Correspondent, Ahmedabad: Demonetization of Rs 500/1000 notes has broken the spine of two of the most notorious ‘black money’ run businesses in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other places across the nation.

These are betting or satta especially on cricket matches and Dabba trade or illegal share trading.

Several informed persons/insiders of the betting business and illegal share trading are now saying that for the past over ten days (since the announcement of demonetization) the betting business and dabba share trading (in which the brokers don’t inform the concerned exchange about the actual deal by doing the trading through their own books illegally) have virtually come to a standstill.

One such person based in Rajkot said that the sudden demonetization move has taken the bookies by surprise. ‘As the whole betting business and Dabba trade is done illegally and through black money, no one is now going for it. Every one associated with these illegal businesses are now trying tooth and nail to save the cash in Rs 500/1000 notes lying with them. They don’t want to generate any more of such money for now,’ he said.

‘Despite the India-England domestic series and some other cricket series across the world going on now, the betting business is almost completely down. There are no takers. Only a few addicted ones, mostly small fry, are putting petty amounts,’ another insider in Ahmedabad said adding that demonetization has hit them badly.

‘Cricket betting and Dabba trade runs in to hundreds of crores in Gujarat and adjoining areas alone and mostly Rs 1000/500 notes were used in it especially for bigger transactions. Now that these notes are gone, the spine is broken. Like many other such businesses including illegal transfer of foreign funds through havala run with black money, its players are stunned and flattened by the surgical strike on black money by Modi.,’ a man in Surat city who has in-depth knowledge of the ways of these businesses said.

‘The liquidity crisis or cash crunch caused by the move has also hit these businesses. The two illegal businesses widely spread in Mumbai, Jaipur and some cities of Punjab are also facing more or less the same fate as that of Gujarat,’ he said.

A local banker and tax expert said that with the demonetization, a panic has also been triggered among cash hoarders and those involved in black money run transactions. ‘Owing to this any business that creates black money looks virtually impossible. Only those who expect a small return will go for it otherwise making a fortune out of it is out of question now. Demonetization move has made people think twice before dealing in black money. More and more people now want to be tax payers so that they live with peace and without any fear. Betting and illegal share trading are no more popular choices,’ he said.

Notably, many of the big bookies in cricket and dabba trade reportedly belong to Gujarat. Some of such big fishes have been nabbed by police in the past also. A notorious illegal software used in Dabba trade was also reportedly developed in the north Gujarat town of Mahesana.

DeshGujarat