NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Three betting syndicates were broken and eight arrests made in a crackdown on illegal gambling on the Cricket World Cup, New Delhi police said yesterday.
The Press Trust of India reported that police raided a hotel in central Delhi and seized laptops, mobile phones and televisions, arresting the eight.
Betting on any sport except horse racing is illegal in India.
The issue is particularly hot in cricket following the five-year bans given earlier this month to three Pakistan cricketers for fixing parts of matches (spot-fixing) with deliberate no-balls in a match in England last year.
The Pakistan trio, former captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir deny wrongdoing.
The Feb 19-April 2 World Cup, being co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, started with an 87-run victory for India over Bangladesh in Dhaka on Saturday.
