GUJRAT, March 15: The government has failed to crack down on the bookies (a racket involved in gambling on cricket matches), as several made fortunes and as many lost millions of rupees in Gujrat and its adjacent districts in the first One-day international between Pakistan and India in Karachi, reliable sources told Dawn on Monday.

They said the gambling took place in many parts of the country in an organized way, as it was hard to asses the actual amount at stake. The sources said hundreds of Karachi-based bookies, who had terms with those active in the Gulf and European countries, had been working through sub-agents spread in different cities, villages and towns.

From toss to the result - there is gambling on every single ball. "Who will win the toss, who will opt to bat or field, individual and team's scores (in first 15 overs, next 10 overs, next seven overs, next eight overs and in the final 10 overs).

The bookies and their sub-agents also demanded a relaxation of percentage from their clients and sometimes give them the same or variation percentage about unpredictable betting over runs in different spells of overs and at a total score.

They said the other option in batting first was if any regular batsman on crease would enter in his double figures or not, would he remain below 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30 or 20 or even less.

For a tail-ender at crease, would he be able to enter in his double figures. Whether a batsman with 90 on board would fall prey to 'nervous nineties' or succeed in making his century was another option for the gamblers.

Similarly, they also revealed that there was betting on whether any team batting first would play all the 50 overs of a match or be bowled out with overs or balls to spare.

The other options are: "An individual batsman at crease will thrash how many sixes and boundaries during his knock while how many balls will cross the boundary rope while kissing it (fours) or will fly over it (sixes) during a team's innings. Will any six fall into the crowd or a lounge roof or just inside the ground.

An individual batsman will take how many ones, twos and threes during his knock while what will a composite score of a team coming from ones, twos and threes be during the whole innings.

How many batsmen of a team will be clean bowled, leg before wicket, caught behind or around the wicket and run out?. Whether or not any batsman will call for a runner after feeling tired during his knock?"

In the bowling department, the sources said, there were many options for the gamblers to put money at stake. "How many wickets an individual regular bowler will take in his spell of 10 overs; will he be economical or expensive. If economical, whether he will give away score below 50, 40 or 30 and if proved expensive, whether he will concede 60, 70 or more.

In case of conceding too many runs at an early stage and the captain decides to replace him and allow a part time bowler to bowl the remaining overs from the spell, his performance is judged in percentage and payments fluctuated accordingly.

How many overs will an individual regular bowler will bowl; how many will be no or wide balls in his spells. Similarly, how many extras will a side concede through no balls, wides, leg byes or byes."

They said the betting options were same for a client to put his money at stake for a team batting or bowling second. However, the bookies had introduced some different options for their clients for the performance or inefficiency of a team batting second.

They claimed that the betting rate was changed with every ball during the second innings. They gave multiple options of overs for achieving or not a huge, maiden or a less total. Another option was if the batting side would be able to get the target with many balls or overs to spare or in the last over or would it be bowled out with many balls or overs to spare.

Besides, they also put money at stake on the option that whether the side first bowling would give more extras or the side bowling second. The sources said another novel way to attract the clients was that they were asked to choose two or more batsmen of a team against as many batsmen of the rival team.

"They collect the composite score of the chosen batsmen of both the teams and those whose selected batsmen score more emerge winner. Similar was the case with bowlers."

They said those involved in the business used cell phones. Most of the prize bond dealers, currency dealers and PCO owners in big and small cities of the country were sub-agents of these bookies.

The sources disclosed that the mafia was powerful for having connections with those matter. In the Punjab, the main focus of these bookies were Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Multan, Faisalabad, Okara, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Jhang, Sahiwal, Toba Tek Singh and Sheikhupura.

During the Karachi fixture, they said, a record gambling was reported in Sialkot, Gujranwala and Faisalabad.