- LATEST
- WEBSTORY
- TRENDING
INDIA
'Matka King' Ratan Khatri passes away in Mumbai at 88
Ratan Khatri was only a young man when he had come to Bombay. Later he went on to be considered as one of the pioneers of betting in India.
Updated : May 12, 2020, 07:55 AM IST | Edited by : Joydeep Bose
 "Gambling legend Ratan Khatri")
TRENDING NOW
)
Anushka Sharma shares FIRST photo of Akaay, Vamika to celebrate Virat Kohli's birthday
)
Aishwarya Rai's biggest flop was rejected by Priyanka Chopra, ruined director's career, didn't earn even Rs 10 crore
)
Meet Kartik Aaryan's 'sister', started career with 8 flops, then charged more than SRK, Salman, Aamir; quit films for...
)
Good news for Anil Ambani, another Reliance company becomes debt-free, prepays Rs 4850000000 crore to...
)
Amid divorce rumours, video of Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Aaradhya dancing together goes viral
)
Pakistani TikTok star Minahil Malik reacts after leaked video with boyfriend goes viral, says, 'I'm done...'
)
Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani's son Akash Ambani's favourite food is this dish that only costs only Rs 500
)
After Arjun Kapoor confirms his breakup with Malaika Arora, her statement goes viral: 'Somebody else out there is...'
)
Mukesh Ambani's SUPERHIT new plan for Jio users, offers 100 GB of free cloud storage for just Rs...
)
Meet actress who ruled box office in 1994, did 8 films in 1 year, competed with Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Govinda, now..
)
7 times Gandi Baat and XXX show actress Aabha Paul impressed fans on Instagram
)
ED raids main vendors of Amazon, Flipkart across multiple cities, including Delhi, Mumbai due to...
)
Salman Khan worked in this film against everyone's will, called his character 'loser', made for Rs 10 crore, it earned..
)
Amid Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3's success, Akshay Kumar to bring sequel of this blockbuster with OG cast, will reunite with..
)
Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani, daughter-in-law Radhika Merchant's first Diwali look post-marriage out, check here
Ratan Khatri, a betting legend in India, passed away in Mumbai on Saturday at the age of 88. According to sources, Khatri, who had been suffering from age-related illnesses for a long time now, breathed his last at his own residence in the Navjeevan Society of the Mumbai Central area.
Born in a Sindhi family in Karachi, present-day Pakistan, Ratan Khatri was only a young man when he had come to Bombay after the Partition of India in 1947. Later he went on to be considered as one of the pioneers of betting in India.
Khatri was named 'Matka King' because he popularised 'matka' (a form of gambling that originated in Mumbai in 1962) across the gambling season in the city and gradually established it into India's biggest nation-wide gambling tacket that lasted for decades under his control. 'Matka King' then on became one of the most popular gamblers in the country of his time and there was his own gambling kingdom to rule over.
In Matka, the betting was done on the opening and closing rates of cotton transmitted from the New York Cotton Exchange. It was popular across all sections of the contemporary Mumbai society in the 1960s.
Khatri initially worked as a manager with Kalyanji Bhagat, when the latter launched the Worli Matka. Eventually, however, their paths separated and Ratan Khatri later started the 'Ratan Matka', which involved drawing lots from chits in a pot. It is said to have been a money-spinner with the daily turnover from gambling touching Rs. one crore.
