Hyderabad: Bookmakers are hectic capitalizing the lockdown fears.

They are banking on whether or not the state federal government will enforce a fresh lockdown.

Based on the current buzz, May 2 is the date of interest for the bookies.Speaking about the wagering rackets in the city, P.

Radhakrishna Rao, DCP of the Commissioner's Task Force, said they were punishing the cricket betting crowd given that the IPL season began.

We have actually booked six people in three cases for the IPL betting.

As this is more organised, we have the ability to detect and bust the rings easily.

Those banking on lockdown forecasts are, nevertheless, unorganised and it happens either as a one-to-one case or in less-organised manner, making it difficult for us to track, trace and arrest them, said the official.Those who position bets on matches and games said considering that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced cancellation of sporting events, bets are now being placed on the dates of a likely lockdown, the infection rate, the death toll etc.

Usually the cash put on lockdown dates has a longer-term validity.

Short-term bets included infection and death counts in different cities.

During the initial lockdown phase, the public was mostly placing their bets on when the restrictions would be raised.

If the odds are in favour of Coronavirus, it means you are wagering that the cases will rise or the lockdown will continue, stated a punter who positioned bets in the last few months.

City authorities officials said that apart from watching on the usual punters and betting hubs during the IPL season, they watch for those positioning bets on lockdown restrictions also.

We do not know how the nature of betting has changed after the pandemic, but we will continue the crackdown against such criminal offense networks.

Our teams are monitoring all the cyber operations, police officials stated.