Gambling... on rain
2005-07-30 14:41
New Delhi - Gamblers have capitalised on monsoon rains that wreaked havoc and claimed over 700 lives in India's Maharashtra state, taking their cuts from an estimated $110m in wagers over the amount of rainfall, a news report said on Friday.
Punters who bet on the state's capital, Mumbai, getting more than 50cm of rain in July will divide $69m amongst themselves, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
After the rains started on Tuesday, Mumbai received more than 93.98cm of rain. This was the highest rainfall on a single day in an Indian city in a 100 years.
The paper reported that betting on the volume of rain is not new in Bombay. Bets are placed from all over India and even from as far away as the United Arab Emirates.
The bookies use the rainfall in the Colaba area in South Bombay as their benchmark. Until Tuesday morning, Colaba had got 43.18cm but over the next 48 hours, the torrential downpour far exceeded the 50.80cm level, putting several bookies in the red, the paper said.
Other people who benefited from the rains were mechanics who charged exorbitant amounts for minor car repairs, roadside hawkers and taxi-operators who had a field day fleecing passengers, charging them twice the normal amount for a journey. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA