Rs 500 crores to bet on rains

Bookies are looking skywards to predict Monsoon Day in the city; Rs 50 crore changes hands every day between June 1 & 10

Armed with laptops and the latest weather gadgets, bookies and punters are looking skywards to make a fast buck this monsoon. The business is expected to run up to Rs 500 crore for bets predicting the day the heavens open up in Mumbai.

In fact, bookies are willing to shell out Rs 10 for a rupee for the monsoon hitting the city's shores on June 1. However, June 5 seems to be the hot favourite and is pegged at Rs 1.20. From there on, the rate diminishes on a daily basis, and all bets are off after June 10. Sources added that on an average Rs 50 crore changes hands every day during those 10 days.

The MET, on the other hand, expects the monsoon to hit the city on June 6. The news of the South-West monsoon setting over Kerala more than a week before the expected date of June 1 has not affected the betting meter in Mumbai.

A new breed of bookies like Dharmesh Vashi, Surendra Vashi, Lalji Indore, Kushal, Veena, and Bebli has emerged in gambling circles across Mumbai. They specialise in betting on rains, which is different from cricket match betting.

Other full-time bookies like gangster Dawood's trusted lieutenant Chhote Mian, Jayanti Malad, Laku Masalawalla alias Praful, Samrat and Shoban Kalachowkie will keep off betting circles during the monsoon season. They are expected to bet on cricket matches in other countries.

Inside info

Most of the top bookies have their sources in the meteorological departments across the country, who feed them inside information on advancing rains. These tip-offs help bookies and punters to make quick money against their ill-informed counterparts.

Bookies also accept bets on the onset of the monsoon in other cities as well. Insiders informed that bookies who lose bets in Mumbai try to cover up their losses by betting on other cities. The total betting during the monsoon season is estimated to be around Rs 10,000 crore across the country.

*Minimum bet accepted is not below Rs 1 lakh

Rs 10,000 cr
The estimated amount of money bet on the monsoon season across the country