Matka Gambling

Matka Gambling is also known as Satta and is a form of betting or lottery. Originally, it involved betting on the opening and closing rates for the cotton that is transmitted from New York Cotton Exchange to Bombay Cotton Exchange. This term has been in work before India even gained its independence and was earlier known as “Ankada Jugad ” which translates to “figures gambling”. With time, the system changed and in the 1960s was replaced by pulling slips from “Matka” (a large earthenware pot), thus getting the name of “Matka gambling”. The game has completely changed now but the name “Matka” stayed. Today, the betting is done on random number selection.

It is one of the most famous lottery games in India and is played in online format nowadays. Mumbai has been known to be the hub of Matka business, this is because when textile factories started growing at a large rate in Mumbai, the workers started playing Matka for fun initially which later turned into a full-fledged business even the bookies opened their shops around the factories.

In this game, numbers 0-9 are written over small chits and put in a “Matka”, then one person would draw random chits and declare the winning numbers. Now, this has also become a card game where three numbers are drawn from a pack of cards. The person who wins a lot of money from this is known as “Matka King”. Ratan Khatri was called Matka king until recently when he died at the age of 88. He is said to be the man to popularise this game to other parts of the country.

Gambling is illegal in India except for horse racing and lottery. British Parliament passed “The Public Gambling Act” in 1867 which declare gambling as illegal and it was also adopted by India’s parliament after Independence. Gambling comes under the state list and thus all states have different laws on it. However, online Satta Matka is still legal in India.

As mentioned before, the Satta Matka game has now become an online game. The rules remain the same here too, only instead of a person picking up a piece of paper, random numbers are generated and winning numbers are declared. There are a lot of Matka gambling websites and there are even mobile apps available now for playing this game. These online games also give the disclaimer that they can be addictive and they cannot be held responsible for your financial loss. Gambling may sound like a shortcut to earning lots of money but people lose more at this game than win, so trade wisely.

Matka Gambling

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