Matka Gambling in India - A Short History and the Different Ways to Play the Game
Although illegal in India, matka gambling is a very popular form of entertainment amongst punters who are keen to try their luck on something other than lotteries or cricket matches. But let’s first start off with what matka means. Matka is the term for a large earthenware pot in India from which cards or lottery numbers were picked. These numbers were bets on the opening and closing rates of cotton transmitted from the New York Cotton Exchange. This form of gambling, synonymous with Satta gambling, originates before the era of Indian independence when it was known as Ankada Jugar or ‘figures gambling’. In the 1960s, the system was replaced by other ways of generating random numbers, including pulling slips from a matka or dealing playing cards. We cover this and the best online casino in Indian rupees here in this article.
Produced by:
Editorial Team
Published: 7 December 2018
Matka Gambling in India: A Game that Started with a Pot
Originally, betting would take place on the opening and closing rates of cotton as transmitted to the Bombay Cotton Exchange from the New York Cotton Exchange using teleprinters. However, this practice was stopped by the New York Cotton Exchange in 1961, which meant that punters were forced to look for alternative ways to keep the betting business alive. An individual, who would later become famous for this type of betting, by the name of Rattan Khatri introduced the idea of declaring opening and closing rates of imaginary products. Numbers would be written on pieces of paper and put into a pot. A single individual would then draw a card and declare the winning numbers.
In the following year, 1962, Kalyanji Bhagat started the Worli matka, while two years later, in 1964, Rattan Khatri introduced a new form of the abovementioned game to players with slight modifications to the rules.
According to sources, during the flourishing of textile mills in Mumbai, many mill workers played matka, which resulted in bookies opening their shops in and around the mill areas, which were mainly located in central Mumbai. This location became the hub of the matka betting business in Mumbai.
“Thereafter, during the decades of the 1980s and 1990s, the matka business saw its peak where high betting volumes going up as far as Rs.500 crore would be made every month. However, with police interventions and crackdowns on dens forced dealers to shift their base to the city’s outskirts. Many bookies moved to Gujarat, Rajasthan, and other states.”
With the creation of a void in the centre of the city of Mumbai, many punters shifted their interest to other forms of gambling such as online and jhatpat lotteries, while others moved on to cricket matches. In 1995, there were over 2000 big and medium-sized bookies in Mumbai and neighbouring towns, although since then the numbers have substantially declined to less than 300. The modern matka business is centred around Maharashtra today.
How to Play Matka
Matka is a very simple game and is essentially a form of lottery. How to play matka, you may ask? You pick three numbers from 0 to 9, for example, 4,2,7. These numbers are then added up and a final number is given. Therefore 4+2+7=13. You only use one digit of this number, being the last one, which is 3. Therefore, the first draw would be 4,2,.7*3. A second set of numbers is also drawn in the exact same way as the first draw. For example, the three chosen numbers are 7,3,5. Added together, this gives us a total of 18. Here again, we only use the last digit so the final pick for the second set of numbers is 8,2,8*8. The final card would look like this: 4,2,7*3 x 7,3,5*8. To win at this game, you have many options and rate payouts. A person can bet on the entire chance of all numbers being chosen to the first, last, or any other type of bet.
Famous Matka Individuals
Matka Kings are individuals who are associated with the game of matka who have won a great deal of money from this type of gambling. Here are three individuals who are famous in India for these reasons. The first is Kalyani Bhagat. In the 1960s, he “pioneered matka gambling by accepting bets based on the opening and closing rates of cotton traded on the New York wholesale market.” He would operate from Worli, hence the name Worli matka. Second, we have Suresh Bhagat. He was a big name in matka gambling although it appeared that there was a plot by his mother and son to kill him. Lastly, we have Rattan Khatri who was famous during the period 1960s to the 1990s. Khatri’s matka gambling business started in the business area of Mumbadevi. This gradually became a big gambling hub and the number of bettors increased.
The Future of Matka
Makta can not be played in online casino sites with top online casino bonuses in India, though, Nonetheless, the game has since lost most of its following and “Indians have chosen the faster-paced action of betting on cricket games via mobile devices or live dealer casinos on the internet.” The legendary Ratan Khatri is still around although he had to discontinue his games. Today, he is seen at racetracks betting on horses. On the other hand, as reported by The New Indian Express, some legislators in Goa are calling for the legalisation of this type of gambling, saying that there should not be a class distinction between this type of betting and gambling at casinos, which are permitted in Goa – one of the few states in India where gambling at casinos is allowed.
Best Online Gambling in India
As for the modern world of gambling, we’d like to recommend to you the best online gambling sites in India. These are Leo Vegas casino, Royal Panda, Jackpot City, and All Slots. Leo Vegas has the highest ranking of all Indian casinos as tested and reviewed, with a five out of five stars rating. This casino offers as a welcome bonus up to Rs.10,000 on players’ first deposit with 570 RNG games, 400 mobile games, and 39 live dealer games. However these casinos do not offer lotto games in their catalogue and if you are on the search for the best Indian online lotteries, you should see this article we have prepared.
Moving on to Royal Panda, which has a rating of 4.9 out of five stars, this casino also offers Rs.10,000 for Indian players along with 270 RNG games, 254 mobile games, and 53 live dealer games. Next, we have Jackpot City, where a first-time player can get up to $1600 on their first four deposits. This online Indian casino offers 514 RNG games, 500 mobile games, and 64 live dealer games.
Finally, there is All Slots casino, which has a rating of 4.5 out of five stars and comes in at number four out of our top four operators. This casino offers $1500 as a welcome package together with a staggering 930 games for players to play which places it high in our ranking of the best casinos to play slots online in India. In addition, there are 32 mobile games and 20 live dealer games.
Therefore, whether you like matka or the traditional online casino, India offers the right environment for all forms of punters to play and enjoy their gaming experience. For example, you can check how and where to play online Andar Bahar. With the proliferation of smartphones in today’s fast-changing world, mobile gaming is now also available at your fingertips and with our top four online Indian rupee casinos, you can take your gaming experience with you everywhere you go.
Now, whatever game you choose to play online, you should always make sure you’re using legal payment methods. No matter if you stick to traditional options, such as bank cards – Visa casinos are a great choice – or want to explore new and upcoming payment methods, including the popular e-wallets like Skrill.
