Everything You Should Know About The History Of "satta Matka"

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If you're curious about the origins and development of "Satta Matka," here's a comprehensive overview.

Satta" is a Hindi term that refers to "betting" in general. It originated in the city of Mumbai before India gained independence. Satta or Matka Gambling is a form of lottery that traditionally involved placing bets on the opening and closing rates of cotton from the New York Cotton Exchange.

These rates would be transmitted from the New York Cotton Exchange to the Mumbai Cotton Exchange through teleprinters. Players would have to guess these rates before they were announced to participate in the betting. The game's roots can be traced back to the city of Mumbai, where it was initially known as "Ankada Jugar" in Hindi, meaning "figures gambling" in English.

The matka gambling game was first introduced by Kalyanji Bhagat and Rattan Khatri. Kalyanji Bhagat, a farmer from the village of Ratadia, Ganes Wala in Kutch, Gujarat, migrated to Mumbai in 1941 and initially worked as a spice marketer to make a living. His original last name was "Gala," but the title "Bhagat" ...
... was given to his family by the King of Kutch due to their devotion. While working at a grocery store in Worli, he started matka gambling by accepting bets on the opening and closing rates of cotton listed on the New York wholesale market. The game was operated from his residence, Vinod Mahal, in Worli.

Rattan Khatri, also known as the Matka King, was another prominent figure in the matka world. He ran his matka business in the busy commercial area of Dhanji Street in the Mumbadevi area. People who were idle in the business area became his primary customers and started placing bets on the daily fluctuating cotton rates from the New York market.

Over time, the bets increased, and it became a significant gambling hub. Rattan Khatri operated a nationwide matka gambling network through international connections, involving hundreds of thousands of punters and dealing in crores of rupees.

Due to a conflict over a winning number and the New Year Cotton Exchange's five-day operations, compulsive bettors started looking for alternatives. That's when Khatri, with the help of his friend, started his own matka game and began drawing three cards from a deck of cards to determine the day's winning numbers. This new format became an instant hit because the cards were reportedly opened in the presence of the bettors, unlike Bhagat's method of matka gambling.

In the 1960s, the New York Cotton Exchange stopped transmitting cotton rates to the Mumbai Cotton Exchange. As a result, punters were forced to explore other ways to keep the matka business alive, which laid the foundation for modern-day matka games. Kalyanji Bhagat introduced Worli matka in 1962. Later, in 1964, Rattan Khatri introduced New Worli Matka to the matka world, with slight modifications to the rules of Worli Matka game.

The difference was that while Worli matka was played seven days a week, New Worli matka was played from Monday to Friday, only five days. Rattan Khatri came up with the idea of placing bets on random numbers. He would write random numbers on a piece of paper and place it in a large earthen pot called "matka" in Hindi. Someone would then draw a chit from the pot and declare the winning numbers.

This is where the term "Satta Matka" was first coined. Later, the game evolved from drawing chits from pots or matkas to drawing three numbers from a deck of playing cards. However, the name "matka" was retained throughout.