thousands of rupees,” Mandrekar said.

The BJP legislator alleged that while the casino lobby used goons to ensure that legitimate winners were deprived of the winning money, matka operators on the other hand were ‘honest’ while disbursing winnings.

Reacting to Madrekar’s impassioned plea, Speaker Pratapsing Rane quipped that the BJP could think of incorporating the issue of legalising matka in the party’s next election manifesto.

In 2008 alone, 619 people were arrested by the Goa police in raids on matka gambling dens.