All major sports has major or little share in betting departments. PCB always discouraged the betting companies involvement as it is unethical and refrain to us as a Muslim as well. But first PSL and now the nee series against NZ better sponsors are alarming and disturbing.
Betting is considered as an open secret in all sports and mega events. Few countries declared it legal and put some clauses so people gamble under the surveillance of Government like India. FIFA World Cup is by far the biggest and most favorite betting season for bookies so far. IPL is another example where people spends crores on these betting companies to earn more and more money.
In Islam it is prohibited to play gamble or earn easy money. Most of the Muslims do not approve this theory as well. As one of the biggest board of cricket in the world. PCB always discouraged to gamble or fix matches to get money or fame. Even if we found cricketers guilty, his or her career is over. We have a lot of examples in the past.
But PSL creates a stir in the scene. Almost all of the teams were indirectly sponsored by betting companies. SBP also highlighted that Karachi Kings has signed 1XBAT as Titanium Sponsor. It added that 1XBAT appears to be a surrogate brand of a sports betting website i.e. 1XBET which allows users to bet on a wide variety of popular sports.
This all started when Sky247.net joined the ranks at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2021. This was the first time when a website with a similar name to a betting platform ‘Sky247’, came into the limelight in Pakistan. dafaNEWS is one of the main sponsors of the PSL. It is said to be owned by ‘dafabet’.
Point to ponder
At one point the authorities are taking action on such ethically horrendous acts. Meanwhile, on the other hand they are allowing these sub companies to sponsor such a big event. Even there are rumors that the ongoing series against New Zealand is also sponsored by one of these companies.
If such hideous acts will prevail in the gentlemen’s game. It will definitely ruin the authenticity and charm of the sport. Getting more illegal money can never built a strong foundation for any sport. We can request to authorities to look into this matter seriously and bring back our impromptu sport back.