Matka gambling, also known as satta, is a type of betting and lottery that began with bets on the opening and closing cotton rates communicated from the New York Cotton Exchange to the Bombay Cotton Exchange.
Satta Matka, also known as Matka gambling or Satta, was a full-fledged lottery game that began in the 1950s, just after India gained independence. ‘Ankada Jugar’ was the name at the time. It changed over time and became very different from what it was at first, but the name ‘Matka’ remained. The modern-day Matka gambling/Satta King is based on the picking and betting of random numbers.
Numbers 0-9 were written on pieces of paper and placed in a Matka, a huge earthen pitcher, in Satta Matka. After that, one person would draw a chit and announce the winning numbers. As the years passed, the practice evolved, but the name ‘Matka’ stayed the same. Three numbers are now chosen from a deck of cards. A ‘Matka King’ is a person who wins a large sum of money via Matka gambling.
When Mumbai’s textile mills grew in popularity, many mill workers began playing Matka, which led to bookies opening up shop in and around the mill regions, and Central Mumbai became the Matka capital of the city.
History of Satta Matka
Satta Matka began in the 1950s, when people used to wager on the opening and closing cotton rates that were teleprinted from the New York Cotton Exchange to the Bombay Cotton Exchange.
The Other York Cotton Exchange banned the practice in 1961, forcing punters and gamblers to find new ways to keep the Satta Matka business alive. The Matka business reached its pinnacle in the 1980s and 1990s.