‘Matka King’ Ratan Khatri Passes Away In Mumbai. Know More About The Betting Pioneer

Ratan Khatri is the one who is credited for transforming matka, a form of gambling that originated in Mumbai in 1962.

Representational Picture (AFP)

New Delhi, May 11: Ratan Khatri, who has been popular and known as the pioneers of betting in the country, has passed away according to family sources on Sunday. Khatri at the age of 88 passed away from illness at his home in Navjeevan Society in Mumbai Central area here, according to the sources who spoke to PTI. Here is more about the Ratan Khatri who is also popularly known as matka king. The ‘matka king’ belongs to a Sindhi family who came to the metropolis Mumbai from Karachi in Pakistan. He was a teenager when he came to India at the time of partition in 1947. What is the reason of his popularity? He is the one who is credited for transforming matka, a form of gambling that originated in Mumbai in 1962.  He transformed the game into biggest betting racket and managed to spread a nation-wide illegal gambling network that sustained for decades under his regime. Typically, Matka involved betting on the opening and closing rates of cotton transmitted from the New York Cotton Exchange. This betting became popular across Mumbai in 1960s. How did Khatri spread his betting empire? Khatri has initially worked with Kalyanji Bhagat and left him to start his own betting venture called ‘Ratan Matka’. It was in 1995 that the police got hold of him after which he quit the illegal business. He has suffered a paralytic attack in 2001 but even in that state, the matka king could play around with numbers. The infamous ex-gambler attracted attention from a Twitter user who said the “hourly new announcements of government on lockdown norms reminded him of Ratan Khatri’s Kalyan/Mumbai matka (open/close) of 70s!” He also had connection with the entertainment industry and co-produced Bollywood film Rangeela Ratan with Ramchanchandra Bhikubhai. Not just he finance the movie but also acted in it. In fact actor Prem Nath’s character in 1975 film Dharmatma was inspired by Khatri's real life, and he is said to have helped in scripting and dialogues of the film.