Betting on COVID-19! Maharashtra bookies use Aarogya Setu app to bet on coronavirus cases

The bookies involved in the betting on sports events have found a new way to earn money at the time of coronavirus pandemic. As per reports, the bookies of Maharashtra's Jalgaon are using Aarogya Setu app to bet on the coronavirus cases.

Jalgaon (Maharashtra):As all the sports events are cancelled or postponed due to the deadly coronavirus, the betting rings of Maharashtra's Jalgaon have found a new way to earn money. Now, the bookies are using the official coronavirus statistics for betting.

Every year, between March and June, millions of rupees are wagered on Indian Premier League cricket matches. But this year, all cricket tournaments have been cancelled due to Coronavirus pandemic. This leads the bookies to change the game and their policies. Currently, speculation is being made on the number of Corona positive patients every day. Even in Jalgaon district, lakhs of rupees are being earned daily through this medium. Bookies have revealed this secret to ETV Bharat in a private discussion.

They revealed that their community keep on tracking some mobile apps, government statistics and media reports for better precision. They also accepted using Aarogya Setu which is primarily a mobile app, developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Rate chronology

A large number of patients with coronavirus are being found in Jalgaon district every day. Accordingly, bets are being made on the total number of patients coming up with taluka and city wise.

Example- If suppose, 'X' taluka reports 100 coronavirus cases. They charged 25 paise. Here, paise resembles their 'code word', not the currency. In the above-cited instance, if a man bets Rs 1 lakh, and the result came in his/ her favour, the man will get a return of Rs 1.25 lakh.

Bookies are directly connected to the health system

It is being estimated as to how many patients will be found in a city, taluka area along with the daily patient population. Bookies also provide information on how many swabs have been given, how many are positives, how many negatives. It is being bet on. According to the information, some bookies are part of the health system.

The bookie also informed that sometimes betting has been done on the government decision like- Whether the government will extend lockdown or not?