Gambling of all types is illegal in India but it attracts a lot of business. Satta Matka is one of them where a lot of people put their money on a type of lottery. In this system, a large earthen pot is used to collect numbers from among which a lucky number is selected, hence the name matka. This matka gambling originally originated in the pre-independence period in India when it was called by the name “ankadajugaar”. Before 1960, betting was placed on the opening and closing rates of cotton from New York Cotton Exchange (NYCE) and it became the base of “Matka” gambling. But in 1961, when the New York Cotton Exchange stopped the practice, this market came to a standstill. So, the system needed some other way to carry on. The idea of announcing opening and closing rates of imaginary products was put up by Rattan Khatri who reclaimed this market and won a great deal of money and became one of the Matka Kings. In 1962, one more matka king emerged in the business. He was none other than Kalyanji Bhagat who started the Worli matka. The game rules for Rattan Khatri’s New Worli Matka and Kalyanji Bhagat’s Matka were slightly different but they both were the renounced name then in gambling.
In Mumbai, it was favorite pass time of mill workers to play Matka which resulted in bookies flourishing and opening their shops in and around the textile mills area. Central Mumbai became the hub of the matka business as textile mills were located there. The matka business was the most active in decades of the 1980s and 1990s. Betting volumes reached its peak to about Rs. 500 crore every month. With the onset of interference of The Mumbai police on the Matka houses the dealers either shifted their base to the city’s outskirts like Gujarat, Rajasthan and other states or got attracted to other gambling such as cricket matches betting or online lottery. In the modern matka business, the average monthly turnover has remained around Rs 100 crore and it is centered around Maharashtra. The lives of the sattamatka have been a muse for many Bollywood directors. The character of Prem Nath from film “Dharmatma” was based on Rattan Khatri and director Feroz Khan made it realistic using the inputs from the matka king itself.
Indian Matka is the most popular site for gambling online. They offer privacy as well as they are accessible anywhere, anytime and to everyone.