Pizza, Roti and Papad

Some of the code words used by illegal bookmakers in India to take bets on the country’s elections. (Roti and papad are types of flatbread.)

On May 16, results from India’s five-stage general election revealed a decisive victory for the Indian National Congress party. According to the BBC, analysts had expected a much closer race between the Congress Party and the B.J.P. (Bharatiya Janata Party).

Reporting recently from Mumbai, The Press Trust of India stated:

In the lull between polling and counting, punters rushed to place bets worth Rs 20,000 crore [$4 billion] on what was better — pizza or roti.

There was also papad on offer, but it had few takers. Pizza, roti andpapad were among the code words bookies used while taking bets so as to avoid the police net.

Pizza, code word for Congress, was the hot favourite among punters, while roti (B.J.P.) saw lesser volumes, a bookie said here. B.J.P.’s P.M. hopeful L. K. Advani was code-named papad.

Illicit betting is widespread in India, where legal gambling is restricted to horse-racing, state-run lotteries, and a few licensed casinos. Prior to the elections, Siddharth Srivastava wrote in The Asia Times: “It is said that a peep into India’s huge satta (illegal gambling) market provides an indication of the nation’s pulse.”

Now, with general elections expected in April or May, the satta market is gearing up for some big betting in an industry already estimated to earn many billions of dollars every year.

From the usual cricket satta, the buzz now is about party positions and the next prime minister. …

On May 13, The Associated Press noted that some Indian television stations were reporting on the election predictions of underground bookmakers.

Giving a sense of the scale of India’s illegal gambling industry, Srivastava reported police estimates that sports betting alone could amount to $5–20 billion each year. In February 2009, The Economic Times reported that Indians had wagered up to $20.5 million on the performance of “Slumdog Millionaire” at the Oscars. And, more recently, The Hindustan Times notedthat betting on the start date of this year’s monsoon is expected to amount to around $2 billion.